Can no longer attach my templates

[Dwight241548106hfp]

I have been using Dreamweaver for more than 20 years and have over 2,000 webpages, all using templates. Suddenly, as all templates are present in the root directly and show up in the Files window, they do not show up in the Assets window anymore. I had DreamWeaver 2021 but uninstalled and reinstalled "DreamWeaver 2025", but it seems that the only thing that has changed is the copyright note on the startup.

Does anyone have this problem with the unusable templates?

[Nancy OShea]

2,000 files is massive.  I hope your computer has plenty of available RAM and physical disk space. 

Did you Re-create the Site Cache as previously recommended in your other post about Assets?

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Yes, I have a 1 TB onboard disk on a new Dell (and two 2 TB backup disks off site). The RAM has never been a problem. I've been recreating the site cache many times in the past few days, especially every time I re-installed the earlier versions.

Someone else, called Glenn-p I think, just replied to one of my earlier notes to you and recommended saving out and then deleting Adobe>Dreamweaver & Adobe>Common>Sites and then restarting DM to make new settings. Does that sound worth trying to you?

[Dwight241548106hfp]

That's from the User>App Data>Roaming and User>Local parts of the OS.

[Nancy OShea]

1. Close DW.

2. In Windows File Explorer, Show Hidden Files/Folders.

3. Rename your DW Configuration folder to old_Configuration.  This will force the creation of a new one when you re-launch DW.

PATH: C:\Users\[your_name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Dreamweaver 2021\[language]\Configuration

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Many thanks, I'll try that tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

[Dwight241548106hfp]

No, I'm afraid not. I've been casting about for other website design programs and so far nothing comes anywhere close to what I need.  DW has been perfect for me for the past 25 years, up until this last update, I guess, and I'm not sure what I can do now. So many design programs use WordPress, which like most other software tools seem to insist that you use their templates and basic designs, as if you're just starting out w/ a new website. I just need something that I can use on my laptop for new materials to continue my old ways, and then FTP up to Hostinger. I only made use of probably 5% of what DW offers but it suited me fine, and I can't now go back & translate my pages into technologies that I haven't kept up with. Thank you for your help, and if you should learn anything new about what happened, please do let me know and I'll resubscribe to DW.

[Nancy OShea]

Unfortunately, DW Templates are exclusive to DW.  No other tools respect them.

I rarely have need for the Assets panel. It has never been an essential part of my workflow. 

Go to File > New > Site Templates.

Choose a Site & Choose desired Template. 

Hit Create button to generate your Child Page. 

To edit Templates, expand your site's Templates folder. 

Double-click on desired .dwt file. 

Edit & save Template as usual. 

Hope that helps. 

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Thank you, that's very interesting. I've canceled my DW but in a day or two I'll resubscribe and try out your suggestion. There is, however, the problem that, the last day I was trying, DW was crashing (or retreating into a very superlong pause that I didn't wait for), and I had no opportunity to do anything at all. 

[BenPleysier]

It appears that you encounter various challenges when using Dreamweaver.

As of now, Adobe Dreamweaver is not officially end-of-life (EOL). Adobe still lists it as an active product, and there’s no formal announcement about discontinuation. That said, development has slowed significantly, and many in the web dev community consider it outdated—especially with modern alternatives like VS Code, Sublime Text, and WebStorm dominating the scene.

Wappler is arguably the closest contemporary alternative to Dreamweaver, offering significantly more robust and future-oriented framework. It provides a visual interface alongside code control, supports templating, and enables dynamic data binding.

Here are the reasons why Wappler could be a suitable option for your 2,000-page legacy project:

• Visual and Code Hybrid: Similar to Dreamweaver but updated, allowing visual layout management while providing access to code when needed
• Templating and Components: Enables the recreation of .dwt-style templates through Wappler’s layout and partial system, which is more adaptable and scalable.
• Database and API Integration: Offers backend tools that facilitate the modernization the site into a dynamic or CMS-driven application if desired.

Disclosure: I am a Wappler user with a paid subscription. I have no affiliation with the Wappler product beyond my personal use and do not receive any benefits if you choose to subscribe.

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Thanks very much. I had been considering Wappler and will follow that up. I would stay with DW if I could find a way to cleanse my laptop of whatever misunderstandings had lodged on it, and then reinstall a clean earlier version of DW. But we'll see. It's all very depressing, to be honest, reading descriptions of apps using language that I had given up in about 2007.

[Nancy OShea]

...if I could find a way to cleanse my laptop...

By @Dwight241548106hfp

============

Run the Adobe CC Cleaner Tool below. 

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Thanks. This worked for all of the other problems I'd been accruing, like instant crashes etc., but still did not put the templates or anything else in the Assets window. Is there any other way to 'Apply a Template to Page' besides using the button in the Tools > Templates menu? That would likely solve everything for me. (I'm using version 21-4 now.)

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Hi again. I can still edit templates easily, but your first instruction, after I choose Site Templates, I'm not sure about Choose a Site & Choose desired Template, and then Create. If I choose an existing template, the Create button just leads me to a barebones framework -- it looks like I would have to be making a new template manually. Could you explain what I could expect from 'to generate your Child Page' -- would 'Child Page' mean a new template or the content of a new webpage with that Template on it?  I apologize for being so thick, but I appreciate your help very much.

[Nancy OShea]

I'm not sure about Choose a Site & Choose desired Template...

By @Dwight241548106hfp

==========

See screenshot.

Child page is a newly spawned site page from your Template.dwt. 

Hope that makes sense. 

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Well, not really. When I go to Site > Template, my only choice is 'untitled', presumably because none of the existing templates are listed as Assets.

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

That implies that your Local Site Folder is not properly defined.  Or it's on a volume that DW can't read. 

Go to Site > Manage Sites...

[Dwight241548106hfp]

Well, I've put you to a lot of trouble, and unnecessarily. After all the advice you gave me that didn't work, because I was asking the wrong questions, I ignored this post by you -- I was sure that my site was in the right place, but as I was reading instructions for converting my DW to Wappler, I looked more carefully at the site definition -- I'd listed the correct folder but the sitename separately . I don't know how they became separated, but when I experimented by specifying the sitename, the whole thing is now working perfectly, apparently. Wappler looked very good but I am so used to my DW habits that it would be difficult to change now. So my apologies again, you were right all along. You can list this as a success.

[Nancy OShea]

Glad you finally got it sorted.  😁