LOWERY If Dreamweaver MX can do it, you can do it too . . . You’re holding in your hands the definitive guide to Dreamweaver MX — the only book you need to master today’s leading Web development tool. Author Joseph Lowery has worked with the Dreamweaver team at Macromedia since the program’s first release, and he is intimately familiar with every Dreamweaver tool, technique, and shortcut. From Dreamweaver basics to all the dramatic changes in MX — enhanced CSS capabilities, new template options, the new tag library structure, ASP.NET and PHP support, ColdFusion integration, and Web services tools — he shows you step by step how to get the most out of Dreamweaver and create sites that are truly state-of-the-art. Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of Dreamweaver MX • Get up and running fast in the revamped Dreamweaver workspace • Ramp up your coding with built-in Snippets, Code Hints, and the advanced Tag Chooser • Build complex pages using enhanced CSS rendering capabilities and advanced selector options • Discover how to fine-tune dynamic Web pages using Live Data Preview • Harness new Dreamweaver behaviors for advanced navigation techniques using pop-up menus • Seamlessly integrate rich client interfaces built in Flash with Fireworks graphics and digital video • Increase team site-building productivity securely with nested templates, Library page elements, and Sitespring integration • Get the scoop on XML and XHTML support in Dreamweaver • Extend Dreamweaver with commands, custom tags, translators, and behaviors Shelving Category: Web Development/Dreamweaver Reader Level: Beginning to Advanced System Requirements: PC running Windows 98/2000/Me/XP, Windows NT 4 or later; Power Macintosh running System 8.6 or later. See “What's on the CD-ROM” appendix for details and complete system requirements. ISBN 0-7645-4931-6 $49.99 USA $74.99 Canada £37.50 UK incl. VAT Dreamweaver MX Dreamweaver MX D reamweaver MX Joseph W. Lowery ® ,!7IA7G4-fejdbb!:p;o;t;T;T Dreamweaver MX trial and more on CD-ROM BONUS CD-ROM Hundreds of Dreamweaver extensions Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, and Fireworks MX trials Plus plugins and more www.wiley.com/compbooks/ 100% ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COMPREHENSIVE AUTHORITATIVE WHAT YOU NEED ONE HUNDRED PERCENT Create catalog sites rapidly with Dreamweaver MX features such as nested templates, drop-down menus, and pop-up windows. Build data-driven sites with drag-and-drop ease through Dreamweaver MX’s enhanced user interface. Bonus CD-ROM Over 300 extensions — behaviors, objects, commands, inspectors, floaters, and browser profiles D reamweaver MX Bible Foreword by David Deming, Product Manager for Dreamweaver *85555-BAHHDb 100% COMPREHENSIVE ® ® ® Master the radically new version of the leading Web site development program Harness the power of major new layout and code-editing enhancements Create Web applications and services using ASP, ASP.NET, JSP, ColdFusion, or PHP Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, and Flash MX trial versions Example style sheets and Web pages from the book “Joseph shows how to use the most significant release of Dreamweaver since version 1 to solve real-world development problems.” — David Deming, Product Manager for Dreamweaver, Macromedia 4931-6 cover 7/10/02 9:45 AM Page 1 www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info Dreamweaver ® MX Bible 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page i www.it-ebooks.info 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page ii www.it-ebooks.info Dreamweaver ® MX Bible Joseph W. Lowery 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page iii www.it-ebooks.info Dreamweaver ® MX Bible Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Library of Congress Control Number: 2002108095 ISBN: 0-7645-4931-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/QX/QY/QS/IN Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4447, E-Mail: permcoordinator@wiley.com. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF W ARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Macromedia Flash MX , FreeHand 10, JRun Server, and Macromedia Sitespring 1.2 copyright © 1995-2001. Macromedia, Inc., 600 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. All Rights Reserved. Macromedia, Flash, FreeHand, JRun SiteSpring and Dreamweaver are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trade- marks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page iv www.it-ebooks.info About the Author Joseph Lowery has been writing about computers and new technology since 1981. He is the author of the previous editions of Dreamweaver Bible and Fireworks Bible as well as Buying Online For Dummies (all published by Wiley). He recently co-wrote a book on Flash with designer Hillman Curtis and has also written books on HTML and using the Internet for business. His books are international bestsellers, having sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide in ten different languages. Joe is also a consultant and trainer and has presented at Seybold in both Boston and San Francisco, Macromedia UCON in the U.S. and Europe, and at ThunderLizard’s Web World. As a partner in Deva Associates, Ltd., Joe developed the Deva Tools for Dreamweaver set of navigational extensions. Joe and his wife, dancer/choreogra- pher Debra Wanner, have a daughter, Margot. 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page v www.it-ebooks.info About the Contributors Lisa Boesen spent eleven years as a systems programmer — working with, learning from, and being inspired by some of the most impressive people in the computer industry. This back- ground in computer science and her experience as both a software developer and an end user perfectly suited her to step into the role of technical writer in 1993. As a specialist in online documentation, Lisa has consulted with a wide variety of clients, designing, writing, and imple- menting their online documentation in formats that include WinHelp, Adobe Acrobat, and HTML. Most recently, Lisa has focused on developing training materials to teach others about her favorite Web authoring tool, Dreamweaver. Rick Scott has worked as a technical writer, programmer, tester, layout artist, instructor, multimedia developer, Web site designer, philologist, linguist, composer, performer, failed screenwriter, (marginally) successful novelist, and devout neopagan herbalist. What draws him to technical writing is the great and good joy of creating Order from Chaos. Daniel Short never planned to be a Web designer, it just happened. He started out in the Army tearing apart computers and eventually began putting together Web sites. Dan is a devoted Macromedian (and Team Macromedia volunteer) and uses almost the entire Macromedia Web Design Suite, including Fireworks and Macromedia Flash. He’s been doing the Web gig since the end of 1998 and has had great luck building his Web design business through Web Shorts Site Design. Dan helps maintain several HTML and Dreamweaver refer- ence sites including DreamweaverFAQ.com, for which he created the style changer and all ASP functionality, including the Snippets Exchange. Dan has also written articles for several resource sites, including AListApart.com, run by Jeffrey Zeldman, and Spider Food.net, run by J.K. Bowman. Dan is a contributing author for Dreamweaver MX Magic (published by New Riders). 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page vi www.it-ebooks.info About the Technical Editors Angela C. Buraglia spent six years as an independent film makeup artist before realizing that she wanted a career that would allow her to start a family and stay home with her husband and child. In an effort to give back to the Macromedia Dreamweaver newsgroup community that helped and encouraged her in her new career, she founded DreamweaverFAQ. com. Although she only intended to be a Web developer, life’s path has led her to become that and more. In addition to her contribution to this book, Angela is also a contributing author for Dreamweaver MX Magic (published by New Riders) and ColdFusion MX Web Application Construction Kit (pub- lished by Macromedia Press). Currently, Angela is also a Team Macromedia volunteer for Dreamweaver. Angela’s future plans are to continue developing DreamweaverFAQ.com, to build and sell Dreamweaver extensions, to give presentations at conferences, and perhaps to become involved in new book projects. Long gone are the days of applying makeup; now Angela applies behaviors and CSS to Web sites and — most importantly — is home with her little boy. Marc Garner runs sixtyeight, a UK-based Web design and development company ( www. sixtyeight.co.uk). He has over 15 years experience in the creative design industry, with the last 6 years devoted to Web design and application development. Marc has provided organizations with Macintosh training in major graphics and Internet software packages. In addition, he was the Macintosh technical editor for Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course, also published by Wiley. Away from the studio, Marc can be found painting with Aimee or playing trains with Curtis. Jon Parkhurst’s Internet quest began when he was handed MPI’s Web site in 1995. As he delved further into the underbelly of the Net, he soon became lost with the endless lines of code-crunching minions. In 1996, Jon began doing contract work under CDC Digital ( www.cdcdigital.com) and continued until 2000. Jon currently works as the head of the E-Commerce Department at Unimark, Inc. ( www.unimark.com) and contracts under NetNucleus.org. During the workday, he can typically be found peppering the Macromedia newsgroups as a volunteer Team Macromedia Member. During his off hours, he can be found administering his main personal site, IdentityOutpost.com, or hiking through the foothills of Missouri with his two kids. 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page vii www.it-ebooks.info Credits Acquisitions Editor Carol Sheehan Senior Project Editor Jodi Jensen Lead Technical Editor Angela Buraglia Technical Editors Marc Garner Jon Parkhurst Development Editors Erik Dafforn Susan Hobbs Copy Editors Mary Lagu Luann Rouff Editorial Manager Mary Beth Wakefield Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Bob Ipsen Executive Editorial Director Mary Bednarek Project Coordinator Erin Smith Graphics and Production Specialists Beth Brooks Sean Decker Melanie DesJardins Stephanie D. Jumper Heather Pope Betty Schulte Jeremey Unger Quality Control Technician Laura Albert David Faust Permissions Editor Carmen Krikorian Media Development Specialist Angela Denny Proofreading and Indexing TECHBOOKS Production Services Cover Image Murder By Design 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page viii www.it-ebooks.info [...]... performance Dreamweaver MX Bible addresses the full spectrum of Web professionals, providing basic information on HTML if you’re just starting, as well as advanced tips and tricks for seasoned pros Moreover, this book is a complete reference for everyone working with Dreamweaver on a daily basis What Hardware and Software Do You Need? Dreamweaver MX Bible includes coverage of Dreamweaver MX If you don’t... lack of HTML and JavaScript expertise Dreamweaver MX attempts to continue the balancing act of satisfying the two different markets — and, in large part, succeeds Innovations in Dreamweaver MX can be categorized into three areas: layout and design, code editing, and Web-application building www.it-ebooks.info 014931-6 FM.F xiv 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page xiv Dreamweaver MX Bible Enhanced layout features Perhaps... of prospective Web craftsmen and artists who want to do it all and are looking for a place to start Dreamweaver MX is the one program robust enough for them all, and Dreamweaver MX Bible is your guidebook to all its features and capabilities What’s in a name? In the case of Macromedia’s Dreamweaver MX, you’ll find one of the most appropriate product names around Web page design is a blend of art and... definitely better for using Dreamweaver, especially in terms of memory and processor speed How This Book Is Organized Dreamweaver MX Bible can take you from raw beginner to full-fledged professional if read cover to cover However, you’re more likely to read each section as needed, taking the necessary information and coming back later To facilitate this approach, Dreamweaver MX Bible is divided into seven... the Dreamweaver underpinnings of this tool provide an intuitive way to make your Web visions a reality Dreamweaver implies development, and Dreamweaver MX excels at producing multifaceted Web pages that bring content locked in a data store to the surface To use this book, you need only two items: the Dreamweaver software and a desire to make cutting-edge Web pages (Actually, you don’t even need Dreamweaver. .. greater integration between Dreamweaver and ColdFusion — and you’ll get it in Dreamweaver MX In addition to a major overhaul of the server behavior code so that it’s more familiar to ColdFusion developers, Dreamweaver now boasts a direct connection to a new feature in ColdFusion MX: ColdFusion Components Components can be written, applied, and even inspected from within Dreamweaver One of the hottest... use to get their jobs done, whether it was visually oriented, code-centric, or some combination thereof www.it-ebooks.info 014931-6 FM.F xii 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page xii Dreamweaver MX Bible We seized on all these opportunities with Dreamweaver MX and, in the end, produced a totally new Web-development environment What you may not realize is that Joe Lowery was with us just about every step of the way We... With a product as different and new as Dreamweaver MX, I’m not sure which is more difficult: building an application or describing it Either way, Joe shows how to use the most significant release of Dreamweaver since version 1 to solve real-world development problems I hope you enjoy using Dreamweaver as much as we enjoyed creating it David Deming Product Manager, Dreamweaver Macromedia, Inc www.it-ebooks.info... design prototyping to ongoing Web site management, Dreamweaver automates and simplifies much of a Webmaster’s workload Dreamweaver is not only the first Web authoring tool to bring the ease of visual editing to an HTML-code–oriented world, it also brings a point-and-click interface to complex coding whether server-side or client-side The Dreamweaver MX Bible is designed to help you master every nuance... applications? Are you creating a straightforward layout with the visual editor? Do you need to extend Dreamweaver s capabilities by building your own custom objects? With Dreamweaver and this book, you can weave your dreams into reality for the entire world to experience What’s New in Dreamweaver MX Since its inception, Dreamweaver has strived to serve two masters: professional Web developers, savvy in technique . VAT Dreamweaver MX Dreamweaver MX D reamweaver MX Joseph W. Lowery ® ,!7IA7G4-fejdbb!:p;o;t;T;T Dreamweaver MX trial and more on CD-ROM BONUS CD-ROM Hundreds of Dreamweaver extensions Dreamweaver. 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page ii www.it-ebooks.info Dreamweaver ® MX Bible Joseph W. Lowery 014931-6 FM.F 7/18/02 6:54 AM Page iii www.it-ebooks.info Dreamweaver ® MX Bible Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475. start. Dreamweaver MX is the one program robust enough for them all, and Dreamweaver MX Bible is your guidebook to all its features and capabilities. What’s in a name? In the case of Macromedia’s Dreamweaver