Computer Beginner Guide

Most Web pages are created in HyperText Markup Language (HTML). This programming language—really a series of tags that modify a text file—is standardized by an organization known as the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C . Each new release of HTML incorporates an enhanced set of commands and features. All browsers in use today recognize the current version, HTML 4. Dreamweaver writes clear, easy-to-follow, real-world, browser-compatible HTML version 4.01 code whenever you insert or modify an element in the visual editor. If you’re working in Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML), Dreamweaver has you covered as well, with a number of tools. When coding from the ground up, you can set any page type—static or dynamic—to be XHTML-compliant. In fact, the default page type is today’s recognized standard, XHTML 1.0 Transitional. If you need to bring legacy pages into compliance, Dreamweaver converts an existing page from HTML to XHTML with one operation. Additionally, Dream...

When creating a Web page, Webmasters do two things repeatedly: They insert an element—whether text, image, or layer—and then they modify it. Dreamweaver excels at such Web page creation. The Dreamweaver workspace combines a series of windows, panels, and inspectors to make the process as fluid as possible, thereby speeding up the Webmaster’s work. Easy Text Entry Although much of the World Wide Web’s glitz comes from multimedia elements such as images and sound, Web pages are primarily a text-based medium. Dreamweaver recognizes this and makes the text cursor the default tool. To add text, just click in Dreamweaver’s main workspace—the Document window—and start typing. As shown below, the Text Property inspector even enables you to change characteristics of the text, such as the size, font, position, or color by assigning a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) style. Dreamweaver even helps you along by automatically creating a style if none has been previously assigned. Drag-a...

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 is a professional Web site development program for creating both standard Web pages and dynamic applications. In its latest incarnation, Dreamweaver has rededicated itself to Web standards and sharpened its focus. In addition to creating standards-based HTML pages with enhanced Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) rendering, it is also suitable for coding a wide range of Web formats, including JavaScript, XML, and ActionScript— even those incorporating Web 2.0 methods, such as Ajax. Among its many other distinctions, it was the first Web authoring tool capable of addressing multiple server models. This feature makes it equally easy for developers of ASP , ColdFusion , or PHP to use it. Dreamweaver is truly a tool designed by Web developers for Web developers. Designed from the ground up to work the way professional Web designers do, it speeds site construction and streamlines site maintenance. Because Web designers rarely work in a vacuum, Dreamweaver int...

Safe to say, Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 is the most highly anticipated release of the world’s most popular Web authoring tool in recent memory. Why? First, and most critically, this is the first version of Dreamweaver since Adobe acquired Macromedia. Designers for both the graphic and Web industries have been wondering anxiously what changes this combination of software powerhouses would bring. Would Photoshop and Dreamweaver finally begin to work together? Would Dreamweaver become an Adobe interface clone? Would Dreamweaver even make the cut and continue to be produced—or would more and more Web designers around the world need to learn how to “go live”? Dreamweaver has been welcomed into the Adobe family with open arms and fully integrated into the Creative Suites. Another factor fueling the anticipation is the wave of new design possibilities and standards-based implementations—collectively known as Web 2.0 —that have significantly reshaped the Web designer’s world since t...