Many Dreamweaver MX features are extensions developed in JavaScript and HTML. The Configuration folders contain these extensions. If you customize or extend the Dreamweaver product, you modify these files or add your code source files to one or more of these folders. By familiarizing yourself with these folders, you can discover the interface for extensions as well as working examples of each extension type.
Warning: The files in the Configuration folders make up much of the Dreamweaver product. Do not modify, delete, or add to these files unless you know how to customize and extend Dreamweaver. Before you attempt to customize Dreamweaver, read "Customizing Dreamweaver" in the Support Center pages at http://www.macromedia.com/go/customizing_dreamweaver. To extend Dreamweaver, you should be proficient in JavaScript and familiar with the Dreamweaver API as documented in Extending Dreamweaver MX.
Some folder names are obvious. For example, Objects are kept in the Objects subfolder; Behaviors are kept in the Behaviors subfolder. One folder that does not correspond to a particular extension type is the Shared folder. The Shared folder is the central repository for utility functions, classes, and images that are commonly used by all extensions.
Each subsequent installation of Dreamweaver MX produces another version of the Configuration directory. Dreamweaver appends each old Configuration folder with a version number (for example "Configuration-1", "Configuration-2", etc.) where the higher the number, the older the folder. The most recent version of the Configuration directory is always called, simply, "Configuration".
The following Configuration files and folders correspond to how Dreamweaver MX features are organized:
File/folder name | Contents | |
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ActiveXNames.txt | A list of ActiveX class IDs; used to populate the ClassID pop-up menu in the ActiveX inspector. | |
CodeHints.xml | Code Hints are pop-up menus that Dreamweaver opens when you type certain character patterns in Code view. This XML file is controlled through the Edit>Preferences>Code Hints menu option. For more information about editing this file, see Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Extensions.txt | A list of file extensions recognized by Dreamweaver. If you add an extension to this file, double-clicking a file with that extension in the Site panel opens it in Dreamweaver. Extensions.txt also determines what file types are shown in the File > Open dialog box. To show files of a particular type in that dialog box by default, add the appropriate extension to the first line of Extensions.txt. For more information, see "Customizing Dreamweaver" in the Support Center pages at http://www.macromedia.com/go/customizing_dreamweaver. |
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FTPExtensionMap.txt | A list of file extensions and the transfer modes associated with them. This file determines how files are uploaded and downloaded by Dreamweaver: in ASCII mode or Binary mode. You can add items to this list or change the mode of existing items. On the Macintosh, this file is also used to set the file type and creator of files that are downloaded from a non-Macintosh server. |
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version.xml | The version.xml file contains information about your Dreamweaver installation. Do not edit or delete this file. |
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Behaviors | Files used by the Behavior inspector. | |
Actions | Items that appear in the Actions (+) pop-up menu in the Behavior inspector. Each action is separated into two files (one .js file and one .htm file) for localization purposes. The HTML file contains the interface for the behavior: the text and form fields that appear in a dialog box when you select the action from the Actions pop-up menu. You can modify this file to make the form fields larger or smaller. The JavaScript file contains the JavaScript code that inserts the behavior into your document. Do not make changes to this file, unless you are proficient in JavaScript and familiar with the Behavior API as documented in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Events | Items that appear in the Events For pop-up menu at the top of the Behavior inspector. Each file is named for the browser or browsers it represents, and it
contains a list of HTML elements and the events that are supported for
each element by all of the browsers in the file name. For example, Microsoft
Internet Explorer (IE) 3.0 supports the For each element, one event is marked with an asterisk (for example,
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BrowserProfiles | Files used by the Check Target Browsers feature. Each file in this folder is named for the browser it represents, and it contains information about the tags that are and are not supported by that browser. For more information about browser profiles, see "Customizing Dreamweaver" in the Support Center pages at http://www.macromedia.com/go/customizing_dreamweaver. |
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BuiltIn | Templates for creating a variety of documents, including different page and frameset layouts and pre-formatted cascading style sheets. |
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Classes | Files used to read JavaBeans as data sources. |
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CodeColoring | XML files that contain the color assignments for the Code View of a document. The CodeColoring directory also has specific files that correspond to the supported scripting languages (Javascript, VBScript, C#, and Visual Basic) where colors are assigned to code blocks and keywords. |
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Commands | Items that appear in the Commands menu (and other menus within Dreamweaver). Many of the commands in this folder are separated into two files (one .js file and one .htm file) for localization purposes. The HTML file contains the interface for the command: the text and form fields that appear in a dialog box when you select the command from the menu. You can modify this file to make the form fields larger or smaller. The JavaScript file contains the JavaScript code that makes the command work; do not make changes to this file unless you are proficient in JavaScript. You may notice that some of the items in the Commands folder have the same names as some of the items in the Objects folder. This is because some objects launch commands. Commands are more flexible than objects, but only objects can appear in the Object panel. By calling a command from an object file, Dreamweaver can get the best of both kinds of extensions. |
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Components | The Components directory has a subdirectory for each supported server model (ASP.Net/C#, ASP.Net/VisualBasic, ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, JSP, and PHP/MySQL). The files in these directories establish the menu items for managing connections to servers. The ColdFusion subdirectory also contains supporting files for defining ColdFusion Datasources, Components (CFCs), and Web Services. |
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Connections | The files in this directory determine what appears in the plus (+) pop-up menu of the database panel. This directory also includes the scripts (stored in the Scripts subdirectory) used to retrieve data from the server. For more information about data connections, see "The Database API" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Content | The Content folder contains the files for the spelling dictionaries and all the reference material for those dictionaries. |
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Data Sources |
The files used by the Dynamic Data dialog box and the Bindings panel. The dynamic data objects shown in the plus (+) pop-up menu of these user interfaces are based on the server model specified for the site. For more information about editing Data Sources files, see "The Data Sources API" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. | |
Debugger | Supporting files for the JavaScript Debugger module. |
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DocumentTypes | Basic templates for each supported document type. |
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Encodings | Additional character encodings for Dreamweaver; used to populate the Document Encoding pop-up menu in the Page Properties dialog box. Dreamweaver supports several encodings by default, including Western (Latin1), Japanese (Shift JIS, JIS, EUC), Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. These encodings always appear in the Document Encoding pop-up menu and cannot be removed. Support for additional languages and character sets (including Cyrillic, Greek, and Icelandic) is provided by the files in this folder. |
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ExtensionData | Note: The files in this directory are only included for backwards compatibility, and are not used in the current method for working with extensions. XML metadata: Group and Participant data for extensions, including server behaviors. |
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MM | XML Group and Participant extension data files that ship with Dreamweaver. |
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Extensions | Extensions installed using the Extension Manager. This folder is for installed extensions. To install an extension, first save the extension package file (*.mxp) in the Dreamweaver MX/Downloaded Extensions folder (which is at the same level as the Configuration folder). Then, launch the Extension Manager directly from Dreamweaver by choosing Manage Extensions from the Commands menu. In the Extension Manager, select File>Install Extension (Ctrl-I). Extension Manager installs the extension file in this Configuration/Extensions folder. |
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Flash Objects | The files used to create new Flash Objects. Flash Button and Flash Text features are built using this API. |
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Flash Buttons | Flash button template files. |
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Flash Buttons Preview | Flash button previews of template files. |
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Flash Text | Flash text template file. |
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Flash Player | SWFs for the welcome message and other interactive information. |
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Floaters | Custom floating panels. If you create or download a custom floating panel, it should be stored in this folder. |
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Generator | Files required for using Flash Objects inside Dreamweaver, including a custom Generator object for integration with Dreamweaver. |
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Inspectors | Custom property inspectors. Most of the property inspectors in Dreamweaver are hard-coded into the
product. The inspectors for items in the |
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JSExtensions | Custom shared libraries. The custom shared libraries in this folder make Dreamweaver's extensions more powerful and flexible by adding new JavaScript functions. Because some of the files in the Translators and Commands files depend on these shared libraries, they should not be removed. To add your own shared libraries to Dreamweaver, see the section on C-level extensibility in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Menus | The file that defines the entire menu structure for Dreamweaver (menus.xml), and a backup copy of that file (menus.bak) to allow you to restore default menus. The menus.xml file specifies the names and behavior of all menus and menu items in Dreamweaver. It also specifies all of the keyboard shortcuts and mnemonics used by Dreamweaver. For information about menus.xml, see "Customizing Dreamweaver" in the Support Center pages at http://www.macromedia.com/go/customizing_dreamweaver. To add your own menu commands, create a separate folder inside Menus and store your menu command files there. For more information about creating menu commands, see the Menu commands section of Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Custom Sets | Customizations of the menu.xml file that provide keyboard shortcuts similar to other products. |
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MM | Files (called menu commands) that control the behavior of many of the menu items in Dreamweaver. This folder is reserved for the menu commands that ship with Dreamweaver. |
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Objects | Items that appear in the Insert menu and Object panel. To appear in the Object panel or Insert menu, all object files must be stored in a subfolder of the Objects folder. For more information about modifying these files, see the "Objects" API in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Plugins | A list of plug-ins that Dreamweaver does not support (UnsupportedPlugins.txt), plus any plug-ins that are to be used to play plugin content in Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver automatically scans the plug-ins folders of any browsers on your hard drive for a suitable plugin when you opt to play plugin content, so storing plug-ins in this folder is not strictly necessary. |
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Queries | Search patterns that you save in the Find or Replace dialog box. By default, this folder is empty. |
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Reports | Extension for Dreamweaver reports. |
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Server Behaviors |
The files used by the Server Behaviors inspector. Each server model (ASP.Net/C#, ASP.Net/VisualBasic, ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, JSP, and PHP/MySQL) has a corresponding subdirectory. Server behaviors create the functionality that Web applications need, such as filtering records based on user criteria, paging through records, linking result lists to details pages, and inserting records into a result set. For more information about editing Server Behaviors files, see "Server Behaviors" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. Note: The file "ServerBehaviors.xml" (one in each of the server model folders within this directory) determines what appears in the plus (+) menu of the Server Behaviors panel. |
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ServerDebugOutput | Supporting files for ColdFusion debugging. |
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Server Formats |
The files used to format dynamic data. The file "Formats.xml" defines the Formats menu, and can be (carefully) hand edited. Each server format (ASP.Net/C#, ASP.Net/VisualBasic, ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, JSP, and PHP/MySQL) has a corresponding subdirectory. Users can change the format of the dynamic data before using it in an
HTML document using the Format pop-up menu in the Dynamic Data dialog
box or Bindings panel. Format types collect all common parameters
for a category of format, allowing you to streamline the work you'd have
to do to create a new format |
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Server Models | The files that define available server models. Each server
format (ASP.Net/C#, ASP.Net/VisualBasic, ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript,
ColdFusion, JSP, and PHP/MySQL) has an HTML file containing configuration
information, and a corresponding subdirectory to store specific implementations
of certain functions for each server model. |
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Shared |
Files to be shared by multiple extensions. These subfolders are reserved for the shared files that ship with Dreamweaver, but any extension can reference the files in these directories. To add your own shared files, create a separate folder inside the Shared directory and store your files there. |
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Common | The shared scripts and classes for use in third-party extensions. |
Controls | Controls used to build a Server Behavior. These controls include interfaces for text and recordset menus. |
Fireworks | Supporting files for Fireworks integration. |
MM | The shared scripts, images, and classes used by the extensions that ship with Dreamweaver. |
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UltraDev | The shared scripts, images, and classes used by the extensions that ship with Dreamweaver. |
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Snippets | Supporting files and default contents for the Snippets panel. |
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SourceControl | Source control settings and scripts. If you write an extension to integrate Dreamweaver with a new source control system, you place your C-level DLL/shared code in this folder. There is a minimum set of API functions that you must support. For more information, see "The Source Control API" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Startup | Scripts that run when Dreamweaver starts up. For more information on creating startup scripts, see "The Document Object Model" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. |
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Strings | The Strings directory contains XML files that specify the content to populate various message and dialog boxes. |
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TagLibIntrospection | Supporting files for the tag library tag importers (the tag importers are in the TagLibraries/TagImporters directory). | |
TagLibraries | Contains the tag database (TagLibraries.vtm) and tag definition files for the markup and scripting languages supported by Dreamweaver. These folders also contain the files for the dialog interface that appears to the user within Dreamweaver for editing tags. For more information, see "Tag Libraries and Dialogs" in Extending Dreamweaver MX. | |
Templates | The file default.html is used to define the starting contents for new pages opened in Dreamweaver. |
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ThirdPartyTags | Files that define the syntax and tag names of third-party markup (such as ASP, PHP, and custom HTML). Third-party tag definition files are XML files. Each XML file contains one or more tagspecs, and each tagspec may have an associated GIF file that defines the icon for the markup. For more information about third-party tags and tagspecs, see "Customizing Dreamweaver" in the Support Center pages at http://www.macromedia.com/go/customizing_dreamweaver. |
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Toolbars | Defines the toolbars available and the icons and commands on each toolbar. |
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WebServices | Supporting files for specific Web Service connections. |