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Set up a local version of your site

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  1. Dreamweaver User Guide
  2. Introduction
    1. Responsive web design basics
    2. What's new in Dreamweaver
    3. Web development using Dreamweaver - An Overview
    4. Dreamweaver / Common Questions
    5. Keyboard shortcuts
    6. Dreamweaver system requirements
    7. Feature summary
  3. Dreamweaver and Creative Cloud
    1. Synchronize Dreamweaver settings with Creative Cloud
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Dreamweaver
    3. Using Photoshop files in Dreamweaver
    4. Work with Adobe Animate and Dreamweaver
    5. Extract web-optimized SVG files from Libraries
  4. Dreamweaver workspaces and views
    1. The Dreamweaver workspace
    2. Optimize Dreamweaver workspace for visual development
    3. Search files based on filename or content | Mac OS
  5. Set up sites
    1. About Dreamweaver sites
    2. Set up a local version of your site
    3. Connect to a publishing server
    4. Set up a testing server
    5. Import and export Dreamweaver site settings
    6. Bring existing websites from a remote server to your local site root
    7. Accessibility features in Dreamweaver
    8. Advanced settings
    9. Set site preferences for transferring files
    10. Specify proxy server settings in Dreamweaver
    11. Synchronize Dreamweaver settings with Creative Cloud
    12. Using Git in Dreamweaver
  6. Manage files
    1. Create and open files
    2. Manage files and folders
    3. Getting and putting files to and from your server
    4. Check in and check out files
    5. Synchronize files
    6. Compare files for differences
    7. Cloak files and folders in your Dreamweaver site
    8. Enable Design Notes for Dreamweaver sites
    9. Preventing potential Gatekeeper exploit
  7. Layout and design
    1. Use visual aids for layout
    2. About using CSS to lay out your page
    3. Design responsive websites using Bootstrap
    4. Creating and using media queries in Dreamweaver
    5. Present content with tables
    6. Colors
    7. Responsive design using fluid grid layouts
    8. Extract in Dreamweaver
  8. CSS
    1. Understand Cascading Style Sheets
    2. Laying out pages using CSS Designer
    3. Using CSS preprocessors in Dreamweaver
    4. How to set CSS Style preferences in Dreamweaver
    5. Move CSS rules in Dreamweaver
    6. Convert inline CSS to a CSS rule in Dreamweaver
    7. Work with div tags
    8. Apply gradients to background
    9. Create and edit CSS3 transition effects in Dreamweaver
    10. Format code
  9. Page content and assets
    1. Set page properties
    2. Set CSS heading properties and CSS link properties
    3. Work with text
    4. Find and replace text, tags, and attributes
    5. DOM panel
    6. Edit in Live View
    7. Encoding documents in Dreamweaver
    8. Select and view elements in the Document window
    9. Set text properties in the Property inspector
    10. Spell check a web page
    11. Using horizontal rules in Dreamweaver
    12. Add and modify font combinations in Dreamweaver
    13. Work with assets
    14. Insert and update dates in Dreamweaver
    15. Create and manage favorite assets in Dreamweaver
    16. Insert and edit images in Dreamweaver
    17. Add media objects
    18. Adding videos in Dreamweaver
    19. Insert HTML5 video
    20. Insert SWF files
    21. Add audio effects
    22. Insert HTML5 audio in Dreamweaver
    23. Work with library items
    24. Using Arabic and Hebrew text in Dreamweaver
  10. Linking and navigation
    1. About linking and navigation
    2. Linking
    3. Image maps
    4. Troubleshoot links
  11. jQuery widgets and effects
    1. Use jQuery UI and mobile widgets in Dreamweaver
    2. Use jQuery effects in Dreamweaver
  12. Coding websites
    1. About coding in Dreamweaver
    2. Coding environment in Dreamweaver
    3. Set coding preferences
    4. Customize code coloring
    5. Write and edit code
    6. Code hinting and code completion
    7. Collapse and expand code
    8. Reuse code with snippets
    9. Lint code
    10. Optimize code
    11. Edit code in Design view
    12. Work with head content for pages
    13. Insert server-side includes in Dreamweaver
    14. Using tag libraries in Dreamweaver
    15. Importing custom tags into Dreamweaver
    16. Use JavaScript behaviors (general instructions)
    17. Apply built-in JavaScript behaviors
    18. About XML and XSLT
    19. Perform server-side XSL transformations in Dreamweaver
    20. Performing client-side XSL transformations in Dreamweaver
    21. Add character entities for XSLT in Dreamweaver
    22. Format code
  13. Cross-product workflows
    1. Installing and using extensions to Dreamweaver
    2. In-App updates in Dreamweaver
    3. Insert Microsoft Office documents in Dreamweaver (Windows only)
    4. Working with Fireworks and Dreamweaver
    5. Edit content in Dreamweaver sites using Contribute
    6. Dreamweaver-Business Catalyst integration
    7. Create personalized email campaigns
  14. Templates
    1. About Dreamweaver templates
    2. Recognizing templates and template-based documents
    3. Create a Dreamweaver template
    4. Create editable regions in templates
    5. Create repeating regions and tables in Dreamweaver
    6. Use optional regions in templates
    7. Define editable tag attributes in Dreamweaver
    8. How to create nested templates in Dreamweaver
    9. Edit, update, and delete templates
    10. Export and import xml content in Dreamweaver
    11. Apply or remove a template from an existing document
    12. Edit content in Dreamweaver templates
    13. Syntax rules for template tags in Dreamweaver
    14. Set highlighting preferences for template regions
    15. Benefits of using templates in Dreamweaver
  15. Mobile and multiscreen
    1. Create media queries
    2. Changing page orientation for mobile devices
    3. Create web apps for mobile devices using Dreamweaver
  16. Dynamic sites, pages and web forms
    1. Understand web applications
    2. Set up your computer for application development
    3. Troubleshoot database connections
    4. Removing connection scripts in Dreamweaver
    5. Design dynamic pages
    6. Dynamic content sources overview
    7. Define sources of dynamic content
    8. Add dynamic content to pages
    9. Changing dynamic content in Dreamweaver
    10. Display database records
    11. Provide and troubleshoot live data in Dreamweaver
    12. Add custom server behaviors in Dreamweaver
    13. Building forms using Dreamweaver
    14. Use forms to collect information from users
    15. Create and enable ColdFusion forms in Dreamweaver
    16. Create web forms
    17. Enhanced HTML5 support for form elements
    18. Develop a form using Dreamweaver
  17. Building applications visually
    1. Build master and detail pages in Dreamweaver
    2. Build search and results pages
    3. Build a record insert page
    4. Build an update record page in Dreamweaver
    5. Building record delete pages in Dreamweaver
    6. Use ASP commands to modify database in Dreamweaver
    7. Build a registration page
    8. Build a login page
    9. Build a page that only authorized users can access
    10. Securing folders in Coldfusion using Dreamweaver
    11. Using ColdFusion components in Dreamweaver
  18. Test, preview, and publish websites
    1. Preview pages
    2. Preview Dreamweaver web pages on multiple devices
    3. Test your Dreamweaver site
  19. Troubleshooting
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues

 

 

Learn how to set up a local version of your web site as a Dreamweaver site and use the Manage Sites dialog box to set up multiple sites and manage them.

Although you can work in Dreamweaver without creating a local site root folder, it is a good idea to define a Dreamweaver local site folder for each new website you create.

Creating a local site folder enables Dreamweaver to know where your site files are to create all the internal links correctly, and to update them when you move files to a different location within your site.

For more information on why it is beneficial to create local sites, see Benefits of a Dreamweaver site.

To set up a local version of your site, you must specify the local folder where you plan to store all of your site files.

The local folder can be on your local computer or on a network server. You can use the Site > New Site or Site > Manage Sites dialog boxes in Dreamweaver to set up multiple sites and manage them.

Before you start

Identify or create the folder on your computer where you want to store the local version of your site files. The folder can be anywhere on your computer. You then specify this folder as your local site in Dreamweaver.

For a video tutorial on setting up a new Dreamweaver site, Define a site in Dreamweaver.

Best practices for naming files and folders

Follow these general guidelines for naming files and folders:

  • File and folder names in websites should never contain spaces or any of the following characters: /\?%*:|"<>.
  • Although other special characters are permitted, it is better to confine yourself to alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores.
  • Most file and folder names end up as part of a web page's URL, so keep them short, but meaningful. Long URLs are difficult for users to remember and type into browsers on a mobile device.
  • Stick to lowercase letters for file and folder names to avoid file not found issues. Most  web servers are Linux –based, which are case-sensitive.

The Site Setup dialog

The Manage Sites dialog box is your gateway into various Dreamweaver site functions. From this dialog box, you can initiate the process for creating a new site, editing an existing site, duplicating a site, removing a site, or importing or exporting a site’s settings.

To set up and manage a site, use the Site > New Site, or Site > Manage Sites dialogs.

The Site setup dialog
The Site setup dialog

New Site

Click the New Site button to create a new Dreamweaver site. Then specify the name and location for your new site in the Site Setup dialog box.

Import Site

Click the Import Site button to import a site. For more information, see Import and export site settings.

The import site feature only imports site settings that have previously been exported from Dreamweaver. It does not import site files to create a new Dreamweaver site.

For existing sites, the following options are also available:

Delete

 Deletes the selected site and all of its setup information from your list of Dreamweaver sites; it does not delete the actual site files. (If you want to remove the site files from your computer, you need to do that manually.) To delete a site from Dreamweaver, select the site in the site list and then click the Delete button. You cannot undo this action.

Edit

 Enables you to edit information such as username, password, and server information for an existing Dreamweaver site. Select the existing site in the site list and click the Edit button to edit the existing site. (The Site Setup dialog box opens once you click the Edit button for a selected site.) For more information on editing existing site options, click the Help button in the various screens of the Site Setup dialog box.

Duplicate

 Creates a copy of an existing site. To duplicate a site, select the site in the site list and click the Duplicate button. The duplicated site appears in the site list with the word "copy" appended to the name of the site. To change the name of the duplicated site, leave the site selected and click the Edit button.

Export

 Enables you to export the selected site’s settings as an XML file (*.ste). For more information, see Import and export site settings.

Setting up a local version of your site

  1. In Dreamweaver, choose Site > New Site.

  2. In the Site Setup dialog box, make sure the Site category is selected.

  3. In the Site Name text box, enter a name for your site. This name appears in the Files panel and in the Manage Sites dialog box; it does not appear in the browser.

  4. In the Local Site Folder text box, specify the folder you identified earlier—the folder on your computer where you want to store the local version of your site files. Click the folder icon to the right of the text box to browse to the folder.

  5. If you want to use Git to manage your files for your site, select the Associate a Git Repository With This Site check box. 

    • If you are a first time Git user, and you want to associate the site that you are creating with Git, select Initialize As a Git Respository.
    • If you already have a Git login, and want to associate the site that you are creating with an existing repository, select Clone Existing Git Repository Using URL.

  6. Click Save to close the Site Setup dialog box. You can now begin working on your local site files in Dreamweaver.

This folder location is where you keep the working copies of web pages on your local computer.

Later, if you want to publish your pages and make them publicly available, you have to define a remote folder (or a publishing server)—a place on a remote computer, running a web server that will hold published copies of your local files.

For information on defining and connecting to a remote server (or a publishing server), see Connect to a publishing server.

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