Dreamweaver Templates - Absolute & Relative Paths

Hmmm ...  thanks for the feedback Jason but this is a new template on an already existing site so the images folder etc. has already been hooked up and working quite happily.

I'm going through The DW Missing Manual (great book BTW)  and the tutorials there (in the earlier examples anyway) are set up to not need the site on the server so I've created a number of 'sites' that can be previewed without going to the server. Since doing that I am now finding this problem with my previously working site?

If I do a dummy edit on the template it updates the connected scripts and corrects the reference to the image on my local hard drive even though the template originally did not reference my C drive??

>> but this is a new template on an already existing site so the images folder etc. has already been hooked up and
>> working quite happily.

The template has been saved?  The .dwt file is closed when you attempt to apply to a new file?

When you apply the template to the new file and the paths go weird, is that file also saved into the Site?

When you do File | New, that document is outside of any site structure until it's been saved.  Saving the file will change the paths

The template is not on the server.

I create the new document from the template (whilst the template is closed) on my local machine - I save and then upload the new script to the server. It's not until I do a dummy edit to the template that the reference to the image sorts itself out?

>> It's not until I do a dummy edit to the template that the reference to the image sorts itself out?

What exact steps are you taking to create the new document from the template and then upload.  I'm going to try to replicate the problem here. Be detailed.

Hi Jason - thanks for the interest. OK

i) In DW - New 'Page from Template' - select site & template (I'm already looking at a local view of the related site within DW) .... everything else is defaulted on this page (DocType XHTML 1.0 Transitional & 'Update page when template changes' is checked.

ii) Click Create

iii) Check body statement &.
body  {
        &&
        background-image: url(file:///C|/Users/Patrick/Documents/GRR/GRR Dev/images/page_bg2_fibres.jpg);    
THIS IS NOT THE FILE Reference in the template (there its says url(../images/page_bg2_fibres.jpg);)  I dont know why it is trying to pick this up from my C drive
        &&
}

iv) Save as HTML file (statement still wrong after save)

v) Upload to server and test &. Background image not found, background default colour displayed instead. (This bg image is on the server).

vi) Open and dummy edit template (e.g. change body font size to 90%, save and then back to 100% and then save again. The HTML document is updated with the correct bg reference? (its actually updated after the first save of course but I have to edit again to return it to the correct state.)

vii) Upload to server and test -  everything now tickety boo (i.e. bg image now displayed as you would expect if you are not familiar with UK colloquialisms)

All the best.

Patrick

It seems to have putv a whole load of peculiar formatting characters in so I have just pasted it in again as plain text which hopefully will be easier to read ...

OK:
i) In DW - New 'Page from Template' - select site & template (I'm already looking at a local view of the related site within DW) .... everything else is defaulted on this page (DocType XHTML 1.0 Transitional & 'Update page when template changes' is checked.
ii) Click Create
iii) Check body statement &.
body  {
            &&
            background-image: url(file:///C|/Users/Patrick/Documents/GRR/GRR Dev/images/page_bg2_fibres.jpg); -
    THIS IS NOT THE FILE Reference in the template (there its says url(../images/page_bg2_fibres.jpg);)  I dont know why it is trying to pick this up from my C drive
    &&
}
iv) Save as HTML file (statement still wrong after save)
v) Upload to server and test &. Background image not found, background default colour displayed instead. (This bg image is on the server).
vi) Open and dummy edit template (e.g. change body font size to 90%, save and then back to 100% and then save again. The HTML document is updated with the correct bg reference? (its actually updated after the first save of course but I have to edit again to return it to the correct state.)
vii) Upload to server and test -  everything now tickety boo (i.e. bg image now displayed as you would expect if you are not familiar with UK colloquialisms)

Great Jason - thanks again... it worked first time (i.e. Modify | Templates | Apply Template). I guess that means the template is basically corrupt in some way and I sould re-create.
P.

>> I guess that means the template is basically corrupt in some way and I sould re-create.

No, like I said it is a bug in DW that they have never fixed.

What happens is if you create a page from File | New, it doesn't always register that the page is part of Site X even if you save it.  So when the Template is applied, it doesn't use the Site path definitions and gets a full file:\\\ URL.

Starting the page in the site folder bypasses this bug.