WebReference.com - Chapter 4 from The Joy of Dreamweaver MX, from Osborne/McGraw-Hill (1/8)

Organizing Your Kitchen: The Macromedia Workflow

INGREDIENTS
File	Type	Server Model(s)	Source
Chapter4.htm	HTML document	ASP/CF	Sample Code
Chapter4.css	Style sheet	ASP/CF	Sample Code
Chapter4.cfm	ColdFusion template	CF	Sample Code

INGREDIENTS

File

Type

Server Model(s)

Source

Chapter4.htm

HTML document

ASP/CF

Sample Code

Chapter4.css

Style sheet

ASP/CF

Sample Code

Chapter4.cfm

ColdFusion template

Sample Code

--from the desk of Paul Newman

[The following is chapter 4 from the Osborne/McGraw-Hill Title, The Joy of Dreamweaver MX. Sample code for the chapter can be found on the book's companion site, www.newmanzone.com.]

With the release of Flash MX, Macromedia gave us a first look at the technology of the new MX brand: a new authoring environment, dockable panel groups, and tight integration with ColdFusion MX. Soon after came the preview releases of Dreamweaver MX and Fireworks MX, demonstrating Macromedia's commitment to a consistent workspace across its product line. With the announcement of Macromedia Studio MX--a package that bundles Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, Fireworks MX, Freehand 10, and ColdFusion MX-- Macromedia has ushered in "a new integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies for creating rich Internet applications that promise significantly more intuitive, responsive, and effective user experiences across platforms and devices" (http://www.macromedia.com/ macromedia/proom/pr/2002/mx_wrapper.html).

The key word here is integration. Macromedia is banking that web developers will prefer to work with a single suite of integrated tools, rather than rely on a different product for each phase of a site's development. The MX brand is an important first step in this direction, and it's a safe bet that future Macromedia releases will offer even tighter product integration.

In this chapter, we'll explore some of the ways Dreamweaver MX integrates with Fireworks MX, TopStyle Pro, and HomeSite+. In order to complete the examples in this chapter, you need to create a new folder in your server root--and define a new site in Dreamweaver MX--called Chapter4 (e.g., C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Chapter4). For details on defining a site in Dreamweaver MX, see Chapter 5.

Fireworks MX Integration

While Dreamweaver's integration with Flash still leaves something to be desired, the integration with Fireworks keeps getting better and better. One of the most notable enhancements is improved "round-tripping." Prior to Dreamweaver MX, a developer's workflow might have resembled this: create a logo in Fireworks and save the PNG file in a folder reserved for images (e.g., C:\images\ mysite\logo.png). Export the GIF image from Fireworks to the folder that contains the web site (e.g., C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mysite\images\logo.gif).

Thanks to improved Dreamweaver MX/Fireworks MX integration, you can now save your Fireworks source files in your site, and Dreamweaver "remembers" where to find them. With a little advanced planning, you'll never again have to search for the PNGs you used to generate your web site's images.