I read your Dreamweaver book but didn’t find anything about adding a search engine to my website. Can you direct me to make this element in my website?

Sincerely
Hossein from Norway

Greetings Hossein,

Creating your own search feature in Dreamweaver is very complex and generally not worth the effort because there are services that you can use instead.

Google offers a search feature you can add to your Web site. You can learn more about it at www.google.com/sitesearch/

I just added the features offered at www.wibiya.com because I like the fact that the service combines Google’s search engine with a few social media features all in one.

Hope that helps and I wish you all the best,
Janine

Still want more? Visit the Dreamweaver Help Center at www.DigitalFamily.com/dreamweaver to find Dreamweaver tips, tricks, and tutorials.

I purchased Web Sites For Dummies today and was impressed with how easy it should be to create my personal portfolio for my schooling. However, I have not been able to download Dreamweaver CS4. It seems all of the sites want to download CS5, which I hear is still full of bugs. Can you provide a link that will allow me to download a free trial of Dreamweaver CS4?

Thanks,
Doug

Hi Doug,

Thanks for buying my book. Dreamweaver CS5 is the latest version of Dreamweaver, and now that it’s out, Adobe is no longer offering free trials of the CS4 version. It’s common practice to discontinue the previous version when a company launches a new one.

But don’t let that stop you. I’ve been using version CS5 for some time now. Although every version has a bug here and there, over all I find CS5 to be a great program with a few nice additions and no bugs that make it worse or less usable than version CS4.

The templates I created for my Web Sites Do It Yourself For Dummies book will work with version CS5 just as they do with version CS4, so you should be able to follow along with the lessons in that book with either version.

I hope that helps and I wish you all the best with your Web design,
Janine

Still want more? Visit the Dreamweaver Help Center at www.DigitalFamily.com/dreamweaver to find Dreamweaver tips, tricks, and tutorials.

I have been reading one of your web design books and am interested in learning Dreamweaver but live in Cairns, Australia, where there is no training center available. First, is it possible to learn Dreamweaver (with no past training in web design) by using your videos? Second, if it IS possible, can it be delivered to Australia?

Thank you very much.

Alice

Hi Alice,

I’ve known many people who learned web design over the years. It’s a new and growing profession, so lots of people are starting in now. I’ve been doing this for 15 years (which makes me the age of a grandparent in Internet time) and I’ve learned that some of the important things to consider when you start to learn web design are (1) what kind of site do you want to create? and (2) what is your background (what programs do you already know)?

If you give me a few more details about what you want to do, I can help you assess the best approach and which of my books or videos (as well as other resources) might help you achieve your goals.

In the meantime, you can find many free tutorials and other resources at www.DigitalFamily.com.

Thanks,
Janine

I’ve been creating posts in Dreamweaver and then copying and pasting them into WordPress.  I love being able to use Dreamweaver’s more sophisticated editor, but WordPress keeps deleting my paragraph and break tags. Is there a way to prevent WordPress from stripping out my line breaks?

It’s making me crazy. . .

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I know exactly what you’re talking about, but it has nothing to do with Dreamweaver. That behavior is part of TinyMCE, which is the editor running behind the WordPress engine. It’s a common problem, so common there is a relatively easy fix.

Download and install the plug-in called TinyMCE Advanced, and you can change this annoying WordPress behavior. I recommend TinyMCE Advanced for every WordPress site.

To stop WordPress from stripping out your break and paragraph tags, open the Settings page for the plug-in after you install it. At the very bottom of the Settings page, you’ll find a check box that says “Stop removing <p> and <br /> tags when saving and show them in the HTML editor.”

Check that little box, and keep your sanity.

Janine

I’m trying to add a Flash file to a template page, but I keep getting the error message “Making this change would alter a region that is locked by a template or translator. The change will be discarded.”

Do you know what I’m doing wrong?

Thanks,

Kate,

You’re not doing anything wrong. This is a common error in templates, and there is a fix that will take care of your problem.

Here’s a somewhat technical explanation of the problem with your template pages, followed by detailed instructions for correcting it. In addition to making it possible to add Flash files to pages created with templates, this fix will enable you to edit the title of your pages and to add AJAX, CSS, and Behaviors to pages created from templates.

The errors for all of these problems are caused because of a missing editable region in the header tag area at the top of the page (more on what that means below).

There are two ways to create templates in Dreamweaver. You can create a new template (.dwt file) directly, or you can create an HTML page and then later save the page as a template. When you create a new .dwt file from scratch in Dreamweaver, the head area of the template is automatically set up as an editable region.

Here’s what caused your problem and why it doesn’t always happen in Dreamweaver. When you turn an existing HTML page into a template (using Save As to change the file to the .dwt format instead of .html), Dreamweaver should make the head area editable — it does that when you create a new template, but not when you save an existing page as a template. This problem can be hard to find because the head region of a page is not visible in the design area, but it’s very important.

If you’re using Dreamweaver CS3, 8, or a previous version, you’ll need to make the head area of the template an editable region manually, and you’ll have to do a little code work to fix it. (Don’t worry, I’ve included the code below so you can just copy and paste it.)

Note: If you are using Dreamweaver CS4 (the newest version), this problem was fixed in most versions. That said, if you’re having this problem and you’re using CS4, the following solution will work for you, too.

To manually add an editable region to the head section of a template so you can insert Flash and other files into your pages, follow these steps:

1. Open the .dwt file and choose Split or Code View so you can see the code behind the page.

2. Find the Head section of the page — it should be toward the top of the page in the HTML code and should look something like this:

<head>
<meta http-equiv=”Content-Type” content=”text/html; charset=utf-8″ />
<title>Untitled Document</title>
</head>

Note: Your code may be longer and include other details, such as a real document title instead of Untitled Document, but you want to identify everything between the <head> and </head> tags before you fix it.

3. Dreamweaver creates editable regions in pages by adding a little code that looks like this: <!– TemplateBeginEditable name=”head” –> around whatever area you want to be able to edit. That code is not inserted when you create a template from an existing page, but you can copy and paste the following code into the top of your page to fix it.

4. The easiest thing to do is to replace the entire head area in the HTML code of the original .dwt template file. (Note: You can’t do this in an HTML page created from the template; you need to do it in the original .dwt file. The bonus is that if you’ve already created multiple pages from the template, this should fix all of the pages you created from the template at once.)

Here’s what you need to do:

First, select all the code at the top of your template contained between the <head> tag and the close </head> tag and Delete it.

Then copy the following code and paste it into your .dwt file in place of what you deleted (be very careful to paste this in exactly the same place where you cut the old <head> content. Note that you may want to preserve your title tag or other custom code by saving it and pasting it back into place very carefully. HTML is for the detail-oriented; one missing quote mark and it won’t work. . .

<head>
<meta http-equiv=”Content-Type” content=”text/html; charset=utf-8″ />
<!– TemplateBeginEditable name=”doctitle” –>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<!– TemplateEndEditable –>
<!– TemplateBeginEditable name=”head” –>
<!– TemplateEndEditable –>
</head>

5. Save the page to complete the changes. If you are prompted to apply those changes to pages created from the template, make sure to approve the changes.

6. Although you shouldn’t see any change in the main design area of the page (unless you made a mistake such as deleting the <body> tag), you should now be able to add Flash files and other elements to any page you’ve created from your template, because Dreamweaver will not have an editable region at the top of the code where it needs to save the scripts that make your Flash files, behaviors, and other interactive features work.

7. Once you’ve changed the head code area in the template, you should be able to open any of the pages created from the template and edit the title, insert Flash files, and anything else just as you would any other page . This will also make it possible to add Behaviors that use Javascript, Spry features, such as drop-down menus, and other elements that require adding code to the head region.

Hope that solves your problem, and I wish you all the best with your Web site!

– Janine

I wonder if you could help me with the following: I’m new to building Web sites (I started 3 days ago!) and the problem I have is small but annoying. When defining rules for links, I am able to change the “hover” color but not the link color. When previewed in IExplorer, the link color insists on being purple when I’ve defined it as blue. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Hope to hear from you.
Regards,
Justin

Hi, Justin,

I’m guessing you’re seeing the visited link color in IE because you’ve already “visited” those links.

There are four color settings for links and you need to change all four. And keep in mind that you can use the same color for both active and visited links if you don’t want the color to appear to change after someone has visited the page.

On my website, you’ll find a tutorial on how to use CSS to create styles for links formatted in an Unordered List, which is a popular way to create navigation bars. Follow this link to the tutorial, where you’ll find more details about how to define styles for each of the four link states.

Best regards,
Janine

I have tried everything under the sun to get my site to look proper in IE on the PC. Every other browser looks fine, but in IE there is always a “gap” between the top div and the middle. The bottom looks fine.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Ronnie

Hi Ronnie,

Unfortunately, CSS differences in IE are a frustration for most Web designers. Microsoft just hasn’t followed the rules the way other browser makers have. As a result, to get your designs to look exactly the same in most Web browsers, you’ll have to move on to some advanced CSS techniques.

On my site, you’ll find links to a few places where you can continue your training. You’ll find instructions there to get you started with CSS and how to edit a CSS layout in Dreamweaver — they are designed to look good in many browsers from the start and can help you avoid problems.

If you really want to learn the best and latest, advanced CSS, I recommend AListApart.com for high-level CSS tips, but you won’t find much help with Dreamweaver there.

You may also appreciate my article about online browser emulators, which can help you compare your site on different browsers and even different versions of the same web browser.

I wish you all the best with your CSS,
Janine

Still want more? Visit the Dreamweaver Help Center at www.DigitalFamily.com/dreamweaver to find Dreamweaver tips, tricks, and tutorials.

I created a tabbed panel on one of my pages. When I preview it in a browser, the page has this restriction message about scripts and ActiveX controls at the top, and a pop-up window asking if I’m sure I want to run this active content.

What can I do to have the page appear without the ActiveX restriction?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

That “error” is designed to protect you from the fact that when you execute a script or ActiveX control on your computer, you run the risk of getting a bad virus or unleashing some malicious program.

All that is to say that Internet Explorer is trying to protect you — in this case, from your own script.

The good news is you don’t have to change anything and most people who visits your site on the Web won’t see the error.

This error message only appears when you preview pages on your computer that have active content (drop-down menus, panels, and other interactive features that require scripts).

Beware that IE offers many security settings and there are many reasons users do sometimes see this error message on live web pages, especially if you’re using scripts to download active content to a user’s machine.

You can test it yourself by publishing the page and viewing it in the same browser on the server that you used to view it on your hard drive. If you only see the error when you view the page on your computer, you can assume your visitors will not have a problem with your content.

I hope that helps you as you build your site and I wish you all the best,
Janine

I have been a graphics designer for the past 15 years or more (I quit counting), and I have never had the desire to do Web design or learn HTML until recently. The handwriting is on the wall and I want to put up my portfolio on the Web, etc. (for many reasons).

Getting to the point, I had talked with a friend who is very experienced in Web design and writing code. He knows what he is talking about and doesn’t make claims without explaining his reasoning. Recently, I contacted him to see if he would advise me about my site. I want to design my own site. My reason is, I don’t want a client of mine to ask me “who did your site” and my reply would be “he did” or “someone else.” I know NOTHING about HTML other than I get a knot in my stomach every time I think I need to learn it.

Here is the concern I have, and I’m not sure I believe him and this is why I am asking you. This person — I’ll call him an “HTML Purist” — said that Dreamweaver and all the Web site builder programs (he listed several but lumped them all into the same category) all BLOAT THE CODE. They work fine until something doesn’t work correctly, and then you are forced to re-do, or find the corrupted piece of code, fix it, etc. He said I was better off learning HTML because it would be easier compared to Dreamweaver. I don’t see it this way. If this were true, why would Dreamweaver be such great software to use? I don’t understand what he meant by saying “bloat the code.” He also said that these types of programs do not put in Meta tags and keywords in your pages as well as pure HTML code so the search engines have an easier time finding your site. He claims he has a way of building Web sites that search engines will find and list you on the first 10 finds most of the time. As I said before, I am a newbie about this and would love to hear some advice by an expert. I plan on wanting some Flash, cascading style sheets, possibly even some video, ALL that can be accomplished through DW.

I can learn software, and I suspect that clients will want me to build sites for them as well. I have turned down multiple requests over the years to my clients. I would like to be able to maintain any Web sites I build for my clients. My only concern is if something didn’t work correctly, I would be in an awkward position if I couldn’t provide the service of maintaining their sites.

I was going to post something like this on a forum, but I’m afraid all I would get in response is “what seems to be the problem.” I don’t know enough about it to even ask an intelligent question.

Please advise, and thanks for your honesty and time.

Ben

Hi Ben,

I understand your question well and have spoken with many graphics designers over the years who did not want to learn Web design, as well as to many ‘geeks’ who insisted that you have to learn HTML and be a purist to create a good Web site.

Here are a few thoughts to help you find the best path. First, I disagree with your friend about Dreamweaver. Because I am an instructor of the program, I’m sure you’re not surprised — but I’ll explain why.

Typing HTML is a tedious chore and one prone to typos and other errors that can ruin a good Web design. Dreamweaver is a carefully created program that is far better than most people at creating good code. And, on the rare occasion when I do need to fix something in the code, it is relatively easy to view the code in Dreamweaver (and even write code in Dreamweaver if you prefer to do it that way). Even then, you only have to learn a few things to create great pages in Dreamweaver, and as I explain in my videos, you can add Meta data and Alt text behind images and other things that are likely to help your search engine ranking. Dreamweaver is the best-selling program for Web design today for good reason. Your friend may prefer learning all those tedious tags and writing the code himself, but you are sure to be happier with Dreamweaver, which is not unlike InDesign in that it is a layout tool designed to help designers.

That said, there are many limitations in Web design that stem, not from the program you use, but from the fact that Web browsers do not always display Web pages the same way and there are many restrictions on how you can create a design that will look good on small and large monitors and all of the other variations on the Web. These things are likely to frustrate you, no matter how you create your pages, but rest assured, there are ways around some of the limitations and the power of the Web makes it all worthwhile.

You may be rolling your eyes at this point and still wishing you never had to learn HTML or anything like that, so here’s one last thing I will share with you. Although you can learn in my videos how to create a basic Web site, one that would surely serve you well for a portfolio of your work, to create sites for clients you’ll have to learn far more than HTML these days. The best Web sites today are created by a team of people, usually made up of a designer, an HTML/CSS coder, and then a hard core programmer who can write PHP or ASP.NET or some other advanced programming for database-driven dynamic sites.

If you’re a good designer, learning all that will not only be frustrating, it’s probably not worth your time, because again, the best sites are built by a team of people. Often the designer creates the look and feel of a site in Photoshop and then passes those designs on to the HTML person and/or programmer to develop the site. As a result, many graphics designers are now creating great Web page designs without having to learn all of the technical stuff.

So, my best advice today is that you learn the basics, including how to create at least a simple site in Dreamweaver so that you understand what is possible on the Web and where the limitations are. Then partner with an experienced Web programmer and work as a team — you create the design, they create the Web site from that design. It’s a common model and increasingly important because few people have the aptitude, or interest, in becoming both a great graphics designer and a programmer.

I hope that helps you find the best solution for your own site and for your clients.

All my best,
Janine

Still want more? Visit the Dreamweaver Help Center at www.DigitalFamily.com/dreamweaver to find Dreamweaver tips, tricks, and tutorials.

I purchased DW CS4 For Dummies and don’t see that on your Web site for getting a password. Is it available?

Best regards,
Michael

Hi Michael,

Some of my videos and books, such as Web Sites DIY For Dummies, come with templates and other files for use with the lessons in the book and require passwords to get to special related content.

Dreamweaver For Dummies is more of a reference guide and doesn’t require the kind of supportive material I keep in the Reader’s Corner, but you will find many more tutorials and other resources available for free on my site at in my Dreamweaver section.

Thanks,
Janine