Getting Started with Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 - New Perspectives on Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Comprehensive - page 22

You'll need to enter several pieces of information and select a few options to set up a
local site defi nition. The following list explains the parts of a local site defi nition:

• Site name. An internal name you give the Web site for your reference. This name
appears on the Site menu in the Document window and in the Files panel but is not
used outside of Dreamweaver. You'll use Old NextBest Fest as the site name for the
existing NextBest Fest site.
• Local Site folder. The location where you store all of the fi les used by the local version
of the Web site. You choose where to place the local site folder on your computer, net-
work, or removable disk. The local site folder is the root folder for your local site. You
can create folders within the local site folder to enable you to better organize the fi les
in your site.

Decision Making: Creating a Logical Folder Structure
When creating the local site folder, use a logical folder structure and a descriptive naming
system. A logical folder structure helps keep the Web site files organized. For example, it
is a good idea to store each project in its own folder and to create a Web subfolder within
each project folder so that the Dreamweaver files remain separate from any working files
that you have not yet added to the Web site. You might, for instance, create a nextbest_fest
project folder that contains a nb_web subfolder. Any text files or graphics that you have not
yet added to the Web site would be stored in the nextbest_fest folder. The web subfolder
would be the local root folder for the new NextBest Fest site.
In addition to creating an organized file structure for each site, it is also a good idea to
use consistent rules or practices when naming the site's files and pages. Remember that
folder names and filenames can include any series of letters, numbers, hyphens, and under-
scores. They should not include spaces, symbols, or special characters, which can cause
problems on some Web servers. Symbols and special characters can also have different
meanings on different platforms. In these tutorials, the names of files and folders are in all
lowercase letters and words are separated with an underscore, such as nextbest_fest.

• Default images folder. The folder in which you store all of the graphics fi les used in
the site. A good practice is to create a graphics folder within the local site folder as the
default images folder.
• Links relative to. The option that sets the path of hyperlinks relative to the current Web
page (document relative links) or relative to the root directory of the site (site root rela-
tive links). Dreamweaver inserts relative paths when you create hyperlinks to pages
within your site. You will use document relative links for the NextBest Fest site.
• HTTP address. The URL of the Web site, which Dreamweaver uses to verify links. You
will enter this URL in a later tutorial when you publish the NextBest Fest site.
• Case-sensitive links. The option that makes all hyperlinks case sensitive (uppercase and
lowercase letters are considered different letters). Linux Web servers are case sensitive,
whereas Windows Web servers are not. Linux Web servers see index.html and Index.
html as different fi les, whereas Windows Web servers see them as the same fi le. Check
the Use case-sensitive link checking check box to avoid problems with case when you
upload the site to the Web.
• Cache. The option that enables Dreamweaver to use a cache , a temporary local stor-
age space, to speed up the processing time needed to update links when you move,
rename, or delete a fi le. You'll usually leave the Enable cache check box checked.

Always use lowercase let-
ters when naming file and
folders to avoid potential
problems.

You'll create a local site defi nition so you can view the NextBest Fest site in
Dreamweaver on your computer.