Defining a Site, Transferring Files to the Web Server,
and Applying a Template  in Dreamweaver

·        First, map a drive to our site on the web server, using M as the designated drive letter:

M:\\www\courses\rschwart\hist255-s01\

·        To create a new site, go to the Site menu and open New Site.

o       To open an existing site, click on Open Site.

o       To edit an existing site, click on Edit Site.

 

This is the Site Definition Window. [NOTE: In Dreamweaver 3, the screens are slightly different. Instead of "Remote Info," for example, is the name "Web Server Info." Both work the same way.

 

 

·        Enter the required information in each of the windows:

o       Site Name: Les Mis  (for example)

o       Local Root Folder: M:\rschwart\hist255-s01\

o       HTTP Address: http:/www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/

 

·        Proceed to the next part of the site definition: highlight “Remote Info” and click to open its widow. [If you are defining a new site, Dreamweaver will now build a cache file of all of the existing pages to speed future processing.]

 

 

 

This is the window where we define how to send files to the server so that links will be correct, templates will be useable, and so forth.  Use one of two ways:

1)      FTP or

2)      Local/Network

 

Either method should work when you are using a machine that is connected to the College network. IF YOU ARE WORKING OFF CAMPUS, you must use the FTP method of access.

 

 

For FTP

 

·        Select FTP in the drop down box for Access.  This window will open: [Dreamweaver 3 screen is entitled "Web Server Info," as in the functions for choosing "Server Access."]

 

 

·        Next fill in the require information:

o       FTP Host:  www.mtholyoke.edu

o       Host Directory: /web/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/

o       Login: your username on MHC

o       Password: your password on MHC

 

Leave the other boxes unchecked.

 

·        Click OK and your site will be created.

 

 

For Local/Network access:

 

·        In the Access drop down box, select Local/Network. This window will open. [Dreamweaver 3 screen is entitled "Web Server Info," as in the functions for choosing "Server Access."]

 

 

·        Enter the required information:

o       Click on the folder icon next to the box labeled Remote Folder; then navigate to the drive that you have mapped to get access to your Dreamweaver files.  In this course, you should map to drive M:\rschwart\hist255-s01\

o       Alternatively, you can enter the drive and path manually.

o       Click OK to finish.

 

 

Transferring files to and from the web server: “Putting” and “Getting”

 ·        Open the Site Window in Dreamweaver and click on the button Connect to set up a link between your files and the files on the server.

A window will appear: note that left panel contains the files on the web server and the right panel contains the “local files.”  When you map a drive to work on your files, the local files are accessed via this mapped drive, i.e.,

 

M:\rschwart\hist255-s01\

 [Dreamweaver 4 screen: disregard the addresses in the image]

 

·        To transfer a file or files TO the web server, highlight the item(s) in the local panel on the right and click on the button designated to “Put” the item(s) on the server.

·        To transfer a file FROM the remote server to the “local” site, highlight the item(s) and click on the button designated to “Get” the item(s) on the server.

Remember that you need to transfer all files needed for a page: the html file as well as any other files that the html page references, such as image, sound, or video files.

Applying a Template to a Page

 

            Templates are great aids that reduce the amount of work required to make a well-designed site.  Take the course template that I’ve created as an example.  It is a container that includes a navigation bar at the left, a home image button at the upper left hand corner, a banner for titles, and a body to contain any page that I create and wish to have inserted in the template. Applying the template to a page makes life easy by including the navigation, home button, and banner automatically, thus relieving me from creating these item for each page—a horrible chore. 

 

            Here’s the course template which contains links without underlines (my preference).

 

 

Note: there are two kinds of areas. 1) Uneditable regions (navigation, home button) and 2) Editable regions (the banner and the body).  Only in the Editable regions can you make changes.

 

·        To apply a template to an existing page created in Dreamweaver:

o       Open the page.

o       Go to the modify menu and select Templates/Apply Template to Page.

 

 

 

 

o       Select the template desired from the Template window.

 

 

 

o       Select the location in the template where you wish to have your page: this should be the BODY.

 

 

 

o       Click OK and then Save your page.

o       Then transfer the new version of the page to the server.