Posts filed under 'Dreamweaver'
The first thing you need to do is to create an SQL database on your webhost. This can be done via CPanel or if not that, then ask your host how…anyways, creating an SQL database with 1 table is not hard.
The key is, to create it, record the information and then try to log in to that database via Dreamweaver.
You can do this by creating a new database connection in the ‘Application’ window of Dreamweaver.
This is one of the most challenging parts, and you’ll need to set up the site’s testing server. At first this can be tricky, but if you stick with it and get connected to your SQL databas via Dreamweaver, you’ll soon find ways to insert records, display records, and much more!
You see, once you are connected to the database, the table names will dynamically show up in Dreamweaver, and from there it is only a short step to learn how to insert records, repeat records, and display data in the database.
Of course reading a book can help you with PHP, but it is also fun to just jump right in the Dreamweaver buttons.
Even a total PHP dunce like myself was able to start creating little PHP/SQL applications once I figured out these basic steps.
So if you want to create PHP applications, but don’t know how to hand-code PHP, create a PHP/SQL database with 1 table, figure out how to connect to it via Dreamweaver, and start messing around with the Dreamweaver PHP buttons.
In a few hours time you’ll see what creating PHP/SQL applications in Dreamweaver is all about.
For more information on Dreamweaver including step by step video tutorials, visit www.dreamweaverhowto.com
J. Gilbert Offers awesome step by step video tutorials that show people how to set up various aspects of an online information business. You can see more of his products at www.resource-website.com
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May 6th, 2008
The accessibility of a web site relates to whether its content is compatible with all members of its potential audience. If, for example, people with impaired vision are unable to read the text on your pages then your website is inaccessible to them. An accessible website needs to anticipate the requirements of visitors and the different tools and settings they will be using when they browse your pages.
There are a number of features within Dreamweaver which help web developers ensure that their pages are accessible. The program can be set up so that it will automatically offer you a series of accessibility options whenever you add an image, media element or form field to a page. There is also a built-in utility which you can use to check whether your pages contain elements which are not accessible.
The main settings in Dreamweaver are located by choosing Edit – Preferences. On the left of the Preferences screen there are a series of categories. In the General category, you should ensure that the option to use CSS instead of HTML tags is activated. Also, in the Accessibility category, you should switch on all of the checkboxes for displaying a dialog of relevant accessibility attributes for form object, media (Flash, video etc.) and form elements.
So what is the result of switching on these various preferences? Well, firstly, Dreamweaver will use CSS tags whenever you format text or the background of the page. The CSS tags contain the formatting information and will be placed in the head area of the page away from the content which will be in the page body. The program will also display a dialog box with accessibility options each time you insert an image, form field or media element such as a Flash movie or video clip.
When you add an image to any page, you will see a dialog box which invites you to enter the alternate (alt) text. You should key in a brief description of the image. This alt text will be displayed in the browser if the image itself is not displayed, for example, when the user has deactivated the display of images. Screen readers will also speak your alt text whenever an image is encountered.
Dreamweaver will also prompt for the insertion of a link pointing to a long description of an image. This option should be used for complex images whose content cannot be adequately described in the brief alt text attribute. Examples of such images would be charts, diagrams, paintings or photos containing groups of people.
Just as the alt text describes the function of images, the label attribute describes the function of each form field. When the accessibility preferences are active, Dreamweaver will prompt you to enter a descriptive tag for each field. In addition, you can specify the tab order of each element. This is the order in which elements within the form can be accessed by users by simply pressing the Tab key.
Similarly, if you add a media element to a page, the accessibility dialog pops up and prompts you to enter up to three elements: a title, an access key and a tab index. The title should be a description of the media element and serves a similar function as the alt text which is used with images. The access key is an optional keyboard shortcut which can be used to make the media element active. The tab index is a number which indicates the position of the element in the tab order for that page. The tab order is the order in which elements are accessed when the user presses the Tab key.
As well as these useful prompts, Dreamweaver will also produce a report of any items on the page with possible issues relating to accessibility. To access this feature, first save the page then choose File – Check Page – Accessibility. Dreamweaver analyses the page then produces a list of items which might need attention. Double-clicking any item in the list activates Dreamweaver’s split screen view (showing both code and preview) with the relevant item highlighted in each pane.
The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver training courses in London and throughout the UK.
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April 12th, 2008
Because of its ability to separate design from content, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) has become an extremely important technology in web development. A single CSS document can contain information regarding the position of elements on all the pages in a web site as well as style information such as font, sizes and colours. In terms of building websites, CSS definitely represents the future.
The range of computer users who have some involvement in building web pages and web sites is vast and a good many of these users choose Dreamweaver as the software tool that helps them create the web content they need without needing to become an expert on underlying technologies such as CSS. Dreamweaver CS3 includes better support for Cascading Style Sheets than previous versions. However, there is still room for improvement.
Previous versions of Dreamweaver assumed that most users would be using tables to control the layout of their web pages. Dreamweaver CS3 is the first version of the program which encourages users to create CSS-based web page layouts. When the users create a new web page, they are offered a series of CSS layouts, on which they can base the new page, consisting of single, double and three column designs.
Pages created using CSS rely heavily on the use of the HTML DIV element, a multipurpose container of web content. Choosing one of the Dreamweaver CSS presets creates a page containing a series of DIV elements complete with placeholder text and the CSS code necessary to control the position and dimension of the DIVs. The placeholder text and HTML code both contain brief explanations of the techniques used and advice on how to customise these basic pages for your own purposes.
The CSS generated by Dreamweaver when creating these preset layouts is embedded within the page itself. Updating a site where every page has embedded CSS code would be extremely inefficient. A far better arrangement is to keep all of the CSS in a single file. Luckily, Dreamweaver has a nifty feature for moving CSS definitions from an HTML page to an external CSS file. You just highlight all of the CSS you wish to export, right click the selection and choose “Move CSS Rules” from the “CSS Styles” context menu.
Although this ability to move CSS around is really great, it’s not something that beginners will necessarily think of doing. It points to the fact that Dreamweaver could still do with a few enhancements to its implementation of CSS.
Dreamweaver CS3 still has includes the automatic creation of CSS styles whenever the user applies font attributes to text. Simply removing the ability to select text and apply these basic attributes would prevent this from happening. From a beginner’s point of view, it would be far more useful to just have a “Style” menu with an option to create a new style if no styles already exist.
The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver Classes at their central London training centre.
April 5th, 2008
In the early days of the Internet, users were hot to design their own websites. While there are many methods of writing websites, the most ubiquitous was simply opening the notepad application and writing the website in pure HTML. While there were many programs that came along that made this HTML coding unnecessary, a lot of them were simply unusable or inefficient or otherwise had problems.
Many times, what appeared to be normal and working fine in the user’s browser would begin acting up once it was published to the Internet. This detachment of HTML coding and actual content, in what is referred to as a WYSIWYG editor, led to problems later on, as users thinking that they had effectively built a perfect website found that once published to the web, the elements of their website would move around independently and break anchor text. This breakage of anchors and refusal to follow the rules of HTML was a necessary byproduct of the WYSIWYG HTML editors.
This lack of reliability among Web authoring software led to many problems, as users were either forced to use the HTML, a boring and trying experience at best, or they could continue to use the WYSIWYG editor, which was basically a luck of the draw situation, where users were hoping to get the best results and consistent use from a somewhat inferior product. The WYSIWYG editors never seemed to do their job exactly right, as there was always some element that would be in the wrong spot or willing simply pop out after extended use or extended viewings, without warning.
But eventually, a new product hit the market called Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver was able to do a great deal of things, and embraced the HTML right on the desktop, rather than hiding it all behind a WYSIWYG editor. For the first time, users could see the HTML right up close and see what effect it was having as they moved elements around in the WYSIWYG editor. It was a revolution in HTML editing software and users flocked to the software offering that would allow them to do so much with so little.
Using Dreamweaver CS3 templates, users can save a tremendous amount of time by simply whipping out their favorite template, choosing some colors and publishing. The elegant Dreamweaver CS3 templates include a version of a template for every possible combination of themes that any user could ask for. A wealth of these templates makes it a very simple task to publish a beautiful and stunning Web page in just a matter of minutes, with some help from the Dreamweaver templates and judicious editing.
JSBwebDesign offers great tips about Dreamweaver website templates. Get free web page templates and learn about our business website design services. Visit us at http://www.jsbwebtemplates.com
April 4th, 2008
Upgrade to Dreamweaver CS3? Or stick with Dreamweaver 8? This is a question that many web designers who own Dreamweaver 8 are asking themselves as they consider whether it would be worth their money or their web design company’s money to upgrade their design software. Since it is your job as a web designer to work with the software in question, the onus of deciding whether the new version will improve service and overall work quality or not. Many web designers are also wary of the fact that Macromedia has been acquired by Adobe and are wondering whether the new owners have improved or destroyed this piece of software. It is my opinion that there is no clear choice between the two. The choice you eventually make must be determined by what you require from your design software.
Web design feature #1: Adobe and Dreamweaver Together
Some web design companies may find the integration between the new Dreamweaver software and existing Adobe tools a good enough reason to purchase the Dreamweaver CS3. Images can easily be transferred from one software to another and some designers find this feature very attractive.
Web design feature #2: CSS Support Made Better
Designers will likely find that one of the best new features of Dreamweaver CS3 are the fresh and improved CSS layouts. The software code contains detailed commentaries related to how these layouts function so understanding how to use them is a relatively simple affair. There are currently 32 different layouts to choose from, in 1, 2, or 3-column designs, and in fixed or liquid design layouts. The starting position of the CSS is easily defined and subsequent movement is also simple and easy. Designers can simply style the tag directly into the HTML through a style attribute, then transfer it to their style sheet. In Dreamweaver CS3, “Convert Inline CSS to Rule” appears on a single right click of the tag and a custom class for that particular style or a full CSS selector is easily created.
Web design feature #3: Mobile Support
The incorporation of Adobe Device Central into Dreamweaver CS3 also makes designing pages for viewing on mobile platforms much easier than before. Although use of the mobile platform to view web pages has become increasingly popular, it was previously a rather challenging task to design pages that are compatible for viewing on both a mobile platform and a web browser one. Dreamweaver CS3 makes those challenges a thing of the past.
Web design feature #4: Ajax Implementation Now Made Possible
Adding Ajax widgets and effects to the web pages that you create is now possible through the incorporation of the Spry framework in to Dreamweaver CS3. A simple drag and drop operation will deposit them into your dataset. Transition effects such as shrinking, growing, highlighting and fading, integration of XML feed data and widgets for tables lists and forms are just some of the features of Spry that have been included in Dreamweaver CS3.
Web design feature #5: XLST Support
XLST support is a major feature of CS3 and both you and your design company will be delighted by the support included through the use of XML files as the database source. Viewing of the XML and integration into any HTML documents are made easy through XLST. Web designers who possess XML files of the same format can easily create a single template for them by using XLST.
Web design feature #6: Support for Mac Intel Processors
CS3 is now also native to the Intel-based Macintosh platform, and load times have been significantly reduced. The company behind CS3 claims that, whereas Dreamweaver 8 previously required four minutes to load, CS3 now accomplishes the same feat in under one minute. However, these claims have yet to be verified by proper testing.
To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
The question does not have an easy answer. Personally, I chose to upgrade and have not looked back since. The new CSS features, XLST support and Device Central are all wonderful new additions to the software. However, live databases and server side scripts are still difficult to use with Dreamweaver CS3 and this may discourage web design companies from purchasing the software. If, at the end of it all, you choose to upgrade, it is unlikely that you will regret the money spent.
Moe Tamani is a Dallas SEO consultant for a leading Dallas Web Design company.
April 4th, 2008
Whilst Microsoft’s Internet Explorers 5 and 6 were fairly easygoing pieces of browser software which usually displayed web pages reasonably correctly irrespective of W3C compliant HTML, the same cannot be said about their successor.
Indeed, like Mozilla Firefox, the new version 7 flavour of Internet Explorer seems to be rather more discriminating when it comes to displaying HTML code.
This becomes especially apparent when one is looking at a page constructed from old style layers (div tags) such as the ones cranked out by Dreamweaver MX and its contemporaries.
It should be said that I am not in fact referring to table-less designs where the HTML code simply specifies a div id and leaves all formatting issues to the CSS; I am talking about old style div tags such as the one below:
[div id="Layer1" style="position:absolute; left:350px; top:225px; width:550px; height:794px; z-index:4"]Whatever content[/div]
Please note: < > brackets have been changed to [ ] brackets so the code can be displayed on this page.
The above approach was (and in a lot of cases still is) a firm favourite with many less experienced web designers using earlier versions of Dreamweaver and its ilk without any clear appreciation of W3C compliant HTML or the long-term implications of launching web sites with improperly formatted code.
In any case, whilst Internet Explorer in its version 5 and 6 incarnations was the undisputed king of web browsers, issues related to improperly formatted HTML did not generally come back to haunt the designer after his or her site went live, but with the advent and increasing popularity of Firefox user complaints about text overlap, collapsed page layout and other on-screen formatting issues became an annoying part of life for many designers employing the traditional div tag approach.
Yet still this was not seen as a huge problem by many less experienced professionals since Firefox’s market share was comparatively small and the majority of their client’s visitors would invariably be using Internet Explorer to surf the web and so the issue was simply ignored or put off until later.
The launch of Internet Explorer 7 however is set to change this generally lax attitude to W3C compliant HTML by certain elements of the web design industry.
In fact, Microsoft’s new and fussier browser is being adopted at an incredible rate.
January the 8th 2007 officially saw the 100 millionth installation of IE 7; quite impressive for a time span of less than three months since its release.
Some sources in the U.S. even claim that the browser has now reached a 30% market share, although this does sound a little premature.
So what about those designers now finding themselves with a portfolio of web sites increasingly plagued by screen formatting issues, not to mention the growing promotional drawbacks brought on by a lack of W3C compliant HTML?
These days, W3C compliance is an essential part of web design and site deployment, especially as Internet Explorer 7 becomes a fact of daily life on the web during the course of 2007 bringing with it an increasing number of display and functionality issues for improperly formatted HTML.
Designers who have not yet made the transition from the WYSIWYG approach to actually learning about HTML would be well advised to take a look at the W3C web site and familiarise themselves with internet standards.
A small investment in some HTML learning materials and the time to put them to good use might also be an idea.
December 27th, 2007
So you now have the Dreamweaver 8 and you are just not quite sure whether your web design company is willing to shell out some more to upgrade to the latest CS3 version. This is actually a challenging decision to make for your web design company. As a web designer, you have to work with the software, so it is both your right and responsibility to decide whether the new version will help you come up with improved web design. This makes you wonder too: Now that Adobe has already bought Macromedia, what have they done to it? Have they ruined it, or have they made it so much better that you should already kick yourself now for not buying it earlier? Well, if I were to be asked, I stand somewhere in between these two.
Web design feature #1: Adobe and Dreamweaver Together
Your web design company may find it reason enough to buy the new Dreamweaver CS3 because of its full integration with Adobe graphics tools like those found in Photoshop. When you have an image, you can directly click on it and edit right away.
Web design feature #2: CSS Support Made Better
One of the best features found in the new Dreamweaver CS3 is the integration of better CSS layouts. These layouts are all well-commented in the code, so it can be pretty easy to start knowing how CSS layouts tend to work. They now have over 32 layouts that you can choose from in 1, 2 or 3-column formats, in fixed and liquid type web designs. You may also define the position where you want the CSS to be when creating a new page, not to mention how easy it is to move the CSS styles around. You can stat out by styling the tag directly into the HTML through a style attribute and move it to your style sheet. With Dreamweaver CS3, you will only have to right click on the tag and set it to “Convert Inline CSS to Rule” to build a custom class for that specific style or to create one full CSS selector.
Web design feature #3: Mobile Support
Your web design company will also be pleased to know about the mobile support integrated into the new CS3 version. Creating pages made especially for mobile devices have been popular in the recent years, but it can be difficult to design one which is compatible both on mobile and web browser platforms. However, with the integration of the Adobe Device Central into the CS3, Dreamweaver now makes it easy to view your pages in cell phones.
Web design feature #4: Ajax Implementation Now Made Possible
The Dreamweaver CS3 now has integrated the Spry framework so that it adding Ajax widgets and effects onto your pages have now been made possible. All you do is to drag and drop them and incorporate them into your dataset. Dreamweaver CS3 features Spry components which include: widgets for tables, lists and forms: transition effects such as growing, shrinking, highlighting and fading, and integration of data from XML feeds such as in database or RSS.
Web design feature #5: XLST Support
Another amazing feature about the CS3 that both you and your web design company will love is the extensive support it has for XLST through the use of XML files as database source. Through XSLT, it is easy to view the XML in a tree form and integrate it right into your HTML document. This simply means that if you have a number of XML files set in the same format; it is relatively simple to create one single template for all of them in the new CS3 using XLST.
Web design feature #6: Support for Mac Intel Processors
If your web design company works on an Intel-based Macintosh platform, you will be happy with the performance improvements of the CS3. It is now native to the platform and does not run on Rosetta so that it loads a lot quickly than before. In fact, CS3 claims that what loads in Dreamweaver 8 for 4 minutes can load in the CS3 in under one minute. You can do further testing to confirm this.
To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
That is the question. In my case, I have upgraded and haven’t regretted any of it. I appreciate the new CSS features, the XSLT support and the Device Central. However, your web design company may see one piece that is still missing, which is that of web design time and programming. As in the previous versions, the Dreamweaver CS3 is also still difficult to use in terms of live databases and server side scripts. However, there may be extensions to make things easier for you. On a general whole, go on and upgrade and you will most likely never have to look back.
Semul Johnson is a search engine optimization specialist for SEO 1 Services specializing in Seo web design http://www.seo-1-marketing-services.com
December 22nd, 2007
The latest version of Macromedia Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver MX works with a standalone program that is a wonderful assistant in managing your file extension. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX offers extensions to improve the functionality and scope of Dreamweaver. This program is the extension manager that can be relied upon to install and remove your file extensions. Through this program, you can turn your extensions on and turn them off, as you please. Plus, true to Dreamweaver’s integrated capabilities, the extension manager program works well with Flash and Fireworks to manage their extensions as well.
If you haven’t got any idea on how to manage your extensions through Dreamweaver MX, then, after going over these simple steps, you will find out how reliable and easy it is:
First, open the Extension Manager. Do this by going to the “Commands” menu and choosing “Manage Extensions…”
Second, if you haven’t gotten around to downloading the extension or extensions you want to install, then start downloading them before we go another step further.
Third, since the Extension Manager handle extensions for several programs, as mentioned above, you must make sure that Dreamweaver MX is displayed in the drop-down menu.
After checking out the drop-down menu, go to the “File” menu and choose “Install extension”. This command will open a standard file selector box. Once opened, browse to the file you downloaded and click “Install”. A disclaimer announcement will appear before you. Be sure to read it and that there are no unexpected requirements for use of the extension, since some extensions happen to have these. After reading, click “Accept”. And lastly, click “OK” and close and restart Dreamweaver.
If you don’t like to go through all these process we gave you above, you can skip them and install the extension by double clicking on it after you download. You can also import extensions from Dreamweaver 4 into Dreamweaver MX, but not all Dreamweaver 4 extensions will work in MX. There are important points to remember in installing your extension, though, whenever you install quite a large number of extensions, optimal function of Dreamweaver can slow down. Thus, always make sure that you disable extensions you don’t necessarily need.
It’s very easy to disable your extension: first, open the Extension Manager by going to the “Commands” menu and choosing “Manage Extensions…” Then highlight the extension you want to disable and uncheck them by clicking on the check box next to the extension. Always remember that you may need to restart Dreamweaver to fully disable extensions. If you want to reenable the extensions, just go to the same process. Make sure that the “On/Off” check box is checked.
December 21st, 2007
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