Expression® Web Design
Dynamic Web Template
Friday, January 09, 2009
Expression Web offers the webmaster something that is called a Dynamic Web
Template (DWT).
One of the things to remember about a DWT, is that it requires the user to turn
on the metadata. We spoke a bit about this previously in
FrontPage Server Extensions (FPSE) and
FrontPage WebBot Components.
Before even starting a DWT file, go to Site - Site Settings
to make sure that "Manage the Web site using hidden metadata files" is checked.
If not, then any changes you make to your DWT file might not be applied to all
pages, only pages that are opened. You will also be unable to edit the
DWT, change the editable regions, or add editable regions until this option is
activated.If this option is not checked, _vti_cnf and _vti_pvt folders / files will not be created. These folders can be just as important as they were in FrontPage if you rely on Expression Web to help you create / maintain a DWT, some hyperlink management features, and some website reports.
Usually when you create a new website in Expression Web, this option will be checked automatically.
Unable to Make Changes to DWT
If you find that you
cannot make changes to the DWT or changes or not being applied to all pages in
your website, the metadata files might be turned off. Usually when you
open the DWT file, you will get
the error message "Microsoft Expression Web Information to the Folder:
Changes made to this Dynamic Web Template will not be applied to any attached
pages, except if they are open for editing. To avoid this problem, on the
Site menu, click Site Settings, and then select the check box to manage the site
using metadata files." Choose OK to add the metadata to your
Expression Web website. Also, do not check "Don't show this message again"
in case you accidentally choose no. Go to Site - Site
Settings to make sure that "Manage the Web site using hidden metadata files" is
checked. Also, go to Site - Recalculate Hyperlinks just to verify Expression Web has added the correct metadata to your Expression Web website.
Add Expression Web Information to the Folder
If
you go to Site - Site Settings and see that Manage the Web site using hidden
metadata files is not checked, check the box and hit OK. When you do this, you
get another dialog box: Add Expression Web Information to the Folder: Expression Web
needs to add information to your folder in order to help manage your Hyperlinks
and other Web Site Content. Do you want to add Expression Web information
to 'your website location'?" Choose yes to add this
information. (Once again, don't check "Don't as me this again" just in
case you slip and choose no. Now go to Site - Site
Settings to make sure that "Manage the Web site using hidden metadata files" is
checked.You will also noticed that Recalculate Hyperlinks is now located in the Site menu when you have the "Manage the Web site using hidden metadata files"
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