When creating a new page in Dreamweaver,
you can create one that already contains a CSS layout. Dreamweaver comes
with over 30 different CSS layouts that you can choose from. Additionally,
you can create your own CSS layouts and add them to the configuration
folder so that they appear as layout choices in the New Document
dialog box.
Dreamweaver CSS layouts
render correctly in the following browsers: Firefox (Windows and
Macintosh) 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0; Internet Explorer (Windows) 5.5, 6.0, 7.0;
Opera (Windows and Macintosh) 8.0, 9.0; and Safari 2.0.
In the New Document dialog box, select the Blank Page
category. (It’s the default selection.)
For Page Type, select the kind of page you want to create.
Note: You must select an HTML page type for the layout.
For example, you can select HTML, ColdFusion®, JSP, and so on. You
cannot create an ActionScript™, CSS, Library Item, JavaScript, XML,
XSLT, or ColdFusion Component page with a CSS layout. Page types
in the Other category of the New Document dialog box are also restricted
from including CSS page layouts.
For Layout, select the CSS layout you want to use. You
can choose from over 30 different layouts. The Preview window shows
the layout and gives a brief description of the selected layout.
The predesigned CSS layouts provide the following types
of columns:
Fixed
Column width is specified in pixels. The column does not
resize based on the size of the browser or the site visitor’s text
settings.
Elastic
Column width is specified in a unit of measurement (ems)
relative to the size of the text. The design adapts if the site
visitor changes the text settings, but does not change based on
the size of the browser window.
Liquid
Column width is specified as a percentage of the site visitor’s
browser width. The design adapts if the site visitor makes the browser
wider or narrower, but does not change based on the site visitor’s
text settings.
Hybrid
Columns are a combination of any of the previous three options.
For example, the two-column hybrid, right sidebar layout has a main
column that scales to the size of the browser, and an elastic column
on the right that scales to the size of the site visitor’s text
settings.
Select a document type from the DocType pop‑up menu.
Select a location for the layout’s CSS from the Layout
CSS in pop‑up menu.
Add To Head
Adds CSS for the layout to the head of the page you’re creating.
Create New File
Adds CSS for the layout to a new external CSS stylesheet
and attaches the new stylesheet to the page you’re creating.
Link To Existing File
Lets you specify an existing CSS file that already contains the
CSS rules needed for the layout. This option is particularly useful
when you want to use the same CSS layout (the CSS rules for which
are contained in a single file) across multiple documents.
Do one of the following:
If you selected Add to Head from the Layout
CSS in pop‑up menu (the default option), click Create.
If you selected Create New File from the Layout
CSS pop‑up menu, click Create, and then specify a name for the new
external file in the Save Style Sheet File As dialog box.
If you selected Link to Existing File from the Layout
CSS in pop‑up menu, add the external file to the Attach CSS file
text box by clicking the Add Style Sheet icon, completing the Attach
External Style Sheet dialog box, and clicking OK. When you’re finished,
click Create in the New Document dialog box.
Note: When you
select the Link to Existing File option, the file you specify must already
have the rules for the CSS file contained within it.
When you put the layout CSS in a new file or link to an
existing file, Dreamweaver automatically
links the file to the HTML page you’re creating.
Note: Internet Explorer conditional comments (CCs), which
help work around IE rendering issues, remain embedded in the head
of the new CSS layout document, even if you select New External
File or Existing External File as the location for your layout CSS.
(Optional) You can also attach CSS style sheets to your
new page (unrelated to the CSS layout) when you create the page.
To do this, click the Attach Style Sheet icon above the Attach CSS
file pane and select a CSS style sheet.
Create an HTML page that contains the CSS layout
you’d like to add to the list of choices in the New Document dialog
box. The CSS for the layout must reside in the head of the HTML
page.
To make your custom CSS layout consistent
with the other layouts that come with Dreamweaver,
you should save your HTML file with the .htm extension.
Add the HTML page to the Adobe Dreamweaver CS3\Configuration\BuiltIn\Layouts
folder.
(Optional) Add a preview image of your layout (for example
a .gif or .png file) to the Adobe Dreamweaver CS3\Configuration\BuiltIn\Layouts
folder. The default images that come with Dreamweaver are 227 pixels
wide x 193 pixels high PNG files.
Give your preview image the same file
name as your HTML file so that you can easily keep track of it.
For example, if your HTML file is called myCustomLayout.htm, call
your preview image myCustomLayout.png.
(Optional) Create a notes file for your custom layout
by opening the Adobe Dreamweaver CS3\Configuration\BuiltIn\Layouts\_notes
folder, copying and pasting any of the existing notes files in the
same folder, and renaming the copy for your custom layout. For example,
you could copy the oneColElsCtr.htm.mno file, and rename it myCustomLayout.htm.mno.
(Optional) After you’ve created a notes file for your
custom layout, you can open the file and specify the layout name,
description, and preview image.
With the current emphasis being placed on using the CSS to do the job of layout (because we no longer *need* to use tables for that purpose), I was hoping that DW's Create a Page feature might teach me a few tricks in that regard -- or at least give me an idea or two. It's too bad that most if not all of the CSS layouts offered in DW still use a table inside a table -- a workaround that I've been trying to unlearn for over a year, now. I even laughed out loud when I saw the much-maligned spacer.gif included in the package so we could make sure that the table does what it was never designed to do. Now that most of the most popular browsers obey CSS at least to some extent, it's time to shelve the HTML books that don't introduce CSS by the second page, that don't treat CSS like it's as integral to web development as the <p> and <img> codes. (Excuse me, the <img /> codes.)
The Zero Card
LoriHC (Dreamweaver Team)
said on
Apr 21, 2008
at
7:12 AM :
The CSS layouts do not use tables. You may be looking at the Starter Pages, which are older, table-based designs. To use a CSS layout, expand the "Create a page with a CSS layout" topic above and follow the steps.
Create a page with a CSS layout
To make your custom CSS layout consistent
with the other layouts that come with Dreamweaver,
you should save your HTML file with the .htm extension.
Comments
No screen name said on Apr 21, 2008 at 12:56 AM :