Creating a new object

Creating a new object

Create a new object by saving an existing object with a new name and then modifying the copy.

1 Create a new blank document in a text editor (for example, BBEdit or HomeSite).

You can use Dreamweaver's HTML inspector as your text editor, but you will need to delete all the tags that appear in the HTML inspector when you start a new document.

2 Type or paste in the tags that you want this object to insert into your documents.

For example:

<TABLE CELLSPACING="2" CELLPADDING="5" BORDER="2"> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> <TD>O</TD> <TD>O</TD> </TR> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD>O</TD> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> <TD>X</TD> </TR> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD>X</TD> <TD>O</TD> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE>

3 Save the file.

If you want the new object to appear on one of the existing panels, save it in one of the Objects subdirectories (Common, Forms, or Invisibles). If you want to create a new panel, create a new folder inside the Objects directory and save your file there. Additional subdirectories inside any Objects subdirectory are ignored.

4 Open InsertMenu.htm in Dreamweaver.

5 Place your cursor at the end of the line above where you want your new object to appear in the Insert menu.

For example, if you want your new object to appear after Line Break, place your cursor directly after line_break.htm.

6 Hit enter to create a new list item, then type the name of your object, the letter, number, or symbol that you would like to use as a keyboard shortcut, and the filename of your object.

For example,

Tic Tac Toe, E, tic_tac_toe.htm

Windows only: Highlight the letter you would like to use as a mnemonic and choose Text > Style > Underline.

7 Optional: Hit enter to create a new list item, then type one or more hyphens to create a separator line between your object and the next object in the menu.

8 Save the file and quit Dreamweaver.

9 In a graphics or image-editing program (such as Macromedia FreeHand or Adobe® Photoshop®), create a 16-pixel by 16-pixel GIF that will serve as the icon for your object in the Objects palette.

If you create a larger image, Dreamweaver automatically scales it to 16 pixels by 16 pixels. If you do not create an icon for your object, Dreamweaver inserts a missing image icon in the Objects palette.

10 Give your icon the same file name as your object file and save the icon in the same directory as the object file.

For example, if your object is called tic_tac_toe.htm and you saved it in the Common directory, name your icon tic_tac_toe.gif and save it in the Common directory as well.

11 Restart Dreamweaver to access your new object.

1	Create a new blank document in a text editor (for example, BBEdit or HomeSite).
	You can use Dreamweaver's HTML inspector as your text editor, but you will need to delete all the tags that appear in the HTML inspector when you start a new document.
2	Type or paste in the tags that you want this object to insert into your documents.
	For example:
	<TABLE CELLSPACING="2" CELLPADDING="5" BORDER="2"> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> <TD>O</TD> <TD>O</TD> </TR> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD>O</TD> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> <TD>X</TD> </TR> <TR VALIGN="middle" ALIGN="center"> <TD>X</TD> <TD>O</TD> <TD><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">X</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE>
3	Save the file.
	If you want the new object to appear on one of the existing panels, save it in one of the Objects subdirectories (Common, Forms, or Invisibles). If you want to create a new panel, create a new folder inside the Objects directory and save your file there. Additional subdirectories inside any Objects subdirectory are ignored.
4	Open InsertMenu.htm in Dreamweaver.
5	Place your cursor at the end of the line above where you want your new object to appear in the Insert menu.
	For example, if you want your new object to appear after Line Break, place your cursor directly after `line_break.htm.`
6	Hit enter to create a new list item, then type the name of your object, the letter, number, or symbol that you would like to use as a keyboard shortcut, and the filename of your object.
	For example,
	Tic Tac Toe, E, tic_tac_toe.htm
	Windows only: Highlight the letter you would like to use as a mnemonic and choose Text > Style > Underline.
7	Optional: Hit enter to create a new list item, then type one or more hyphens to create a separator line between your object and the next object in the menu.
8	Save the file and quit Dreamweaver.
9	In a graphics or image-editing program (such as Macromedia FreeHand or Adobe® Photoshop®), create a 16-pixel by 16-pixel GIF that will serve as the icon for your object in the Objects palette.
	If you create a larger image, Dreamweaver automatically scales it to 16 pixels by 16 pixels. If you do not create an icon for your object, Dreamweaver inserts a missing image icon in the Objects palette.
10	Give your icon the same file name as your object file and save the icon in the same directory as the object file.
	For example, if your object is called tic_tac_toe.htm and you saved it in the Common directory, name your icon tic_tac_toe.gif and save it in the Common directory as well.
11	Restart Dreamweaver to access your new object.