Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Connecting a Web Site to a Database
The database is copied to your remote server, and you are ready to connect the site to the
database. When you open a Web page in the Document window that is not connected
to the database, the Server Behaviors panel displays an interactive list of steps for setting
up Dreamweaver to connect the site to the database. Clicking the linked text in each step
opens the dialog boxes needed to complete that step. A check mark appears at the left of
each step to indicate that all the necessary information has been entered and the step is
completed.
The three main steps for connecting a page to the database are:
1. Step 1: Create a site for this fi le.
This step is checked because you already set the
local and remote information for the site when you created the site defi nition.
2. Step 2: Choose a document type.
In this step, you specify which document type
you are using to create server behaviors. When you click the link text in Step 2, the
Choose Document Type dialog box opens, and you can select ASP JavaScript, ASP
VBScript, ASP.NET C#, ASP.NET VB, ColdFusion, ColdFusion component, JSP, or
PHP as the document type. For the NextBest Fest site, you will use ASP VBScript.
If your instructor or IT department informs you that you will be using a different
document type, your steps may differ somewhat from the remaining steps in this
section. If this is the case, ask your instructor or IT department for help.
3. Step 3: Set up the site's testing server.
In this step, you specify the testing server in
the site defi nition. You cannot preview dynamic pages from within Dreamweaver
until you specify a folder in which the dynamic pages can be processed.
Dreamweaver uses this folder to generate dynamic content and connect to the
database while you work. For the NextBest Fest site, you will use the root folder
you created on your remote server for your NextBest Fest site because the server
usually runs an application server that can handle the dynamic pages. You can,
however, specify a different location for the testing server as long as it can handle
dynamic pages. When you set up the testing server for a professional site that is
already live, you might designate a separate folder on another server where you can
test the pages without affecting the live site. When you click the link text in Step 3,
the Site Defi nition dialog box opens to the Testing Server category. The information
for the remote server is displayed by default, but you might need to delete the fi rst
part of the fi le path in the URL prefi x box.
Comparing Modified Times of Local and Server Files
Some of the files required for server-side processing are located outside of the Web
page. Therefore, whenever you upload pages to your remote or testing server, you must
also upload dependent files. As you upload files, a dialog box might open indicating that
you are trying to overwrite newer files with older files. This occurs because Dreamweaver
has a feature that compares the modified time of local files with the modified time of
server files. If the time on either the server or your computer is inaccurate and your local
computer time is behind the server time, Dreamweaver sees the file on the server as
newer and notifies you that you are overwriting a newer file with an older file. Click the
OK button each time you see this message.
You'll open the contact.html page and complete Steps 2 and 3 in the Server
Behaviors panel.
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