Overlooked Dreamweaver Feature
Have you ever wanted to put a © mark on a page in Dreamweaver, but couldn’t remember the HTML character code? For example, the HTML code for the © symbol is
& copy ; (without the spaces)
or you can use the keyboard shortcut option-g on a Mac.
That one is a simple, almost logical code to remember. The special character codes always begin with an ampersand, followed by the letters or numbers associated with the character, and close with a semi-colon. Remembering copyright as ‘ampersand’ ‘copy’ ’semi-colon’ isn’t too hard of a stretch. It becomes a little challenging to remember that
& rsaquo ; (without the spaces)
is the code for a right side close angle bracket.
Dreamweaver has two ways to help you with these special characters.
1) using code hints in code view
2) using the Text Insert bar
When in code view, type an ampersand and the code hints menu appears with a list of characters and their associated codes. You can scroll to the one you want and select. Typing the next letter in the code if you know it is a quick way to go to a specific part of the list. It IS a long list.
Using the Text Insert bar is much simpler. On the Insert Toolbar, select ‘Text’. On the Text Insert toolbar, select the character symbol, the last item on the right. There is a drop-down menu with the more commonly-used special characters and an option to see more characters.
I learned about this toolbar in the book, Dynamic Learning Dreamweaver CS3. I am reviewing it for the March issue of Mouse Tracks, the Portland Macintosh Users Group monthly newsletter.
