Operation Manual

Set up a testing server
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Note:
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Note:
The home directory
A virtual directory
Set up a testing server
About the Web URL for the testing server
If you plan to develop dynamic pages, Dreamweaver needs the services of a testing server to generate and display dynamic content while you
work. The testing server can be your local computer, a development server, a staging server, or a production server.
For a detailed overview about the purposes of a testing server, see David Powers’s Dreamweaver Developer Center article, Setting up a local
testing server in Dreamweaver CS5.
Set up a testing server
1. Select Site > Manage Sites.
2. Click New to set up a new site, or select an existing Dreamweaver site and click Edit.
3. In the Site Setup dialog box, select the Servers category and do one of the following:
Click the Add New Server button to add a new server
Select an existing server and click the Edit Existing Server button
4. Specify Basic options as necessary, and then click the Advanced button.
You must specify a Web URL in the Basic screen when specifying a testing server. For more information, see the next
section.
5. Under Testing Server, select the server model you want to use for your web application.
As of Dreamweaver CS5, Dreamweaver no longer installs ASP.NET, ASP JavaScript, or JSP server behaviors. (You
can manually re-enable the deprecated server behaviors if you wish, but keep in mind that Dreamweaver no longer officially
supports them.) If you’re working on ASP.NET, ASP JavaScript, or JSP pages, however, Dreamweaver will still support Live
view, code coloring, and code hinting for those pages. You do not need to select ASP.NET, ASP JavaScript or JSP in the Site
Definition dialog box for any of these features to work.
6. Click Save to close the Advanced screen. Then in the Servers category, specify the server you just added or edited as a
testing server.
About the Web URL for the testing server
You must specify a Web URL so Dreamweaver can use the services of a testing server to display data and to connect to databases while you
work. Dreamweaver uses the design-time connection to provide you with useful information about the database, such as the names of the tables
in your database and the names of the columns in your tables.
A Web URL for a testing server comprises the domain name and any of your website’s home directory’s subdirectories or virtual directories.
The terminology used in Microsoft IIS may vary from server to server, but the same concepts apply to most web servers.
The folder on the server mapped to your site’s domain name. Suppose the folder you want to use to process dynamic pages
is c:\sites\company\, and this folder is your home directory (that is, this folder is mapped to your site’s domain name—for example,
www.mystartup.com). In that case, the URL prefix is http://www.mystartup.com/.
If the folder you want to use to process dynamic pages is a subfolder of your home directory, simply add the subfolder to the URL. If your home
directory is c:\sites\company\, your site’s domain name is www.mystartup.com, and the folder you want to use to process dynamic pages
is c:\sites\company\inventory. Enter the following Web URL:
http://www.mystartup.com/inventory/
If the folder you want to use to process dynamic pages is not your home directory or any of its subdirectories, you must create a virtual directory.
A folder that is not physically contained in the home directory of the server even though it appears to be in the URL. To create
a virtual directory, specify an alias for the folder’s path in the URL. Suppose your home directory is c:\sites\company, your processing folder is
d:\apps\inventory, and you define an alias for this folder called warehouse. Enter the following Web URL:
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