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Templates are a key feature of Adobe Dreamweaver, enabling you to control and update the appearance of an entire site. They are one of the features covered in detail on our Dreamweaver training courses. This article looks at how to set up, apply and modify templates. Templates facilitate site management by allowing you to modify and update several pages at once. A template is a web document (HTML, ASP, ASP.NET, etc. ) which contains a combination of locked elements and editable regions. When creating a new document, if you opt to base it on a template, the page will inherit all of the elements which the template contains. You individualise the page by modifying the content of the editable areas. If you later modify the template, all of the pages which are based on it can be automatically updated.

Templates can be created from scratch or you can take an existing document and convert it into a template. To create a template from scratch

1. Choose New from the File menu.

2. Click on New Template in the first column of the New Document window.

3. In the second column, specify the Template Type ((HTML, ASP, ASP.NET, etc. ).

4. In the third column, optionally choose one of Dreamweaver’s preset CSS layouts or click None to start with a blank page.

5. If you choose one of the CSS layout, in the forth column, you will need to specify whether the necessary code is placed in the head of the document, in a new CSS file or an existing one.

6. Finally, click Create to generate your new template.

As soon as you start using templates, Dreamweaver creates a special Templates folder which it stores in the root folder of the site. All templates are automatically stored in this folder. You can also take a regular HTML document and convert it into a template.

1. Open the document which you wish to convert into a template.

2. Choose Save As Template from the File menu.

3. Enter a name for the new template and click Save.

By default, all of the elements that you place on a template will be locked. They will appear on each page based on the template but will not be editable. To create the locked regions of a template

1. In the templates folder, double-click the name of the template you wish to edit.

2. Create all of the elements which you wish to appear on every page.

3. All of these elements will remain locked and unchangeable on all pages based on the template.

4. If you save the changes you have made to the template at this point, Dreamweaver will remind you that you have not yet created any editable regions. Click OK.

If you would like to learn more about Web development training courses, visit Training Company . Com, an independent computer training website offering Dreamweaver Classes at their central London training centre.

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The Remote Info tab of the Dreamweaver Site Setup dialog box allows you to supply details of the remote web server. This will be used by Dreamweaver to connect to the server hosting the site so that information can be uploaded and downloaded. For internet sites, Dreamweaver uses file transfer protocol (FTP) to connect to the server, as shown in the QuickTime example. For intranets and sites being developed on a local server, the Local/Network option is used.

The FTP host is simply the host name or IP address of the FTP server associated with your domain. The name usually takes the form ftp.yoursite.com or www.yoursite.com. If in doubt, consult your internet service provider (ISP).

Host Directory refers to the name of the directory on the web server in which internet files need to be uploaded if they are to be visible on the web. Check with you ISP to see whether files should be uploaded to the root directory or into a sub-directory.

The next section allows you to enter the login and password which have been allocated to allow you FTP access to the server hosting your site. Note that Dreamweaver activates the save password option. If you think this is a security risk then click the checkbox to deactivate this option. Again, this information will be available from your ISP.

Firewalls are widely used by companies to block access to their intranets and to control how their own workers access the Internet. If your company uses a firewall then you must enter the relevant information in Preferences. Once you have done so, the Use Firewall option will be automatically selected. If your company uses a firewall, check with your network administrator to see whether it uses passive FTP, a system whereby the FTP connection is initiated by the client rather than the server.

The Check-in/Out facility within Dreamweaver can be used when several team members are working in collaboration on the same site. When a team member is working on a particular file, Dreamweaver will place a check mark next to the file in the remote listing in site files view as well as the name and email of the person editing the file, so other users can email him or her. If you activate this option, you must enter your name and email in the appropriate boxes.

If you would like to learn more about Dreamweaver training courses, visit Macresource Computer Training, an independent computer training company offering Dreamweaver training courses in London and throughout the UK.

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Dreamweaver CS4 is a very widely used web development tool which allows users to work both visually and in code. It has the reputation of allowing newbie developers to become productive very quickly. However, like all software, there is a learning curve to negotiate. So, what is the best way of learning this must-have piece of software?

A textbook can supply you with all of the HTML codes that you might need for web design. It can list every possible command that you could execute in a program like Adobe Dreamweaver. It can even help you to get an understanding of the different parts of the program by definition. However, it will never teach you to use the program properly. What you need is a training program that offers a hands-on solution, allowing you to learn by example and through experience, rather than by merely reading and memorizing information, commands, and codes. Books are only useful if they are combined with adequate training and actual hands-on experience. In and of themselves, they are practically useless for learning how to use computer programs.

Adobe Dreamweaver training will allow you to see things firsthand. This will let your brain make a much better connection between the program’s commands and what they do than a list of definitions ever will. Interactive training adds that element of seeing and doing at the same time, which can make you a better web designer. Dreamweaver training video tutorials, for example, can show you a real person using the actual program you’re trying to learn, making the association between knowing and doing much easier than a textbook ever could. Also, you can look for courses that offer tutorials and one-on-one interaction, which can give you another level of understanding and assistance in learning the product.

Whether you plan to become a professional or are just learning for fun, the training software for Adobe Dreamweaver will prove to teach you much, much more than a book ever could. Even if you just want to know just the basics, you can learn them quickly, and get on to designing and building websites, and spend less time memorizing facts and lists of commands that might not be very useful to you until you make the connection. The human brain tends to like pictures and examples better than useless, memorized information, so give it what it wants, and you’ll learn that much faster.

Computers have given us a whole new world with which to work. Using training software to learn the proper operation of computer programs is not a new concept. People have been doing hands-on learning with computer software for a good few years now, and it makes the process much easier for everyone involved. If you want the best, most effective way of learning and enjoying the web design process, you need to get involved with the training software and forget about the books.

Posted under Software