Certificate in Intermediate Dreamweaver CS5 Online Course

There are 12 units of study

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

In our first lesson, you'll get familiar with the code Adobe Dreamweaver generates in response to the steps you perform. Intimidated by code? Don't be. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a much better understanding of how HTML, XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript work together to build your site content. Previous non-coders will come away with these topics demystified, and code-savvy users will learn how Dreamweaver enhances code editing.

Return to the CSS Styles Panel

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) have been with us since the mid-1990s. Yet, because of the slow state of browser development, it's only in the last few years that CSS has taken its rightful place at the center of modern Web design. CSS governs content presentation, while HTML and XHTML handle document structure. In this lesson, we'll take a closer look at CSS, see how it works hand-in-hand with markup, and examine the tools Dreamweaver gives us to work with CSS in a "what you see is what you get" environment.

Working With Snippets

Snippets take some of the drudgework out of site design. Do you have a common element—like a document footer with copyright information it—that you're going to insert in every page of your site? Turn it into a snippet. Next time you need it, just click a button and voilà! Instant page content. In today's lesson, we'll examine Dreamweaver snippets, learn how they function, and discuss how to fit them into your workflow.

Working With Dreamweaver Templates

A Dreamweaver template allows you to fix the layout of pages so that inexperienced folks can't mess them up when they're updating content. You'll learn what Dreamweaver templates do, how to build them, and how to apply them to the pages of our site.

CSS for Devices

Today you're going to learn all about styling pages for devices other than the browser. We'll look at the different types of devices you can style for—smartphones, assistive technologies, and printers, to name just a few. And we'll examine some of the tools Dreamweaver provides to make styling for devices easier.

Designing for Accessibility

Accessibility. You've heard the term, but do you really know what it means? Section 508 of the U.S. federal Rehabilitation Act includes rules for making site content accessible for users with disabilities. Many other countries have similar rules. Today we'll discuss how to keep Dreamweaver on the ball, accessibility-wise, so anyone can use your site with ease.

Working With Media Objects

Have you been to YouTube to watch videos? Or have you been to Amazon.com to preview music? These types of audio and video files are media objects. In today's lesson, we'll talk about what software you need to play media objects and how Dreamweaver lets you place this type of content within the sites you build.

Working With Dreamweaver Behaviors

Ever tinkered with JavaScript? It's the scripting language behind form field validation, rollover images, and other types of dynamic interaction. In Dreamweaver, we call JavaScript effects behaviors; in today's lesson, we'll delve into the various Dreamweaver interface features for creating these effects. And the best part is you won't ever have to touch the code!

Spry JavaScript Framework and Widgets

Building on our JavaScript experiences from the last lesson, we're about to jump into the wild and wooly world of frameworks. That's right—more technobabble! It's time to demystify this stuff, look at the next generation of JavaScript features, and learn what the Adobe Spry framework's all about. Today we begin our examination of Dreamweaver's Spry features, focusing on Spry Widgets.

Working With Spry Data

When you create a Spry data set, you're making a miniature database. You can store information in something as simple as an HTML table and then have Spry go to work on it. You can pull that information into a site's pages dynamically, as opposed to typing it all into a new page. So batten down the hatches, and get ready to go all Web 2.0 on this thing!

Introduction to XML and XSL

You've seen the acronym all over the place. It's time to find out how you can put XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to work. Today you'll examine XML and create a simple database. Then you'll pull data out of that database and format it with eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL)—all without a lick of programming!

Principles of Design

If you want to design anything, you need a firm understanding of the people you're designing for. In today's lesson, we'll step away from Dreamweaver and look at the most important component of the Web—us. You'll discover how we humans read Web content and learn how to structure your content so that it fascinates your fellow domesticated primates.