Web Design Help - Complete Novice !!
14 April 2005, 12:19 AM
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Web Design Help - Complete Novice !!
can anyone help me with a page that i'm designing using dreamweaver mx ??
i've used a css template to produce a page that i've duplicated about a dozen times to produce a site. the menus are constant on every page but there are a series of links that i plan on changing on a regular basis i.e. for news items.
being a complete novice however (been using dreamweaver for 3 weeks) i've now realised that i'm going to have to edit every single page whenever i want to amend these links. i've read that it may be possible to setup a database (where the links are entered) so that each page displays an entry from a corresponding cell but have a few questions.
1. will this dynamic stuff work on a page using css?
2. will i need a full blown copy of coldfusion to do this properly or will the 'create new coldfusion' option on dreamweaver enable me to do this?
3. is there a simpler way to achieve the same result?
4. if not how do i go about achieving this in laymans terms? (didn't find the help very user friendly
)
many thanks in advance
i've used a css template to produce a page that i've duplicated about a dozen times to produce a site. the menus are constant on every page but there are a series of links that i plan on changing on a regular basis i.e. for news items.
being a complete novice however (been using dreamweaver for 3 weeks) i've now realised that i'm going to have to edit every single page whenever i want to amend these links. i've read that it may be possible to setup a database (where the links are entered) so that each page displays an entry from a corresponding cell but have a few questions.
1. will this dynamic stuff work on a page using css?
2. will i need a full blown copy of coldfusion to do this properly or will the 'create new coldfusion' option on dreamweaver enable me to do this?
3. is there a simpler way to achieve the same result?
4. if not how do i go about achieving this in laymans terms? (didn't find the help very user friendly
)many thanks in advance
14 April 2005, 07:32 AM
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There are lots of freeware proggies out there that you can use that do 'search and replace' on entire folders etc. However, as the number of changed links aren't going to be that many it may be better to edit them individually.
I don't know enough about CSS to answer your other queries... in fact, I know nothing at all LOL. There is a guy here that does though so I bet he will pop in soon
I don't know enough about CSS to answer your other queries... in fact, I know nothing at all LOL. There is a guy here that does though so I bet he will pop in soon
14 April 2005, 08:08 AM
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Hello
If you are using Dreamweaver, you should create a page with all your links and then save it as a template (just a template, not CSS). Within that template you can add "editable regions".
When you create a new page you can base it on the template. The new page will only let you edit the areas that you have designated as editable on your template, so if you change the template (add a link for example), then that change will be rippled throughout the pages that are based upon it.
Steve.
If you are using Dreamweaver, you should create a page with all your links and then save it as a template (just a template, not CSS). Within that template you can add "editable regions".
When you create a new page you can base it on the template. The new page will only let you edit the areas that you have designated as editable on your template, so if you change the template (add a link for example), then that change will be rippled throughout the pages that are based upon it.
Steve.
14 April 2005, 09:32 AM
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Simple answer to this one. Most webhosts support includes these days. That means you can make a HTML page and it will call an external file, like a text file and insert it into the page. This makes it really easy to change something sitewide and is especially handy for things like navigation, because it means you can add to and change only one file but it will then affect the whole site.
So instead of this :
You would have something like this
and in your "navi.txt" file is the same HTML that was in your original page:
<a href="home.shtml"> HOME </a> | <a href="stuff.shtml"> STUFF </a> | <a href="contact.shtml"> CONTACT </a> |
Sounds a little complex at first but it makes things miles easier in terms of keeping things updated and its always 100% accurate and believe me its miles easier than setting up and maintaining cf modules.
One thing though is that moste webhosts require you to change the extension from .html to .shtml this makes no difference to your page at all but lets them know its a dynamic page.
Hope this helps!
So instead of this :
Code:
<body> <div id="navigation"> <a href="home.shtml"> HOME </a> | <a href="stuff.shtml"> STUFF </a> | <a href="contact.shtml"> CONTACT </a> | </div> <div id="Content"> Banannas and cars </div> </body>
Code:
<body> <div id="navigation"> <!--#include file="navi.txt" --> </div> <div id="Content"> Banannas and cars </div> </body>
<a href="home.shtml"> HOME </a> | <a href="stuff.shtml"> STUFF </a> | <a href="contact.shtml"> CONTACT </a> |
Sounds a little complex at first but it makes things miles easier in terms of keeping things updated and its always 100% accurate and believe me its miles easier than setting up and maintaining cf modules.
One thing though is that moste webhosts require you to change the extension from .html to .shtml this makes no difference to your page at all but lets them know its a dynamic page.
Hope this helps!
14 April 2005, 10:22 AM
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as always there are many ways to skin a cat !!
all sound like great ideas so will have a crack at them tonight. many thanks for all the help and for saving me a heck of a lot of editing time
cheers
all sound like great ideas so will have a crack at them tonight. many thanks for all the help and for saving me a heck of a lot of editing time
cheers
14 April 2005, 10:42 AM
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Boxst has given you the "correct" way to do this.
This is what dreamweaver was made for, setup the template with your nav bar and it will only mean changing 1 link which will then replicate for you.
This is what dreamweaver was made for, setup the template with your nav bar and it will only mean changing 1 link which will then replicate for you.
14 April 2005, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by GaryScoobNCBR
Boxst has given you the "correct" way to do this.
This is what dreamweaver was made for, setup the template with your nav bar and it will only mean changing 1 link which will then replicate for you.
This is what dreamweaver was made for, setup the template with your nav bar and it will only mean changing 1 link which will then replicate for you.
That way they remain editable with or without Dreamweavers intervention. What would happen if he needed to update the site and didn't have access to Dreamweaver?
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started writing exactly the same but got distracted onto something else
14 April 2005, 01:48 PM
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I'm also with angrynorth on this
Dreamweaver's templates are as bad as FrontPage's themes - if you don't use the software to edit your pages, you're fooked. This makes changing software at a later date or writing strict (X)HTML at a later date neigh on impossible.
Daniel
Dreamweaver's templates are as bad as FrontPage's themes - if you don't use the software to edit your pages, you're fooked. This makes changing software at a later date or writing strict (X)HTML at a later date neigh on impossible.
Daniel
14 April 2005, 02:59 PM
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thanks again to all for the kind info.
i've been having a play and feel pretty stupid as the includes thing seems to be a cinch to incorporate.
however. although the info from the txt file shows up lovely on the dreamweaver design pane i can't see it when i try to preview the design on a browser
i've looked at file extensions but nothing seems to work. is there something simple that i've left out here or is this normal for dreamweaver ??
btw i can't connect to my ftp through work so have not been able to upload anything yet.
i've been having a play and feel pretty stupid as the includes thing seems to be a cinch to incorporate.
however. although the info from the txt file shows up lovely on the dreamweaver design pane i can't see it when i try to preview the design on a browser
i've looked at file extensions but nothing seems to work. is there something simple that i've left out here or is this normal for dreamweaver ??btw i can't connect to my ftp through work so have not been able to upload anything yet.
14 April 2005, 03:20 PM
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Unless you have set up and apache server or a test environment in your site manager then it probably won't show in the preview. One way to test without a dev server is to simply paste the txt file contents back into dreamweaver and then preview, if it looks OK then it will be the same when its set as an include.
Either way it will be there when you upload though.
Either way it will be there when you upload though.
14 April 2005, 11:54 PM
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Incudes only show up server side, and as for someone saying DW templates are "correct", they are not bad when you know what you're doing, but using includes makes life easier.
The problem with DW templates is that you lose flexibility in what you can do, such as adding layers, or slightly changing layout when required. I use them for basic layout most of the time because I program in ASP so I can make them flexible, but include files are more efficient, an what I now use on more high end sites.
The problem with DW templates is that you lose flexibility in what you can do, such as adding layers, or slightly changing layout when required. I use them for basic layout most of the time because I program in ASP so I can make them flexible, but include files are more efficient, an what I now use on more high end sites.
15 April 2005, 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Dream Weaver
Incudes only show up server side, and as for someone saying DW templates are "correct", they are not bad when you know what you're doing, but using includes makes life easier.
The problem with DW templates is that you lose flexibility in what you can do, such as adding layers, or slightly changing layout when required. I use them for basic layout most of the time because I program in ASP so I can make them flexible, but include files are more efficient, an what I now use on more high end sites.
The problem with DW templates is that you lose flexibility in what you can do, such as adding layers, or slightly changing layout when required. I use them for basic layout most of the time because I program in ASP so I can make them flexible, but include files are more efficient, an what I now use on more high end sites.
i never got round to trying the template thing as the ssi's were so easy (even for an html virgin like me) to understand.got all my pages sorted now and have changed the extensions to shtml and shtm as required. i've uploaded the files to my wanadoo webspace but unfortunately they are still not showing on the pages
i have a proper domain/web space being setup today though so will be able to run a proper test later. hopefully the server is ssi compatible.
cheers
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