How do I define a site in Dreamweaver?

For Dreamweaver to keep track of links between Web pages and their dependent files (images, plugins, etc.), it is necessary to define a folder on your hard disk as the Local Root Folder and to save all the files for your site in that folder. The Local Root Folder should contain the HTML files for your site as well as all images, Cascading Style Sheets, Templates, and other dependent files.

Design Notes: To better manage your site, you can create subfolders in which to put the above files. File and folder names should be one-word, lower-case, alphanumeric characters and should begin with a letter. The only special character that is permitted is the underscore ( _).

After the site is defined, the pages for the site are created in Dreamweaver and saved inside the Local Root Folder. Then the contents of that Local Root Folder are uploaded to the Web server. The Local Root Folder and the folder on the server should have exactly the same structure. If Dreamweaver is used to upload the site, it automatically replicates the file structure of the Local Root Folder on the server. Do not choose the Dreamweaver application folder as the Local Root Folder because it contains the program files.

To define a site in Dreamweaver, follow the steps below:

1. Create and name a folder on your hard drive that will be the Local Root Folder. Each site must have a separate Local Root Folder.

2. Open a new or existing document and save it in the new Local Root Folder as the Home page. Servers often require that the Home page be named index.htm or default.htm. At Web Prime, the Home page must be called "index" (e.g., index.htm or index.html). The Home page can be a preexisting HTML file or a new blank Dreamweaver document. Later, content can be added or deleted. Creating the Home page at this point enables Dreamweaver to build the Site Map during the site definition.

3. Choose Site > New Site and enter a name for your site in the Site Name field. The site name has no naming restrictions.

4. Tab to the Local Root Folder field, click the folder icon, and browse to the folder that will serve as the Local Root Folder. For your convenience, select both Refresh Local File List Automatically and Use Cache to Speed Link Updates. This is always recommended unless you are working with an extremely large site. Note: Browsing to the folder rather than typing the path name ensures a correct path.

5. To enter the information necessary to upload the site to the server (at Web Prime), choose Remote Info (Dreamweaver 4) or Web Server Info (Dreamweaver 2 and 3) from the Category list.

You will use an FTP connection to upload your files at WebPrime. The FTP Host refers to the domain name or IP address that calls the server. The Host Directory specifies the exact folder on the server where the files will go. The Login refers to the user name or login for your Web Prime account, and the password is self-explanatory. Look for your "Welcome" letter, and use the data in it to fill the appropriate boxes. Here's an example of a typical DW FTP setup for Web Prime:

• FTP Host: IP number or domain name (don't use your domain name if it is a newly created account)
• Host Directory: /public_html/
• Login: your Web Prime username
• Password: as shown in your "Welcome" letter (unless you changed the system password)

This way, you will log into your account and automatically open the /public_html/ folder, where you must upload your web site. Some of you may find DW's FTP utility unreliable when you go beyond simple Put operations. In those cases, feel free to use a separate FTP client like WS_FTP or CuteFTP.

6. To select the Home page and build the site map, choose Site Map Layout from the Category window on the left, click the folder icon, and browse to the Home page in the Local Root Folder. Select the file. Click Open and OK.

7. The Define Sites dialog box reopens. Click Done. Now that the site has been defined, the Site window opens. The Site window provides two visual representations of your site (Site Map and Site Files) and can be used to open, add, and delete files. To see both the Site Map and Site Files view, click the Site Map icon. The icon to the left of the Site Map icon displays the remote folders and files after the site has been uploaded to the server.

You are now ready to build your Web site. To modify your Home page, simply double-click the file. It will open in the Document window where text or images can be added.