Templates

[needy]

Hi I use dreamweaver as an editor to code my sites. (I do not use the WYSIWYG aspect) I've learned how to code by hand (basic) but find many dreamweaver features useful like templates and IE bug indicators.

On another site someone told me to stay away from DW templates. I find them so useful as I often get request to add new nav buttons, or change special offers etc. Using the template makes those changes a breeze - I even discovered I can make specific tags editable after a template is already in use (brilliant!)
BUT
can you hand code a site to create a template and then implement it? Is there an advantage to hand coding a template as opposed to using DW??

[Lavinco]

Hi I use dreamweaver as an editor to code my sites. (I do not use the WYSIWYG aspect) I've learned how to code by hand (basic) but find many dreamweaver features useful like templates and IE bug indicators.

On another site someone told me to stay away from DW templates. I find them so useful as I often get request to add new nav buttons, or change special offers etc. Using the template makes those changes a breeze - I even discovered I can make specific tags editable after a template is already in use (brilliant!)
BUT
can you hand code a site to create a template and then implement it? Is there an advantage to hand coding a template as opposed to using DW??

I hand code with DW all the time. IMO, it's the best program there is to hand code. "Code View" I especially like the auto suggestion of code as you type. Makes hand coding a snap.

anything original is definitely better than a template.

[needy]

anything original is definitely better than a template.

Maybe I needed to be more specific?
I design my own page and then save it as a template. It is the template action I am after - IE linking all the pages of one type/design.
or is the action created by dreamweaver OK? I do not even know the name of the code that is inserted to call/create the linking of the DW template action.

Stick with DW or learn how to do it myself?

[Lavinco]

Maybe I needed to be more specific?
I design my own page and then save it as a template. It is the template action I am after - IE linking all the pages of one type/design.
or is the action created by dreamweaver OK? I do not even know the name of the code that is inserted to call/create the linking of the DW template action.

Stick with DW or learn how to do it myself?

Do you mean save it as a code snippet? DW allows you to save snippets of any type.

If you are just learning DW, I suggest giving it an honest try. It's a great developer's tool.

I also suggest getting this book.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Revealed.
Sherry Bishop
Course Technology, Boston, 2008.
ISBN 13: 978-1-4283-1964-6
ISBN 10: 1-4283-1964-6

Software:
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard