Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course

386 Pages·2002·6.723 MB·English

by  Wendy Peck

4930-8 Cover_rb2.qxp 6/5/02 4:26 PM Page 1
PECK
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DDrreeaammwweeaavveerr MMXX ——
DREAMWEAVER®
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CD-ROM INCLUDES:
The big day is Monday. The day you get to show off what you know 15
• Macromedia Flash MX
about Dreamweaver MX. The problem is, you’re not really up to speed.
MX, Dreamweaver,
Maybe it’s been a while since you worked with Dreamweaver. Or maybe you
Fireworks, and
just like a challenge. In any event, we’ve got a solution for you — HOUR
FreeHand trial
Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course. Open the book Friday evening and
versions WEEKEND
on Sunday afternoon, after completing 30 fast, focused sessions, you’ll be CRASH
• Photoshop Elements WWEEEEKKEENNDD CCRRAASSHH CCOOUURRSSEE™
able to dive right in and start building a Dreamweaver Web site. It’s as
COURSE
tryout version from
simple as that.
Adobe Systems, Inc.
The Curriculum WW
• Paint Shop Pro
evaluation version D
FRIDAY SATURDAY, CONTINUED SUNDAY EE
from JASC Software
Evening: 4 Sessions, 2 Hours Afternoon: 6 Sessions,3Hours Morning: 6 Sessions, 3 Hours EER
• Exploring Dreamweaver’s
• Image Optimizer • Introducing • Editing HTML KK
Production Tools E
DreamweaverMX • Creating and Checking
trial version from • Understanding Web EE
• Getting Started Links A
xat.com Graphics NN
• Understanding • Generating JavaScript
• Controlling Text with CSS
Dreamweaver Site Rollovers M
• TopStyle trial version Structure • Creating Forms • Pulling Your Site Together DD WENDY 15
from Bradbury • Creating a Document • Creating Library Items • Creating a Finished Page PECK
W
Software • Building Templates • Placing and Creating the CC
Extras Author of Web Menus
SATURDAY RR
• Assessment software E with Beauty and Brains
Morning: 6 Sessions, 3 Hours Evening: 4 Sessions, 2 Hours
to help gauge your • Planning Site Navigation Afternoon: 4Sessions,2Hours AAA
• Defining a Dreamweaver
progress Site • Continuing to Build Site • Using Layers for Layout SS
Navigation • Creating Motion with V HOURS
• BSiutielding a Dreamweaver • Creating a Template for a DHTML HHE
New Site • Working with Frames
• Using Tables for Liquid
Design • Preparing Library Items for • Increasing Productivity CCR
• Enhancing Tables with the New Site 30 Sessions
OO ® Macromedia
Background Color and
That Will Have
Images M
UU Flash MX
• Adding Backgrounds, You Building
Meta Tags and Links RR plus more
X
System Requirements: • Transferring Files ISBN 0-7645-4930-8 SS on CD-ROM Web Sites in
PPoC wreurn nMiancgi nWtoinsdho rwusn n9i8n go rS ylastteerm; EE Only 15 Hours
*85555-BAHHCe For more information ,!7IA7G4-fejdae!:P;m;o;t;T
8.6 or later. See the CD Appendix ™
on Wiley, go to
for details and complete system
requirements. www.wiley.com/compbooks
$24.99 US
Category: $37.99 CAN
Web Development £18.99 UK incl. VAT

014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page i
Dreamweaver® MX
Weekend Crash Course™
Wendy Peck
Best-Selling Books • Digital Downloads • e-Books • Answer Networks • e-Newsletters • Branded Web Sites • e-Learning
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page ii
Dreamweaver®MX Weekend Crash Course
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
909 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
www.wiley.com
Copyright ©2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana. All rights reserved.
LOC: 2002106042
ISBN: 0-7645-4930-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1B/QT/QX/QS/IN
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections
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[phone], E-Mail: [email protected].
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY:WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST
EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE
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TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL
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ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL,
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be avail-
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Trademarks:Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo and Weekend Crash Course are trademarks or registered trademarks of
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Fireworks 4.0, Macromedia Flash MX and Dreamweaver MX Copyright ©1998-2000. Macromedia, Inc. 600 Townsend
Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. All Rights Reserved. Macromedia, Flash, Dreamweaver and Fireworks are trade-
marks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks
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tioned in this book.
is a trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc.
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page iii
About the Author
Wendy Peckjumped the fence from fashion design to professional graphic design in 1989.
She began teaching computer graphics at the college level and for corporate clients in 1992.
In 1997, after being on the Web for four years, she again changed her focus, turning her
attention to Web design. Today, she divides her time between writing software books,
including the popular Web Menus with Beauty and Brains(Hungry Minds, 2001) and articles
on graphic design for WebReference.com (www.productiongraphics.com). She also writes
for other publications, while reserving about half of her time for designing Web sites. Wendy
lives with her rapidly shrinking family (kids leaving behind the teen years and moving out
one by one) in Northwestern Ontario. She works from her home office, or increasingly, from
the road, because she is an obsessive traveler. The middle-western and south-central United
States is home to some of her favorite haunts.
The first edition of this book was dedicated to my kids.
Their influence on me has not changed.
This book is for Shawnda, Danille, and Brian.
My kids, my strength, my partners.
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page iv
Credits
Acquisitions Editor Graphics and Production Specialists
Carol Sheehan Sean Decker, Melanie DesJardins,
Laurie Petrone, Kristin McMullan,
Project Editor
Jackie Nicholas, Jeremy Unger
Sara Shlaer
Quality Control Technicians
Technical Editor
David Faust, Andy Hollandbeck, AngelPerez
Danilo Celic
Permissions Editor
Macintosh Technical Editor
Laura Moss
Marc Garner
Media Development Specialist
Copy Editor
Megan DeCraene
Maarten Reilingh
Proofreading and Indexing
Project Coordinator
TECHBOOKS Production Services
Maridee Ennis
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page v
Preface
Welcome to Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course. You can learn Dreamweaver in just
one weekend. It may seem impossible to master a program as rich and powerful as
Dreamweaver in such a short time, but you can. I have been using Dreamweaver for years
and have discovered that most of Dreamweaver’s power falls into several key areas. Once you
understand the big picture, the details fall right into place.
With that in mind, I have designed this book with two levels. In the first section of the
book, you create a simple Web site. This exercise allows you to learn the foundation tech-
niques in a simple context. Then, when you are comfortable with the essential methods for
creating reliable HTML code with Dreamweaver and have learned to avoid many of the pit-
falls of Web design, you get to move forth and design a complex Web site. You’ll find your-
self drawing on your new knowledge from the early sessions and adding many of
Dreamweaver’s advanced features as you build a major site.
This is not a book on HTML, JavaScript, or CGI, but I have not ignored the fact that Web
pages are built with HTML and other code. You learn how to work with the Design view,
which allows you to see the code Dreamweaver creates as you build your pages. At the same
time, you learn how to make sure that the code you produce will display on most browsers.
However software, or even code alone, does not build effective Web sites. You also learn to
organize a site plan, ensuring that your visitors can easily navigate your site, and how to
place external scripts. Finally, I provide field-tested methods for creating great pages in an
efficient manner. I earn my living using Dreamweaver, so I know time counts.
Dreamweaver MX includes features that were available only as part of Dreamweaver
UltraDev in previous versions. However, there is much to learn in basic page and site prepa-
ration, so there is no space in a weekend course to include the dynamic data capabilities
that are now part of Dreamweaver MX. But everything that you learn in this book will serve
you well when you decide to move to producing dynamically generated pages.
Many enterprising graphic artists and programmers have built careers and businesses cre-
ating Web sites using Dreamweaver. Many employers now list Dreamweaver knowledge as a
required skill. Some people use Dreamweaver to maintain their own business sites; others
use it to build Web sites as a rewarding hobby. Whatever your goal, you are just one week-
end away from mastering one of the most popular Web-site creation tools on the planet.
Find an undisturbed space, put a “do not disturb” note on your door, and get ready to
emerge Sunday evening with a valuable new skill.
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page vi
vi Preface
Who Should Read This Book
This book is for beginner to intermediate Dreamweaver users. It is also perfect for those who
understand the correct mouse moves to create a Web page in Dreamweaver, but do not feel
that they understand the “why” behind much of what they do. In this book, you are never
asked to blindly click—you always know why you are doing what you are doing. If you fall
into any of the following categories, this book will help you reach your goals.
(cid:2)
Beginnerswho want to learn Web design.
(cid:2)
Intermediate Web developerswho want to fully understand Dreamweaver and
enhance their site building skills.
(cid:2)
Individualswho are working in the field, but wish to (or must) add Dreamweaver
skills to their list of qualifications.
(cid:2)
Back-end developerswho wish to (or must) add more page design skills to their
list of qualifications.
(cid:2)
Print designerswho want to add Web design to their list of qualifications.
How to Use This Book
This book is a trip right through the center of the most important and well-used features in
Dreamweaver. It is designed to be a complete course, providing all the information you
require to boost your Dreamweaver skills to a very high level. You’ll get the most from this
book if you complete every exercise. Some techniques may be very familiar to you, but
there are so many tidbits of information, including the essential answer to why you would
use a particular method, that the time spent completing any exercise will not be wasted. If
you have experience with a technique, you can move very quickly through the steps. Each
lesson builds on the exercises completed in the previous chapters, so skipping exercises may
leave you without the prepared pages necessary to complete a later exercise.
Probably the most important reason for completing each exercise is for later reference.
The topics in the book are clearly marked and will be easy to locate a few months from now.
Reviewing a technique in the book later will be much more effective when you can also
open the document, study the code, and compare the exercise you did then to the project
you are currently completing.
Overview
The concept of this book is simple. You design a simple Web site with four pages to start the
process. All graphics are provided on the accompanying CD-ROM, so you can work quickly
through building the pages. In the second part of the book, you build a Web site using liq-
uid table design, templates, Library items, and three different types of menus. The site is
enhanced with a Flash movie. In other words, by Sunday evening, you will have created a
site containing features that are found in the largest sites on the Web.
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page vii
Preface vii
Friday Evening
In the first four sessions, I introduce the Dreamweaver interface, and how Dreamweaver sites
work. You create a document that includes text and graphics by the end of this part.
Saturday Morning
During these sessions, you work through the basics of page layout, tables, and moving your
site to the Web. By the end of this part, you’ll have pages on the Web.
Saturday Afternoon
In this part you start to add interaction to your site. Links, image rollovers, and placing
scripts are all part of these sessions. You also do some work with Dreamweaver’s templates
and Library items to start automating your work.
Saturday Evening
You definitely move past the beginner level as you start your second site at the beginning
of this part. Here, you plan the site, create the templates and discover the Library items you
will use, and move on to prepare those templates and Library items for compiling the site
on Sunday.
Sunday Morning
This part moves you right into the topics that separate the true Web developers from the
“wannabes.” You’ll be creating complex menus and JavaScript rollovers, controlling text
with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and using automated site maintenance tools by the end
of these sessions.
Sunday Afternoon
Don’t think you’ll be winding down slowly at the end of the book, because you certainly do
not want to miss the fun features included in these sessions. Learn to work with layers and
move objects around your pages with Dreamweaver’s timelines. Create a page with frames.
And see how you can apply your new knowledge in an efficient way as you focus on produc-
tivity at end the book.
Appendixes
These sections include the answers to your Part Review questions, a listing of what is on the
CD-ROM, and information on using Dreamweaver with other software programs.
014930-8 FM.F 6/14/02 10:41 AM Page viii
viii Preface
Layout and Features
The time symbols in the margin show you where you are in your lesson. You may wish to
allow a few extra minutes for each session, rather than rushing past something you do not
understand. I have also included “extra assignments” if you need or want more practice.
Although I have carefully planned the time so that the work can be completed as promised,
you should work at a pace that is best for you.
This is a cross-platform book. Instructions for both Windows and Mac users appear in the
text. For clarity in the instructions, I have used the standard PC command of OK as the
standard acceptance command. Mac users please translate any OK command to Open for OS9
and Choose for OSX.
Also scattered throughout the sessions are hints, tips, and relevant information about
addendum topics and concerns. You’ll find these items illustrated with the margin symbols
shown below.
This symbol means that the accompanying information is important for
broadening your awareness of Dreamweaver features, procedures, or perhaps
Note Web development in general.
This symbol adds information to the material you are studying, provides an
alternate method, or a time-saving suggestion.
Tip
This symbol is your warning of common errors that you might make while
working with a technique.
Never
This symbol indicates where you can find more information on the current
subject elsewhere in the book.
Cross-Ref
You will require many files to complete the exercises in this book. This sym-
bol advises you to copy certain files from the CD-ROM to your computer.
CD-ROM Occasionally, this symbol refers you to more information on a subject con-
tained in the Resources directory on the CD-ROM.
The symbol ➪ indicates a menu path. For instance, if you see File ➪ Save, it means
select the File menu, and then select Save.
Ready, Set . . .
One little weekend—such a small amount of time to invest for so much knowledge. Goget it!