of Composition Services Contents at a Glance Introduction Ive been writing about Macromedia Dreamweaver since the first version came out in the mid 1990s, and Im pleased to say that this latest (and long-awaited) version 8 makes this program better than ever. If youve never used Dreamweaver before, dont worry; this book shows you everything you need to know about the old features, as well as the new ones. If you have used earlier versions of Dreamweaver, its definitely time to upgrade and make sure you have all the tools available to create a fabulous Web site. If youre like most of the Web designers I know, you dont have time to wade through a thick book before you start working on your Web site. Thats why I wrote Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies in a way that makes it easy for you to find the answers you need quickly. You dont have to read this book cover to cover. If youre in a hurry, just go right to the information you need most and get back to work. If youre new to Web design, or you want to really get to know the intricacies of Dreamweaver, skim through the chapters to get an overview and then go back and read whats most relevant to your project in greater detail. Whether you are building a simple site for the first time or working to redesign a complex site for the umpteenth time, you find everything you need in these pages. Why Choose Dreamweaver? With each new version of Dreamweaver, this award-winning program becomes more efficient and powerful. Yet somehow, Macromedia continues to make Dreamweaver intuitive and easy to use, even as its programmers work long hours to keep up with the latest innovations in Web design and release a new version of this program nearly every year since its creation. The high-end features and ease of use of Dreamweaver make it an ideal choice for professional Web designers, as well as for those new to working on the Internet. And the new features in version 8 make Dreamweaver better than ever! Ive been reviewing Web design programs since the first ones hit the market in 1994, and I can assure you that Dreamweaver is the best one Ive ever worked with. But dont take my word for it - Dreamweaver has already won a slew of awards over the years, including Best of Show at Internet World, the prestigious five-mouse rating from MacWorld, and Best Web Authoring Tool in the Readers Choice Awards by PC Magazine. Among all the Dreamweaver features, these are some of the best: _ Dreamweaver has clean HTML code and sophisticated support for the latest HTML options (such as Dynamic HTML). _ Cascading Style Sheets, better known as CSS, have become popular among professional Web designers. Its no wonder; this powerful part of the HTML code can save considerable time and give you greater design control than ever before. As youd expect, Dreamweaver 8 offers more sophisticated support for CSS and better rendering within the design environment. _ Dreamweaver 8 even makes adding high-end features for creating databasedriven Web sites easier. These features used to be sold separately in Dreamweaver UltraDev, but since Dreamweaver MX 2004, theyve been integrated into this one powerful program. Now, in version 8, these features have been further refined and enhanced to work better than ever. _ As in previous versions, you find a state-of-the-art integrated text editor that makes switching back and forth between Dreamweaver and a text editor easier (if you prefer to look at the code, behind your pages you find some great enhancements to the text editor in this version). If youve never written HTML before, dont be intimidated by these fancy