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Setting up a PHP Site & MySQL Connection in Dreamweaver MX
In this tutorial we're going back to basics, or rather making sure we can really get to grips with the basics, as we look at how to set up a site definition for a PHP site in Dreamweaver MX and then see how we can connect to a MySQL database residing on our web hosts server.
We'll be starting by understanding the theory behind how Dreamweaver acceses remote MySQL installations (the process Dreamweaver MX uses to connect to the MySQL server isn't as straightforward as most people think, as its designed to get round a number of security limitations which are often in force on web hosting accounts).
Armed with that knowledge we'll then set about making sure our site configuration is appropriate before we attempt to make a connection. After walking through the steps required, we'll also look at a few common errors you may encounter.
Transforming a table based layout into valid XHTML/CSS
As we know, XHTML and CSS should help us to; reduce load times and bandwidth costs, ease maintenance and associated costs and ensure compatibility with newer browsers and web browsing user agents.But what happens when we've got an existing web site – it's all laid out just so, but it's not in valid CSS/XHTML and, worse than that, there are TABLES everywhere?
Well, Michael Koch's put together a nice sample project here that will show us step-by-step how to take a table-based multi search engine site and convert it into valid XHTML/CSS markup. The article is accompanied by a resource file to help you replicate the venture.
Read MoreMore ActionScript for Designers
Welcome to More ActionScript for Designers! If you read the first tutorial, Basic ActionScript for Designers, you will have learned about controlling the way movies play, opening Web sites with ActionScript and playing sounds.The tutorial showed you how to add actions to the Actions panel and how to use buttons to trigger the commands. If you're new to ActionScript and haven't completed the Basic ActionScript tutorial, I would recommend reading it before you continue.
In this tutorial, we'll get a bit more adventurous and look at:
- Controlling the appearance of movie clips
- Dragging movie clips
- Loading an external JPEG image into a movie
- Loading an external SWF file into a movie
- Displaying "Quote of the Day" text
To complete the tutorial, you'll need to know how to work with the Timeline, add keyframes and enter ActionScript in the Actions panel. You should also be able to create buttons, add text and movie clips as well as knowing how to publish movies. Read More
FREE
Free! Hot Topics from the Blogs: September 2004
As the summer draws to a close, minds turn to completing projects and starting up new ones, so this month our blog round-up, apart from maintaining its watching brief, also includes some links to developing resources you might find useful.
Highlight spotted this month - details of sIFR a new Flash replacement technique.
Hot Topics from the Blogs is a monthly peer into the blogs of Web development movers and shakers, with the focus on highlighting recent postings that will stimulate and educate.
Read MoreCSS Units
This tutorial is about the units used in CSS, about the uses and pitfalls of the various methods of measuring CSS styled elements. Starting with font sizes we'll move on to boxes and positioning elements. Looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the different units of measurement we'll try to give you some clues on what you could use where (and some things to avoid). Oh, and of course we'll make sure we take into account the idiosyncrasies of different browsers along the way.So, if you're confused about ems, or perplexed by percentages, this is a good introduction to the hows and whys of unit setting.
Read MoreTypography II: Science and Design
Building on her first article on typography basics, this week Linda is going to show us how our eyes respond to web pages, and then look at how the five historic font families previously discussed can shape a website design.Linda takes each of the design elements in turn (line, volume etc.) and shows how typeface can be understood and appreciated, when looked at in the context of each of these categories.
Filled with tips to help you consider the layout of text-heavy sections, once again Linda helps us to think more carefully about a subject we might sometimes take for granted.
Read MoreA Photo Album Site in PHP, MySQL, XHTML and CSS: Pt.IV
In the last part of Rachel's tutorial on building a photo album site (especially to show off your holiday pics) we'll be putting the finishing touches to the skeleton you've already constructed. Here we'll add a bit of functionality to enable the viewer to change the main photograph, or select a completely different album to view.
Previously in this series we've set up the CSS/XHTML framework, then created the database, and in the previous article coded the basic logic behind the image display.
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CSS Articles on DMXzone
Ever get that feeling that you know what you want, but not how to get at it? Well here at DMXZone, as our article and tutorial back catalogue increases the ease with which an article can be found diminishes.OK we know our article browsing facility is – ahem – slightly less than user friendly (yup that's on the list the next time we re-design), but also when you're new to a subject area it's not so easy to immediately navigate to the type of articles you want.
So, to help, I've tried to put together a laundry list of the CSS articles (and some related XHTML and accessibility ones) residing in our Premium Content section all linked with accompanying notation describing the content.
Hope you find it useful.
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Web Wonderland
Looking for inspiration for your next client?
Has your muse left town?
OK, well just to help you out a bit, SAHM (stay at home mum) and web aficionado Kate Blackham has been gawping through the archives of featured sites at the Macromedia Showcase, Cool Homepages and Wow Web Designs to pick out a handful of her favourite things.
These aren't for the CSS only peeps – Kate can't wait to get her Flash, Shockwave and QuickTime plug-ins whirring and loves to allow pop-ups given half a chance.
Read MoreBasic ActionScript for Designers
When you are looking to create animations, there is no better tool than Flash. However, there's more to this versatile piece of software than the ability to create clips that can just be observed and admired. With Flash, you can create interactive animations that control the way a movie or sound plays with the click of a button and a lot more besides.This interactivity can be achieved with ActionScript, the scripting language built into Flash. So if you already know how to animate within Flash but are looking to develop your skills and add some interactivity to your movies then this tutorial is for you.
We won't be dealing with much theory here - we'll dive straight in and show you how ActionScript can be used to achieve tasks like:
- Controlling the way movies play
- Using buttons
- Opening a Web site from Flash
- Playing and stopping sounds
For the purposes of this tutorial we're going to assume you're familiar with working on the Timeline and creating animations with keyframes. You should also know how to create buttons and movie clips, as well as being able to publish a movie, both within Flash and on a Web page.
Read MoreTypography I: The Slimmed-Down Basics
This article is the first of a short series on typography and its application to web design. The 'feel' of any website is hugely influenced by the way the content is presented and, of course, the font chosen will be crucial to the readers' perception of the site.
Despite this, typography can be easily overlooked in the grand plans of web page layout. This series will go some way to helping us understand a little bit more about typography and how to make the most of it. Furthermore there's valuable information along the way that might help us all with our printed documents as well.
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