Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Unleashed

by Zak Ruvalcaba

Overview

Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Unleashed

 

 

This book is the most comprehensive and independent resource for experienced web developers who want to plan, architect, develop, and deploy state-of-the-art websites, applications, and services.

 

Expert web developer and trainer Zak Ruvalcaba brings together real-world insights and advanced techniques for every facet of contemporary web development, from site management to data-driven applications and multimedia content to security. Ruvalcaba systematically illuminates the major features Adobe has brought to Dreamweaver CS4, including its

powerful Spry framework for Ajax development, its innovative CSS browser compatibility checking, and more.

 

You’ll learn how to smoothly integrate Dreamweaver CS4 with other key web design and development tools, ranging from Photoshop to Flash to databases. You’ll also discover how to use Dreamweaver CS4 to improve team collaboration, automate workflow, streamline content management, and reuse assets more efficiently.

 

Detailed information on how to…

• Get productive with Dreamweaver CS4 development fast, whether you’re new to Dreamweaver or upgrading from previous versions
• Create more effective, compatible CSS sites—and leverage Dreamweaver CS4’s powerful CSS templates
• Streamline and automate workflow across your development and content teams
• Incorporate animation, video, and audio, including Adobe Flash content
• Make the most of databases and SQL queries in your sites and applications
• Build dynamic pages and sites that integrate everything from search functionality to user authentication
• Implement high-performance web services with Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
• Use Adobe’s Spry framework, widgets, and effects to quickly build rich XML-based applications

 

Zak Ruvalcaba has been researching, designing, and developing for the web since 1995. He’s built websites and applications for such companies as Gateway, HP, Toshiba, IBM, Intuit, Peachtree, Dell, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and many others. He is currently an instructor with the San Diego Community College District, Palomar Community College, and Mt. San Jacinto Community College, teaching the use of various technologies and tools including ASP.NET, Dreamweaver, and Flash. He is the author of the 10 Minute Guide to Dreamweaver (Que), Build Your Own ASP.NET 3.5 Website Using C# and VB (SitePoint), and Beginning Expression Web (Wrox).

 

Register your book at informit.com/register for convenient access to updates and example source code from this book.

 

Category: Web Development/Dreamweaver

Covers: Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

User Level: Intermediate–Advanced 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780768686999
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/03/2008
Series:	Unleashed
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	864
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Zak Ruvalcaba has been researching, designing, and developing for the Web since 1995. He holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and a master of science degree in instructional technology from National University in San Diego. He served as creative director with EPIC Solutions until 1998. His expertise in developing web applications led him to a position as manager of web development at SkyDesk Inc., where he developed web applications for such companies as Gateway, HP, Toshiba, IBM, Intuit, Peachtree, Dell, and Microsoft. He has worked for such companies as ADCS, Inc., and Wireless Knowledge, and as a wireless software engineer developing .NET solutions for companies such as Mellon Financial, Goldman Saks, TV Guide, Healthbanks, The Gartner Group, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Commerce One.

 

His skill set includes technologies and languages from HTML/XHTML, XML/XSLT, JavaScript, CSS, ASP, ASP.NET, Visual Basic .NET, C#, ADO.NET, Web Services, SQL, T-SQL, Flash/ActionScript, and ColdFusion.

 

Aside from teaching and holding design lectures on various technologies and tools including Dreamweaver, Flash, and ASP.NET for the San Diego Community College District, Mt. San Jacinto Community College, and Palomar Community College, Zak Ruvalcaba is also the author of 10 Minute Guide to Dreamweaver 4 by Que Publishing, Build Your Own ASP.NET 3.5 Website Using C# and VB by SitePoint Press, and Beginning Expression Web by Wrox Press.

 

Zak Ruvalcaba is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer for .NET (MCAD) and a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer for .NET (MCSD).

Table of Contents

Introduction   1

Part I   Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS4   5

1   The Dreamweaver CS4 Interface   7

New Dreamweaver CS4 Features   8

The Welcome Screen   10

The Document Window   11

The Tabbed File Chooser and Related Files Bar   12

The Document Toolbar   14

The Standard Toolbar   25

The Style Rendering Toolbar   26

The Status Bar   27

Context Menus   30

The Insert Panel   32

Common Objects   33

Layout Objects   35

Form Objects   36

Data Objects   37

Spry Objects   37

Text Objects   38

Favorites   39

The Property Inspector   40

Panels   42

Interacting with Panels   42

The CSS Styles Panel   45

The AP Elements Panel   45

The Application Tab Group   45

The Files Panel   45

The Assets Panel   46

The Snippets Panel   46

The Tag Inspector Panel   46

The Behaviors Panel   47

The History Panel   47

The Frames Panel   47

The Code Inspector   47

The Results Tab Group   47

Workspace Layouts   48

The Menu Bar   49

2   Building a Web Page   51

Creating a New Document   52

Working with a New Document in Design View   56

Modifying the Page Properties   56

Working with Text   61

Inserting the Time and Date   79

Inserting a Horizontal Rule   80

Working with Images   82

Inserting Images into a Dreamweaver Document   83

Formatting Images Within a Document   85

Image Placeholders   88

Rollover Images   90

Working with Hyperlinks   91

Linking Text   93

Email Links   95

Linking Images   96

Image Maps   97

Named Anchors   99

Creating a Navigation Bar   102

3   Dreamweaver Site Management   105

The Importance of Defining Sites in Dreamweaver   106

Defining a New Site in Dreamweaver   108

The Local Info Category   117

The Remote Info Category   118

The Testing Server Category   120

The Version Control Category   121

The Cloaking Category   122

The Design Notes Category   123

The File View Columns Category   124

The Contribute Category   125

The Templates Category   126

The Spry Category   127

Managing a Website in Dreamweaver   127

Uploading Your Files to a Remote Server   131

Checking Links Sitewide   138

Changing Links Sitewide   140

Creating Site Reports   141

Using Advanced Site Management Options   144

Part II   Static Web Page Development   145

4   Web Page Structuring Using Tables   147

Inserting and Working with Tables   148

Selecting Table Elements   151

Modifying Table Properties Using the Property Inspector   154

The Table ID   156

Adding and Removing Rows and Columns   156

Changing Table Sizes   157

Modifying Cell Padding and Cell Spacing   159

Table Alignment   161

Working with Table Borders   162

Converting Table Widths to a Percentage or Pixels   162

Modifying Cell Properties Using the Property Inspector   163

Changing Cell Widths and Heights   165

Splitting and Merging Cells   167

Setting Horizontal and Vertical Alignments   169

Setting the Background Color and Cell Wrapping   171

Converting a Cell to a Header   174

Nesting Tables   175

Working with Tables in Expanded Tables Mode   176

Importing Tabular Data   177

Sorting Tables   179

Tracing Images   182

5   Page Formatting Using Cascading Style Sheets   185

An Introduction to CSS   186

CSS Versus HTML   190

Browser Support for CSS   194

Designing CSS Using Dreamweaver and the CSS Styles Panel   195

Creating a Type Selector Within an External Style Sheet   201

Creating a Class Selector   213

Working with Descendant Selectors   217

Working with Pseudo-Classes   221

Attaching a Style Sheet   223

Using the Code Navigator   225

Validating Your CSS   227

Using Design-Time Style Sheets   228

Using CSS Advisor   230

6   Page Structuring Using Cascading Style Sheets   233

Introduction to AP Elements   234

Working with AP Elements   236

Inserting an AP Element   237

Drawing an AP Element   238

Inserting Content into AP Elements   238

Modifying AP Element Properties with the Property Inspector   240

Modifying AP Element Properties with the AP Elements Panel   242

Deleting an AP Element   246

Designing Tableless Web Pages Using

Tags   247

Designing the Page Structure Using ID Selectors   247

Inserting

Tags   251

Converting Div Tags to Tables for Backward-Compatibility   255

Built-In CSS Page Layouts   257

7   HTML Forms   261

An Introduction to HTML Forms   261

Working with Forms and Form Objects   264

Text Fields, Password Fields, and Textarea   267

Check Boxes and Checkbox Groups   269

Radio Buttons and Radio Groups   272

Lists and Menus   274

Buttons   277

Test the Form   279

Image Field   280

File Field   282

Hidden Field   282

Jump Menu   283

Fieldsets   285

Labels   286

8   Using Behaviors   289

An Introduction to Behaviors   290

Using the Behaviors Panel   292

Dreamweaver Behaviors   295

Call JavaScript   297

Change Property   298

Check Plugin   300

Drag AP Element   301

Effects Behaviors   302

Go to URL   311

Jump Menu and Jump Menu Go   313

Open Browser Window   315

Preload Images   317

Set Nav Bar Image   317

Set Text   320

Show-Hide Elements   320

Swap Image and Swap Image Restore   321

Validate Form   322

Deprecated Behaviors   325

Part III   Team Collaboration and Task Automation   329

9   Building Dreamweaver Websites Within Teams   331

Using File Check In and Check Out   332

Enabling Check In and Check Out   334

Checking Files In and Out   337

Maintaining Design Notes   339

Enabling Design Notes   339

Setting the Status of Files with Design Notes   340

Creating Customized Design Notes   342

Viewing Design Notes   343

File View Column Sharing   345

Generating Workflow Site Reports   347

Checked Out By Reports   347

Design Notes Reports   348

Recently Modified Reports   350

Implementing Source Control with Visual SourceSafe   351

Using WebDAV   356

Using Subversion Control   359

10   Managing Website Content Using Contribute   365

Content Management Using Contribute   366

Installing Contribute   366

Administrating Contribute-Enabled Sites in Dreamweaver   368

Defining Users and Roles   372

Administration   378

Publishing Server   379

Web Server   380

Rollbacks   381

New Pages   382

Compatibility   383

Enable PDF Embedding   384

Sending Connection Keys to Contribute Users   384

Using Contribute to Make Basic Edits   387

Rolling Back Pages in Dreamweaver   390

11   Enhancing Workflow   393

Working with the Assets Panel   393

How the Assets Panel Works   396

Refreshing the Assets Panel   397

Inserting Assets into Your Web Pages   399

Customizing the Assets Panel   399

Managing Your Assets   400

Editing Assets   402

Adding Assets to Your Favorites   403

Using Find and Replace   407

Using the History Panel   411

Working with Commands   412

Recording New Commands   413

Apply Source Formatting   415

Clean Up (X)HTML and Clean Up Word HTML   415

12   Working with Templates and Library Items   419

Understanding Dreamweaver Templates   420

Creating a New Template   422

Defining Editable Regions   425

Deriving a New Page from a Template   427

Creating an Editable Tag Attribute   430

Working with Repeating Regions   433

Adding Content to Repeating Regions   435

Defining Optional Regions   436

Combining Editable and Optional Regions   438

Setting Optional Region Properties   439

Nested Templates   440

Templates and the Assets Panel   441

Managing Templates Using the Assets Panel   442

Applying Templates to Existing Pages   444

Removing Template Markup   446

Changing the Default Document   447

Working with Library Items   447

Understanding Library Items   448

Using the Assets Panel to Manage Library Items   450

Creating Library Items   451

Inserting Library Items into Web Pages   454

Editing Library Items and Updating the Site   455

Renaming Library Items   456

Moving Library Items to a New Site   457

Deleting Library Items   457

Working with Server-Side Includes   458

Part IV   Incorporating Multimedia and Animation   463

13   Incorporating Video and Audio   465

Video on the Web   466

Download, Progressive Download, and Streaming   466

Media Players   468

RealMedia   468

QuickTime   469

Windows Media   470

Flash Video   470

Working with Video Clips   471

Linking Video   472

Embedding Video   472

Passing Parameters into Video Files   475

Encoding Flash Video   479

Embedding Flash Video   482

Audio on the Web   484

Audio File Formats   484

Linking to Audio Files   486

Embedding Audio Files   486

Playing Background Music   488

14   Integrating with Fireworks, Photoshop, and Flash   491

Specifying External Editors   492

Editing Images in Dreamweaver with Fireworks or Photoshop   494

Browsing Images in Adobe Bridge   498

Replacing Image Placeholders   500

Optimizing Images   501

The Options Tab   502

The File Tab   504

Additional Options in the Image Preview Dialog Box   505

Creating Rollover Buttons in Fireworks   508

Inserting Fireworks HTML   509

Creating a Web Photo Album   511

Integrating with Flash   513

Inserting Flash Movies into Dreamweaver Documents   514

Additional Flash Parameters   517

Controlling Flash Movies with Dreamweaver Behaviors   518

Round-Trip Flash Editing   520

Part V   Dynamic Web Page Development   523

15   Introduction to Web Applications   525

Client-Side Versus Server-Side Web Development   526

Web Applications   528

Client-Side Technologies   530

Server-Side Technologies   531

ASP   532

ColdFusion   533

PHP   533

Database Options   534

Access   535

SQL Server   535

MySQL   536

Structured Query Language   537

Working with Data Source Names   538

The Dynamic Vecta Corp Intranet Application   538

16   Working with Server-Side Technologies   543

Picking a Web Server   544

Working with Internet Information Services (IIS)   546

Installing IIS   547

Configuring IIS   548

Working with XAMPP   550

Installing XAMPP   550

Configuring XAMPP   550

Working with MAMP   552

Installing MAMP   553

Configuring MAMP   554

Working with ASP   556

Creating a Simple ASP Page   557

Configuring Vecta Corp to Run Under ASP   558

Using ASP in Dreamweaver   560

Working with ColdFusion   562

Installing ColdFusion   563

The ColdFusion Administrator   565

Creating a Simple ColdFusion Page   566

Configuring Vecta Corp to Run Under ColdFusion   568

Using ColdFusion in Dreamweaver   569

Working with PHP   570

Installing PHP   571

Creating a Simple PHP Page   572

Configuring Vecta Corp to Run Under PHP   573

Using PHP in Dreamweaver   575

17   A Database Primer   577

Anatomy of a Database   578

The Database Management System (DBMS)   579

The Database   580

Beyond the Basics   584

Installing a Database   592

Installing Access   593

Installing SQL Server 2008 Express   594

Deploying the SQL Server 2008 Express Database   596

SQL Server Management Studio Basic   596

Installing MySQL   598

Deploying the MySQL Database   600

MySQL Administrator   600

Configuring PHP to Work with Dreamweaver   603

An Overview of the Vecta Corp Database   605

The Employees Table   606

The Departments Table   609

The CreditCards Table   610

The EmployeeStore Table   611

The Orders Table   613

Other Tables   614

18   A SQL Primer   617

The Structured Query Language   617

Basic SQL   618

The SELECT Statement   619

Clauses   622

The INSERT Statement   625

The UPDATE Statement   626

The DELETE Statement   627

Expressions   627

Operators   629

Functions   631

Date and Time Functions   631

The COUNT() Function   633

The SUM() Function   633

The AVG() Function   634

The MIN() and MAX() Functions   634

Arithmetic Functions   635

String Functions   636

Joins   636

Inner Joins   637

Outer Joins   638

Subqueries   639

The IN Operator   640

The Embedded SELECT Statement   640

Generating Queries Visually   640

Generating Queries Using Access Query Designer   641

Generating Queries with Relationships   644

19   Working with Dynamic Data   647

Connecting to a Data Source   648

Connecting to a Data Source Using a DSN   648

Connecting an ASP Web Application to a DSN   654

Connecting a ColdFusion Web Application

to a DSN Using RDS   658

Connecting a PHP Web Application to a MySQL Database   661

Building the Vecta Corp Employee Store   663

Creating the EmployeeStore Page   663

Working with Dynamic Elements   673

20   Adding and Modifying Data   683

Building the Web Store New User Registration Page   683

Creating the New User Registration Form   686

Creating the Recordset   689

Creating the My Account Page   694

Creating the My Account Form   694

Using Data Objects to Create an Admin Page   701

Dynamic Tables   703

The Recordset Navigation Bar   705

Deleting Records   707

Master Detail Page Set   709

21   Integrating Search Functionality   713

Integrating a SQL Search   714

Creating a Search Page   715

Creating the Search Results Page   717

Working with Parameters in ASP and PHP   720

Working with Parameters in ColdFusion   723

Repeating Regions   724

Displaying Alternative Text   725

Globalizing the Search Functionality   726

22   Security and User Authentication   729

Creating a Login Page   730

Logging In the User   732

Restricting Access Based on Username, Password, and Access Level   734

Custom Error Messages   737

Checking to See Whether the User Is Logged In   739

Logging Out Users   741

Revamping the New User Registration Page   742

Avoiding Duplicate Usernames   743

Setting Access Levels   745

23   Working with Web Services and ColdFusion Components   747

An Introduction to Web Services   747

Dreamweaver and Web Services Integration   749

Building a Simple Calculator Web Service   750

Consuming the Calculator Web Service in ColdFusion   754

Web Services and Database Interaction   757

Building the Company Events Web Service Using ColdFusion and Components.    757

Consuming the Company Events Web Service in ColdFusion   760

24   Working with the Spry Framework for Ajax   763

Introduction to XML, Ajax, and Spry   764

What Is XML?   764

What Is Ajax?   767

What Is Spry?   768

Integrating XML Data with Spry   769

Connecting to XML Data   771

Defining Spry Regions   775

Binding Data to the Page   777

Repeating Spry Regions   778

Working with Spry Tables   780

Working with Spry Widgets   782

Validating Form Fields   783

Extending Layout Options   791

Working with RSS Feeds   793

Part VI   Appendixes (Online)   799

A   Accessibility   Web: 801

Accessibility Standards   .Web: 801

Standards Resources   .Web: 802

Conform with Standards   .Web: 805

Apply Standards to Sites   .Web: 811

Accessibility Reference   .Web: 816

Image Tests   .Web: 817

Imagemap Tests   .Web: 818

Color and Style Tests   .Web: 819

Form and Scripting Tests   .Web: 819

Table and Frame Tests   .Web: 820

Multimedia and Applet Tests   .Web: 821

Other Accessibility Tests   .Web: 822

Summary   .Web: 823

B   Extending Dreamweaver   Web: 825

Working with Objects   .Web: 825

Understanding Objects   .Web: 826

The Simple <sup> Tag Object   .Web: 827

The Advanced <sup> Tag Object   .Web: 829

Working with Behaviors   .Web: 830

Understanding Behaviors   .Web: 831

The Simple Resizer Behavior   .Web: 832

The Advanced Resizer Behavior   .Web: 835

Advanced Behavior Functions   .Web: 837

Working with js Files   .Web: 838

Sharing Extensions Through the Adobe Exchange   .Web: 838

Documentation   .Web: 839

Distribution   .Web: 840

Submission   .Web: 842

The Server Behavior Builder   .Web: 844

Server Behaviors   .Web: 844

Writing a Simple Cookie Behavior   .Web: 845

Summary   .Web: 852

C   Defining Preferences   Web: 853

Using the Preferences Dialog Box   .Web: 853

The General Category   .Web: 855

The Accessibility Category   .Web: 857

The AP Elements Category   .Web: 858

The Code Coloring Category   .Web: 860

The Code Format Category   .Web: 861

The Code Hints Category   .Web: 864

The Code Rewriting Category   .Web: 865

The Copy/Paste Category   .Web: 866

The CSS Styles Category   .Web: 867

The File Compare Category   .Web: 868

The File Types/Editors Category   .Web: 870

The Fonts Category   .Web: 872

The Highlighting Category   .Web: 874

The Invisible Elements Category   .Web: 875

The New Document Category   .Web: 876

The Preview in Browser Category   .Web: 877

The Site Category   .Web: 879

The Status Bar Category   .Web: 880

The Validator Category   .Web: 882

Setting Keyboard Shortcuts   .Web: 883

Working with Tag Libraries   .Web: 886

Summary   .Web: 892

D   Working with Frames and Framesets   Web: 893

Understanding Framed Websites   .Web: 893

The Advantages of Frames   .Web: 895

The Disadvantages of Frames   .Web: 896

Working with Frames and Framesets   .Web: 897

Creating a New Website Using Prebuilt Framesets   .Web: 898

Alternate Methods of Creating Framesets   .Web: 899

Adjusting Frame Attributes   .Web: 901

Changing Page Properties   .Web: 902

Setting Frame Names   .Web: 903

Setting Scroll Properties   .Web: 904

Frame Resize   .Web: 904

Adjusting Borders and Border Color   .Web: 905

Margin Width and Height   .Web: 905

Adjusting Frameset Attributes   .Web: 906

Borders, Border Width, and Border Color   .Web: 907

Row Height and Column Width   .Web: 907

Adding Content to Frames   .Web: 909

Saving Frames and Framesets   .Web: 911

Targeting Frames   .Web: 913

IFrames   .Web: 915

Targeting Browsers That Don’t Support Frames   .Web: 916

Summary   .Web: 917

Index   801

Preface

Introduction

Over a decade ago—when I used Dreamweaver 1.0 for the first time, I was amazed at how far ahead of its time it was. The capability to incorporate JavaScript Behaviors, styles, and pinpoint accurate designs truly amazed me. I was a skeptic when it came to visual editors and preferred Notepad whenever possible. Dreamweaver changed that for me and made me look at web development in a whole new light.

Dreamweaver has become the industry’s leading web development environment, far surpassing any other. Still, many consider Dreamweaver a simple visual editor that accomplishes little more than aiding in the development of static web pages. The mindset is that visual editors lack the true complexity that it takes to create rich and powerful web applications that encompass client-side technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while leveraging server-side technologies like ASP, PHP, and ColdFusion. Dreamweaver obliterates the stigma by captivating the developer in a vast, intuitive, and feature-rich environment.

If you’ve picked up this book, chances are you’re interested in the world of web design and development and, more specifically, how Dreamweaver can help you succeed in these endeavors. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, a print designer looking to expand your base of knowledge to the Web, or a home user who wants to create a family website, Dreamweaver offers the features and flexibility to get you on your way quickly and effortlessly. This book introduces you to the many features available through Dreamweaver using a fun, yet concise, approach.

What’s Inside, Part by Part

Part I, “Getting Up to Speed with Dreamweaver CS4”—Starting off gently, this part introduces you to Dreamweaver CS4. Moving from Chapter 1, “The Dreamweaver CS4 Interface,” to Chapter 3, “Dreamweaver Site Management,” you’ll learn about the many panels, inspectors, and windows that Dreamweaver reveals within its development environment. You’ll also learn about defining and managing a site, building a simple web page, and finally, defining Dreamweaver preferences for customizing how you work with Dreamweaver.

Part II, “Static Web Page Development”—Generally considered the heart of the book, this part covers topics related to static web page development. You’ll learn about web page structuring using tables, advanced page formatting and structuring using cascading style sheets, designing forms with form elements, and incorporating behaviors into your web pages.

Part III, “Team Collaboration and Task Automation”—Although most consider Dreamweaver a great tool for building web pages, the truth is that Dreamweaver provides many tools for working with web pages within teams. In this part you’ll learn about the many aspects in Dreamweaver that facilitate the collaborative process, such as file check in and check out, Design Notes, and integration with Contribute. You’ll also learn about the many components, such as templates and library items, built in to Dreamweaver for enhancing the workflow process.

Part IV, “Incorporating Multimedia and Animation”—Developers and designers who are building media-rich sites should concentrate on this part. The chapters in this part of the book cover integration with Flash, Fireworks, and Photoshop, as well as video and audio.

Part V, “Building Dynamic Web Pages”—The chapters in this part prepare you for working with dynamic web pages. As you’ll see, the chapters in this part cover an introduction to web applications, server-side technologies, databases, the language used to extract, insert, delete, and update data within databases in SQL, and retrieving data from, inserting data into, deleting data from, and updating data within databases. You’ll also learn how to build search functionality, secure your web pages, work with XML web services and ColdFusion components, and even learn to use Adobe’s Spry framework for Ajax.

Part VI, “Online Appendixes”—This part consists of various detailed appendixes on accessibility, extensibility, working with frames and framesets, and how to define preferences within Dreamweaver. These items are available free from http://www."informit."com/"register.

What’s Inside, Chapter by Chapter

Chapter 1, “The Dreamweaver CS4 Interface,” covers the Dreamweaver interface: document views, toolbars, inspectors, panels, and status bars. By the end of the chapter, you should feel fairly comfortable with the Dreamweaver CS4 development environment.

Chapter 2, “Building a Web Page,” covers the essentials of building a web page within Dreamweaver. By the end of this chapter, you’ll understand how to use page properties, various HTML elements, and graphics to create your first web page in Dreamweaver.

Chapter 3, “Dreamweaver Site Management,” covers site management, including defining a site, file check in and check out, working with site maps, and defining local and remote folders.

Chapter 4, “Web Page Structuring Using Tables,” covers traditional methods for structuring web pages using tables. In this chapter, you’ll learn about tables, rows, columns, nested tables, and more.

Chapter 5, “Page Formatting Using Cascading Style Sheets,” covers the types of style sheets, how to apply them, and the various properties for text, backgrounds, borders, lists, positioning, and more.

Chapter 6, “Page Structuring Using Cascading Style Sheets,” defines AP

s, the cornerstones for pinpoint accurate positioning of elements in Dreamweaver. Ever wonder how to make a web page look like a printed brochure? AP

s are your answer.

Chapter 7, “HTML Forms,” covers HTML forms, which are the front-ends to web applications. eBay, E*TRADE, and AutoBytel, among other high visibility sites, use forms in their applications to facilitate data collection from the user. In this chapter, you’ll learn how these types of forms are constructed. We’ll discuss forms and the various types of form elements used within forms.

Chapter 8, “Using Behaviors,” covers Dreamweaver’s JavaScript Behaviors. In this chapter, you’ll learn the basics of JavaScript, including events, actions, and more.

Chapter 9, “Building Dreamweaver Websites Within Teams,” covers features within Dreamweaver that facilitate integration and collaboration within teams. Topics such as file check-in and check-out, file column sharing, and Design Notes are covered in this chapter.

Chapter 10, “Managing Website Content Using Contribute,” covers integration with Adobe’s content management and sharing program, Contribute. In this chapter, you’ll learn about users and roles, applying user settings, and even editing web page content using Contribute.

Chapter 11, “Enhancing Workflow,” covers potentially overlooked features within Dreamweaver that might help you do your job faster and more efficiently. Features such as the Results panel, Find and Replace, various commands, and the Assets panel, are covered here.

Chapter 12, “Working with Templates and Library Items,” covers Dreamweaver templates in depth. A good understanding of templates and the workflow surrounding them can make you more efficient. This chapter also covers library items that, like templates, provide greater efficiency and global content editing from a centralized location. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to convert features (such as navigation menus) of your website to library items, which ultimately makes your navigation menus reusable and global to your website as a whole.

Chapter 13, “Incorporating Video and Audio,” covers important features for linking and embedding video and audio files in your web pages.

Chapter 14, “Integrating with Fireworks, Photoshop, and Flash,” covers integration with Adobe’s popular image-editing programs: Fireworks, Photoshop, and Flash. In this chapter, you’ll learn about round-trip graphics editing, creating web-based photo albums, and optimizing images. It also covers Dreamweaver’s integration with Flash—round-trip Flash editing, what parameters Flash movies accept, and how to trigger different Flash movie properties using Behaviors.

Chapter 15, “Introduction to Web Applications,” effectively makes the transition from static web page development to server-side web page development. You’ll learn about web architecture, server-side technologies, and database options.

Chapter 16, “Working with Server-Side Technologies,” begins to dig deeper into the world of server-side web development. In this chapter, you’ll learn about the various server-side technologies, including ASP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, and PHP.

Chapter 17, “A Database Primer,” covers the basics (tables, rows, columns) and more advanced topics such as stored procedures, triggers, views, keys, and normalization. The chapter concludes with the development of the book’s project database.

Chapter 18, “A SQL Primer,” covers selecting, inserting, updating, and deleting data. It also breaks down SQL into the different clauses and covers joins and sub queries.

Chapters 19 through 23 contain an in-depth tutorial on building a web store application with ASP, PHP, and ColdFusion. The chapters include real-life detailed code for catalogs, user registration, personalization, search functionality, and security.

Chapter 24, “Working with the Spry Framework for Ajax,” discusses Adobe’s newest framework for Ajax. You’ll learn how to create Spry Datasets for creating performance-minded web pages that are fed in from XML files. Additionally, you’ll see how to incorporate Spry widgets and effects for creating engaging and eye-catching web pages.

The free online appendixes cover other important information:

Appendix A, “Accessibility,” covers the standards and how to apply them. It also touches on the impact of accessibility on design and development efforts.

Appendix B, “Extending Dreamweaver,”covers extending Dreamweaver with objects and behaviors. It also covers sharing those extensions with others.

Appendix C, “Defining Preferences,” covers every customizable feature for improving how you work with Dreamweaver. Everything from customizing code coloring to setting keyboard shortcuts is outlined in this appendix.

Appendix D, “Working with Frames and Framesets,” covers frames and framesets, including advantages and disadvantages to using them and why.

As you can see—and as you will read—I’ve covered just about every aspect of web development using Dreamweaver CS4. While reading, you can follow along with the step-by-step projects by downloading the support files from http://www.informit.com/register or from this book’s companion website located at http://www.dreamweaverunleashed.com. Thank you for picking up a copy of this book—and enjoy!

—Zak Ruvalcaba

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