Setting Up a Document > About automating tasks > Recording commands

Recording commands

Dreamweaver allows you to record a temporary command for short-term use. The main differences between this approach and playing back steps from the History panel (see Repeating steps) are as follows:

	The steps are recorded as you perform them, so you don't have to select them in the History panel before playing them back.
	During recording, Dreamweaver prevents you from performing nonrecordable mouse movements (such as clicking to select something in a window, or dragging a page element to a new location).
	If you switch to another document while recording, Dreamweaver doesn't record the changes you make in the other document. To determine whether you're recording or not at any given moment, look at the mouse pointer.

Dreamweaver retains only one recorded command at a time; as soon as you start recording a new command, the old one is lost. To save a new command without losing a recorded one, save the command from the History panel; see Creating new commands from history steps.

Once you've recorded a command, you can save it using the History panel.

To temporarily record a series of frequently used steps:

1	Choose Commands > Start Recording, or press Control+Shift+X (Windows) or Command+Shift+X (Macintosh).
	The pointer changes to indicate that you're recording a command.
2	When you finish recording, choose Commands > Stop Recording, or press Control+Shift+X (Windows) or Command+Shift+X (Macintosh).

To play back a recorded command:

Choose Commands > Play Recorded Command, or press Control+P (Windows) or Command+P (Macintosh).

To save a recorded command:

1	Choose Commands > Play Recorded Command to play the command back.
	A step named Run Command appears in the History panel's step list.
2	Select the Run Command step and click the Save As Command button.
3	Enter a name for the command and click OK.
	The command appears in the Commands menu.