Cool Stuff

Using the Assets Panel:

The Assets Panel makes it easier for you to add commonly used colors, images, URL's, and other special elements to your pages. When you add elements to your pages, the elements are automatically added to your list of assets for your site or you can add elements from within the panel itself.

The Assets Panel left is showing a list of all of the colors used to create the workshop pages. The icons on the right of the panel allow you to access additional elements. The top window shows the element that has been selected in the bottom window. This is especially useful when sorting through images to find the you want to insert.

When the Asset Panel is open, you can click and drag the desired element from within the bottom window and insert it into your document. Or you can place the insertion point at the desired position in your document, select the desired element, and click apply. It is great for keeping your colors consistent from one page to another in tables and/or text areas.

Like all panels in Dreamweaver, the Assets Panel can be accessed from Window> Assets. The panels can be stacked, minimized, or moved off the screen. What panels you choose to use depends on what tasks you routinely perform. For more information about each type of panel, its function, and uses, click on the on the panel itself.

Adding e-mail links:

The e-mail link tool in Dreamweaver allows you to create customized e-mail links from text or images.

1. Place the insertion point where you want an e-mail link to appear in your document or select the image you want as the link.
2. Click the E-Mail Link icon on the Common Objects Panel ( access it from Windows>Objects) or choose Insert>E-Mail Link. The Insert Email Link dialog box appears.
3. In the text box type the word or phrase you want as the link. If you are using an image, leave this box blank.
4. Type the e-mail address for the link. On your computer, your e-mail address will automatically appear in the box. You can change the address if you want to.
5. Click OK in the dialog box. The text appears as a hyperlink. The image will function as a hyperlink.

Adding text:

Dreamweaver 4 allows you to create Flash text. Flash is an animation tool that produces all those cool effects you see at so many Web sites. Flash text files (extension .swf for small Flash file) allow you to incorporate font and color into a graphic-like component that are vector scalable, meaning that you can change their size within a document without distorting them. You can use Flash to make your text change colors as the user moves over it, rollovers.

1. Position the insertion point where you want Flash text to appear in your document.
2. On the Common Objects Panel, click the Flash text icon. The Insert Flash Text dialog appears.
3. Use the Font pop-up menu to select your font face.
4. Select the font style.
5. Use the Size menu to select the font size.
6. Use the Color pop-up menu to select the color.
7. Select a Rollover color (color the text becomes when the user's mouse moves over the text) from the pop-up menu.
8. In the Text text box, type the word or phrase you want to "flashed".
9. Use the Bg Color option to select a background color if you want one. The "flashed" text is contained within a rectangular cell, like a graphic. If you want the "flashed" text to appear as if it floating in your document, select the background color identical to your document background color.
10. If desired, browse to locate a file or URL you want to link to your Flash text.
11. In the Save As text box, type a short name for you file adding the .swf extension.
12. Click OK.

You can preview your text by moving the insertion point to the text and clicking on the Play in the Property Inspector panel and then clicking stop. You can resize your Flash text by clicking on it and then dragging one of the handles. You can modify your Flash text by double-clicking on it and editing the information in the Flash text dialog box. Remember to click Apply and then OK.

To insert buttons:

Flash buttons change as users move over them or click them. They can be hyperlinked to files or other other web sites. You can create and maintain Flash buttons in Dreamweaver from a set of available button styles.

1. Position the insertion point in your document where you want the button to appear.
2. From the Common Objects panel, click the Flash Button icon. The Insert Flash Button dialog box appears.
3. Use the Style pop-up menu to select a button style.
4. Type the text for the button in the Button Text text box.
5. Choose a font face from the Font pop-up menu.
6. Type the font size in the Size text box.
7. Use the eyedropper to choose a background color from the Bg Color pop-up palette.
8. Browse to locate the file or URL you would like to hyperlink.
9. Set the Target for your link.
10. Type a name for your button adding the .swf extension in the Save As text box.
11. Click Apply and then OK.

To see your button work, move your pointer over the button and click Play in the Property Inspector. You can modify your button by double-clicking on it and editing the information in the Insert Flash Button dialog box. Remember to click Apply, then OK.

Flash animations can be imported into Dreamweaver as well using the Flash icon in Common Objects Panel, but the animations cannot be created within Dreamweaver.