ADOBE Dreamweaver CS3 User Manual [es, en]
EXTENDING DREAMWEAVER
ADOBE® DREAMWEAVER® CS
3
© 2007 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS3 Extending Dreamweaver for Windows® and Macintosh
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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Installing an extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Creating an extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Additional resources for extension writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
What’s new in Dreamweaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Conventions used in this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Customizing Dreamweaver
Ways to customize Dreamweaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Customizing Dreamweaver in a multiuser environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Changing FTP mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Extensible document types in Dreamweaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Changing keyboard shortcut mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Chapter 3: Customizing Code view
Code hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Code coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Code validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Changing default HTML formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 4: Extending Dreamweaver
Types of Dreamweaver extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Configuration folders and extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Extension APIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Localizing an extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Working with the Extension Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter 5: User interfaces for extensions
Designing an extension user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Dreamweaver HTML rendering control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Using custom UI controls in extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Adding Flash content to Dreamweaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 6: The Dreamweaver Document Object Model
Which document DOM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
The Dreamweaver DOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 7: Insert bar objects
How object files work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
The Insert bar definition file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Modifying the Insert bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
A simple insert object example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The objects API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter 8: Browser compatibility check issues API
How detection works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
An Issues example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
The issues API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Chapter 9: Commands
How commands work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Adding commands to the Commands menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
A simple command example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
The commands API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 10: Menus and menu commands
About the menus.xml file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Changing menus and menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
A simple menu command example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
A dynamic menu example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
The menu commands API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
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Chapter 11: Toolbars
How toolbars work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
A simple toolbar command file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
The toolbar definition file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Too lba r ite m tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Item tag attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
The toolbar command API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Chapter 12: Reports
Site reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Stand-alone reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The reports API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chapter 13: Tag libraries and editors
Tag library file format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
The Tag Chooser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
A simple example of creating a new tag editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
The tag editor APIs functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 14: Property inspectors
Property inspector files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
How Property inspector files work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
A simple Property inspector example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
The Property inspector API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Chapter 15: Floating panels
How floating panel files work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
A simple floating panel example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
The floating panel API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Chapter 16: Behaviors
How Behaviors work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
A simple behavior example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
The behaviors API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Chapter 17: Server behaviors
Dreamweaver architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
A simple server behavior example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
How the server behavior API functions are called . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
The server behavior API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Server behavior implementation functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Editing EDML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Group EDML file tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Participant EDML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Server behavior techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 18: Data sources
How data sources work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
A simple data source example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
The data sources API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
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Chapter 19: Server formats
How data formatting works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
When the data formatting functions are called . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
The server formats API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Chapter 20: Components
Component basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Extending the Components panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
How to customize the Components panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Components panel files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Components panel API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Chapter 21: Server models
How customizing server models works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
The server model API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Chapter 22: Data translators
How data translators work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Determining what kind of translator to use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Adding a translated attribute to a tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Inspecting translated attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Locking translated tags or blocks of code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Creating Property inspectors for locked content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Finding bugs in your translator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
A simple attribute translator example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
A simple block/tag translator example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
The data translator API functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Chapter 23: C-level extensibility
How integrating C functions works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
C-level extensibility and the JavaScript interpreter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
The C-level API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
File access and multiuser configuration API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Calling a C function from JavaScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Chapter 24: The Shared folder
The Shared folder contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Using the Shared folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
vi
Chapter 1: Introduction
This guide describes the Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS3 framework and application programming
interface (API) that lets you build extensions to Dreamweaver. It provides information about
how each type of extension works; the API functions that Dreamweaver calls to implement the
various objects, menus, floating panels, server behaviors, and so on, that make up the features of
Dreamweaver; and a simple example of each type of extension. This guide also explains how to
customize Dreamweaver by editing tags in various HTML and XML files to add menu items or
document types.
To add an object, menu, floating panel, or other feature to Dreamweaver, you must code the
functions that the particular type of extension requires. This guide describes the arguments that
Dreamweaver passes to these functions and also the values that Dreamweaver expects these
functions to return.
For information on the utility and general-purpose JavaScript™ APIs that you can use to perform
various support operations in your Dreamweaver extensions, see the Dreamweaver API
Reference. If you plan to create extensions that work with databases, you might also want to
review the topics in Using Dreamweaver about making connections to databases.
Background
Most Dreamweaver extensions are written in HTML and JavaScript. This guide assumes that you
are familiar with Dreamweaver, HTML, XML, and JavaScript programming. If you are implementing C extensions, the guide assumes that you know how to create and use C dynamic link
libraries (DLLs). If you are writing extensions for building web applications, you should also be
familiar with server-side scripting on at least one platform, such as Active Server Pages (ASP),
ASP.net, PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), Macromedia® ColdFusion® from Adobe®, or
JavaServer Pages (JSP).
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Installing an extension
To become familiar with the process of writing extensions, you might want to explore the extensions and resources
that are available on the Adobe Exchange website at http://www.adobe.com/go/exchange. Installing an existing
extension introduces you to some of the tools that you need to work with in your own extensions.
To install an extension:
Download and install the Adobe® Extension Manager, which is available on the Adobe Downloads website at
1
http://www.adobe.com/go/downloads.
2 Log on to the Adobe Exchange website at http://www.adobe.com/go/exchange.
3 From the available extensions, select one that you want to use. Click the Download link to download the extension
package.
4 Save the extension package in the Dreamweaver/Downloaded Extensions folder of your installed Dreamweaver
folder.
5 In the Extension Manager, select File > Install Extension. In Dreamweaver, select Commands >
Manage Extensions to start the Extension Manager.
The Extension Manager automatically installs the extension from the Downloaded Extensions folder into Dreamweaver.
2
Some extensions need Dreamweaver to restart before you can use them. If you are running Dreamweaver when you
install the extension, you might be prompted to quit and restart the application.
To view basic information on the extension after its installation, go to the Extension Manager (Commands > Manage
Extensions) in Dreamweaver.
Creating an extension
Before you create a Dreamweaver extension, go to the Adobe Exchange website at
http://www.adobe.com/go/exchange to see if the extension you plan to create already exists. If you do not find an
extension that meets your needs, you then perform the following steps to create the extension:
• Determine the type of extension you want to create. For more information about the extension types, see “Types
of Dreamweaver extensions” on page 71.
• Review the documentation for the type of extension you plan to create. To become familiar with creating that type
of extension, it’s a good idea to create the simple extension example in the appropriate topic.
• Determine which files you need to modify or create.
• Plan the user interface (UI), if any, for the extension.
• Create the necessary files and save them in the appropriate folders.
• Restart Dreamweaver so that it recognizes the new extension.
• Test the extension.
• Package the extension so that you can share it with others. For more information, see “Working with the Extension
Manager” on page 77.
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Additional resources for extension writers
To communicate with other developers who are involved in writing extensions, you might want to join the Dreamweaver extensibility newsgroup. You can access the Adobe website for this newsgroup at
http://www.adobe.com/support/dreamweaver/extend/form/.
What’s new in Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver CS3 includes the following new features and interfaces that are extensible. Each of these features has
new related functions, which are listed in the Dreamweaver API Reference.
• Communication with the Bridge application
• Mobile device emulation
• Spry XML data set creation
• Spry widget editing and inserting
• Browser compatibility check
For information on the new functions that have been added to the Utility API and the JavaScript API, see the
Dreamweaver API Reference.
3
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Improve your Dreamweaver skills with books from Adobe. Check out the latest content written by the experts at
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/buy_books.html.
Deprecated functions
In Dreamweaver CS3, several functions have been deprecated. For information on the functions that have been
removed from the Utility and JavaScript APIs, see the Dreamweaver API Reference.
Conventions used in this guide
The following typographical conventions are used in this guide:
• Code font indicates code fragments and API literals, including class names, method names, function names, type
names, scripts, SQL statements, and both HTML and XML tag and attribute names.
• Italic code font indicates replaceable items in code.
• The continuation symbol (¬) indicates that a long line of code has been broken across two or more lines. Due to
margin limits in this guide’s format, what is otherwise a continuous line of code must be split. When copying the
lines of code, eliminate the continuation symbol, and type the lines as one line.
• Curly braces ({ }) that surround a function argument indicate that the argument is optional.
• Function names that have the prefix dreamweaver. (as in dreamweaver.funcname) can be abbreviated to
dw.funcname when you are writing code. This manual uses the full dreamweaver. prefix when defining the
function and in the index. Many examples use the shorter
dw. prefix, however.
The following naming conventions are used in this guide:
• You The developer who is responsible for writing extensions
• The user The person using Dreamweaver
• The visitor The person who views the web page that the user created
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4
Chapter 2: Customizing Dreamweaver
In addition to creating and using Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 extensions, you can customize
Dreamweaver in many ways, which lets you work in a manner that’s familiar, comfortable, and
efficient for you.
Ways to customize Dreamweaver
There are several general approaches to customizing Dreamweaver. Some of these approaches
are covered in Using Dreamweaver. These approaches let you customize your workspace. You can
also change settings in dialog boxes in Dreamweaver. You can set preferences in a variety of areas,
including accessibility, code coloring, fonts, highlighting, and previewing in browsers, using the
Preferences panel (Edit > Preferences, or Dreamweaver > Preferences (Mac OS X)). You can also
change keyboard shortcuts, using the Keyboard Shortcut Editor (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts) or
by editing a configuration file.
The following list describes some of the ways you can customize Dreamweaver by editing configuration files:
• Rearrange the objects in the Insert bar, create new tabs to reorganize the objects, or add new
objects. See “Modifying the Insert bar” on page 106.
• Change the names of menu items, add new commands to menus, and remove existing
commands from menus. See “Menus and menu commands” on page 136.
• Change how third-party tags (including ASP and JSP tags) appear in the Document window’s
Design view. See “Customizing the interpretation of third-party tags” on page 8.
• Change keyboard shortcut mappings for your non-U.S. English keyboard. See “Changing
keyboard shortcut mappings” on page 28.
In addition, you can tailor Dreamweaver to meet your needs by doing the following:
• “Customizing default documents” on page 6
• “Customizing page designs” on page 6
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• “Customizing the appearance of dialog boxes” on page 6
• “Changing the default file type” on page 7
• “Customizing the interpretation of third-party tags” on page 8
• “Customizing workspace layouts” on page 23
• “Customizing the Coding toolbar” on page 27
Customizing default documents
The DocumentTypes/NewDocuments folder contains a default (blank) document of each type that you can create
using Dreamweaver. When you create a new blank document by selecting File > New and selecting an item from the
Basic Page, Dynamic Page, or Other categories, Dreamweaver bases the new document on the appropriate default
document in this folder. To change what appears in a default document of a given type, edit the appropriate
document in this folder.
Note: If you want all th e pages in your site to cont ain c ommon elem ents (su ch as a copy rig ht noti ce) or a comm on layout,
it’s better to use templates and library items than to change the default documents. For more information about
templates and library items, see Using Dreamweaver).
Customizing page designs
Dreamweaver provides a variety of predesigned Cascading Style Sheets, framesets, and page designs. You can create
pages based on these designs by selecting File > New.
6
To customize the available designs, edit the files in BuiltIn/css, BuiltIn/framesets, BuiltIn/Templates, and
BuiltIn/TemplatesAccessible folders.
Note: The designs listed in the Page Designs and Page Designs (Accessible) categories are Dreamweaver template files;
for more information on templates, see Using Dreamweaver.
You can also create custom page designs by adding files to the subfolders of the BuiltIn folder. To make a description
of the file appear in the New Document dialog box, create a Design Notes file (in the appropriate _notes folder) that
corresponds to the page design file.
Customizing the appearance of dialog boxes
The dialog box layouts for objects, commands, and behaviors are specified as HTML forms; they reside in HTML
files in the Configuration folder within the Dreamweaver application folder. You edit these forms as you would edit
any form in Dreamweaver. For more information, see Using Dreamweaver.
Note: In a multiuser operating system, you should edit copies of configuration files in your user Configuration folder
rather than editing Dreamweaver configuration files. For more information, see “Multiuser Configuration folders” on
page 73.
To change the appearance of a dialog box:
In Dreamweaver, select Edit > Preferences, and then select the Code Rewriting category.
1
2 Deselect the Rename Form Items When Pasting option.
Deselecting this option ensures that form items retain their original names when you copy and paste them.
3 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.
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4 On your hard disk, find the appropriate HTM file in the Configuration/Objects, Configuration/Commands, or
Configuration/Behaviors folder.
5 Make a copy of the file somewhere other than the Configuration folder.
6 Open the copy in Dreamweaver, edit the form, and save it.
7 Quit Dreamweaver.
8 Copy the changed file back to the Configuration folder in place of the original. (It’s a good idea to first make a
backup of the original, so you can restore it later if needed.)
9 Restart Dreamweaver to see the changes.
You should change only the appearance of the dialog box, not how it works; it must still contain the same types of
form elements with the same names, so that the information Dreamweaver obtains from the dialog box can still be
used in the same way.
For example, the Comment object takes text input from a text area in a dialog box and uses a simple JavaScript
function to turn that text into an HTML comment and insert the comment into your document. The form that
describes the dialog box is in the Comment.htm file in the Configuration/Objects/Invisibles folder. You can open
that file and change the size and other attributes of the text area, but if you remove the
change the value of its name
attribute, the Comment object does not work properly.
textarea tag entirely, or
7
Changing the default file type
By default, Dreamweaver shows all the file types it recognizes in the File > Open dialog box. You can use a pop-up
menu in that dialog box to limit the display to certain types of files. If most of your work involves a specific file type
(such as ASP files), you can change the default display. Whatever file type is listed on the first line of the
Dreamweaver Extensions.txt file becomes the default.
Note: If you want to see all file types in the File > Open dialog box (even the files Dreamweaver can’t open), you must
select All Files (*.*). This is different from All Documents, which shows only the files Dreamweaver can open.
To change the Dreamweaver default File > Open file type:
1 Make a backup copy of the Extensions.txt file in the Configuration folder.
2 Open Extensions.txt in Dreamweaver or in a text editor.
3 Cut the line corresponding to the new default and paste it at the beginning of the file so that it becomes the first
line of the file.
4 Save the file.
5 Restart Dreamweaver.
To see the new default, select File > Open, and look at the pop-up menu of file types.
To add new file types to the menu in the File > Open dialog box:
Make a backup copy of the Extensions.txt file in the Configuration folder.
1
2 Open Extensions.txt in Dreamweaver or in a text editor.
3 Add a new line for each new file type.
a In capital letters, enter the filename extensions that the new file type can have, separated by commas.
b Add a col on and a br ief des criptio n to show i n th e pop -up me nu for file typ es th at app ear in t he File > Op en di alog
box.
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For example, for JPEG files, enter the following: JPG,JPEG,JFIF:JPEG Image Files
4 Save the file.
5 Restart Dreamweaver.
To see the changes, select File > Open, and click the pop-up menu of file types.
Customizing the interpretation of third-party tags
Server-side technologies such as ASP, ColdFusion, JSP, and PHP use special non-HTML code in HTML files; servers
create and serve HTML content based on that code. When Dreamweaver encounters non-HTML tags, it compares
them with information in its third-party tag files, which define how Dreamweaver reads and displays non-HTML
tags.
For example, in addition to regular HTML, ASP files contain ASP code for the server to interpret. ASP code looks
al mos t li ke an HT ML t ag, but is mar ked by a pai r of del imiter s: it beg ins wit h
Configuration/ThirdPartyTags folder contains a file named Tags.xml, which describes the format of various thirdparty tags, including ASP code, and defines how Dreamweaver displays that code. Because of the way ASP code is
specified in Tags.xml, Dreamweaver does not try to interpret anything between the delimiters; instead, in Design
view, it displays an icon that indicates ASP code. Your own tag database files can define how Dreamweaver reads and
displays your tags. Create a new tag database file for each set of tags, to tell Dreamweaver how to display the tags.
<% and ends with %>. The Dreamweaver
8
Note: This section explains how to define the way Dreamweaver displays a custom tag, but doesn’t describe how to
provide a way to edit the content or properties of a custom tag. For information on how to create a Property inspector to
inspect and change the properties of a custom tag, see “Property inspectors” on page 210.
Each tag database file defines the name, type, content model, rendering scheme, and icon for one or more custom
tags. You can create any number of tag database files, but all of them must reside in the
Configuration/ThirdPartyTags folder to be read and processed by Dreamweaver. Tag database files have the .xml file
extension.
If you are working on several unrelated sites at once (for example, as a freelance developer), you can put all the tag
specifications for a particular site in one file. Then simply include that tag database file with the custom icons and
Property inspectors that you hand over to the people who will maintain the site.
You define a tag specification with an XML tag called
fication for a tag named
<tagspec tag_name="happy" tag_type="nonempty" render_contents="false" content_model=
"marker_model" icon="happy.gif" icon_width="18" icon_height="18"></tagspec>
happy:
tagspec. For example, the following code describes the speci-
You can define two kinds of tags using tagspec:
• Normal HTML-style tags
The
happy tag example is a normal HTML-style tag. It starts with an opening <happy> tag, contains data between
opening and closing tags, and ends with a closing
</happy> tag.
• String-delimited tags
String-delimited tags start with one string and end with another string. They are like empty HTML tags (such as
in that they don’t surround content and don’t have closing tags. If the
specification would include the
starts with the string
<% and ends with the string %>, and it has no closing tag.
start_string and end_string attributes. An ASP tag is a string-delimited tag; it
happy tag were a string-delimited tag, the tag
img)
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The following information describes the attributes and valid values for the tagspec tag. Attributes marked with an
asterisk (*) are ignored for string-delimited tags. Optional attributes are marked in the attribute lists with curly
{}); all attributes not marked with curly braces are required.
braces (
<tagspec>
Description
Provides information about a third-party tag.
Attributes
tag_name, {tag_type}, {render_contents}, {content_model}, {start_string}, {end_string},
{detect_in_attribute}, {parse_attributes}, icon, icon_width, icon_height, {equivalent_tag},
{is_visual}, {server_model}
• tag_name is the name of the custom tag. For string-delimited tags, tag_name is used only to determine whether
a given Property inspector can be used for the tag. If the first line of the Property inspector contains this tag name
with an asterisk on each side, the inspector can be used for tags of this type. For example, the tag name for ASP
ASP. Property inspectors that can examine ASP code should have *ASP* on the first line. For information
code is
on the Property inspector API, see “Property inspectors” on page 210.
• tag_type determines whether the tag is empty (as the img tag is), or whether it contains anything between its
opening and closing tags (as the
It’s ignored for string-delimited tags because they’re always empty. Valid values are
code tag does). This attribute is required for normal (nonstring-delimited) tags.
"empty" and "nonempty".
• render_contents determines whether the contents of the tag should appear in the Design view or whether the
specified icon should appear instead. This attribute is required for nonempty tags and is ignored for empty tags.
(Empty tags have no content.) This attribute applies only to tags that appear outside attributes. The contents of
tags that appear inside the values of attributes of other tags are not rendered. Valid values are
"true" and "false".
9
• content_model describes what kinds of content the tag can contain and where in an HTML file the tag can
appear. Valid values are
"block_model", "head_model", "marker_model", and "script_model".
• block_model specifies that the tag can contain block-level elements such as div and p, and that the tag can
appear only in the body section or inside other body-content tags such as
div, layer, or td.
• head_model specifies that the tag can contain text content and that it can appear only in the head section.
• marker_model specifies that the tag can contain any valid HTML code, and that it can appear anywhere in an
HTML file. The HTML validator in Dreamweaver ignores tags that are specified as
marker_model. However,
the validator doesn’t ignore the contents of such a tag; so even though the tag itself can appear anywhere, the
contents of the ta g may result in invalid HTML in ce rtain places. For exampl e, pl ain text c annot appear (out side
a valid head element) in the head section of a document, so you can’t place a
marker_model tag that contains
plain text in the head section. (To place a custom tag containing plain text in the head section, specify the tag’s
content model as
inline (inside a block-level element such as
head_model instead of marker_model.) Use marker_model for tags that should be displayed
p or div—for example, inside a paragraph). If the tag should be
displayed as a paragraph of its own, with line breaks before and after it, don’t use this model.
• script_model lets the tag exist anywhere between the opening and closing HTML tags of a document. When
Dreamweaver encounters a tag with this model, it ignores all of the tag’s content. Use this tag for markup (such
as certain ColdFusion tags) that Dreamweaver shouldn’t parse.
• start_string specifies a delimiter that marks the beginning of a string-delimited tag. String delimited tags can
appear anywhere in the document where a comment can appear. Dreamweaver does not parse tags or decode
entities or URLs between
start_string and end_string. This attribute is required if end_string is specified.
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• end_string specifies a delimiter that marks the end of a string-delimited tag. This attribute is required if
start_string is specified.
• detect_in_attribute indicates whether to ignore everything between start_string and end_string (or
between opening and closing tags if those strings are not defined) even when those strings appear inside attribute
names or values. You should generally set this to
"true" for string-delimited tags. The default is "false". For
example, ASP tags sometimes appear inside attribute values, and sometimes contain quotation marks ("). Because
the ASP tag specification specifies
detect_in_attribute="true", Dreamweaver ignores the ASP tags,
including the internal quotation marks, when they appear inside attribute values.
• parse_attributes indicates whether to parse the attributes of the tag. If this is set to "true" (the default),
Dreamweaver parses the attributes; if it’s set to
angle bracket that appears outside quotation marks. For example, this attribute should be set to
cfif (as in <cfif a is 1>, which Dreamweaver cannot parse as a set of attribute name/value pairs).
such as
"false", Dreamweaver ignores everything until the next closing
"false" for a tag
• icon specifies the path and filename of the icon associated with the tag. This attribute is required for empty tags,
and for nonempty tags whose contents do not appear in the Document window’s Design view.
• icon_width specifies the width of the icon in pixels.
• icon_height specifies the height of the icon in pixels.
• equivalent_tag specifies simple HTML equivalents for certain ColdFusion form-related tags. This is not
intended for use with other tags.
• is_visual indicates whether the tag has a direct visual effect on the page. For example, the ColdFusion tag
cfgraph doesn’t specify a value for is_visual (so the value defaults to "true"); the ColdFusion tag cfset is
specified as having
is_visual set to "false". Visibility for server markup tags is controlled by the Invisible
Elements category of the Preferences dialog box; visibility for visual server markup tags can be set independently
of visibility for nonvisual server markup tags.
• server_model, if specified, indicates that the tagspec tag applies only on pages that belong to the specified
server model. If
for ASP and JSP tags are the same, but the
server_model is not specified, the tagspec tag applies on all pages. For example, the delimiters
tagspec tag for JSP specifies a server_model of "JSP", so when
Dreamweaver encounters code with the appropriate delimiters on a JSP page, it displays a JSP icon. When it
encounters such code on a non-JSP page, it displays an ASP icon.
10
Contents
None (empty tag).
Container
None.
Example
<tagspec tag_name="happy" tag_type="nonempty" render_contents="false" content_model=
"marker_model" icon="happy.gif" icon_width="18" icon_height="18"></tagspec>
How custom tags appear in the Design view
The way that custom tags appear in the Design view of the Document window depends on the values of the
tag_type and render_contents attributes of the tagspec tag. If the value of tag_type is "empty", the icon
specified in the
icon attribute appears. If the value of tag_type is "nonempty" but the value of render_contents
is "false", the icon appears as it would for an empty tag. The following example shows how an instance of the happy
tag defined earlier might appear in the HTML:
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<p>This is a paragraph that includes an instance of the <code>happy</code>
tag (<happy>Joe</happy>).</p>
Because render_contents is set to "false" in the tag specification, the contents of the happy tag (the word Joe)
are not rendered. Instead, the start and end tags and their contents appear as a single icon.
11
For nonempty tags that have a
instead, the content between the opening and closing tags (such as the text between the tags in
the content between the opening and closing tags</mytag>
render_contents value of "true", the icon does not appear in the Design view;
<mytag>This is
) appears. If View > Invisible Elements is
enabled, the content is highlighted using the third-party tag color specified in Highlighting preferences.
(Highlighting applies only to tags defined in tag database files.)
To change the highlighting color of third-party tags:
Select Edit > Preferences, and select the Highlighting category.
1
2 Click the Third-Party Tags color box to display the color picker.
3 Select a color, and click OK to close the Preferences dialog box. For information about selecting a color, see Using
Dreamweaver.
Avoiding rewriting third-party tags
Dreamweaver corrects certain kinds of errors in HTML code. For details, see Using Dreamweaver. By default,
Dreamweaver refrains from changing HTML in files with certain filename extensions, including .asp (ASP), .cfm
(ColdFusion), .jsp (JSP), and .php (PHP). This default is set so that Dreamweaver does not accidentally modify the
code contained in any such non-HTML tags. You can change the Dreamweaver default rewriting behavior so that it
rewrites HTML when it opens such files, and you can add other file types to the list of types that Dreamweaver does
not rewrite.
Dreamweaver encodes certain special characters by replacing them with numerical values when you enter them in
the Property inspector. It’s usually best to let Dreamweaver perform this encoding because the special characters are
more likely to display correctly across platforms and browsers. However, because such encoding can interfere with
third-party tags, you may want to change the Dreamweaver encoding behavior when you’re working with files that
contain third-party tags.
To allow Dreamweaver to rewrite HTML in more kinds of files:
1 Select Edit > Preferences, and select the Code Rewriting category.
2 Select either of the following options:
• Fix Invalidly Nested And Unclosed Tags
• Remove Extra Closing Tags
3 Do one of the following:
• Delete one or more extensions from the list of extensions in the Never Rewrite Code: In Files With Extensions
option.
• Deselect the Never Rewrite Code: In Files With Extensions option. (Deselecting this option lets Dreamweaver
rewrite HTML in all types of files.)
To add file types that Dreamweaver should not rewrite:
1 Select Edit > Preferences, and select the Code Rewriting category.
2 Select either of the following options:
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• Fix Invalidly Nested And Unclosed Tags
• Remove Extra Closing Tags
3 Make sure the Never Rewrite Code: In Files With Extensions option is selected, and add the new file extensions
to the list in the text field.
If the new file type doesn’t appear in the file-types pop-up menu in the File > Open dialog box, you might want to
add it to the Configuration/Extensions.txt file. For details, see “Changing the default file type” on page 7.
To turn off Dreamweaver encoding options:
Select Edit > Preferences, and select the Code Rewriting category.
1
2 Deselect either or both Special Characters options.
For information on the other Code Rewriting preferences, see Using Dreamweaver.
Customizing Dreamweaver in a multiuser environment
You can customize Dreamweaver in a multiuser operating system such as Microsoft® Windows® 2000, Windows XP,
or Mac OS® X. Dreamweaver prevents any user’s customized configuration from affecting any other user’s
customized configuration. To accomplish this goal, the first time you run Dreamweaver in a multiuser operating
system that it recognizes, Dreamweaver copies various configuration files into a user Configuration folder for you.
When you customize Dreamweaver by using dialog boxes and panels, the application modifies your user Configuration files instead of modifying the Dreamweaver Configuration files. To customize Dreamweaver by editing a
configuration file in a multiuser environment, edit the appropriate user Configuration file, rather than editing the
files in the Dreamweaver Configuration folder. To make a change that affects most users, you can edit a
Dreamweaver Configuration file, but users who already have corresponding user Configuration files do not see the
change. In general, if you want to make a change that affects all the users, it’s best to create an extension and install
it using the Extension Manager.
12
Note: In older operating systems (Windows 98, Windows ME, and Mac OS 9.x), a single set of Dreamweaver
Configuration files is shared by all users, even if the operating system is configured to support multiple users.
The location of the user’s Configuration folder depends on the user’s platform.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms use the following location:
hard disk:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Adobe\Dreamweaver 9\Configuration
Note: In Windows XP, this folder may be inside a hidden folder.
Mac OS X platforms use the following location:
hard disk:Users/username/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Dreamweaver 9/Configuration
Note: To install extensions that all users can use in a multiuser operating system, you must be logged in as Administrator
(Windows) or root (Mac OS X).
The first time you run Dreamweaver, it copies only some of the configuration files into your user Configuration
folder. (The files that it copies are specified in the version.xml file in the Configuration folder.) When you customize
Dreamweaver from within the application (for example, when you modify one of the predesigned code snippets in
the Snippets panel), Dreamweaver copies the relevant files into your user Configuration folder. The version of a file
in your user Configuration folder always takes precedence over the version in the Dreamweaver Configuration
folder. To customize a configuration file that Dreamweaver has not copied into your user Configuration folder, first
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copy the file from the Dreamweaver Configuration folder to the corresponding location inside your user
Configuration folder. Then edit the copy in your user Configuration folder.
Deleting configuration files in a multiuser environment
When working in a multiuser operating system, if you do something within Dreamweaver that would delete a configuration file (for example, deleting a predesigned snippet from the Snippets panel), Dreamweaver creates a file in your
user Configuration folder called mm_deleted_files.xml. When a file is listed in mm_deleted_files.xml, Dreamweaver
behaves as if that file doesn’t exist.
To deactivate a configuration file:
1 Quit Dreamweaver.
2 Using a text editor, edit mm_deleted_files.xml in your user Configuration folder; add an item tag to that file,
giving the path (relative to the Dreamweaver Configuration folder) of the configuration file to deactivate.
Note: Do not edit mm_deleted_files.xml in Dreamweaver.
3 Save and close mm_deleted_files.xml.
4 Start Dreamweaver again.
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About mm_deleted_files.xml tag syntax
The mm_deleted_files.xml file contains a structured list of items that specify configuration files that Dreamweaver
is to ignore. These items are specified by XML tags, which you can edit in a text editor.
The following sections describe the syntax of the mm_deleted_files.xml tags. Optional attributes are marked in the
attribute lists with curly braces (
<deleteditems>
{}); all attributes not marked with curly braces are required.
Description
Container tag that holds a list of items that Dreamweaver should treat as deleted.
Attributes
None.
Contents
This tag must contain one or more
item tags.
Container
None.
Example
<deleteditems>
<!-- item tags here -->
</deleteditems>
<item>
Description
Specifies a configuration file that Dreamweaver should ignore.
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Attributes
name
The name attribute specifies the path to the configuration file, relative to the Configuration folder. In Windows,
use a backslash (\) to separate parts of the path; on the Macintosh®, use a colon (:).
Contents
None (empty tag).
Container
This tag must be contained in a
deleteditems tag.
Example
<item name="snippets\headers\5columnwith4links.csn" />
Reinstalling and uninstalling Dreamweaver in a multiuser environment
After you install Dreamweaver, if you later reinstall it or upgrade to a later version, Dreamweaver automatically
makes backup copies of existing user configuration files, so that if you’ve customized those files, you can still access
the changes you made. When you uninstall Dreamweaver from a multiuser system (which you can do only if you
have administrative privileges), Dreamweaver can remove each user Configuration folder for you.
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Changing FTP mappings
The FTPExtensionMap.txt file (Windows) and the FTPExtensionMapMac.txt file (Macintosh) map filename extensions to FTP transfer modes (ASCII or BINARY).
Each line in each of the two files includes a filename extension (such as GIF) and either the word ASCII or the word
BINARY, to indicate which of the two FTP transfer modes should be used when transferring a file with that
extension. On the Macintosh, each line also includes a creator code (such as DmWr) and a file type (such as TEXT).
When you download a file with the given filename extension on the Macintosh, Dreamweaver assigns the specified
creator and file type to the file.
If a file that you are transferring doesn’t have a filename extension, Dreamweaver uses the BINARY transfer mode.
Note: Dreamweaver cannot transfer files in Macbinary mode. If you need to transfer files in Macbinary mode, you must
use another FTP client.
The following example shows a line (from the Macintosh file) that indicates that files with the extension .html should
be transferred in ASCII mode:
HTML DmWr TEXT ASCII
In both the FTPExtensionMap.txt file and FTPExtensionMapMac.txt file (Macintosh), all elements on a given line
are separated by tabs. The extension and the transfer mode are in uppercase letters.
To change a default setting, edit the file in a text editor.
To add information about a new filename extension:
1 Edit the extension-map file in a text editor.
2 On a blank line, enter the filename extension (in uppercase letters) and press Tab.
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3 On the Macintosh, add the creator code, a tab, the file type, and another tab.
4 Enter ASCII or BINARY to set an FTP transfer mode.
5 Save the file.
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.
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Note: Do not confuse Dreamweaver document type definition files with the XML document type definition (DTD).
Document type definition files in Dreamweaver contain a set of
documenttype elements, each of which defines a
predefined collection of tags and attributes that are associated with a document type. When Dreamweaver starts, it
parses the document type definition files and creates an in-memory database of information regarding all defined
document types.
Dreamweaver provides an initial document type definition file. This file, named MMDocumentTypes.xml, contains
the document type definitions provided by Adobe:
Document type Server model Internal type File extensions Previous server
ASP.NET C# ASP.NET-Csharp Dynamic aspx, ascx
ASP.NET VB ASP.NET-VB Dynamic aspx, ascx
ASP JavaScript ASP-JS Dynamic asp
ASP VBScript ASP-VB Dynamic asp
ColdFusion ColdFusion Dynamic cfm, cfml UltraDev 4 ColdFusion
ColdFusion Component Dynamic cfc
JSP JSP Dynamic jsp
PHP PHP Dynamic php, php3
Library Item DWExtension lbi
ASP.NET C# Template DWTemplate axcs.dwt
model
ASP.NET VB Template DWTemplate axvb.dwt
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Document type Server model Internal type File extensions Previous server
ASP JavaScript Template DWTemplate aspjs.dwt
ASP VBScript Template DWTemplate aspvb.dwt
ColdFusion Template DWTemplate cfm.dwt
HTML Template DWTemplate dwt
JSP Template DWTemplate jsp.dwt
PHP Template DWTemplate php.dwt
HTML HTML htm, html
ActionScript Text as
CSharp Text cs
CSS Text css
Java Text java
JavaScript Text js
VB Text vb
VBScript Text vbs
Tex t Tex t tx t
EDML XML edml
model
TLD XML tld
VTML XML vtm, vtml
WML XML wml
XML XML xml
If you need to create a new document type, you can either add your entry to the document definition file that Adobe
provides (MMDocumentTypes.xml) or add a custom definition file to the Configuration/DocumentTypes folder.
Note: The NewDocuments subfolder resides in the Configuration/DocumentTypes folder. This subfolder contains default
pages (templates) for each document type.
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" >
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<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.
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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” on page 21.
The following table describes the tags and attributes that you can use within a document type definition file.
Element Type Required Description
Tag At tr ib ut e
documenttype
(root)
id
servermodel
Yes Parent node.
Yes Unique identifier across all document type definition files.
No Specifies the associated server model (case-sensitive); by default,
the following values are valid:
ASP.NET C#
ASP.NET VB
ASP VBScript
ASP JavaScript
ColdFusion
JSP
PHP MySQL
A call to the getServerModelDisplayName() functions
returns these names. The server model implementation files are
located in the Configuration/ServerModels folder.
Extension developers can create new server models extending this
list.
Element Type Required Description
Tag At tr ib ut e
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internaltype
dynamicid
winfileextension
Yes A broad classification of how Dreamweaver treats a file. The
internaltype identifies whether the Design view is enabled
for this document and handles special cases such as
Dreamweaver templates or extensions.
The following values are valid:
Dynamic
DWExtension
(has special display regions)
DWTemplate (has special display regions)
HTML
HTML4
(Code view only)
Text
XHTML1
(Code view only)
XML
All server model-related document types should map to
Dynamic. HTML should map to HTML. Script files (such as CSS, JS,
VB, and CS) should map to Text.
If internaltype is DWTemplate, you should also specify
dynamicid. If you omit dynamicid in this case, the new blank
template that the New Document dialog box creates is not a recognized document type by the Server Behavior or Bindings panel.
Instances of this template are simply an HTML template.
No A reference to the unique identifier of a dynamic document type.
This attribute is meaningful only when internaltype is
DWTemplate. This attribute lets you associate a dynamic
template with a dynamic document type.
Yes The file extension that is associated with the document type on
Windows. You specify multiple file extensions by using a commaseparated list. The first extension in the list is the extension that
Dreamweaver uses when the user saves a documenttype document.
If two nonserver model-related docum ent types have the same file
extension, Dreamweaver recognizes the first one as the document
type for the extension.
macfileextension
previewfile
file
priorversionservermodel
Yes The file extension that is associated with the document t ype on the
No The file that is rendered in the Preview area of the New Document
Yes The file that is located in the DocumentTypes/NewDocuments
No If this document’s server model has a Dreamweaver UltraDev 4
Macintosh. You specify multiple file extensions by using a commaseparated list. The first extension in the list is the extension that
Dreamweaver uses when the user saves a documenttype document.
If two nonserver model-associated document types have the same
file extension, Dreamweaver recognizes the first one as the document type for the extension.
dialog box.
folder that contains template content for new
documents.
equivalent, specify the name of the older version of the
server model.
UltraDev 4 ColdFusion is a valid prior server model.
documenttype
Element Type Required Description
Tag At tr ib ut e
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title
(subtag)
description
(subtag)
Yes The string that appears as a category item under Blank Document
in the New Document dialog box. You can place this string directly
in the definition file or point to it indirectly for localization
purposes. For more information on localizing this string, see “Localized strings” on page 21.
Formatting is not allowed, so HTML tags cannot be specified.
No The string that describes the document type. You can place this
string directly in the definition file or point to it indirectly for localization purposes. For more information on localizing this string, see
“Localized strings” on page 21.
Formatting is allowed, so HTML tags can be specified.
Note: When the user saves a new document, Dreamweaver examines the list of extensions for the current platform that
are associated with the document type (
winfileextension and macfileextension). Dreamweaver selects the first
string in the list and uses it as the default file extension. To change this default file extension, you must reorder the extensions in the comma-separated list so the new default is listed first.
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:
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<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 the user
Configuration folder. The user must update the Extensions.txt file because it is the instance that Dreamweaver looks
for and parses.
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The location of the user’s Configuration folder depends on the user’s platform.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms use the following location:
hard disk:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Adobe\Dreamweaver 9\Configuration
Note: In Windows XP, this folder may be inside a hidden folder.
Mac OS X platforms use the following location:
hard disk:Users/username/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Dreamweaver 9/Configuration
If Dreamweaver cannot find the Extensions.txt file in the user’s Configuration folder, Dreamweaver looks for it in
the Dreamweaver Configuration folder.
Note: On multiuser platforms, if you edit the copy of Extensions.txt that resides in the Dreamweaver Configuration
folder and not the one in the user’s Configuration folder, Dreamweaver is not aware of the changes because
Dreamweaver parses the copy of the Extensions.txt file in the user’s Configuration folder, not the file 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.
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To add a new document type:
Make a backup copy of the Extensions.txt file in the Configuration folder.
1
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.
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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
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:
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 namespace 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>
MMString:loadstring directive in the subtags as a placeholder
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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
DocType/Description
<strings>
...
<string id="myJSPDocType/Description"
value=
"<![CDATA[JavaServer Page with <em>special</em> features]]>"
/>
...
</strings>
string:
myJSP-
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, ASPJS and ASP-VB can claim .asp as their file extension. (For information on which server model gets preference, see
“canRecognizeDocument()” on page 320.)
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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.
Opening a document in Dreamweaver
When a user opens a document file, Dreamweaver follows a series of steps to identify the document type based on
the file’s extension.
If Dreamweaver successfully finds a unique document type, Dreamweaver uses that type and loads the associated
server model (if any) for the document that the user is opening. If the user has selected to use Dreamweaver
UltraDev 4 server behaviors, Dreamweaver loads the appropriate UltraDev 4 server model.
If the file extension maps to more than one document type, Dreamweaver performs the following actions:
• If a static document type is among the list of document types, it gets preference.
• If all the document types are dynamic, Dreamweaver creates an alphabetical list of the server models that are
associated with these document types and then calls the
model (see “canRecognizeDocument()” on page 320). Dreamweaver collects the return values and determines
which server model returned the highest valued positive integer. The document type whose server model returns
the highest integer is the document type that Dreamweaver assigns to the document being opened. If, however,
more than one server model returns the same integer, Dreamweaver goes through the alphabetical list of those
server models, picks the first in the list, and uses that document type. For example, if both ASP-JS and ASP-VB
canRecognizeDocument() function in each server
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claim an ASP document and if their respective canRecognizeDocument() functions return equal values, Dreamweaver assigns the document to ASP-JS (because, alphabetically, ASP-JS is first).
If Dreamweaver cannot map the file extension to a document type, Dreamweaver opens the document as a text file.
Customizing workspace layouts
Dreamweaver lets you customize the workspace layout, including which panels are in the specified layout, as well as
other attributes such as the positions and sizes of the panels, their collapsed or expanded states, the position and size
of the application window, and the position and size of the Document window.
The workspace layout is specified in XML files stored in the Configuration/Workspace layouts folder. The following
sections describe the syntax of the XML tags. Optional attributes are marked in the attribute lists with curly braces
{}); all attributes not marked with curly braces are required.
(
<panelset>
Description
Outermost tag, which signals the start of the panel set description.
Attributes
None.
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Contents
This tag may contain one or more
application, document, or panelset tags.
Container
None.
Example
<panelset>
<!-- panelset tags here -->
</panelset>
<application>
Description
Specifies the application window’s initial position and size.
Attributes
rect, maximize
• rect specifies the position and size of the application window. The string is in the form “left top right bottom”
specified as integers.
• maximize is a Boolean value: true if the application window should be maximized on startup; false otherwise.
The default value is
true.
Contents
None.
Container
This tag must be contained in a
panelset tag.
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Example
<panelset>
<application rect="0 0 1000 1200" maximize="false">
</application>
</panelset>
<document>
Description
Specifies the Document window’s initial position and size.
Attributes
rect, maximize
• rect specifies the position and size of the Document window. The string is in the form “left top right bottom”
specified as integers. If the
maximize value is true, the rect value is ignored.
• maximize is a Boolean value: true if the Document window should be maximized on startup; false otherwise.
The default value is
true.
Contents
None.
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Container
This tag must be contained in a
panelset tag.
Example
<panelset>
<document rect="100 257 1043 1200" maximize="false">
</document>
</panelset>
<panelframe>
Description
Describes an entire panel group.
Attributes
x, y, {width, height}, dock, collapse
• x specifies the left position of the panel group. Its value can be an integer or a value that is relative to the screen.
If the integer value is not on the screen, the panel group appears in the closest screen position possible to make it
visible on the screen. Relative values can be “left” or “right”; these values indicate which edge of the panel group
to align with which edge of the virtual screen.
• y specifies the top position of the panel group. Its value can be an integer or a value that is relative to the screen.
If the integer value is not on the screen, the panel group appears in the closest screen position possible to make it
visible on the screen. Relative values can be “top” or “bottom”; these values indicate which edge of the panel group
to align with which edge of the virtual screen.
• width is the width, in pixels, of the panel group. This attribute is optional. If the width is not specified, the built-
in default for the panel group is used.
• height is the height, in pixels, of the panel group. This attribute is optional. If the height is not specified, the built-
in default for the panel group is used.
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