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Adobe Dreamweaver CS3

Working with Local & Remote Sites

When editing your web page, it is important to transfer the desired file(s) from the remote site to the local site; this allows you to test and review your changes before transferring the file(s) back onto the remote site. For convenience, Dreamweaver enables you to transfer one file or many files at one time.

NOTE: This document assumes you have defined a local and remote site. For information on defining local and remote sites, see Defining Local & Remote Sites.

return to topGetting Files from the Remote Site

The Get feature allows you to download files from your remote site and place them in your local site. This feature has different purposes depending on the type of your local site. For more information about local sites, see Local & Remote Sites: An Overview.

  1. From the Windows menu, select Files
    OR
    Press [F8]
    The Files tab opens with the Files pane selected.

  2. From the View pull-down list, select Remote view
    View pull-down list

  3. Select the file(s) you would like to copy from the remote site to the local site
    NOTE: To select contiguous files, press and hold [Shift] while selecting files. To select noncontiguous files, press and hold [Ctrl] while selecting files.

  4. With the desired file(s) selected, click GET FILE(S)Get File(s) button
    OR
    Right click the file » select Get
    The Dependent Files dialog box appears.

  5. To download the dependent files (e.g., images) on the page, click YES
    The file(s) from the remote site is placed on the local site.
    NOTE: If you choose to not download the dependent files, some page elements may not appear properly.

return to topPutting Files onto the Remote Site

After changes have been made to the pages on the local site, they will need to be transferred to the remote site so they can be viewed online.

  1. From the Windows menu, select Files
    OR
    Press [F8]
    The Files tab opens with the Files pane selected.

  2. From the View pull-down list, select Local view
    View pull-down list

  3. Select the file(s) you would like to copy from the local site to the remote site
    NOTE: To select contiguous files, press and hold [Shift] while selecting files. To select noncontiguous files, press and hold [Ctrl] while selecting files.

  4. Click PUT FILE(S)Put Files(s) button
    OR
    Right click the file » select Put
    The Dependent Files dialog box appears.

  5. To upload the dependent files (e.g., images) on the page, click YES
    The file(s) from the local site is placed on the remote site.
    NOTE: If you choose to not upload the dependent files, some page elements may not appear properly.

return to topSynchronizing the Local & Remote Sites

Sometimes it may be difficult to remember whether or not the most current version of a web page is on the remote site. To ensure that all pages on the remote site are the most recent, you can synchronize your local and remote sites. Synchronizing copies all files from the local site to the remote site.

WARNING: Most local sites contain web pages that are incomplete and in progress; you do not want the folders that contain these files to be included in the synchronization process. Before synchronizing your local and remote sites, it is recommended that you cloak the folders that contain your incomplete and in progress web pages. Folders that are cloaked are excluded from site-wide operations, such as synchronization. For more information on cloaking, see Exclude Folders from Site Operations Using Cloaking.

  1. From the Windows menu, select Files
    OR
    Press [F8]
    The Files tab opens with the Files pane selected.

  2. Select the desired files

  3. From the Site menu, select Synchronize Sitewide...
    The Synchronize Files dialog box appears.
    Synchronize Files dialog box

  4. To copy only selected files, from the Synchronization pull-down list, select Selected Local Files Only
    To copy all files, from the Synchronization pull-down list, select Entire 'SiteName' Site

  5. To copy files from the local site to the remote site, from the Direction pull-down list, select Put newer files to remote
    To copy files from the remote site to the local site, from the Direction pull-down list, select Get newer files from remote
    To copy files from the remote site to the local site and from the local site to the remote site, from the Direction pull-down list, select Get and Put newer files

  6. To delete files from the remote site that are not on the local site, select Delete remote files not on local drive
    NOTE: If you selected, Get newer files from remote in step 5, this option will display Delete local files not on remote server.

  7. Click PREVIEW...
    The Synchronize dialog box summarizes the actions to be taken.
    Synchronize dialog box

  8. OPTIONAL: To exclude a file from the synchronization process
    1. Select the file

    2. Click IGNORE SELECTED FILES DURING THIS SYNCHRONIZATIONIgnore Selected Files During This Synchronization button

  9. Click OK
    The synchronization process is complete.

  10. OPTIONAL: To save a list of all files involved in the synchronization process
    1. At the bottom of the Files pane, click LOG...Log button
      The Background File Activity-CSS dialog box appears.
    2. Click SAVE LOG...
      The Save As dialog box appears.
    3. From the Save in pull-down list, select the location where you wish to save the log
    4. In the File name text box, type a file name

    5. Click SAVE
      The log is saved.

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