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Test your Dreamweaver site

  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 the site testing guidelines and use reports to test your Dreamweaver site before you upload your site.

Site testing guidelines

Before uploading your site to a server and declaring it ready for viewing, it’s a good idea to test it locally. (In fact, it’s a good idea to test and troubleshoot your site frequently throughout its construction—you can catch problems early and avoid repeating them.)

You should make sure that your pages look and work as expected in the browsers you’re targeting, that there are no broken links, and that the pages don’t take too long to download. You can also test and troubleshoot your entire site by running a site report.

The following guidelines will help you create a good experience for visitors to your site:

Make sure your pages function in the browsers you’re targeting.

Your pages should be legible and functional in browsers that do not support styles, layers, plug‑ins, or JavaScript. For pages that fail badly in older browsers, consider using the Check Browser behavior to automatically redirect visitors to another page.

Preview your pages in different browsers and platforms.

This gives you an opportunity to see differences in layout, color, font sizes, and default browser window size that cannot be predicted in a target browser check.

Check your site for broken links and fix them.

Other sites undergo redesign and reorganization too, and the page you’re linking to may have been moved or deleted. You can run a link check report to test your links.

Monitor the file size of your pages and the time they take to download.

Keep in mind that if a page consists of one large table, in some browsers, visitors will see nothing until the entire table finishes loading. Consider breaking up large tables; if this is not possible, consider putting a small amount of content—such as a welcome message or an advertising banner—outside the table at the top of the page so users can view this material while the table downloads.

Run a few site reports to test and troubleshoot the entire site.

You can check your entire site for problems, such as untitled documents, empty tags, and redundant nested tags.

Validate your code to locate tag or syntax errors.

Update and maintain the site after its published.

Publishing your site—that is, making it live—can be accomplished in several ways and is an ongoing process. An important part of the process is defining and implementing a version-control system, either with the tools Dreamweaver includes or through an external version-control application.

Use the discussion forums.

The Dreamweaver discussion forums can be found on the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/dreamweaver_newsgroup.

The forums are a great resource for getting information on different browsers, platforms, and so on. You can also discuss technical issues and share helpful hints with other Dreamweaver users.

For a tutorial on troubleshooting publishing problems, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0164.

Use reports to test your site

You can run site reports on workflow or HTML attributes. You can also use the Reports command to check links in your site.

Workflow reports can improve collaboration among members of a web team. You can run workflow reports that display who has checked out a file, which files have Design Notes associated with them, and which files have been modified recently. You can further refine Design Note reports by specifying name/value parameters.

Note:

You must have a remote site connection defined to run the workflow reports.

HTML reports enable you to compile and generate reports for several HTML attributes. You can check combinable nested font tags, missing Alt text, redundant nested tags, removable empty tags, and untitled documents.

After you run a report, you can save it as an XML file, then import it into a template instance or a database or spreadsheet and print it, or display it on a website.

Note:

You can also add different report types to Dreamweaver through the Adobe Dreamweaver Exchange website.

Run reports to test a site

  1. Select Site > Reports.
  2. Select what to report on from the Report On pop‑up menu and set any of the report types to run (workflow or HTML).

    You cannot run a Selected Files In Site report unless you have already selected files in the Files panel.

  3. If you selected a workflow report, click Report Settings. Otherwise, skip this step.
    Note:

    If you selected more than one workflow report, you need to click the Report Settings button for each report. Select a report, click Report Settings, and enter settings; then, repeat the process for any other workflow reports.

    Checked Out By

    Creates a report listing all documents checked out by a specific team member. Enter the name of a team member, and then click OK to return to the Reports dialog box.

    Design Notes

    Creates a report listing all Design Notes for selected documents or for the site. Enter one or more name and value pairs, then select comparison values from the corresponding pop‑up menus. Click OK to return to the Reports dialog box.

    Recently Modified

    Creates a report listing files that have changed during a specified time frame. Enter date ranges and location for the files you want to view.

  4. If you selected an HTML report, select from the following reports:

    Combinable Nested Font Tags

    Creates a report that lists all nested font tags that can be combined to clean up the code.

    For example, <font color="#FF0000"><font size="4">STOP!</font></font> is reported.

    Missing Alt Text

    Creates a report listing all the img tags that don’t have alternate text.

    Alternate text appears in place of images for text-only browsers or for browsers that have been set to download images manually. Screen readers read alternate text, and some browsers display alternate text when the user mouses over the image.

    Redundant Nested Tags

    Creates a report detailing nested tags that should be cleaned up.

    For example, <i> The rain <i> in</i> Spain stays mainly in the plain</i> is reported.

    Removable Empty Tags

    Creates a report detailing all empty tags that can be removed to clean up the HTML code.

    For example, you may have deleted an item or image in Code view, but left behind the tags that applied to that item.

    Untitled Documents

    Creates a report listing all the untitled documents found within the selected parameters. Dreamweaver reports all documents with default titles, multiple title tags, or missing title tags.

  5. Click Run to create the report.

    Depending on the type of report you run, you might be prompted to save your file, define your site, or select a folder (if you haven’t already done so).

    A list of results appears in the Site Reports panel (in the Results panel group).

Use and save a report

  1. Run a report (see the previous procedure).
  2. In the Site Reports panel, do any of the following to view the report:
    • Click the column heading you want to sort results by.

      You can sort by filename, line number, or description. You can also run several different reports and keep the different reports open.

    • Select any line in the report, then click the More Info button on the left side of the Site Reports panel for a description of the problem.

    • Double-click any line in the report to view the corresponding code in the Document window.

    Note:

    If you are in Design view, Dreamweaver changes the display to split view to show the reported problem in code.

  3. Click Save Report to save the report.

    When you save a report, you can import it into an existing template file. You can then import the file into a database or spreadsheet and print it, or use the file to display the report on a website.

    Note:

    After running HTML reports, use the Clean Up HTML command to correct any HTML errors the reports listed.

 Adobe

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