Dreamweaver Template Problem

#1 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 03:43 PM

Now that I finally have my CSS layout, I need it as a template because I am
going to be applying it to about 100 pages. I can save the file as a template
just fine, but as soon as I add an editable region (to my main content div) I
am no longer able to preview my work in my browser even though it is still
visable in the design view of Dreamweaver. Even when I upload the page to the
server all I get is a plain white page. I've attached the code. Thanks in
advance for any help!

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Welcome to The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us" />

<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" />
<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="true" />

<meta name="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" content="The Colony Beach and
Tennis Resort Longboat Key Florida" />
<meta name="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" content="Tropical Vacation
Florida" />

<meta name="Author" content="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" />

<style type="text/css" media="all">@import url(../css/master.css);</style>
<style>
<!--
BODY {background-attachment: fixed;}
</STYLE>
</head>

<body background="../images/general/bkg_5.jpg">
<div id="page-container">

<div id="top-nav">

<div id="altnav"> <a href="/about/contact.html">Contact Us</a> | <a
href="/email.html">Sign
Up for Email Specials</a> | <a href="/packages">Value Packages</a> | <a
href="/specials">Hot
Specials!</a> </div>
</div>

<div id="spacer"></div>

<div id="main-nav-top"></div>

<div id="page-container2">

<div id="main-nav">
<div id="logo"> <img src="../images/general/Logo.gif" /></div>
<dl>
<dt id="about"><a href="/about">About</a></dt>
<dt id="accommodations"><a
href="/accommodations">Accommodations</a></dt>
<dt id="activities"><a href="/activities">Resort Activities</a></dt>
<dt id="dining"><a href="/dining">Dining</a></dt>
<dt id="shopping"><a href="/shopping">Shopping</a></dt>
<dt id="spa"><a href="/spa">Spa</a></dt>
<dt id="events"><a href="/events">Special Events</a></dt>
<dt id="groups"><a href="/groups">Group Gatherings</a></dt>
</dl>
<div id="ads"> <img src="../images/ads/staycation.jpg"><p></p>
<img src="../images/ads/girls_getaway.jpg"><p></p>
<img src="../images/ads/stonecrab.jpg"><p></p>
</div>
</div>

<div id="reservations">
<div id="booking"><form
action="https://reservations.ihotelier.com/istay.c fm" method="get">
<input type="hidden" name="HotelID" value="2200" />
<input type="hidden" name="LanguageID" value="1" />
<input type="hidden" name="Rooms" value="1" />
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Check-In Date:</font>
<input name="DateIn" type="text" size="8" />
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Nights:</font>
<select name="Length">
<option value="1" selected="selected">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
<option value="5">5</option>
<option value="6">6</option>
<option value="7">7</option>
<option value="8">8</option>
<option value="9">9</option>
<option value="10">10</option>
</select>
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Adults:</font>
<select name="Adults">
<option value="1" selected="selected">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
</select>
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino Linotype">
Children:</font>
<select name="Children">
<option value="0" selected="selected">0</option>
<option value="1">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
</select>
<input name="submit" type="submit" class="formcolor"
value="Check Availability">
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
function getDateStr() {
var today = new Date();
var todayStr = (today.getMonth()+1) + "/" + today.getDate() + "/" +
today.getFullYear();;
document.resform.DateIn.value = todayStr;
}
getDateStr();
</script>
</div></div>

<div id="flash">
<object classid="clsid

27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"
codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shock wave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#ve
rsion=6,0,29,0" width="600" height="320">
<param name="movie" value="../images/flash/Index_Banner_NEW.swf" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="WMODE" value="transparent">
<embed src="../images/flash/Index_Banner_NEW.swf" width="600"
height="320" quality="high"
pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflash player"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>
</div>

<div id="sub-nav"></div>

<div id="header"><img src="../images/headers/GENERIC.gif" /></div>

<div id="content">

<div id="content-text">Main
Content
<h1>This is the h1 Tag</h1>
This is the paragraph text using the "P" tags.</p></div>
</div>

</div>

<div id="footer">

<div id="footnav"> <a href="/index.html">Home</a> | <a
href="/about/contact.html">Contact
Us</a> | <a href="/about/employment.html">Employment</a> | <a
href="/about/location.html">Location</a>
| <a href="/email.html">Sign Up for Email Offers</a><br/>
<a href="/about/gift_info.html">Gift Certificates</a> | <a
href="http://www.florida-hospitality.com/" target="_blank">Gulf
Coast Connoisseur Club</a> | <a href="/owners">Owner Site Log In</a> |
<a href="/reservations.html">Reservations</a>
| <a href="/privacy.html">Privacy Policy</a><br/>
1620 Gulf of Mexico Dr.| Longboat Key, FL 34228 | (941) 383.6464 |
800.4.COLONY
| <a href="mailto:info@colonyfl.com"></a>info@colonyfl. com</a> </div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

#2 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 03:44 PM

> Now that I finally have my CSS layout, I need it as a template because I
> am
> going to be applying it to about 100 pages.

Bad plan. Applying Templates to pages with existing content is tedious and
tricky.

And, the code you show below is NOT a properly created DW Template file.

How did you create this "template"? The correct way is to first create the
page, then use FILE | Save as Template, and give the template a name. DW
will know what extension to use, and where to save it. Then you would add
your editable regions.

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================

"nowherecreative" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g6a6bs$h0v$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Now that I finally have my CSS layout, I need it as a template because I
> am
> going to be applying it to about 100 pages. I can save the file as a
> template
> just fine, but as soon as I add an editable region (to my main content
> div) I
> am no longer able to preview my work in my browser even though it is still
> visable in the design view of Dreamweaver. Even when I upload the page to
> the
> server all I get is a plain white page. I've attached the code. Thanks in
> advance for any help!
>

#3 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:20 PM

Well the pages aren't created yet, this is an entirely new site. I will be
adding in all the fresh content once I get this working. I went ahead and
deleted that template (the code I posted) and tried again using the method you
mentioned. I am still getting a blank page when I preview or upload to the
server. I've attached the new code.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />

<title>Welcome to The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort</title>

<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us" />

<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" />
<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="true" />

<meta name="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" content="The Colony Beach and
Tennis Resort Longboat Key Florida" />
<meta name="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" content="Tropical Vacation
Florida" />

<meta name="Author" content="The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort" />

<style type="text/css" media="all">@import url(../css/master.css);</style>
<style>

</head>

<body background="../images/general/bkg_5.jpg">
<div id="page-container">

<div id="top-nav">

<div id="altnav"> <a href="/about/contact.html">Contact Us</a> | <a
href="/email.html">Sign
Up for Email Specials</a> | <a href="/packages">Value Packages</a> | <a
href="/specials">Hot
Specials!</a> </div>
</div>

<div id="spacer"></div>

<div id="main-nav-top"></div>

<div id="page-container2">

<div id="main-nav">
<div id="logo"> <img src="../images/general/Logo.gif" /></div>
<dl>
<dt id="about"><a href="/about">About</a></dt>
<dt id="accommodations"><a
href="/accommodations">Accommodations</a></dt>
<dt id="activities"><a href="/activities">Resort Activities</a></dt>
<dt id="dining"><a href="/dining">Dining</a></dt>
<dt id="shopping"><a href="/shopping">Shopping</a></dt>
<dt id="spa"><a href="/spa">Spa</a></dt>
<dt id="events"><a href="/events">Special Events</a></dt>
<dt id="groups"><a href="/groups">Group Gatherings</a></dt>
</dl>
<div id="ads"> <img src="../images/ads/staycation.jpg"><p></p>
<img src="../images/ads/girls_getaway.jpg"><p></p>
<img src="../images/ads/stonecrab.jpg"><p></p>
</div>
</div>

<div id="reservations">
<div id="booking"><form
action="https://reservations.ihotelier.com/istay.c fm" method="get">
<input type="hidden" name="HotelID" value="2200" />
<input type="hidden" name="LanguageID" value="1" />
<input type="hidden" name="Rooms" value="1" />
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Check-In Date:</font>
<input name="DateIn" type="text" size="8" />
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Nights:</font>
<select name="Length">
<option value="1" selected="selected">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
<option value="5">5</option>
<option value="6">6</option>
<option value="7">7</option>
<option value="8">8</option>
<option value="9">9</option>
<option value="10">10</option>
</select>
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino
Linotype">Adults:</font>
<select name="Adults">
<option value="1" selected="selected">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
</select>
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Palatino Linotype">
Children:</font>
<select name="Children">
<option value="0" selected="selected">0</option>
<option value="1">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
</select>
<input name="submit" type="submit" class="formcolor"
value="Check Availability">
</form>
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
function getDateStr() {
var today = new Date();
var todayStr = (today.getMonth()+1) + "/" + today.getDate() + "/" +
today.getFullYear();;
document.resform.DateIn.value = todayStr;
}
getDateStr();
</script>
</div></div>

<div id="flash">
<object classid="clsid

27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"
codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shock wave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#ve
rsion=6,0,29,0" width="600" height="320">
<param name="movie" value="../images/flash/Index_Banner_NEW.swf" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="WMODE" value="transparent">
<embed src="../images/flash/Index_Banner_NEW.swf" width="600"
height="320" quality="high"
pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflash player"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>
</div>

<div id="sub-nav"></div>

<div id="header"><img src="../images/headers/GENERIC.gif" /></div>

<div id="content">

<div id="content-text"> Main
Editable
<h1>This is the h1 Tag</h1>
This is the paragraph text using the "P" tags.</p></div>
</div>

</div>

<div id="footer">

<div id="footnav"> <a href="/index.html">Home</a> | <a
href="/about/contact.html">Contact
Us</a> | <a href="/about/employment.html">Employment</a> | <a
href="/about/location.html">Location</a>
| <a href="/email.html">Sign Up for Email Offers</a><br/>
<a href="/about/gift_info.html">Gift Certificates</a> | <a
href="http://www.florida-hospitality.com/" target="_blank">Gulf
Coast Connoisseur Club</a> | <a href="/owners">Owner Site Log In</a> |
<a href="/reservations.html">Reservations</a>
| <a href="/privacy.html">Privacy Policy</a><br/>
1620 Gulf of Mexico Dr.| Longboat Key, FL 34228 | (941) 383.6464 |
800.4.COLONY
| <a href="mailto:info@colonyfl.com"></a>info@colonyfl. com</a> </div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

#4 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:20 PM

Hi, I have not taken the time to look into your code but to make a region
editable within a template is fairly straight forward. I manually input the
codes in the code view for better accuracy.

<div >

 This is just some text


</div>

You have to insert the middle code within your template page. The code has to
be inside the div tags you want to make editable. Be sure to name it uniquely
from other editable regions. Hope this works.

#5 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:20 PM

> Well the pages aren't created yet, this is an entirely new site

That's much better, although 100 pages is still right on the cusp of
Template usability UNLESS you are also integrating server-side includes in
your methodology.

I use the following scheme....

First, I mentally separate the page layout into three sections:

1. Stuff that will not change for the life of the site (i.e., the basic
structural elements)
2. Stuff that *could* change from time to time (e.g., navigation elements,
burst advertisements, section-specific navigation, etc.)
3. Stuff that *will* change from one page to the next

Then I create a template containing all class1 elements. Next I create
server-side include files containing all class 2 elements and place them on
the template as needed. Note - some of the class 2 elements may be
"section-specific elements", and their placement on the template will be
subject to the next item. Finally, I insert editable regions to cover the
class 3 items, INCLUDING the section-specific navigation.

This allows me to just cookie-cut the rest of the site. I estimate that
even for fairly large sites, about 80% of my work goes into planning and
creating this template file.

> I am still getting a blank page when I preview or upload to the
> server.

You are previewing with the F12 key or the Preview icon in DW? Are you
previewing the Template page, or a child page? Do you have preview with
temp files enabled in your preferences? When you "upload to the server",
are you uploading and then browsing to the *.dwt page? Have you tried
spawning a child page from this template, and then previewing/uploading the
child page?

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================

"nowherecreative" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g6a7oi$ie9$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Well the pages aren't created yet, this is an entirely new site. I will be
> adding in all the fresh content once I get this working. I went ahead and
> deleted that template (the code I posted) and tried again using the method
> you
> mentioned. I am still getting a blank page when I preview or upload to the
> server. I've attached the new code.
>

#6 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:20 PM

Thank you, that is exactly what I did, since it is a CSS layout I am only
working in the code view. My trouble is once I add in the editable region, I
only get a blank white page when I preview it in the browser or upload it to
the server.

#7 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:20 PM

This problem is unrelated to how you insert the editable regions....

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================

"nowherecreative" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g6a8pb$jjr$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Thank you, that is exactly what I did, since it is a CSS layout I am only
> working in the code view. My trouble is once I add in the editable region,
> I
> only get a blank white page when I preview it in the browser or upload it
> to
> the server.
>

#8 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:39 PM

"You are previewing with the F12 key or the Preview icon in DW? Are you
previewing the Template page, or a child page? Do you have preview with
temp files enabled in your preferences? When you "upload to the server",
are you uploading and then browsing to the *.dwt page? Have you tried
spawning a child page from this template, and then previewing/uploading the
child page?"

Yes, I am previewing with the F12 key, I've tried both the Template page and
the child page and unfortunately I get the same result, same thing when they
are placed on the server. I've browsed to both the .dwt page and the page the
template is applied to. Now I am having issues with all the code not rendering
properly in Firefox ... I'm sorry I'm so new to all of this hand coding!

#9 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 04:39 PM

* Do you have preview with temp files enabled in your preferences?

> same thing when they are placed on the server

Please post a link to both the template page and the child page that you
have uploaded.

> I'm sorry I'm so new to all of this hand coding!

Everybody gotta be somewhere. But so far, there is no hand coding, you
know? 8)

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================

"nowherecreative" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g6aako$liv$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> "You are previewing with the F12 key or the Preview icon in DW? Are you
> previewing the Template page, or a child page? Do you have preview with
> temp files enabled in your preferences? When you "upload to the server",
> are you uploading and then browsing to the *.dwt page? Have you tried
> spawning a child page from this template, and then previewing/uploading
> the
> child page?"
>
> Yes, I am previewing with the F12 key, I've tried both the Template page
> and
> the child page and unfortunately I get the same result, same thing when
> they
> are placed on the server. I've browsed to both the .dwt page and the page
> the
> template is applied to. Now I am having issues with all the code not
> rendering
> properly in Firefox ... I'm sorry I'm so new to all of this hand coding!
>
>

#10 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 05:43 PM

Okay I am going to post the links, and I've discovered that the template files
only don't work in IE7 ... however, they show up just fine in Firefox ... BUT
.... Firefox is not rendering the CSS correctly, it looks terrible and I have no
idea why or what I did wrong in the coding.

Link to Template Page:
http://www.colonybeachresort.com/CSS...n_template.dwt
Link to Page with Template Applied:
http://www.colonybeachresort.com/CSS...lates/new.html
Link to Regular Page (no template):
http://www.colonybeachresort.com/CSS_Testing

Thanks again!

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