Getting Started with Dreamweaver 8
If you're new to Dreamweaver, I have just the answer you are looking for to get up to speed fast. I have created a series of interactive Macromedia Captivate simulations that will help you get started with Macromedia Dreamweaver 8. These simulate the Dreamweaver web development environment and require you to participate as if you were actually in Dreamweaver. These simulations cover the same material as the getting started tutorials in the Dreamweaver Help (Help > Getting Started with Dreamweaver).
Once you have completed the simulations, I recommend that you go through the written tutorials that are linked at the bottom of this article.
To complete this tutorial you will need to install Dreamweaver 8
either the full version which you can purchase HERE or download the FREE 30 day trial.
You can go through the simulations below or use the documentation links at the bottom of this page.
Tutorials and sample files:
The files referenced in the Captivate simulations are installed with Dreamweaver 8. On Windows, you can find them here on your computer after you install Dreamweaver: C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8\Tutorial_assets\cafe_townsend
On Macintosh, you can find the files here after you install Dreamweaver:
/Applications/Macromedia Dreamweaver 8/Tutorial_assets/cafe_townsend
Getting Started
Setting Up a Site
This tutorial introduces you to the concept of a Macromedia Dreamweaver site and shows you how to set up the project files for the Café Townsend website. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Dreamweaver Workspace Preferences
Dreamweaver 8 gives you the flexibility to customize your workspace to suit your requirements. In this tutorial, you will change the Dreamweaver workspace layout, customize and dock panel groups, and switch between different Dreamweaver views. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Creating a New Document
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 offers a flexible environment for working with a variety of web design and development documents. In addition to HTML documents, you can create and open a variety of text-based documents, including XHTML, CFML, ASP, ASPX, JSP, PHP, XML, XSL, JavaScript, and CSS. Dreamweaver also supports source code files, such as Visual Basic, .NET, C#, and Java. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Creating a Table-Based Layout
Inserting Tables
Tables are a powerful tool for presenting tabular data and for laying out text and graphics on an HTML page. You can use tables to create your layout quickly and easily. In this tutorial you'll create a number of tables in a new Dreamweaver document. The rows and cells of the tables effectively act as container boxes for the content you'll add later. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Setting Table Properties
In this simulation, you'll set precise table properties, using Expanded Tables mode, a feature that temporarily adds cell padding and spacing to tables and increases the borders of the tables to simplify editing. Specifically, it lets you position the insertion point precisely without accidentally selecting the wrong table or other table content. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Inserting an Image Placeholder
An image placeholder is a graphic you use until final artwork is ready to be added to a web page; it is not a graphic image that displays in a browser. Before you publish your site, replace any image placeholders you've added with web-friendly graphic files such as GIFs or JPEGs. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Adding Color to the Page
In this section, you will add more color to the page by setting colors for some of the table cells and for the background of the page. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Adding Content to Pages
Inserting Images
Having created your page layout, you are ready to add assets to the page. You'll start by adding images. You can use several methods to add images to a web page in Dreamweaver. In this section, you'll add four different images to the index page for Café Townsend, using various methods. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Inserting and Playing Flash Files
In this tutorial, you'll insert a Macromedia Flash file that plays a photographic slide show of Café Townsend's featured food items. The Flash file you'll insert is a flexible messaging area—or FMA—file.
Inserting Flash Video Files
Dreamweaver lets you easily insert Macromedia Flash Video content in your web pages without using the Flash authoring tool. Dreamweaver inserts the Flash Video component; when viewed in a browser, this component displays the Flash Video content you select, as well as a set of playback controls. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Inserting Text
To add text to a Dreamweaver document, you can type text directly in the Dreamweaver Document window, or you can cut and paste. You can also import text from other documents. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Creating Links
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create hypertext links, how to build named anchors, and how to check your document for broken links. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Inserting Lists
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a bulleted (unordered) and numbered (ordered) list from existing text. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Previewing Pages in Your Browser
While the Dreamweaver Design view does an excellent job of rendering your pages, you still need to test your pages in several browsers. Luckily Dreamweaver has a Preview in Browser feature to make this a snap. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Publishing Your Site
This tutorial shows you how to set up a remote site with Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 and publish your web pages. A remote site is usually a place on a remote computer, running a web server, that holds copies of your local files. Users access the remote site running on the web server when they view your pages in a browser. Click the link below to begin the simulation.
Where to Go from Here
Once you have finished the simulations linked above, I recommend that you complete the written tutorials to reinforce what you have learned. You can find the tutorials in the Dreamweaver Help System (Help > Getting Started with Dreamweaver) as well as on LiveDocs using the following links:
About the author
 Mark Fletcher is one of the most experienced authors at the Virtual Training Company, where he specializes in creating training CDs and online tutorials on Macromedia products, such as UltraDev, Fireworks, HomeSite, Sitespring, and Dreamweaver, including Dreamweaver MX Fundamentals, Dreamweaver MX 2004 Fundamentals, and Dreamweaver MX Web Applications. Mark also develops online tutorials for WebAssist.com, a Dreamweaver and UltraDev extension developer.
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