Extensible document types in Dreamweaver

XML provides a rich system for defining complex documents and data structures. Dreamweaver uses several XML schemas to organize information about server behaviors, tags and tag libraries, components, document types, and reference information.

When you create and work with extensions in Dreamweaver, there are many instances in which you create or modify existing XML files to manage the data that your extension uses. In many cases, you can copy an existing file from the appropriate subfolder within the Configuration folder to use as a template.

Document type definition file

The central component of extensible document types is the document type definition file. There might be several definition files, all of which are located in the Configuration/DocumentTypes folder. Each definition file contains information about at least one document type. For each document type, essential information such as server model, color coding style, descriptions, and so forth, is described.

Dreamweaver provides an initial document type definition file. This file, named MMDocumentTypes.xml, contains the document type definitions provided by Macromedia:

If you need to create a new document type, you can either add your entry to the document definition file that Macromedia provides (MMDocumentTypes.xml) or add a custom definition file to the Configuration/DocumentTypes folder.

Structure of document type definition files

The following example shows what a typical document type definition file might look like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<documenttypes 
    xmlns:MMString="http://www.macromedia.com/schemes/data/string/">
  <documenttype 
    id="dt-ASP-JS"
    servermodel="ASP-JS"
    internaltype="Dynamic"
    winfileextension="asp,htm, html"
    macfileextension=asp, html"
    previewfile="default_aspjs_preview.htm"
    file="default_aspjs.htm"
    priorversionservermodel="UD4-ASP-JS" >
    <title>
      <loadString id="mmdocumenttypes_0title" />
    </title>
    <description>
      <loadString id="mmdocumenttypes_0descr" />
    </description>
  </documenttype>
  ... 
</documenttypes>

  

    

NOTE
    
    

 
    
    

Color coding for document types is specified in the XML files that reside in the Configuration/CodeColoring folder.
    
  

In the previous example, the loadstring element identifies the localized strings that Dreamweaver should use for the title and description for ASP-JS type documents. For more information about localized strings, see Localized strings.

The following table describes the tags and attributes that you can use within a document type definition file.

documenttype
(root)

id

servermodel

  ASP.NET C#
  ASP.NET VB
  ASP VBScript
  ASP JavaScript
  ColdFusion
  JSP
  PHP MySQL

internaltype

dynamicid

winfileextension

macfileextension

previewfile

file

priorversionservermodel

title

description

When Dreamweaver starts, it reads all document type definition files and builds a list of valid document types. Dreamweaver treats any entries within the definition files that have nonexistent server models as nonserver model document types. Dreamweaver ignores entries that have bad contents or IDs that are not unique.

If, while scanning the Configuration/DocumentTypes folder, Dreamweaver finds no document type definition files or if any of the definition files appear to be corrupt, Dreamweaver closes with an error message.

Dynamic templates

You can create templates that are based on dynamic document types. These templates are called dynamic templates. The following two elements are essential to defining a dynamic template:

• The value of the internaltype attribute for the new document type must be DWTemplate.
• The dynamicid attribute must be set, and the value must be a reference to the identifier of an existing dynamic document type.

The following example defines a dynamic document type:

<documenttype 
    id="PHP_MySQL" 
    servermodel="PHP MySQL" 
    internaltype="Dynamic" 
    winfileextension="php,php3" 
    macfileextension="php,php3"
    file="Default.php">
    <title>PHP</title> 
    <description><![CDATA[PHP document]]></description>
</documenttype> 

Now, you can define the following dynamic template, which is based on this PHP_MySQL dynamic document type:

<documenttype 
    id="DWTemplate_PHP" 
    internaltype="DWTemplate" 
    dynamicid="PHP_MySQL" 
    winfileextension="php.dwt" 
    macfileextension="php.dwt" 
    file="Default.php.dwt">
    <title>PHP Template</title> 
    <description><![CDATA[Dreamweaver PHP Template document]]></description>
</documenttype> 

When a Dreamweaver user creates a new blank template of type DWTemplate_PHP, Dreamweaver lets the user create PHP server behaviors in the file. Furthermore, when the user creates instances of the new template, the user can create PHP server behaviors in the instance.

In the previous example, when the user saves the template, Dreamweaver automatically adds a .php.dwt extension to the file. When the user saves an instance of the template, Dreamweaver adds the .php extension to the file.

Document extensions and file types

By default, Dreamweaver shows all the file types it recognizes in the File > Open dialog box. After creating a new document type, extension developers need to update the appropriate Extensions.txt file. If the user is on a multiuser system (such as Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Mac OS X), the user has another Extensions.txt file in their Configuration folder. The user must update the Extensions.txt file because it is the instance that Dreamweaver looks for and parses.

The location of the user's Configuration folder depends on the user's platform.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms use the following location:

drive:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8\Configuration

Mac OS X platforms use the following location:

drive:Users/username/Library/Application Support/Macromedia:Dreamweaver 8/Configuration

If Dreamweaver cannot find the Extensions.txt file in the user's Configuration folder, Dreamweaver looks for it in the Dreamweaver Configuration folder.

To create a new document extension, you can either add the new extension to an existing document type or create a new document type.

To add a new extension to an existing document type:

1. Edit MMDocumentTypes.xml.
2. Add the new extension to the winfileextension and macfileextension attributes of the existing document type.

To add a new document type:

1. Make a backup copy of the Extensions.txt file in the Configuration folder.
2. Open Extensions.txt in Dreamweaver or a text editor.
3. Add a new line for each new file type. In capital letters, enter the filename extensions that the new file type can have, separated by commas; then add a colon and a brief descriptive phrase to show in the pop-up menu for file types that appears in the File > Open dialog box.

   For example, for JPEG files, enter JPG,JPEG,JFIF:JPEG Image Files

4. Save the Extensions.txt file.
5. Restart Dreamweaver.

   To see the changes, select File > Open and click the pop-up menu of file types.

To change the Dreamweaver default File > 0pen file type:

1. Make a backup copy of the Extensions.txt file in the Configuration folder.
2. Open Extensions.txt in Dreamweaver or a text editor.
3. Cut the line that corresponds to the new default, and paste it at the beginning of the file, to make it the first line of the file.
4. Save the Extensions.txt file.
5. Restart Dreamweaver.

   To see the changes, select File > Open and click the pop-up menu of file types.

Localized strings

Within a document type definition file, the <title> and <description> subtags specify the display title and description for the document type. You can use the MMString:loadstring directive in the subtags as a placeholder for providing localized strings for the two subtags. This process is similar to server-side scripting where you specify a particular string to use in your page by using a string identifier as a placeholder. For the placeholder, you can use a special tag or you can specify a tag attribute whose value is replaced.

To provide localized strings, perform the following steps:

1. Place the following statement at the beginning of the document type definition file:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   

2. Declare the MMString name space in the <documenttypes> tag:

     <documenttypes 
         xmlns:MMString="http://www.macromedia.com/schemes/data/string/">
   

3. At the location in the document type definition file where you want to provide a localized string, use the MMString:loadstring directive to define a placeholder for the localized string. You can specify this placeholder in one of the following ways:

   <description>
      <loadstring>myJSPDocType/Description</loadstring>
   </description>
   

   or

   <description>
      <loadstring id="myJSPDocType/Description" />
   </description>
   

   In these examples, myJSPDocType/Description is a unique string identifier that acts as a placeholder for the localized string. The localized string is defined in the next step.

4. In the Configuration/Strings folder, create a new XML file (or edit an existing file) that defines the localized string. For example, the following code, when placed in the Configuration/Strings/strings.xml file, defines the myJSPDocType/Description string:

   <strings>
   ...
      <string id="myJSPDocType/Description" 
           value=
           "<![CDATA[JavaServer&nbsp;Page with <em>special</em> 
   features]]>" 
      />
   ...
   </strings>
   
     
   
       
   
   NOTE
       
       
   
    
       
       
   
   String identifiers, such as myJSPDocType/Description in the previous example, must be unique within the application. Dreamweaver, when it starts, parses all XML files within the Configuration/Strings folder and loads these unique strings.
       
     
   
   

Rules for document type definition files

Dreamweaver lets document types that are associated with a server model share file extensions. For example: ASP-JS and ASP-VB can claim .asp as their file extension. (For information on which server model gets preference, see canRecognizeDocument().)

Dreamweaver does not let document types that are not associated with a server model share file extensions.

If a file extension is claimed by two document types where one type is associated with a server model and the other is not, the latter document type gets preference. Suppose you have a document type called SAM, which is not associated with a server model, that has a file extension of .sam, and you add this file extension to the ASP-JS document type. When a Dreamweaver user opens a file that has a .sam extension, Dreamweaver assigns the SAM document type to it, not ASP-JS.

Send me an e-mail when comments are added to this page | Comment Report

Current page: http://livedocs.adobe.com/dreamweaver/8/extending/02_cus18.htm

Add Comment