Department of Technology Assistance <Software/Dreamweaver> <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Overview: This document will describe how to setup a personal website via the H-drive at RU using Dreamweaver as the HTML editor. This particular method links directly to the H-drive where files may be edited and saved directly to the server. H-drive setup Public_html folder First please make sure that you indeed have a public_html folder on your H-drive. These folders are created automatically on every H-drive, so you should have one intact, but in the event that you deleted it for some reason, perhaps not knowing what it was, then you can simply create a new folder and name it exactly public_html. Create an images folder It is common web practice to place all images that are used in a website in a separate directory named, aptly enough, images. 1. Double-click on the public_html folder on your H-drive 2. Create a new folder: File New Folder 3. Name the new folder images Setting up a site directly to the H-drive in Dreamweaver CS4 The first thing you have to do is launch Dreamweaver CS4, where you will see the following user interface (mostly grayed out because there are no sites or files selected yet) with a menu at the top and the initial Dreamweaver splash screen:
From the Site menu select New Site The following dialog box will open. If the Advanced tab is not selected, please select it now and make sure that Local Info is highlighted in the Category list at the left, as in the image below. To setup a basic site at RU this is the only page you will need to configure. <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 2 of 7 4/28/2010
In the Site name: box type a name for your site, perhaps something like My RU Website, or simply just use your RU username. In the next box Local root folder: click the folder icon to the right and navigate to your H- drive, then double-click the public_html folder on your H-drive: <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 3 of 7 4/28/2010
This will return you back to the Site Definition dialog box. Next it is beneficial to set an images folder for your site, so click the folder icon to the right of the Default images folder: box and double-click the images folder that you should have created earlier (see the beginning of this document); click Select to return to the Site Definition dialog box. Next, where it asks for the HTTP address type in the web address (URL) that you would use to get to your homepage; for most users creating a simple personal website on the RU servers this would be http://www.radford.edu/username/, where, obviously, your RU username goes in the place of username. Finally make sure the Links relative to: radio button has Document selected and go ahead and check the box for Case-sensitive links; the Cache checkbox should already be checked by default. Your final Site Definition dialog box should look something like the following screenshot: <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 4 of 7 4/28/2010
Once you are satisfied that you have made the correct edits click OK, then click Done in the ensuing dialog box. If everything has turned out OK look to the right-side panels in Dreamweaver, in the Files tab, and you should see your basically empty site, with nothing more than the images directory, as in the following image: <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 5 of 7 4/28/2010
You are now ready to create your index.html page, and any other pages you need for your personal RU website. BUT, there is one additional step that you must be made aware of before your website is live: Any time you make any changes to your website on the H-drive you MUST Update web permissions via a command found on the My Accounts tab of MyRU. If you do NOT run this command, any users trying to access your site will get the following error message: The procedure to follow is: 1. Log in to MyRU 2. Click the My Accounts tab 3. In the Quick Links channel on the right look for the Update Web Permissions link and, you guessed it, click it 4. You will see the following: <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 6 of 7 4/28/2010
5. Simply click the appropriate button, and now your website should be live and ready. 6. BUT PLEASE TEST to make sure all is as it should be! 7. You will need to Update Web Permissions every time you make a change to your website, so good procedure dictates that you make any and all necessary changes to your site, then when you feel confidently complete, as a last step, update your web permissions, test the site to be sure it looks right, and you are done. <Set up Site in Dreamweaver CS4> Page 7 of 7 4/28/2010