Getting Started > Learning Dreamweaver
Getting Started > Learning Dreamweaver |
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Macromedia Dreamweaver includes a variety of resources to help you learn the program quickly and become proficient in creating your own Web sites and pages. These resources include a printed book, online help pages, Guided Tour movies, a tutorial, and interactive lessons. You can also find regularly updated tips, TechNotes, examples, and information at the Dreamweaver Support Center on Macromedia's Web site.
Start by viewing the Guided Tour movies to learn about Dreamweaver features. Next, complete the Dreamweaver tutorial. Finally, try the Dreamweaver lessons to learn how to accomplish specific tasks in Dreamweaver.
The Guided Tour movies provide an animated overview of the Web development process and take you through a tour of Dreamweaver's features.
To view a Guided Tour movie, choose Help > Guided Tours and click one of the movie titles. When each movie is over, click the Home button to return to the list of movies, then click another movie. You can watch the whole tour or skip ahead to see particular sections.
The Dreamweaver tutorial is the best place to start if you want to get some hands-on experience creating pages in Dreamweaver. By working through the tutorial, you'll learn how to create a sample Web site with some of Dreamweaver's most useful and powerful features. The tutorial is in both Dreamweaver Help and the Using Dreamweaver book. You can also download a printable version of the tutorial at Macromedia's Web site.
The tutorial includes sample pages and assets (images and Macromedia Flash files) to help you get started developing a Web site.
Dreamweaver comes with a set of interactive lessons. Each lesson takes you through the steps of a specific task and includes sample pages that contain all the design and functional elements needed. Use the lessons as step-by-step guides with the sample pages, or as a guide as you work in your own pages.
To locate the lessons, choose Help > Lessons and select a topic.
Dreamweaver user guide (printed book)
Using Dreamweaver provides a printed alternative to Dreamweaver Help, and contains information on using Dreamweaver's commands and features. Certain reference topics about program options are not included in the printed book; see Dreamweaver Help for information on those topics.
If you purchased the Electronic Software Download (ESD) version of Dreamweaver, you can download a printable version of Using Dreamweaver from the Dreamweaver Support Center.
Dreamweaver Help provides comprehensive information about all Dreamweaver features, optimized for use online.
For best results viewing Dreamweaver Help, use Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later.
Dreamweaver Help makes extensive use of JavaScript. Make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser. If you plan to use the search feature, make sure that Java is enabled as well.
Dreamweaver Help includes the following components:
Contents enables you to see all of the information organized by subject. Click top-level entries to view subtopics.
The index, like a traditional printed index, can be used to find important terms and go to related topics.
Search allows you to find any character string in all topic text. The search feature requires a 4.0 browser with Java enabled.
Note: When you click Search, a Java security window may appear, asking for permission to read files on your hard disk. You must grant this permission for the search to work. The applet does not write anything to your hard disk, nor does it read any files outside Dreamweaver Help.
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To search for a phrase, simply type the phrase in the text field.
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To search for files that contain two keywords (for example, layers and styles), separate the search terms with a plus (+) sign.
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Context-sensitive help provides a Help button in each dialog box, or a question mark icon in inspectors, windows, and panels, that opens a relevant help topic.
Dreamweaver Help's navigation bar provides buttons you can click to move through topics. The right and left arrow buttons move to the previous or next topic in a section (following the topic order listed in the table of contents).
The Extending Dreamweaver help system provide information on the Dreamweaver Document Object Model and the APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow JavaScript and C developers to create objects, commands, property inspectors, behaviors, and translators.
The Dreamweaver Support Center Web site is updated regularly with the latest information on Dreamweaver, plus advice from expert users, examples, tips, updates, and information on advanced topics. Check the Web site often for the latest news on Dreamweaver and how to get the most out of the program.
Discuss technical issues and share helpful hints with other Dreamweaver users by visiting the Dreamweaver discussion group. You'll find information about accessing the discussion group on Macromedia's Web site.
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