Dreamweaver doesn't preview HTML in browser

Report · Feb 18, 2022

hi, I have newly downloaded and installed Dreamweaver on my Macbook - I used to work on an old version on a HP Laptop before.

I have found that two of my 5 websites that I am currently working on, I can't preview. I checked all the settings and they are the same for all 5 websites I am working on, except that two of them won't show the live preview, nor will they open in a browser. I am at my wits end. Any ideas what the matter is?

Report · Feb 18, 2022

Have you tried Restoring Preferences yet?

That gets rid of a lot of odd issues, even in new installations.

Report · Feb 18, 2022

yes, I tried that. Also closing all programs, re-starting, copying the files to different folders etc. Nothing worked. Still the same 2 out of 5 websites that simply won't open in real-time preview in Dreamweaver, and won't open in the browser. If I make changes to one of the pages (in the code), then upload it, it shows on the actual online website. I just can't view it offline.

Report · Feb 18, 2022

Only 2 out of 5 sites won't preview in browser?

That's odd.

Is the browser open or closed?

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Feb 18, 2022

The browser is open, I am using Chrome. I have tried with Safari, too - same issue. I have also tried copying the local files into a new folder, and opening them from there - still not working. Funny enough though, the one website has a sub-folder with another html file in it, and THAT file opens in the browser ... but not any of the other html files. I am really at a loss here.

Report · Feb 19, 2022

Can you open the file directly from your browser?

To Open Files from Chrome:

On MacOS when no File menu is present, use the ⌘ + O keyboard shortcut and browse to the file on your local HD.

On Windows use ctrl + O.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Feb 20, 2022

nope, doesn't work. If I open Finder, I have all 5 websites in one folder, called "Dreamweaver". In that folder, each of the 5 websites has its own folder. If I open one of the two that don't work, and I highlight the index file, it showes dark in the preview pane in Finder - meaning that the Finder can't give me a preview either. If I go to one of the 3 sites that work, and highlight an index file, it shows white or it gives me a preview. (see attached screenshots). Something is different about these two folders, but I don't know what. I created them all the same way - just create a new folder, then on Dreamweaver enter the FTP logins for that website, and then download the whole site into said folder. I tried deleting the whole folder of the site that doesn't preview, created a new folder again, re-downloaded the whole site - still the same problem.

Report · Feb 20, 2022

and in Dreamweaver, it's the live view that doesn't work. The design view works, but the live view does not. (see attached schreenshots).

Report · Feb 20, 2022

what on earth .... now I went to my old laptop (HP), with the old static Dreamweaver version (2008). I had made some changes to the website, so I first downloaded the new files to the old laptop (through Dreamweaver, FTP login), and then I tried to open the index page in dreamweaver - and guess what - it doesn't open. It gave me some error message about a corrup image file.

Report · Feb 20, 2022

I see from the code that the file contains at least one critical code error above the </head> tag. There may be others we can't see.

Use the onboard validation tool in DW or go to the online validation service to check your code. Fix all reported errors and try again.

https://validator.w3.org/

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Feb 20, 2022

hmmmm now we may be getting somewhere. Sorry, I am a total beginner and have no idea about coding.

can you tell me what this means?

"The border attribute is obsolete. Consider specifying img { border: 0; } in CSS instead. [html5]"

relating to this code:

It's at the bottom in the contact section.

All the other errors the validation report gave me, I fixed. Still no luck.

I went to File, then Validate, and there's three options: as XML / current document (W3C) / live document (W3C). I ran a validation for current document. Only the first two options appear as active; the third one, live document, appears in light grey and I can't click on it. And live view is precisely the thing that doesn't work .... live view in Dreamweaver and preview in browser.

Report · Feb 22, 2022

Live code is another View Option. It translates server-side code into actual code that would be seen on the remote server from browsers.

You can safely remove the border attribute from your contact code. You don't need it.

Getting back to your computer, which operating system do you have?

Which version of Dreamweaver are you using?

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator

Report · Feb 21, 2022

I've found the same thing. I found a clue as to what the problem is. I think the live preview is not capable of producing some web pages. My solution came about by accident. I was playing around with the idea of going to Visual Studio. Ran the live server in VS and for the heck of it I modified a web page in Dreamweaver and wham right after saving the file never failed to be completely live. I didn't have to refresh the page or anything. So I can only assume the live preview in a browser is a little weak. On a remote server this wasn't the case. Always had to refresh the web page. Annoying.

My Solution was to install a testing server on my machine. Found won by Bitnami that was free. Fairly simple to install. Minimalistic enough not to eat up resources. Quick to start and stop. There are others out there. Now I just retested it and it wors like a charm. I save the edits and it instantly pops. Live mode works better in Dreamweaver as well. Here's the URL: Download XAMPP (apachefriends.org) Complete webserver in minutes. Makes Dreamweaver coding a dream.

Report · Feb 21, 2022

Gotta add this. Your issues might not be related. However, this was most consistent even when code was full of errors. I was able to debug better. I have the feeling Dreamweaver was designed using a local server for testing and a remote server when the page/site was ready. I also just updated and made sure there was one OS X as well. There is. Let me know if this helps anyone.

Also just a note this isn't just a Dreamweaver issue as well. Others out there have there quirks when it comes to this as well. I had it show up in Webstorm when I was testing it as well. I don't think it's an issue now though.