Always use testing server for document source?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
December 20, 2021
3 replies
697 views

Is there anyway to set Dreamweaver to ALWAYS use the testing server for document source? Even though my site is static, for some reason Dreamweaver insists on mangling the layout (in Live view, don't even mention 'design' view) unless I set it to always using the testing server for document source. As it stands every time I open a document I have to remember to set 'View > Live View Options > Use Testing Server for Document Source', and as you can imagine it's getting old really fast.

This topic has been closed for replies.

B i r n o u

Legend

which Apache do you rely on, the one provided by default on MacOs, or on a personal stack you installed yourself (MAMP, XAMPP...)

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

If you have a local testing server installed, make that your local site folder.

C:\testing_server\default_web_folder\your_site\

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Bryan RiegerAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thanks Nancy, but setting up Sites > New Site was the first thing I did when I began working on this project (or any project in Dreamweaver) days ago. The local site folder is indeed on my primary hard drive, and the local testing server (macOS Apache) is configured to use that same folder to serve via a localhost alias.

The problem is the View > Live View Options > Use Testing Server For Document Source settings are not persistent between sites nor documents within a site. It would be ideal if Dreamweaver made this an option within the Manage Sites > {Site} > Server configuration dialogs so that it would be used by default on all documents within a specific site.

If I set 'Use Testing Server For Document Source' Dreamweaver's own testing server mangles the layout in parts (specifically masonry grid layouts that use JS to determine container sizes), but as this setting is not persistent it has now become a mandatory extra step everytime I open a new file (I'm working in split code | live view).

FWIW I also tried Dreamweaver Preferences > Real-time Preview > Default to Static Browser Preview setting but that doesn't seem to solve the problem either.

B

Ben M

Community Expert

If the preferences are not sticking for you, have you tried to restore them: https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/kb/restore-preferences-dreamweaver.html ? If not, can you try loading DW in another user profile (even a guest) on your computer and see if you can replicate the issue. This to me sounds like an OS permissions issue where the preferences are not saving. At a best case scenario re-creating preferences will do the trick. At a worst case you may need to migrate to a new user account. As a Mac user myself I've had to go through this in the past when upgrade over upgrade eventually impacts my user account.

Also - as a word of advice, unless you are well-versed in the nuances of the Mac OS built-in Apache server, I would highly recommend a third party app like mamp for a testing server as opposed to the built in one. The built is in very limited out of the box, and can be difficult to manage or customize compared to other options like a MAMP server.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

For best results, define your site. Go to Site > New site... Your local site folder should reside on your primary hard drive.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded