Special Edition Using Macromedia Dreamweaver Mx

by Holzschlag, Molly E.

• ISBN13: 9780789727077
• ISBN10: 0789727072
• Format: Paperback w/CD
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Que

Summary

This book is primarily intended to assist growing professionals in gaining a fantastic working knowledge of Dreamweaver and the issues in design and markup that are affecting the changing way in which they work. This book addresses issues in Web design and development from an extremely contemporary standpoint. While the information contained within is suitable for beginners, the real emphasis is to assist the intermediate designer interested in learning how to work with Dreamweaver to achieve best practices within the design and development industry. The book provides plenty of tips and real-world advice from people working in the trenches, and lays a solid groundwork so that readers have a firm grasp of the basics before moving to more advanced functionality.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

I. DESIGNING SITES WITH DREAMWEAVER.

1. Defining Your Site.

Before You Start. Establishing a Web Site. Working with Documents. Using Design Notes for a Page. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Problem URLs and Modifying Dreamweaver Files for Standards Compliance.

2. Setting Page Properties with HTML.

Adding Page Properties. Exploring the Properties Window. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Properties and Attributes; Margins and Text.

3. Formatting Text with HTML.

Text and the Web. Adding Text. Working with Fonts. Setting Paragraph Formats. Paragraph Alignment. Creating Lists. Inserting Special Characters. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: The Essence of Structure.

4. Adding Images.

Images on the Web. Creating the Image. Adding the Image. Formatting the Image. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Beyond the alt Attribute: Creating Accessible Images.

5. Adding Links.

All About Links. Placing a Link. Formatting Links. Anchoring Links. Email Links. Creating Imagemaps. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Adding Accessibility Features to Links.

6. Designing Forms.

Form Components. Adding a Form. Adding Form Elements. Forms and the Web Server. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Accessible Forms.

7. Working with Tables and Frames.

About Tables and Frames. Adding a Table. Building a Frameset. Saving Framesets and Frame Pages. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Tables and Frames from a Standards Perspective.

8. Adding Some Flash.

Using Dreamweaver MX's Flash Features. About Vector Graphics. File Types and Object Properties. Inserting Flash Text. Adding Flash Buttons. Previewing, Editing, and Resizing Flash Buttons and Text. Troubleshooting Peer to Peer: Accessible Text and Navigation Alternatives.

9. Publishing Your Site.

Testing on Your Machine. Uploading Pages with the Site Panel. Testing Your Site Online. Going Live. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Standards and Search.

II. WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY IN DREAMWEAVER.

10. The Workspace: Windows, Toolbars, and Panels.

The Dreamweaver MX Interface, In-Depth. Workspace Layouts. Exploring the Document Window. Working with the Insert Bar. Using the Property Inspector. Working with Panels. Code Inspector. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Dreamweaver and Personal Interface Style.

11. Managing Assets.

Keeping Track of Site Components. Working with the Assets Panel. Creating a Favorites List and Favorites Folder. Asset Types. Adding an Asset to a Web Page. Maintaining the Assets Panel. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Assets and Best Practices.

12. Working with Templates.

Working with Templates. Creating a Template. Using Templates. Exporting a Template Site. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Adding Standards-Based Templates.

13. Building a Library.

Creating Library Items. Using Library Items. Copying to Another Site. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Library Items and Valid Documents.

III. WRITING AND EDITING HTML, XHTML, AND CSS.

14. Working with HTML and XHTML.

Markup Trends. Origin of the Species: SGML, HTML, XML, XHTML. Transitioning from HTML to XHTML. Features of XHTML. Syntax. Editing Markup Using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Macromedia and the Web Standards Project.

15. Designing with Style.

The Evolution of Style. What Are Styles? HTML Styles. Cascading Style Sheets. Inside CSS Markup. Choosing a Style Sheet Editor. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: CSS Resources.

16. Using Cascading Style Sheets in Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver MX and CSS. The CSS Styles Panel. Managing Style Sheets. Creating a New Style Definition. Defining Styles. Editing Style Sheets. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Properties and Attributes.

IV. PROFESSIONAL PAGE DESIGN.

17. Design Essentials, Site Architecture, and Usability.

Web Design Essentials. Document Management and File Structure. Saving Files. Page Layout Techniques and Tools. Site Architecture Overview. User Interface Design Essentials. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Web Usability Trends.

18. Designing with Table-Based Layouts.

Table Elements. Creating Advanced Tables. Using Layout View. Advanced Table Techniques. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Dreamweaver Features for Accessible Tables.

19. Working with Frame-Based Layouts.

About Frames. Building Framed Pages in Dreamweaver MX. Modifying Frameset and Frame Elements. Targeting Windows. Working with Borderless Frames. Working with Inline Frames. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Building Accessible Frames.

20. Advanced Layout with CSS Layers.

Layout with Style. Layer Preferences. The Layer “Box” . Using the Layers Panel. Setting the Layer's Attributes. Converting Layers. Designing with Layers. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: CSS Layout Resources.

21. Designing with Alternative Devices.

Dreamweaver MX: Beyond Web Design. Types of Alternative Devices. Alternative Device Languages. Alternative Device Design. Creating a WML Page in Dreamweaver MX. Designing for MSN TV (WebTV). Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: A Closer Look at XHTML Basic.

V. DESIGNING FOR INTERACTIVITY.

22. Working with JavaScript and Behaviors.

Scripting Concepts. Adding JavaScript to a Web Page. Using JavaScript Snippets. Using Behaviors. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Scripting and Specifications.

23. Rollovers and Navigation Bars.

Effective Navigation. Creating a Rollover. Designing Remote Rollovers. Creating Navigation Bars. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Advanced CSS Rollover Techniques.

24. Draw Layers and Animation.

About Draw Layers. Creating Draw Layers. Adding Behaviors to a Draw Layer. Animating Layers with the Timeline. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Netscape Layers Versus Dreamweaver Draw Layers.

VI. ADDING MULTIMEDIA.

25. Working with Plug-ins and Java Applets.

Plug-ins. ActiveX Controls. Java Applets. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Accessibility for Plug-ins and Java Applets.

26. Inserting Audio and Video.

Audio and Video for the Web. Using Dreamweaver to Add Sound Files to a Page. Inserting Video. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Making Pages Containing Audio and Video Valid and Accessible.

27. Working with Flash and Shockwave.

Understanding Flash and Shockwave. Designing Animations. Adding the Flash Movie to a Web Page. Important Features in Shockwave. Adding Shockwave to a Page. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Flash Accessibility.

VII. MANAGING YOUR SITE.

28. Validation, Cross-Browser Compatibility, and Accessibility Testing.

Moving Toward a Professional Standard. Validating Documents. Validating CSS Documents. Cross-Browser Compatibility. Validating for Accessibility. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Using Macromedia Extensions and Products for Accessibility Testing.

29. Working with Others.

Setting Up a Remote Site. What Is Version Control? Checking Files In and Out. Synchronizing Sites. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Building the Web of Trust.

30. Learning About Your Site.

Putting the Site Report to Work. Maintaining Link Integrity. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Tracking Usage Statistics.

VIII. EXPANDING DREAMWEAVER AND USING THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE.

31. Downloading and Installing Extensions, Behaviors, and Plug-ins.

Extending Macromedia Dreamweaver. About Macromedia Exchange. Managing Extensions. Adding an Extension. Downloading a Behavior. Installing Third-Party Plug-ins. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Macromedia Extensions for Markup Compliance.

32. Working with Web Graphics.

Macromedia and Web Graphics. Important Graphic File Formats. Designing Images with Fireworks. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Web Graphic Design Best Practices.

33. Content Management Using Macromedia Contribute.

About Macromedia Contribute. About the Contribute Interface. Creating a New Page Using Contribute. Importing Word and Excel Documents into a Page. Editing Pages in Contribute. Working with Text. Creating Lists. Working with Images. Creating a Table. Working with Links. Working with Frames. Publishing Your Drafts. Troubleshooting. Peer to Peer: Markup and Contribute.

IX. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A: Setting Preferences.

Customizing Dreamweaver MX. Defining the Workspace. Setting Up General Preferences. Accessibility Options. Setting Coding Preferences. CSS Style Preferences. Configuring External Editors. Customizing Fonts and Encoding. Highlighting. Invisible Elements. Setting Layers Preferences. Layout View. New Document Preferences. Specifying Panel Preferences. Configuring Browsers for Preview. Quick Tag Preferences. Setting Site Panel Preferences. Setting Status Bar Options. Configuring Validator Preferences.

Appendix B: What's on the CD-ROM?

Demo Software from Macromedia. Helpful Code from the Authors. Useful Utilities and Demos.

Index