The Dreamweaver CS5 Configuration Folders

Many Dreamweaver 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 Extending Dreamweaver and The Dreamweaver API Reference.

Some folder names are obvious. For example, Objects are kept in the Objects folder; Behaviors are kept in the Behaviors folder. 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 produces another version of the Configuration directory per user. Dreamweaver appends each old Configuration folder with a version number (for example "Configuration-1", "Configuration-2", etc.) where the higher the number, the newer the folder. The most recent version of the Configuration folder is always called, simply, "Configuration".

The following Configuration files and folders correspond to how Dreamweaver features are organized:

File/folder name Contents
ActiveXNames.txt A list of ActiveX class IDs; used to populate the ClassID pop-up menu in the ActiveX inspector.
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 Extending Dreamweaver.

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.

IceIdList.txt

Lists id or class values that will be promoted to ICE editable regions when the user creates a new HTML file with InContext Editable regions.

version.xml

The version.xml file contains information about your Dreamweaver installation. Do not edit or delete this file.

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. 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.

browsers Contains the WebKit browser used for Live View. This folder also contains the default style sheet applied to pages when you enter Live View;
if you don't like the default font, padding, or other values you can change them here.
BrowserProfiles

Files used by the Browser Compatibility Check feature.

Each file in this folder is named for the browser it represents. The HTML file contains the official name of the browser; this should not be changed, as the files in the Issues folder depend on it. The XML file contains information about the CSS properties and values that are and are not supported by that browser. For more information about browser profiles, see Extending Dreamweaver.

  Issues

Files that define and search the user's document for browser rendering issues. The files in this folder are executed when the user runs a Browser Compatibility Check.

Each Issue is separated into two files (one .js file and one .htm file) for localization purposes. The HTML file contains the localizable strings that will be presented to the user in the Browser Compatibility Check panel, should the issue be detected. (Issues have no user interface in and of themselves, so the body of the Issue HTML file is empty.) The JavaScript file contains the JavaScript code that defines the browsers for which the issue is relevant, that returns the strings from the HTML file, and that detects the presence of the issue in the user's document. Do not make changes to this file unless you are proficient in JavaScript and familiar with the Issues API as documented in Extending Dreamweaver.

BuiltIn

Templates for creating a variety of documents, including different page layouts.

Classes

Files used to read JavaBeans as data sources.

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.

CodeHints XML files that contain the associations and content for providing code hints while editing in Code view. (Note that many of the tags and attributes that are available as Code Hints come from tag libraries; see the Tag Libraries folder below.)
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—the text and form fields that appear in a dialog box when you select the command from the menu—for the command, if there is one, and it may also contain localizable strings and references to external JavaScript files (including the .js file of the same name). 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 Insert panel. By calling a command from an object file, Dreamweaver can get the best of both kinds of extensions.

Components

The Components directory has a subfolder for each supported server model (ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, and PHP/MySQL), as well as the deprecated server models (ASP/JavaScript, ASP.Net/C#, ASP.Net/VisualBasic, and JSP). The files in these directories establish the menu items for managing connections to servers. The ColdFusion subfolder also contains supporting files for defining ColdFusion Datasources, Components (CFCs), and Web Services.

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 subfolder) used to retrieve data from the server. For more information about data connections, see "The Database API" in Extending Dreamweaver.

Content

The Content folder contains the files used by the Reference panel.

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 depend on the server model specified for the site. For more information about editing Data Sources files, see "The Data Sources API" in Extending Dreamweaver.

Dialogs Files to configure certain Dreamweaver dialogs. These should not be changed.
DisabledFeatures Server Behaviors and associated files for the no-longer-supported ASP/JavaScript, ASP.Net and JSP server models, packaged as extensions. You can install either of these extension files with the Extension Manager to restore ASP.Net and JSP features, but the extensions and the features will remain unsupported.
DocumentTypes

Basic templates for each supported document type.

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.

  MM

XML Group and Participant extension data files.

Flash Player

Files to support some Flash panels in Dreamweaver.

Floaters

Custom floating panels.

Fonts The fontStrings.xml file, which defines the default fonts that appear in the Font menu in the Property inspector, the font and font-family menus in the CSS panel, and other places in the Dreamweaver user interface.
Formatters Scripts for applying various display formats, such as different Date/Time display formats or setting text to all uppercase or all lowercase.
Generator

Files required for using Flash Objects inside Dreamweaver.

HousingPlugIn

Files required for CSXS extensions.

Inspectors

Custom property inspectors.

Most of the property inspectors in Dreamweaver are built into the core code of the product, but some—such as the inspectors for the META, TITLE, and LINK tags—are written in HTML and JavaScript. The property inspectors 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 inspector: the text and form fields that appear in the Property inspector floating panel. The JavaScript file contains the JavaScript code that makes the inspector work; do not make changes to this file unless you are proficient in JavaScript and familiar with the Property inspector API as documented in Extending Dreamweaver.

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.

Knowledgeengines Language-specific parser engines that parse user-entered code for a specific language (for example, PHP) and generate the generic metadata to be used by Dreamweaver's code hinting mechanism.
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 (with a few notable exceptions; see Behaviors above and ServerBehaviors below, for example, for information on how the (+) menus in the Behaviors and Server Behaviors panels, respectively, are populated). It also specifies all of the keyboard shortcuts and mnemonics used by Dreamweaver. For information about menu commands and menus.xml, see "Menus and Menu Commands" in Extending Dreamweaver.

  Custom Sets

Customizations of the menu.xml file that provide keyboard shortcuts similar to other products.

  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. To add your own menu commands, save them in another subfolder of the Menus folder.

Objects

Items that appear in the Insert menu and Insert bar.

To appear in the Insert bar and Insert menu, all Object files must be stored in a subfolder of the Objects folder and be listed in the insertbar.xml and menus.xml files. For more information about modifying these files, see "Insert Bar Objects" in Extending Dreamweaver.

Plugins (Windows)
plug-ins (Macintosh)

Any plug-ins that can be used to play active content (such as Flash movies) in Dreamweaver, as well as a list of plug-ins that Dreamweaver does not support (UnsupportedPlugins.txt).

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.

Reports

Files associated with the Site Reports feature.

The folders inside Reports contain the Site Reports that ship with Dreamweaver; you can create additional reports and save them in one of the existing folders or create a new subfolder. For more information about Reports, see The Reports API in Extending Dreamweaver.

  HTML Reports

Report files for analyzing your HTML (such as finding images with missing alt attributes, removing empty tags, or finding untitled documents).

  Workflow

Report files for assisting with site maintenance tasks (such as finding all the files checked out by a specific user or finding recently modified documents).

Server Behaviors

The files used by the Server Behaviors inspector. Each server model ( ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, and PHP/MySQL) has a corresponding subfolder. The ServerBehaviors.xml file in each subfolder determines what appears in the plus (+) menu of the Server Behaviors panel.

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.

ServerDebugOutput

Supporting files for ColdFusion debugging.

Server Formats

The files used to format dynamic data. Each server model (ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, and PHP/MySQL) has a corresponding subfolder. The Formats.xml file in each subfolder determines what appears in the Formats menu; it can be (carefully) hand edited if you would like to add additional formats.

For more information about editing Server Formats files, see "Data Formatting" in Extending Dreamweaver.

Server Models

The files that define available server models. Each server model (ASP/JavaScript, ASP/VBScript, ColdFusion, and PHP/MySQL) has an HTML file containing configuration information, and a corresponding subfolder to store specific implementations of certain functions for each server model.
For more information about editing Server Model files, see "Server Models" in Extending Dreamweaver.

Shared

Files to be shared by multiple extensions. (Any extension can reference the files in these directories.)

Many third-party extensions—and many Dreamweaver features—depend on the functions defined in Shared files, so the files in this folder should never be overwritten, and existing functions in the files should not be modified.

To add your own shared files, create a separate folder inside the Shared directory and store your files there.

  Common Shared scripts and classes for use in extensions throughout the Configuration folder.
  Controls Common user interface controls for use mainly in Server Behaviors.
  Dinamico Support for site-specific code hints.
  Fireworks Supporting files for Fireworks integration.
  Flash Supporting files for the SWFObject-based Flash embedding scheme introduced in Dreamweaver CS4.
  ICE Helper JavaScript classes for In-Context Editing Commands and Property Inspectors.
  MM Shared scripts, images, and classes used by the extensions that ship with Dreamweaver. Third-party extensions may use these files as well, but often more up-to-date functionality can be found in the files in the Common folder.
  OAWidget Support for widget insertion.
  RDSAPI Files for creating connections on the server and turning on remote debugging for ColdFusion.
  Recordset Supporting files for CFC-based recordsets.
  Spry

All the files necessary to support Spry-related features in Dreamweaver. Generally, the files in the DesignTime folders control the appearance and functionality of widgets, effects, and data sets at authoring time, while the files in the non-DesignTime folders control the appearance and functionality of widgets, effects, and data sets in the browser.

Files needed by the browser to support Spry functionality are copied to the user's site when the user saves a page containing a Spry widget, data set, or effect.

  UltraDev Shared scripts, images, and classes used by server-related extensions that ship with Dreamweaver. Third-party extensions may use these files as well, but often more up-to-date functionality can be found in the files in the Common folder.
  XHTMLDTD The XHTML DTDs used by Preview In Browser for XSLT Pages.
  XMLPrefixes A list of common XML namespace prefixes and corresponding URIs. Used by the XML Schema Generator.
  XSLTransform Runtime server-side code to do a XSLT Transform process on a given application server technology (PHP, ASP, etc.). Used by the XSLT Server Behavior.
Shutdown Commands that should execute when Dreamweaver shuts down. Often used by extensions to clean up temporary files they have created.
Snippets Supporting files and default contents for the Snippets panel.
SourceControl Supporting files for Source Control functionality.
Startup

Scripts that run when Dreamweaver starts up.

For more information on creating startup scripts, see "The Document Object Model" in Extending Dreamweaver.

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.

Templates Supporting files for the Flash Video feature.
Third Party Source Code Information about source code not created by Adobe that provides functionality to Dreamweaver. For example, this folder contains information about the JavaScript interpreter that Dreamweaver uses.
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 Extending Dreamweaver.

Toolbars

Defines the toolbars available and the icons and commands on each toolbar.

Translators Translator files. Data translators translate specialized markup such as server-side includes, conditional JavaScript statements, or other server markup such as PHP, CFML, or ASP into code that Dreamweaver can read and display.
Validators Supporting scripts for adding text field entry validation to forms.
VersionControl Supporting files for Subversion version control.
WebServices

Supporting files for specific Web Service connections.

workspace The default workspace layouts that ship with Dreamweaver (Windows). When you modify these workspaces or create new ones from within Dreamweaver, the XML files describing them are saved in your User Configuration/workspace folder.
WorkspaceMac The default workspace layouts that ship with Dreamweaver (Macintosh). When you modify these workspaces or create new ones from within Dreamweaver, the XML files describing them are saved in your User Configuration/WorkspaceMac folder.