Web Page Design & Intro to Web Page Development

Site functions

One of the great features of Dreamweaver is the ability to coordinate all of your Web site from one interface. This takes a bit of time to setup, but if you plan to keep your site updated, this time will be well spent. The Site functions allow you to save information necessary to upload and update your Web site. To begin the setup for your site, select Site-New Site from the Dreamweaver menu.

The Local Info category (selected from the left-hand menu) provides Dreamweaver the necessary information about where the files are located on the computer you are developing the site. The Site Name can be anything you would like. The Local Root Folder refers to the folder on your computer in which the site files are located. This folder should contain only files used for the site. The HTTP Address refers to the address at which your site will ultimately be placed.

You will also need to provide the program with information about the Web server that will store your files. Select Web Server Info from the category menu.

Server Access is generally FTP unless you have a Local Area Network (LAN) that provides you with access to the Web server. The FTP host, host directory, login and password will generally be given to you when you get your account.

That should be it. You can leave the other categories at their default settings. Press OK to continue (you can choose either to create or not create a cache file depending upon your needs). Select Done to view the Site window.

The left pane of the Site window lists the files found on your Web site. The right pane lists the files in your local folder. Click the Refresh button if you don't see files listed in the "Local Folder" area. Select Site-Synchronize from the menu when you are ready to upload your files (provided you are connected to the Internet). Choose carefully how you want your files synchronized. Under normal circumstances you will want your local files to replace the remote files.

Check your work by launching your favorite browser and surfing to your Web site. You may need to click Refresh or Reload to see the most current versions of your page.

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