When I want to test my site after a brief change, maybe just one character because of an error, I have to save it again, open up FTP program and then delete the other other and upload the new one again. Is there a way to do it straight from dreamweaver? It's taking forever now. Can't wait til I have to edit all my pages at once.

I found this in the Dreamweaver help file searching 'ftp':

"Dreamweaver automatically duplicates as much of the remote site’s structure as is necessary to place the downloaded file in the correct part of the site hierarchy. When editing only one part of a site, you should generally choose to include dependent files."

Also look at syncronization in the help manual.

Lux

Depends. Are you using a .dwt.php file (Dreamweaver Template)? Dreamweaver does duplicate the hierachy of your remote site pretty well. You should probably set up a testing server on your computer so you don't have to upload your file remotely to test it. All this depends on the extension again.. if it is html then you don't need to...if it is dynamic then you should create a test site and test run your entire site locally and then upload it.

Will save you a ton of time. You can download and install apache2triadCP as it is the apache/php/mysql easy install and automatically configures itself.

Once that is done, redefine your site and you will have more time to develop.

Just google apache2triadCD or go to sourceforge.net and search.

iMatt,

When you create a 'Site' using Dreamweaver you are given the options to set up a local testing server and connections to your 'live' server.

In my experience it is has always been prudent to setup up your own LAMP (or WAMP, or xAMP) development environment on your own PC. All that basically means is downloading and installing apache webserver, php and mysql onto your own pc that you can use for testing purposes. You can either get the required packages directly from their official sites, or there are some combined packages available that will take care of the installation for you on your local system.

When you get your local xAMP system working you can do the majority of testing on your own PC (or Mac) without having to upload to the live server.

Within Dreamweaver when you create a new 'site' you will be given options of how you want to test and upload files .... during initial testing send the files to your local system .... once you are happy with that you can upload (ftp) directly from within Dreamweaver to your live hosting account.

some links:
www.apache.org
www.php.net
www.mysql.com

they all offer installable components for Windows and Mac. I have also heard of Apachefriends and WinLamp (google them) as 3-in-1 installers for Windows ... I've used winlamp but it broke when I installed XP sp2 ... my primary tool of choice is a mac , it has most of that built into the basic OS.

Basically, I do not upload anything until I am sure that the page is OK, it does not matter if it is dynamic or not. It would be a lot of work if I did

Thanks for the help, I may try the server thing. What I meant, I guess it wasn't clear. I wanted to know if I could sort of integrate an FTP program into Dreamweaver, I guess not. I'm using mostly .html sites.
Problem is, when I test my site in Dreamweaver, the images won't show up for some reason.

Matt, dreamweaver can connect directly to your remote site (host) you just have to define it in the "Manage Sites" select your local folder of your site and images and then for remote site, just select the remote ftp address and username and password.

If you enable "Upload on save" it might slow you doen cause it will upload each time you save a file.

Once you are done you can select your site folder and click the "Up" (upload) arrow and it will upload your entire site, maintaining the hirearchy.

Post the code and a little hirearchy of your site so we can see where the problem is and why the images don't show up.

If you have Template, it would be in the "Templates" folder and to access that you would have to add "../images/image.jpg". Assuming you have your Templates and Images folder in the root directory.

I quit the template idea, my teacher told me I had to get this site done by May 18th, I'm not that close to that either. So I'm doing whatever is fastest. I use library items. I couldn't get the template to work. It gave me an error every time I tried to make a new page from a template. Some error about a line with the PreLoad Images

Dreamweaver has its own built in ftp program, and dreamweaver knows which fiels are related to your site.

The normal way to work with DW is to define a new site, with its own folder, and save all your files there (pretty standard of course but define includes the ftp details for your server, and these can be added and editted at any stage.
Next you always start by opening DW withteh Site Window open and slect teh little icon two left, just below the word Fiel in its menu to get teh two column view (left column is remote site when connected, right is local files.

Then you always open a file from the site window, and after saving can upload it immediately or wait until you've done enough work to justify stopping and iplaoding.

When you click connect it connects you to the remote site. Then you select the files you updated from the Site Window list and click Put. This transfers the files, but it also asks if you wish to uplaod Related files - these are css, images, javascripts etc that are used on the pages you are uploading. If you have only changed a few words on a page, then you click No, if you have a new page or have addded images, you click yes.

If you have editted a template, them all files built from it will be altered for you, and then you have to upload them all.

If your images don't show, you have either not uploaded them at all, or they are referenced to folders on your hard disk. You should make a folder inside your site's folder to store images in. DW will then create this folder on the remote, and update it as necessary when you click Yes for related files. And you don't need to delete the remote files by hand - you just overwrite them.

Most beginners just open DW, open a new file and save it. They ignore the Site Window, no site is defined, and hence a lot of the advantages of using DW are not there!!!

The problem I am having is this other teacher who maintains the main website won't give me their FTP info until I show him the completed site. Therefore, I'm using my friends FTP server and site to test out how it works. I'm hoping that in the end I can just take that folder and put it in there ftp and it will work after I replace "his site" with "new site". Anyone think of any way that WON'T work?

I am not a begginer and I do it the whole time. I sometimes define the site or not, it depens on the project I am working on and how convenient it is for me... One of the reasons is that I do not use DW's FTP. It is a very annoying FTP program! (at least for me)

The first thing is .... you do not have to upload the site to test it! Not even if it is dynamic. You would transform your PC in a webserver for testing, first, and when your site works properly, you would upload it. That is how webmasters work. Do you really think that we upload for every single change we do? That is crazy.

Now. It does look like you are in trouble, so in this case, if your site is uploaded, tell us what is your project and where we can have a peek so we can tell you what will work, what won't work and why, so you can learn, satisfy your teacher and, more important, learn and satisfy yourself so you can do better sites in the future.

But, if you do not tell us what you really need, you will only have very general answers that might not help you much.

So the first question is: what is that you need to learn? How DW works or how to create a web site (DW or not DW)?

Second question is: what is your project? What are you trying to do, so we can guide you (insist, guide you, not do the job for you)?

As someone sugested, we need a little more info here

Ok, well I'm using my friends site to test it right now. Only some of the pages are up though.
I need to eventually move it to my school's website which will be (EDITED: I think it would be best not to post the school's link here, it has personal emails and not that I don't trust members but I don't think some of it should be public information) But I don't have their FTP info yet.

I'm doing it for a club at school, it's a nationwide organization called Future Business Leaders of America. I'm not getting graded on it or anything but I am on the executive board now for Webmaster. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Remember though, I just got DW and PS a month ago and I haven't had much time to use them all. I'm only 14, don't expect so much.

OK. Don't worry about the age. The important thing is that you get started and that you learn in the process, so you will do a better job in the future.

I saw the page. It is a good try, but it has unnecessary code and it could load faster. But don't worry about that now. We will get there.

That's what I don't understand about the problem. The files do not have to be uploaded to see any changes made... why not just preview the pages in a browser before uploading ?

Nadia

Well when I uploaded it once, the images showed up when I previewed it but not when I viewed it via the www. I had the images in the right place, yes, I checked several times.

When I did something else (forget what, it was a while ago) It worked vice versa, which was better. So now I can't preview.
*in desperate need of help, Thanks Molona, and everyone else*

have no idea of how to help you without seeing the page I think.

Nadia

I think is simply a case of "I don't know what I am doing... God, how did I get involved with this?"

She thinks I'm a pro at this and I'm not. I just got started. I only bought the programs (PS and DW) because she asked me to do the site. I'm in her computer class and I'm the smartest one in there. It's a combination of my knowledge and everyone's elses, or lack of, knowledge. I've never made a website in my life except for helping my friend who uses PHP-Noob, I mean Nuke

She always asks me to test things out on MY website, I don't have one. I don't understand her sometimes.
She did say we could put Google AdSense ad's up. Just need to ask my father if I can have it go to his PayPal or not. I just need to get it cleared by the main office and the "Webmaster" if you can call him that.

Sorry, I did not mean to offend... It is that I have done it so many times.... "Oh, yes, sure, I can do it... No problem".... and then... well, things are not really that easy so you end up thinkin "how in the world did I agree to this?"... But everything worked in the end, so it is fine.

BTW. You do not need paypal to put AdSense ad's. It is rather the other way around. AdSense will pay you... but they do not use paypal, I am afraid. They normally pay by check. I do not know if they pay by any other means in US.

Oh, I thought they paid via paypal.

No yet, as far as I know... maybe one day. Still, you may want to search in the Advertising and Affiliate Marketing forum.

This is bad. today I tried to talk to the teacher who has all the site info like FTP that I would need to upload a site.
He laughed at me when I asked him when I could get the ftp server info. He doesn't trust me even though the teacher I'm doing it for told him. Now he wants me to just give him my files, for all I know he will go edit them, take out my name and call it his and then upload it. I'm trying to raise money for my own hosting and domain so I don't have to be ASSociated with them too much.
I'm pissed off now. It's not good when a teacher laughs at you and makes you feel dumb.