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Customizing
Dreamweaver Menus
Step 1: Close
Dreamweaver
To customize
your Dreamweaver menus, you have to be comfortable editing XML files.
Why? Because Dreamweaver menus are now written in XML. To modify
these files, you need to open the file without Dreamweaver running.
Close Dreamweaver by selecting File, Exit (Alt-F4).
Step 2: Open
Menus.xml
XML files are
typical text files, and all you need to edit them is a standard
text editor. Since the Menus.xml file is to large for Windows Notepad,
you may want to open it in the tried and true DOS Edit program that
Microsoft still sends. Open the c:/Program Files/Macromedia/Dreamweaver/Configuration/Menus/menu.xml
file in your text editor.
Step 3: Save
a Copy
It is never
a good idea to work on your main copy of a configuration file. Make
a copy of your menus.xml file by selecting the File Save As option
on most Text editors. Now that you have a copy of the file, you
can continue working; save your changes to the original file. This
way, you always have a copy of the original to work from if your
changes don't work properly.
Step 4: Move
Menus
To move the
order of the menus, you need to select an entire object and all
of its child tags. Highlight the menu option that is to be moved.
Cut it from the document using the options generally found on the
Edit menu. Place your cursor in the location you wish the menu to
be placed and select the Paste menu option.
Step 5: Add
Separator
You can add
a separator to your Dreamweaver menus as easily as adding a line
of text into your menus.xml file by the addition of the statement
. This statement can appear between any menu item, but not between
menus.
Step 6: Add
Menu Item
To add a menu
item to your document, add a tag. This tag has a variety of attributes
including "name" that shows the text for the menu, "key" that identifies
the shortcut key, as well as additional options that control the
effect that selecting that menu option will have.
Step 7: Save
Changes
Be sure to save
you additions and changes, and then reload Dreamweaver. You will
be able to view the changes to your menu when Dreamweaver reloads.
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