Click into your empty page and type in your name. Using the Properties Inspector, choose a font and colour then look at the HTML source and see how Dreamweaver put the HTML to work.

Page properties:
Modify > Page Properties takes you to a palette which relates to the browser page and it's content but not to specific text or to pictures. It allows changes to be made to the page title, link colours and allows background images and colours to be used. The background colour is the colour of the background to the whole page not just a table or cell.

Library Items:
The Files palette also leads you to Assets and Library items - one of the most useful features in the software. This allows you to make a saved library item of anything used regularly on your website, like the Navigation bar. Then if you makes changes to that Library item it will make those changes to that item across every page in the website if necessary.

So having prepared your Library Item - maybe a navigation bar with all it’s text specifications, colour and links - select the entire item, open the Files palette and click the small ‘book’ icon on the left.

A Dialogue box will invite you to create a new library item by pressing the icon second left at the bottom of the palette. It will ask for a name and then save it to memory.

When you want to use this item elsewhere, click at the chosen insertion point on your page, open the Library items panel and select the item and press insert (bottom left).

If you want to edit or alter the item, select it on the page and open from the Properties Inspector then you can change or edit as needed. Once saved it will update all similar library items on the website. It’s a great time saver and you are sure to be coming back to this item as we move through the software.

Having introduced you to Dreamweaver, we’ll now move on to setting up and structuring your website.

Organising and defining your website