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Leann5E78
Participant
October 29, 2025
Answered

Template no longer updating across site

  • October 29, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 184 views

My sites have a template which in the past was easy to edit and those changes would populate across the site like they are supposed to. However, now it almost seems like the template is disconnected. I no longer get a prompt to update all the pages based on that template and can't seem to find a way to ask it to do this. I didn't make any changes (that I'm aware of :-)) to my "process and procedure" for workflow, the sites, file locations, not a new computer, etc. Probably something simple, any help is appreciated.

    Correct answer L e n a
    quote

    So it appears I do have a working version now, but it would be good to know what to do for the above. And I do not know why one version has an issue in the first place. How would this happen?

    By @Leann5E78

     

    If your files have disappeared from the Assets panel in Dreamweaver, don’t panic — there can be many causes, but most of them are easy to fix. Just go step by step and double-check the following things in order. Even if they seem obvious or already done, it's worth verifying them calmly 😉

     

    1. Do you have a folder named exactly Templates at the root of your site?
    2. Does this folder contain your .dwt or .dwt.php files?
    3. Try to rebuild the template list: go to the Assets panel, click the little menu icon (top right), and use the option to refresh the list.
    4. Also try to rebuild the site cache, using the top-right menu in the Files panel.
    5. If nothing works, try the "heavy" method: reset Dreamweaver preferences.
         -   Full steps are here: https://helpx.adobe.com/dreamweaver/kb/restore-preferences-dreamweaver.html
         -   If DW crashes during the reset, you might need to delete the preferences manually, and on Windows, also remove the related registry key (Everything is detailed in the link above.).
         -   But, instead of deleting anything, you can just rename the folders or registry keys by adding the string "_backup" at the end of the name.
    6. After rebuilding preferences, don't forget to quit Dreamweaver, restart it, and whatever just re-create the template list like in step 3.

     

    If your templates still don’t show up… well, maybe it's time to add a new step to this list, one that comes from years of fighting with DW templates 😉

    4 replies

    L
    Community Expert
    L e n aCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 4, 2025

    Yes, you're right, that is exactly what I recommended doing in my first message. But, in fact, the problem @Leann5E78  is encountering is related to the fact that the template files are no longer revealed by the asset palette... they are no longer accessible from the site... so there is no way to reapply them

    Hence the process described in my last message... I had the same problem some times ago 😉

    L
    Leann5E78Author
    Participant
    October 31, 2025

    Lena and Nancy,

    Thank you for the replies. I have made multiple backup copies and went back to see if I could find where the problem began. Fortunately, I think I have a good recent copy to work with. However, ...

    -On one backup copy I was able to reapply the theme like described and that worked. However, on the version that seems to have  the problem, the template is not listed in the Assets panel. How do I add it?

    -I have checked the Template syntax like described and it is correct. I updated pages (did find an error to be fixed ;-)). However, on the problem version, it still doesn't "reconnect" the Template. The change shows in the Template but doesn't update the site.

     

    So it appears I do have a working version now, but it would be good to know what to do for the above. And I do not know why one version has an issue in the first place. How would this happen?

     

    Thanks!

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 31, 2025

    Templates can become corrupted or disconnected from their child pages. It's hard to say why without knowing more about your workflow and comparing <head> codes in a working & non-working Template.  

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 29, 2025

    With the Template.dwt file open in DESIGN view,

    1. Go to Tools ⇒ Templates ⇒ Check Template Syntax. 

    2. Hit OK to clear. 

    3. Go to Tools ⇒ Templates ⇒ Update Pages.  Hit Start button.

     

    Let us know what happens.

     

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
      L
      Community Expert
      L e n aCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 29, 2025

      Have you tried reapplying the theme?

      Try it on a single child page, open it, and from the assets palette, select the template in question and drag and drop it onto the creation section of the child page... An asterisk should appear on the page tab. Save it and see what happens.

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