Using Macromedia Dreamweaver 4

Creating a new file from scratch

To create a new file, choose New from the File menu. A blank document window will be brought up and you can insert text, etc. as you would normally.

Editing Existing Files in Dreamweaver

To edit an HTML file that already exists, open it in Dreamweaver:

1. From the File menu, choose Open.
2. Use the open window functions to select the file you want to open.
3. Click the Open button.

The file will be opened in a document window.

You can also open an existing file that is already in your Site folder by double-clicking on it in the Site window.

If you want to work with a file which is currently in a word-processing, spreadsheet or other format, first open it in the program in which it was created, and then use the program's Save As feature to save a copy of the file in HTML format (some programs call this saving as a Web Page). Once you have opened it in Dreamweaver as explained above, you will probably want to use the Clean Up HTML or Clean Up Word HTML items in the Commands menu to tidy up the file a little.

Saving files in Dreamweaver

When you are ready to save your work, choose Save from the File menu.

If this is the first time you are saving a new file, it will bring up the Save As dialog box. Enter the filename you want the file to have and click OK.

Be aware that if you don't type the file extension: filename.html or filename.htm, Dreamweaver will put the .htm extension on for you (filename.html and filename.htm are different files on the Lehigh server, so be sure you choose the right extension).

Filename and foldernames should NOT have spaces, ~, !, $, *, ?, \ , or / in them, because your webspace is in UNIX, and UNIX does not like spaces or any of those other characters in file names-- so your files may not be accessible or even editable. Instead, use underscores _ and dashes - in place of spaces. Also, in UNIX, capitalization matters in filenames and foldernames: MyPage.html, MYPAGE.HTML, mypage.html, and Mypage.html are all different files to UNIX.

If you have just saved an update to the existing file, you'll notice that there is normally an asterisk after the file name in the top bar of the document window. This asterisk disappears when the file has been saved and reappears when you begin making changes.

Jennifer Heise, Last updated March 29, 2001