Using the Files Panel

This tutorial will illustrate using the files panel in Dreamweaver CS5

We've already seen and used the Files Panel. Let's take a closer look.

If you don't already have it open, click Files on the Window menu as shown here.

The Files Panel

The Files Panel itself is a very useful tool for managing sites, folders and files.

Note that it is a window, so you can maximize, minimize, resize and so on. Here I've made it a bit wider.

You can choose which site to work on using the Site List dropdown near the top left of the panel. Here I've chosen Site1.

To the right of that dropdown is the Site Files View dropdown that lets you choose which view you want to work on - local, remote or testing. The Repository View option is also available if you're using Subversion for version control.

In the main body of the files panel you can see the hierarchical structure for the site you have chosen. The + and - signs enable you to expand and collapse nodes in this tree view.

Another important option is the Expand Files Panel option that is available if you select View from the menu in the top right hand corner of the Files Panel.

In the expanded view more information is available, and there are separate buttons for some of the options, such as the Remote Server view, as shown here.

With the expanded Files Panel it's also possible to see two different views at once.

There is also a Collapse button to return you to the standard Files Panel.