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Introduction to Dreamweaver: The
Authoring Environment
There are 2 main windows you will work
from in Dreamweaver: the editor and the site window.
- Use the editor to make new
HTML pages, and to edit existing HTML pages
- Use the site window to ftp
your files, manage your site (i.e., rename files, move
files, delete files)
THE EDITOR:
Dreamweaver lets you edit a Web
page both visually (WYSIWYG) and by editing the actual HTML
code. You will frequently need to adjust the code that Dreamweaver
writes, because you are smarter than Dreamweaver and it
doesn't always understand what you want to do.
Every time you move a table, change
the font size and change it back again, Dreamweaver adjusts
the HTML
code. Lots of times this code will be messy and it's up
to you to fix it.
The 3 Floating
Palettes:
There are 3 palettes that let you edit
the way your text displays, make links, insert images, create
tables, view the HTML source code, etc. These are found
by going to Window and selecting Objects, Properties, and
Launcher.
1. Objects: You can select from
7 different menus (5 are shown here). The "Common"
palette holds the most common objects. Click the corresponding
icon to insert an image, a table, a horizontal rule, the
date, an email link, etc.
2. The Property Inspector: This
lets you format text, link to other HTML pages, make lists,
and align things. NOTE: Depending on what you selected on
your page, the property inspector will change.
3. The Launcher: This is allows
to "quick launch" your site window, or view the
HTML code. It also lets you apply style sheets and library
items, which we will get into later.
THE SITE WINDOW:
Whereas the editor lets you create and
edit HTML pages, the Site Window helps you manage your site,
ftp your pages to the server, and make site-wide changes
to files (such as renaming). Open your pages from the Site
Window.
If you need to delete, rename or move a page, do this from
the site window.
 How
the Site Window Works: Managing
your Site by defining a local root folder
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