Learning the basics of Dreamweaver

In chapters 2-4 of the book, I read about the Dreamweaver interface, site management and the basic abilities of Dreamweaver in building a web page. Chapter 2 goes over the Dreamweaver interface, describing what each of the menus, toolbars and panels in the program is used for. The different insert bar categories were really helpful to learn about because they group useful, related features into tabs. I already know I will be customizing the favorites group! The property inspector will also be a time-saver, displaying all the pertinent information on each object on the page in one easy-to-scan menu.

Chapter 4 details some of the basic parts of making a web page: adding images and text, linking pictures, aligning text, etc. Going through this chapter, I kept thinking, "I know how to do that already," because I know the codes behind creating links, placing images, etc. But do I know to do it using the Assets Panel? No. And that's a reason why I took this class--to actually learn how to use the features of Dreamweaver instead of simply opening the program and going straight to code view. The program has amazing capabilities and would probably make my life a whole lot easier when trying to do certain things on a web page. So I need to force myself to stay in design view and use the property inspector, assets panel and other features. I think having the updated Dreamweaver CS3 (as opposed to the aforementioned awful GoLive CS) on my computer at home will really help with that.

I know I skipped chapter 3. That chapter discusses site management. Since I have a website, I learned awhile back about path structure, what a root folder is, and how to define my site. But Dreamweaver organizes the files and folders of my site really well in the files panel (especially compared with GoLive--but do I need to bring that up again??), which is really helpful when uploading site files because you can see everything lined up neatly. Creating a site map is an even better way to visualize the files on your site, especially if you have a lot of files and folders. It's a great way to stay neat and organized--and sane!