Help With Dreamweaver 8

cashtech29 · 11-18-2008, 12:16 PM

Hello all.
I am looking for someone that can help me with a Dreamweaver 8 question.
I am trying to complete my site and when ever I try to view it online
some of the layers are out of whack, usually they are a lot longer than what I made them in my editor.
and it messes up the whole page.
The layer that I have my text in, stops right where it should in my editor
but when I view online, the text stops where it is supposed to but the layer and background color keep going on and on...

Can anyone with experience look at the site and see what you think?

wayfarer · 11-18-2008, 01:48 PM

Unfortunately, Dreamweaver 8's design-view is total junk, as it is based on a (very outdated) version of IE. The newer versions are based on Mozilla, but are still not perfect.

You are going to need to learn some code if you are going to prevent this from happening in the future, Dreamweaver is a great tool when used professionally, but it is also terrible crutch that has a huge potential for misuse in the wrong hands.

As far as your site, you will need to provide a link for us to look at...

cashtech29 · 11-18-2008, 02:12 PM

Yeah, I am no techie but I use dreamweaver because I can insert the floating layers
and place them anywhere, any size I want and with some background color,
it makes for a nice looking web site.

If I was able to find something else that I could do the same things with, I'd
probably go for it.
Any suggestions?

I do know a small amount of html.
Are these codes fairly simple to implement?

wayfarer · 11-19-2008, 08:48 AM

You might want to start here: HTML Tutorial

And here: CSS Tutorial

cashtech29 · 11-20-2008, 10:52 AM

Wow, that's great, wayfarer!
I thought that the layers were css boxes.
I know that in dreamweaver8 the sidebar has two modes: "layers" and "css".
are you saying that if I create my pages in the "css" mode, instead of "Layer" mode
that I can make this anomaly stop happening?

webinfo234 · 11-20-2008, 01:28 PM

Paste your source code here or a link to your site let me take a look.

cashtech29 · 11-20-2008, 03:15 PM

Thank you for your response webinfo234.

My actual site will be a membership site and it's still in the works,
so that would be a little difficult.

When I get through with some other projects today, I'll
make a mock-up of a page and create the same scenario
so you can see what I'm talking about.

Thanks again.

gimmick · 11-22-2008, 09:01 AM

Also the excact spot on your page the layers show up depend on the resolution the viewer has if you use floating layers. There are methods and scripts to dock the layer, but DWW default layer system sucks.

ecoverartist · 11-22-2008, 12:06 PM

I second that DW8's layer's view is absolutely abysmal. I wouldn't trust it to even do a mockup. Especially because you're designing in the constraings of its "Design View" window and not the user's actual resolution -until you preview it and see that your layers are all over the place.

An excellent place to learn web design technologies when you're starting out is www.lynda.com - I taught a university course on dreamweaver with one of their books and it was incredibly helpful.

cashtech29 · 11-22-2008, 01:40 PM

Is there a way that I can dock each layer?
I've spent so many months on this web site, I hate to loose it all.

cashtech29 · 11-22-2008, 01:44 PM

I know that DW has both layers and CSS modes.
Does this make a difference on the way the layers / styles behave.

Would I do well by taking a CSS course?
and would CSS solve my problems that you described?

gimmick · 11-23-2008, 08:57 AM

Do you have style.css set for your page? If so, in the CSS Rule definition dialog box, select Positioning, and then set the style attributes you want. Set the style attribute 'Placement' where you want the layer to appear.

I have not tried myself because I use layers very seldom, but that should work...
Good luck!

Rich Mann · 11-23-2008, 04:13 PM

There's a lot about DW8 that really sux. It's a gr8 tool but the learning curve is hideous. When I upgraded to DW8 I was very disappointed in the layers rendering an lack of support for Mozilla, Opera and other modern browsers. I have also struggled with the rendering engine and also some of the site maintenance (uploading) problems. I finally decided to develop my sites on my local machine and use SmartFTP for all my uploading. I actually use an old version of Homesite for some of my development.

webinfo234 · 12-02-2008, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashtech29

I know that DW has both layers and CSS modes.
Does this make a difference on the way the layers / styles behave.

Would I do well by taking a CSS course?
and would CSS solve my problems that you described?

I strongly advice you take CSS course. It will give you an edge over handling your website layout and structures.
Its easy to learn but will take a little while to fully understand how it works.
CSS makes your website more dynamic with less images and more SEO friendly.

cashtech29 · 12-02-2008, 06:47 PM

Hey, sorry I haven't gotten back to anyone, I never got notice of the new recant posts.
Anyway, are you saying that when I add a layer in DR8 and position it on my web page, that isn't necessarily css?

I had ordered a css course about two weeks ago but then I got the notion that DR8
did the css thing automatically, when I added a layer to the page. I never started the learning process.
thought it was pointless.

As I said earlier, if I add a layer to a page, put some text into it and add another layer with some background beside the first layer and then look at it in my browser, one of the layers become twice as long as it was on my computer, and yet the other one can remain the same size as when I made it.
What a strange anomaly.
I also have times where I can highlight one layer and two or three other layers will highlight right along with it. (Makes it hard to move things around the way I want).

I really do want to learn how to beat the DR8 quagmire, though.
It's just so damn easy to build a beautiful, colorful page with the layers...

I guess I need to break out the css course.

Any quick video tutorials on how to build expanding mini sites using tables?
That might be a big help also.

11-18-2008, 12:16 PM	#1
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Help With Dreamweaver 8 Hello all. I am looking for someone that can help me with a Dreamweaver 8 question. I am trying to complete my site and when ever I try to view it online some of the layers are out of whack, usually they are a lot longer than what I made them in my editor. and it messes up the whole page. The layer that I have my text in, stops right where it should in my editor but when I view online, the text stops where it is supposed to but the layer and background color keep going on and on... Can anyone with experience look at the site and see what you think?

11-18-2008, 01:48 PM	#2
wayfarer Web Developer Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Asheville, NC USA Posts: 44 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Unfortunately, Dreamweaver 8's design-view is total junk, as it is based on a (very outdated) version of IE. The newer versions are based on Mozilla, but are still not perfect. You are going to need to learn some code if you are going to prevent this from happening in the future, Dreamweaver is a great tool when used professionally, but it is also terrible crutch that has a huge potential for misuse in the wrong hands. As far as your site, you will need to provide a link for us to look at...
	Buy me a beer

11-18-2008, 02:12 PM	#3
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Yeah, I am no techie but I use dreamweaver because I can insert the floating layers and place them anywhere, any size I want and with some background color, it makes for a nice looking web site. If I was able to find something else that I could do the same things with, I'd probably go for it. Any suggestions? I do know a small amount of html. Are these codes fairly simple to implement?

11-19-2008, 08:48 AM	#4
wayfarer Web Developer Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Asheville, NC USA Posts: 44 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 You might want to start here: HTML Tutorial And here: CSS Tutorial
	Buy me a beer

11-20-2008, 10:52 AM	#5
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Wow, that's great, wayfarer! I thought that the layers were css boxes. I know that in dreamweaver8 the sidebar has two modes: "layers" and "css". are you saying that if I create my pages in the "css" mode, instead of "Layer" mode that I can make this anomaly stop happening?

11-20-2008, 01:28 PM	#6
webinfo234 Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Paste your source code here or a link to your site let me take a look.
	www.articleunit.com Internet and Technology articles. What you know is what you see, what you see is what you get.

11-20-2008, 03:15 PM	#7
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Thank you for your response webinfo234. My actual site will be a membership site and it's still in the works, so that would be a little difficult. When I get through with some other projects today, I'll make a mock-up of a page and create the same scenario so you can see what I'm talking about. Thanks again.

11-22-2008, 09:01 AM	#8
gimmick Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Also the excact spot on your page the layers show up depend on the resolution the viewer has if you use floating layers. There are methods and scripts to dock the layer, but DWW default layer system sucks.

11-22-2008, 12:06 PM	#9
ecoverartist Copywriter & Graphics Pro Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: A cave with 47 computers and an internet feed Posts: 1,327 Thanks: 58 Thanked 47 Times in 19 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 I second that DW8's layer's view is absolutely abysmal. I wouldn't trust it to even do a mockup. Especially because you're designing in the constraings of its "Design View" window and not the user's actual resolution -until you preview it and see that your layers are all over the place. An excellent place to learn web design technologies when you're starting out is www.lynda.com - I taught a university course on dreamweaver with one of their books and it was incredibly helpful.
	Sherice Jacob - Web Design & Graphics Pro eCover Design \| Live Chat Agent \| Follow Me on Twitter! HOT Copywriting at a MAJOR Discount! 10 Warriors Only! NOW OPEN! Save $20 on Your eCover Design - 1 Week Only! - Beginner Wordpress Videos

11-22-2008, 01:40 PM	#10
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Is there a way that I can dock each layer? I've spent so many months on this web site, I hate to loose it all.

11-22-2008, 01:44 PM	#11
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 I know that DW has both layers and CSS modes. Does this make a difference on the way the layers / styles behave. Would I do well by taking a CSS course? and would CSS solve my problems that you described?

11-23-2008, 08:57 AM	#12
gimmick Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 64 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Do you have style.css set for your page? If so, in the CSS Rule definition dialog box, select Positioning, and then set the style attributes you want. Set the style attribute 'Placement' where you want the layer to appear. I have not tried myself because I use layers very seldom, but that should work... Good luck!

11-23-2008, 04:13 PM	#13
Rich Mann Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Pacific North West north of Seatle Posts: 51 Thanks: 12 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 There's a lot about DW8 that really sux. It's a gr8 tool but the learning curve is hideous. When I upgraded to DW8 I was very disappointed in the layers rendering an lack of support for Mozilla, Opera and other modern browsers. I have also struggled with the rendering engine and also some of the site maintenance (uploading) problems. I finally decided to develop my sites on my local machine and use SmartFTP for all my uploading. I actually use an old version of Homesite for some of my development.
	Disaster Preparedness: It's for Everyone \| You and Your Laptop's New Best Friend \|www.inetgoldrush.com (Under Renovation)\|MicroNicheFinder4

12-02-2008, 06:47 PM	#15
cashtech29 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 432 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help With Dreamweaver 8 Hey, sorry I haven't gotten back to anyone, I never got notice of the new recant posts. Anyway, are you saying that when I add a layer in DR8 and position it on my web page, that isn't necessarily css? I had ordered a css course about two weeks ago but then I got the notion that DR8 did the css thing automatically, when I added a layer to the page. I never started the learning process. thought it was pointless. As I said earlier, if I add a layer to a page, put some text into it and add another layer with some background beside the first layer and then look at it in my browser, one of the layers become twice as long as it was on my computer, and yet the other one can remain the same size as when I made it. What a strange anomaly. I also have times where I can highlight one layer and two or three other layers will highlight right along with it. (Makes it hard to move things around the way I want). I really do want to learn how to beat the DR8 quagmire, though. It's just so damn easy to build a beautiful, colorful page with the layers... I guess I need to break out the css course. Any quick video tutorials on how to build expanding mini sites using tables? That might be a big help also.