Customizing Dreamweaver > Customizing the interpretation of third-party tags > Avoiding rewriting third-party tags

Avoiding rewriting third-party tags

Dreamweaver corrects certain kinds of errors in HTML (for details, see Code Rewriting preferences). By default, Dreamweaver refrains from changing HTML in files with certain file name extensions, including .asp (ASP), .cfm (ColdFusion), .jsp (JSP), and .php (PHP). This default is set so that Dreamweaver won't accidentally modify the code contained in any such third-party tags. You can change Dreamweaver's default rewriting behavior so that it rewrites HTML when it opens such files, and you can add other file types to the list of types that Dreamweaver doesn't rewrite.

Note also that Dreamweaver encodes certain special characters (by replacing them with numerical values) when you enter them in the Property inspector. It's usually best to let Dreamweaver perform this encoding, because the special characters will be more likely to display correctly across platforms and browsers. However, because such encoding may interfere with third-party tags, you may want to change Dreamweaver's encoding behavior when you're working with files containing third-party tags.

To allow Dreamweaver to rewrite HTML in more kinds of files:

1	Choose Edit > Preferences and select Code Rewriting.
2	Do one of the following:
	Delete one or more extensions from the list of extensions.
	Deselect the Never Rewrite Code: In Files with Extensions option. (Deselecting this option allows Dreamweaver to rewrite HTML in all types of files.)

To add file types that Dreamweaver shouldn't rewrite:

1	Choose Edit > Preferences and select Code Rewriting.
2	Make sure the Never Rewrite Code: In Files with Extensions option is selected, and add the new file extensions to the list in the text field.
	If the new file type doesn't appear in the file-types pop-up menu in the File > Open dialog box, you may want to add it to the Configuration/Extensions.txt file. For details, see Changing the default file type.

To turn off Dreamweaver's encoding options:

1	Choose Edit > Preferences and select Code Rewriting.
2	Deselect either or both Special Characters options.

For information on the other Code Rewriting preferences, see Code Rewriting preferences.