Creating your local site

Dreamweaver 8 supports a wider range of server-side technologies than FrontPage 2003, adding PHP and ColdFusion support to the ASP and ASP.NET support offered by FrontPage. As a result, more Dreamweaver users come from a coding background; but don't let that intimidate you, since other users are more WYSIWYG design–oriented. As a FrontPage user, you will find the Designer Workspace will be closest to what you know. You can always change workspaces later using Edit > Preferences if you choose (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Default Designer interface best suited for most FrontPage 2003 users

Once you have chosen your workspace layout, Dreamweaver will launch with the Dreamweaver Start Page. This is similar to the FrontPage "Getting Started Task Pane." If you are using the trial version, make sure you use the "Get the most out of your trial" links on the Start page after you finish this article (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Dreamweaver's Start page giving you many options

As with FrontPage, before you begin to work on a website in Dreamweaver, you need to create a local site so that Dreamweaver can manage your site's links and other references. If you are migrating an existing FrontPage website to Dreamweaver, make sure you create a backup before you open your local site in Dreamweaver.

To create your new local site, begin by launching the Manage Sites dialog box. You can do this by selecting Manage Sites (see Figure 3) from either the Site menu or the Files panel.

Figure 3. Keeping track of all your website locations

Click the New button and select Site to launch the Site Definition Wizard (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Using a descriptive name for your new site

The Site Definition Wizard replaces both the New Site and Publish Site wizards in FrontPage 2003. One difference between Dreamweaver and FrontPage you will notice as you follow the Site Definition Wizard is that you will be asked for the server-side scripting support. FrontPage 2003 only supports ASP and ASP.NET. Dreamweaver supports those languages as well as PHP and ColdFusion. If you do not intend to use any server-side processing, or do not know what your server supports, select "No, I do not want to use a server technology" (see Figure 5). You can edit your site definitions later if you add server-side applications.

Figure 5. You can always change your server-side support later if needed

In Part 3 of the Site Definition Wizard, create a new website in the location of your choice, or browse to the location of your FrontPage webs to create a Dreamweaver site using your existing files. Like FrontPage, you can use several different methods to publish in Dreamweaver 8 (see Figure 6). FTP is standard, and if you used FTP in FrontPage, you can continue to use the same settings in Dreamweaver. If you used the FrontPage Server Extensions, you will need to switch to FTP or one of Dreamweaver's other supported methods. Your web host should provide you with the information you need in Part 4 to connect.

Figure 6. Saving your user ID and password so you do not have to re-enter them when you publish

Your local site is now ready to use by selecting the site you created from Manage Sites.

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