Dreamweaver CC Digital Classroom

Michael Arguin, Greg Heald

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781118639771
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Web design

Learn Adobe Dreamweaver CC with this full-color book and DVD training package

You may be eager to learn how to use Adobe Dreamweaver CC (Creative Cloud) to create great websites, but you'd like to tackle it at your own speed. If so, this book-and-DVD learning combo is perfect for you. More than 16 lessons, each including step-by-step instructions and lesson files backed by video tutorials, guide you smoothly through website design to implementation to maintenance, helping you build solid skills at your own pace. It's like having your own personal Dreamweaver instructor at your side.

• Combines a full-color, step-by-step instructional print book along with lesson files and video training on DVD, to teach readers how to use Adobe Dreamweaver CC

• Provides thorough training from a team of expert instructors from American Graphics Institute (AGI)

• Covers essential topics such as applying style sheets, using dynamic HTML, adding style with images and multimedia, publishing and maintaining websites, using hyperlinks to navigate, and using databases to create dynamic websites

You'll be building websites, formatting web pages, and creating forms in no time with Adobe Dreamweaver CC Digital Classroom.

Note: DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase

Lesson 1
Dreamweaver CC Jumpstart

Whether you are a novice web designer or an experienced developer, Dreamweaver is a comprehensive tool you can use for site design, layout, and management. In this lesson, you’ll take a tour of Dreamweaver’s key features and get a better understanding of how web pages work.

What you’ll learn in this lesson:

• An overview of Dreamweaver CC features
• How the Web works
• An introduction to HTML

Starting up

Before starting, make sure that your tools and panels are consistent by resetting your workspace. See “Resetting the Dreamweaver workspace” in the Starting up section of this book.

Before you start, be sure to register your book at www.digitalclassroombooks.com/epub/dreamweavercc to learn about updates to any of the lesson files and gain access to the accompanying video tutorials on any Internet connected computer, tablet, or smartphone.

You will work with several files from the dw01lessons folder in this lesson. Make sure that you have loaded the dwlessons folder onto your hard drive from www.digitalclassroombooks.com/epub/dreamweavercc. See “Loading lesson files” in the Starting up section of this book.

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If you want to get started and create a page, jump ahead to “Tag structure and attributes” later on in this lesson. Otherwise, the next few pages provide you with an overview of key capabilities and features of Dreamweaver CC.

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What is Dreamweaver?

Dreamweaver is an excellent web design and development tool for new and experienced users alike. Over the years it has become the preferred website creation and management program, providing a creative environment for both designers and developers. Whether you design websites, develop mobile phone content, or script complex server-side applications, Dreamweaver has something to offer.

Design and layout tools

Dreamweaver’s many icon-driven menus and detailed panels make it easy to insert and format text, images, and media (such as HTML5 video files and Flash movies). This means that you can create attractive and functional web pages without knowing a single line of code—Dreamweaver takes care of building the code behind-the-scenes for you. Dreamweaver does not create graphics from scratch; instead, it is integrated with Adobe Photoshop CC so you can import and adjust graphics from within the application.

The Insert panel features objects in several categories that let you easily add images, web forms, and media to your page.

Site management and File Transfer Protocol

Dreamweaver has everything you need for complete site management, including built-in File Transfer Protocol (FTP) capabilities between a server and your local machine; reusable objects (such as page templates and library items); and site optimization tools (such as link checkers and site reports) so you can ensure that your site functions properly and looks good. If you’re designing your pages with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), then the W3C Validation, and the Browser Compatibility Check features will help you locate and troubleshoot any potential display issues that might occur across different web browsers.

Coding environment and text editor

Dreamweaver lets you work in a code-only view of your document that acts as a powerful text editor. Features such as color-coding, indentation, and visual aids make Dreamweaver an excellent text editing or coding environment for web designers of any level.

Code view is a full-featured text editor that color-codes, tags, and scripts for editing that’s easier to decipher.

For more experienced developers, Dreamweaver supports popular coding and scripting languages, such as JavaScript, in addition to server-side languages like PHP. Specialized insert menus and code panels help you build pages and applications in the language of your choice.

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Scripting languages, such as those used to build interactive web pages or e-commerce sites, fall into two categories: client-side and server-side. Client-side languages (such as JavaScript) run in your browser, while server-side languages (such as PHP) require that special software be installed on the server in order to run.

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Mobile design and development features

The tools in Dreamweaver have evolved as the Web has evolved. The most recent versions of the application have numerous features designed to help make your website look good and function well in the rapidly growing arena of mobile phones and devices. The Fluid Grid Layout and Window Size viewports allow you to design your pages using a responsive grid with multiple screen sizes for smartphones and tablets.

Additionally, there is support for creating Media Queries, which are a CSS3 feature aimed at creating unique page layouts for different-sized screens. For more advanced users there is support for jQuery Mobile, which creates unique user interfaces for touchscreen devices. There is also support for creating native applications for iOS and Android operating systems with PhoneGap integration.

Multiple Window Size viewports allow you to view your pages in common screen sizes for mobile and other devices.

Who uses Dreamweaver?

Dreamweaver’s popularity is a result of its flexibility. Its ability to build a site from conception to launch—and provide continued maintenance afterward—makes it a preferred tool among industry professionals, businesses, and educational institutions while remaining easy and accessible enough for novice designers to get up-and-running quickl...