Creating custom starter templates

[wbear]

Based on a previous thread, here:

[CC2017] How to create custom starter templates ?

The thread answered by Jon Fritz II, is apparently being ignored. Here it is as it's own thread, where I'd hope someone has an answer.

I know this has been idle for a while and considered answered, but I'm unable to get this to work properly in DW CC2018. I followed the instructions, but this thread apparently left out the required "notes" file without which it won't work at all (and DW isn't creating). Once I create the assets folder, screen cap and page, then the notes folder and file that wasn't mentioned, I move it into the Builtin folder, in my own folder. Reopen DW, and there it is, only there's no "Section - Template name" like with the default ones, just a blank line where the text should be. Clicking it shows the correct screen cap, and creating based on it brings it all into the site I'm working on...but it has the assets folder as expected, along with pulling all those assets out into the main directory as well (so two copies), and linking to *those* in the document.

Builtin

  -My Folder

    -My Template.html

    -My TemplateAssets

      -css and so on

The site files shows all the assets on the same level as the html file, with a second copy in the assets folder.

Clearly I'm doing something wrong.

If I move an existing starter template into my custom folder, notes folder/file and all, it works correctly, which is baffling.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Edited by Moderator to alert Jon]

[Jon Fritz]

I originally wrote those instructions for DW CC2017.0

At the time, there were no additional notes files to create or modify in order to create a new listing in the Starter Templates dialogue. Adobe has changed the program's start screen pretty significantly over the last handful of versions, and with that, the method of updating the list.

I assume you'll need to modify duplicates of the .mno xml files in a text editor to get them to display things correctly, but I haven't been able to look into it in detail.

Hopefully, someone with enough time to pull apart what they've done and piece together a set of steps for you will visit the forum. Personally, I don't use CC 2018, so I haven't had the need to conduct as many modifications to the program files as I have in the past.

[wbear]

Thanks, Jon.

I've done the note recreation, trying each "type" from the existing starters, and none work. The title and category doesn't show, and the template will include the asset folders along with copies of what's in them in the doc root. I've wasted quite a bit of time trying to save time in this way.

[wbear]

Well, that clinches it. Adobe support sent me to this forum for help, and aside from a single response that they didn't know how it's done, I'm stuffed. Support redefined. "Pay us huge sums, get access to the software...just don't ask for help. Ever."

Disappointing, to say the least.

[Jon Fritz]

For what it's worth, Adobe rarely tells customers how to modify program files to get a desired effect. Pretty much every hack like this is something a software user comes up with and shares in the forum.

It's well beyond the capabilities of Adobe's phone support personnel. They're really only trained to handle billing and installation issues.

[wbear]

If that's the case, perhaps it would have been helpful for the person that sent me here to explain that very thing rather than waste a lot of time hoping someone like yourself will post in this really quiet forum with just the answer that I need to a somewhat obscure request? With odds that low of success, I'd have just forgone this attempt and not wasted my (or your) time here.

Apologies for that.

Everything I tried had small issues that made it untenable, up to and including new pages based on one of these *must* be saved before any edits take place or it demands to download the associated files, again. I've given up, but thanks for posting.

[Nancy OShea]

I use custom snippets for this.  In other words, I create a whole starter page with my frequently used meta tags, etc...  Paste entire code into a custom snippet & save.   

1. Create new document. 
2. Delete old code. 
3. Double click snippet or use a trigger key.

I use snippets for all sorts of frequently used elements.

[Paul-M]

Any solution to adding own starter template in CC 2018 yet like you could with older version of DW ??

[wbear]

Not sure why that answer was marked ac correct, Preran That is a workaround, not a solution. The question was about starter templates, not how to create templates from snippets.

[Jon Fritz]

As the author of the thread, you can unmark the answer by clicking the "Unmark as correct" button that appears in the actual reply (not the duplicate of it in the original post).

[wbear]

Thanks Jon, did so. I'm not at all familiar with this software, having used it only a few times.

[Preran]

Looks like you got guided into unmarking it as correct. ☺