Save and Preview a Page

Before you start working on the individual pages in your web site, you should create the web site itself.

When you open Dreamweaver for each work session, click on Site, Manage Sites, to select the site you are working on.

See Create a Local Web Site to review information on how to set up your web site.

As you work on an individual web page you will want to save it periodically. You will also want to preview it in a browser at frequent intervals.

To save a file in Dreamweaver, click on File, Save As on the main menu bar.  The Save As dialog box will appear.

Check the Save In text box at the top of the dialog box to make sure you are in your web site folder. If you are not, navigate to the folder. (In the above illustration, I am going to save my file in my dreamweaver8 folder.)

In the File name text box assign a filename to your page.  Remember that this filename will become part of the URL for the page; thus:

• keep it short
• use lower case letters
• don't use spaces

In the illustration above, I have named my file basics6.

Dreamweaver will automatically add the html extension to the file name.

Note that once you save your file, the tab at the top of the document window will display your file name. Also the title bar at the very top of your monitor screen will display the path and file name.

Get in the habit of always using the File, Save As command to save your files. This way you are less likely to accidentally overwrite a file.

You must save your file before you preview the page in a browser.

Although the Dreamweaver Design view approximates what a web page will look like in a browser, you should always preview your page in an actual browser.

Because different browsers, and even different versions of the same browser, often display web pages differently, you should always preview your page in more than one browser. The most popular browsers currently in use are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Always preview your page with your screen resolution set to 800 x 600 pixels to determine how your page will look on the smallest standard monitor. (In Windows, you can change your screen resolution from your computer's Control Panel which is accessible from your Start button. )

To preview a web page, simply choose File, Preview in Browser from the main menu. 

When you installed Dreamweaver, the software automatically searched for any browsers already available on your computer and added them to its browser list. Thus you should see all of your browsers on the secondary menu display.

Choose a browser.  Dreamweaver will open your page in that browser.

If you want to add a browser to your Preview in Browser list, choose Edit Browser List from the File, Preview in Browser submenu.

The Preferences dialog box will appear. The Preview in Browser category will be highlighted.

Click on the + sign, then Browse to the browser you want to add. When you have selected the additional browser, click on Open to return to the Preview in Browser dialog box. If you want to make the new browser your primary browser, click on the Primary Browser checkbox.

When you have finished making your changes, click on OK. The new browser will appear in your Preview in Browser submenu.

Web Design Center
Dreamweaver 8 Tutorials
© Agatha Taormina
Last Revised: September 28, 2006