I need to use files previously created in DreamWeaver

[newtowebbuilding]

I am trying to creat a new web page for our Cub Scout pack, without having to recreate the wheel. The files that I have were originally created in Dreamweaver and I don't have Dreamweaver nor want to buy it.

Is there another program that I could access these files in because I need to correct/change some of the things and will want to continue to do that in the future.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because I am a newbie, but look forwarding to doing this.

Shona

[jtara]

Is there another program that I could access these files in

Any text editor.

Want to get fancy?

Any HTML editor.

I don't use Dreamweaver, so I'm unfamiliar with any local files it may keep from which it creates HTML.

But the files that have been updated to your website are simply HTML, and you can edit them any way you'd like.

Now.... on the other hand... the last time I looked at output from Dreamweaver, it was pretty incomprehensible. But that was a LONG time ago.

[newtowebbuilding]

IS there any one that you might suggest that is cheap/easy for a newbie? I downloaded ABCWebWizard. Would that work? Or if there is another one that would be great too.

Thanks,
Shona

[newtowebbuilding]

I downloaded CoffeeTalk and was able to make the typing changes I needed to right now. I still have to work on it quite a bit but will continue to work on it.

Thanks for the idea - that gave me a better direction.

Shona

[piatkow]

For accessing the underlying code I stick to Notepad simply because it is already on my PC.

Specialist editors are legion. As volunteer webmaster for a small community based site I find a mix of Notepad and NVU perfectly adequate. There are better tools around but what I have does the job so I see little point in spending time and/or money for a few "bells and whistles" that I can do without.

Working on a big commercial site is a different story of course.

[Samizdata]

the last time I looked at output from Dreamweaver, it was pretty incomprehensible

That brought back some memories (and made me laugh) but you probably won't be surprised to learn that it has improved a lot - though I still wouldn't use it for design or editing myself.

I agree that for Windows users Notepad is probably all you need for a small site, though I rarely meet a Windows user who even knows it exists these days, let alone that it is already on their computer.

One word of caution to the OP - never use Microsoft Word's "Save As HTML" function.

[piatkow]

I would rephrase that last statement slightly

never ever use any Microsoft Office Application's "Save As HTML" function.

[sonjay]

I second the last two posts, and will expand: Avoid word processors in general. Any text editor will do.

What the OP didn't mention was his (or her) current state of knowledge vis-a-vis html and css, or any expressed preference for using either a WYSIWYG (such as it is) or a code editor. It's kind of hard to make specific recommendations for a given situation without a little more information than "I don't want to buy Dreamweaver."

[newtowebbuilding]

Further to the last message, my current state of knowledge is little to none. This is my first exposure/experience with creating/correcting web pages. We got hosting through godaddy for our cubscout web page and the person who originally created the site and was supposed to correct/maintain and load the new files onto godaddy decided that he didn't want to do it. So, in order to get something up for our pack, I got the files from him and in trying to make corrections to it before uploading it was told that I needed to know what program it was created in. That was the beginning of my original post. I have since downloaded coffeetalk and have been able to correct a few things using that program. However, I can already see that I/we might want to add other items, pictures, etc. and haven't messed with coffeetalk enough to know how or if I can do that with that program.

I appreciate all the help that you all were able to offer - at least it got me going in the right direction.

[Samizdata]

my current state of knowledge is little to none

HTML is not rocket science (or even remotely close).

You can make a perfectly presentable website (and edit any existing HTML files) using nothing but Notepad, though you will also want a graphics editor (free ones exist) to edit your images and make them the correct size for display.

Keep it simple and when experimenting always work on a copy. Be aware that many textbooks on web design are out of date before they reach the stores, and the best place to learn is online (try entering "W3C schools" in your favourite search engine).

As you progress you can use more advanced techniques if you want, but they are not obligatory and I have taught a 12-year-old all the HTML needed to make a presentable site in a couple of hours.

If the existing site uses FONT, COLOR and CENTER tags you might start looking at replacing them with CSS when you have the time and inclination - the tags still work but your life will be easier afterwards.

One more word of caution: using the MAILTO method for your contact email address is no longer viable as it attracts spam in huge quantities - there are many alternative methods for contact forms and any of them would be an improvement.

Oh, and test in as many different browsers as you can...

[rocknbil]

W3c Schools is an authoritative link and is acceptable here:
[w3schools.com...]

Welcome aboard newtowebbuilding, I'll second every post here - with a little anecdote from my experience.

You can do like many of us have done, learn this the hard way by trial and error or get the base groundwork in and eliminate a lot of frustration. What this means is that CoffeeCup or HotDog or Dreamweaver will make you a star today for getting the job done, but in a year it's going to be an embarrassment for you when you look back on it.

The real pain here is, you will probably want to re-do everything, and if you get in the habit of using an HTML editor, you may be as clueless about how to fix some things as you are today.

So get the immediate tasks out of the way and dig in hard with the basics - you really don't need an editor. As mentioned many times, HTML is plain text, use a plain text editor of some sort and learn what all the widgets and funny characters do.

Start off with three things. You may not immediately recognize their significance or be able to put them into practice immediately with this web site, but don't ignore them, and every document you open consider them - eventually it will save you SO much time in your work.

Understand what a valid document type is, [webmasterworld.com] and the difference between Quirks mode and Standards Compliance mode. If you code with a valid document type, many of your cross browser issues will go away. Not all, but many. :-)

Validate your code [validator.w3.org]. An extension of the previous. If you are building valid documents, there is a very slim chance you will ever have to go back a year later and fix something for technical or browser display reasons.

Understand CSS [w3schools.com] and avoid table layouts. This is still a topic of strong debate, and you may use or have to work with table layouts, but it's OKAY - just understand the significance of using tables for tabular data and CSS for layout, and constantly try to move toward it.

I'll post it again, if you spend a week or two hammering through these tutorials you will pick this up very quickly.

[w3schools.com...]