Creating a Site Definition - Page 2

A site definition is the essential starting point to the development of any web site. With the information that is provided here, Dreamweaver will be able to accurately track the directory structure of your site, keep a watchful eye over all your internal (and external) hyperlinks and maintain a list of all images, movies, colors, and external files. Using the Site Definition, Dreamweaver is also able to provide you with a preview of what your page will probably look like without even uploading it to the server.

In essence, the Site Definition is the root of all the built-in site management functions. Without this information Dreamweaver will have no idea where to begin looking. So, to get the very best use out of the software, you need to provide it with all the information you can.

Dreamweaver employs two methods for defining sites. There is the Basic method, which employs a step-by-step Wizard that guides you through the Site Definition process, and there is an Advanced Definition process, which gives you complete control over every aspect of your site's definition.

It is often best to work through the Wizard, and then customize your definition by amending the properties in the Advanced Definition section. For this reason, we will cover the Site Definition Wizard only, as this will introduce you to the settings and properties that are also used within the advanced section.

Site Definition Wizard – A Step-By-Step Guide

The whole process of defining a site within Dreamweaver is made simple with the Basic Configuration Wizard, which walks you through the whole process. There are essentially four different ways to configure your site using the Basic Configuration Wizard:

• Edit and Test Locally
• Edit Locally and Upload to Remote Testing Server
• Edit Directly over a Network
• Edit Directly via FTP

These different configuration options have slightly different steps within the Wizard. For this reason we will cover each option individually.

The first two stages in "Defining a Site" with the "Basic Configuration Wizard" remain the same, regardless of the configuration that you have, so we will look at those now.

Naming the Site

To begin defining a site in Dreamweaver MX using the Site Definition Wizard go to the Site menu and click on New Site. The Site Definition Wizard will launch:

As you can see from the screenshot overleaf, the first stage in defining a site is to give the definition a name. In this case, we are defining a site for our example "The Dreamweaver Hotel". Here you should enter any name that is appropriate for the site that you want to develop. This name isn't used within your web site itself and won't be placed on any of your pages. It is an internal setting, which helps Dreamweaver to identify the site you are working on.

Once we have determined a name for the site we need to set up the Server Technology that the site will use.

Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Server Technology - Page 3