CSS is a considerably more complex technology than HTML and using CSS to control the layout of your pages requires experience. Fortunately for us, Dreamweaver contains a wide variety of CSS layouts which can be used for creating both individual pages and also templates which can then be used to generate multiple pages.
To gain access to Dreamweaver's CSS layouts, simply choose New from the File menu. The New Document window displays all the different types of web page that Dreamweaver is capable of creating. These are arranged in categories and CSS layouts are available both in the Blank Page and Blank Template categories.
If you do not wish to use any of the preset CSS layouts when creating a new document, choose "None" in the Layout column and Dreamweaver will simply create a blank HTML or XHTML page. To get a preview of a layout, simply click on its name. These previews give you an idea of what the layout will look like. Dreamweaver offers single column, two column and three column layouts available. The names of the layouts contain terms that you may find confusing such as elastic, fixed liquid and hybrid. We will examine these terms in another tutorial. For the moment, let's just look at creating an HTML page which is driven by a CSS preset layout.
Having chosen a CSS layout, before clicking on the "Create" button you need to specify the manner in which the CSS code will be linked to the HTML document. Next to the option labelled "Layout CSS" is a drop-down menu containing three options: "Add to Head" will place all of the CSS code inside the HTML document in the head section; as the name suggests, "Add to New File", will create a new external CSS file containing all the necessary code; "Link to Existing File" will put the CSS code in an existing CSS file you designate. The final option is useful if you are adding the page to an existing site that already has a CSS file which you want to continue using.
As a general rule, it is almost always preferable to place the CSS in an external file since this offers you more flexibility in reusing the CSS rules contained in the file. If you don't have an existing CSS file, simply choose "Create New File" and then click the Create button. Dreamweaver will prompt you to select a location for the CSS file and will suggest a condensed, abbreviated name, such as " twoColElsLtHdr.css". Feel free to enter a different name. When you click the Save button, Dreamweaver will then create both your HTML page and external CSS file.
To gain access to Dreamweaver's CSS layouts, simply choose New from the File menu. The New Document window displays all the different types of web page that Dreamweaver is capable of creating. These are arranged in categories and CSS layouts are available both in the Blank Page and Blank Template categories.
If you do not wish to use any of the preset CSS layouts when creating a new document, choose "None" in the Layout column and Dreamweaver will simply create a blank HTML or XHTML page. To get a preview of a layout, simply click on its name. These previews give you an idea of what the layout will look like. Dreamweaver offers single column, two column and three column layouts available. The names of the layouts contain terms that you may find confusing such as elastic, fixed liquid and hybrid. We will examine these terms in another tutorial. For the moment, let's just look at creating an HTML page which is driven by a CSS preset layout.
Having chosen a CSS layout, before clicking on the "Create" button you need to specify the manner in which the CSS code will be linked to the HTML document. Next to the option labelled "Layout CSS" is a drop-down menu containing three options: "Add to Head" will place all of the CSS code inside the HTML document in the head section; as the name suggests, "Add to New File", will create a new external CSS file containing all the necessary code; "Link to Existing File" will put the CSS code in an existing CSS file you designate. The final option is useful if you are adding the page to an existing site that already has a CSS file which you want to continue using.
As a general rule, it is almost always preferable to place the CSS in an external file since this offers you more flexibility in reusing the CSS rules contained in the file. If you don't have an existing CSS file, simply choose "Create New File" and then click the Create button. Dreamweaver will prompt you to select a location for the CSS file and will suggest a condensed, abbreviated name, such as " twoColElsLtHdr.css". Feel free to enter a different name. When you click the Save button, Dreamweaver will then create both your HTML page and external CSS file.
About the Author:
The The writer of this article is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver training courses in London and throughout the UK.
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