Tips for working with Dreamweaver

Tips for every day use...

  1. Start out with an idea/metaphor/theme/sketch.
  2. Open Dreamweaver and before doing anything else, import your site definition (or make a new one).
  3. File menu > new file, enter title and save.
    --OR--
    File menu > open an existing file.
  4. If needed, check your workspace: Window menu > Workspace Layout> Designer and, if needed, "Reset Designer"
  5. Use the properties toolbar, switching between HTML and CSS to access all of the properties.
  6. Use the tag selector (bottom left corner of design window), to select different parts of a web page and set different properties. HTML tags you should know:
    1. body
    2. p
    3. table
  7. File menu > Save files in your local web folder.
  8. File menu > Preview in browser. Use more than one browser. This is only a test of your local copy, not a test of the page on the web.
  9. Site menu > Put. This puts the current file into your UD web folder. If asked do you want to upload dependent files, click "Yes".
  10. Check your page again, this time for the web. To ensure your viewing the most recent update, hold down the Shift key and choose Reload (or Refresh). [For more info: Shift+Refresh Is Like the Restart Button for Web Sites.]

Tips for developing a site...

  1. Three principles for working with type:
    1. set the tone with body type
    2. add personality with headings and callouts
    3. optimize your combination of font families, font size, line width, and line height (font size + leading)
  2. Hyperlinks can be relative (point to a file in your site), absolute (paste the address of another web site), or email (Insert menu > Email link).