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Behaviors In addition to page layout, Dreamweaver has the capacity to add interactivity to a page with the use of 'Behaviors'. This can be anything from controlling a Shockwave movie, to opening a browser window, to displaying a status bar message.
What are behaviors? They are Javascript events that are applied to a specific HTML tag. While you don't need to know Javascript in order to use them in Dreamweaver, it is a good idea to understand a little of how it works. Javascript is called by certain events that happen during the browser session. The way to determine these events is with the use of Event Handlers, such as onClick or onMouseover. Dreamweaver uses these event handlers within the Behaviors Palette, and they are used to determine when the behavior will go into effect. In this section you will learn how to use Dreamweaver Behaviors, how to apply them to specific HTML tags, and how to use some of the behaviors that are built in to Dreamweaver.
The Behaviors Palette The Behaviors Palette is accessed from the Window Menu by selecting 'Behaviors', or by pressing F8 on the keyboard. 
There are several components of the palette: - + (plus): This brings up a submenu where a new behavior can be added.
- - (minus): This removes a behavior that already exists. This button is grayed out unless a behavior is selected.
- Events for: This menu allows you to select what browser compatibility you prefer for new behaviors. It is recommended that you leave this at '3.0 and Later Browsers', which is the default.
- Arrows: The up and down arrows will change the selection of existing behaviors above or below. These are grayed out unless there are at least 2 behaviors already.
- Events: This field is where the Event Handler name is displayed.
- Actions: This is the name of the behavior that will execute.
So now that you have a foothold, let's get our hands dirty. |
