Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 - Manual (Page 201)

DREAMWEAVER CS3
User Guide
194
A bar labeled Layout Mode appears across the top of the Document window. If there are tables on your page, they
appear as layout tables.
Switch out of Layout mode:
❖ Do one of the following:
• Click Exit in the bar labeled Layout Mode at the top of the Document window
• Select View > Table Mode > Standard Mode.
• In the Layout category of the Insert bar, click the Standard Mode button.
Dreamweaver returns to Standard mode.
Draw in Layout mode
Layout mode allows you to draw cells and tables, including tables nested in other tables. The snapping grid helps you
to align cells.
When you draw a layout cell that isn’t inside a layout table, Dreamweaver automatically creates a layout table as a
container for the cell. A layout cell cannot exist outside of a layout table.
Note: In Layout mode, you can’t use the Insert Table and Draw AP Div tools that you can use in Standard mode. To use
those tools, you must first switch to Standard mode.
When Dreamweaver automatically creates a layout table, the table initially appears to fill the entire Design view, even
if you change the size of your Document window. This full-window default layout table allows you to draw layout
cells anywhere in Design view. You can set the table to a specific size by clicking the table border, then dragging the
table’s resize handles.
When you move the pointer over a layout cell, Dreamweaver highlights it. You can enable or disable highlighting or
change the highlight color in preferences.
You can also create a nested table by drawing a layout table inside another layout table. The cells inside a nested table
are isolated from changes made to the outer table; for example, when you change the size of a row or column in the
outer table, the cells in the inner table don’t change size.
You can insert multiple levels of nested tables. A nested layout table cannot be larger than the table that contains it.
Note: If you draw a layout table in the middle of your page before drawing a layout cell, the table you draw is automat-
ically nested inside a larger table.
See also
“Using visual aids for layout” on page 173
Create a layout cell
1 Make sure you are in Design View (View > Design).
2 Make sure you are in Layout mode, not Standard mode (View > Table Mode > Layout Mode).
3 Select Insert > Layout Objects > Layout Cell.
4 Position the cross hair (+) pointer where you want to start the cell on the page, and then drag to create the layout
cell.
September 4, 2007