Building master/detail pages in one operation (ColdFusion, ASP, JSP, PHP)

When developing web applications, you can quickly build master/detail pages using the Master/Detail Page Set application object. An application object lets you build a complete set of dynamic pages by completing only one or two dialog boxes.

The method you use is identical for ColdFusion, ASP, JSP, and PHP pages. For information on building ASP.NET master/detail pages, see Building master/detail pages (ASP.NET).

To complete the master/detail page set with an application object:

1. In Dreamweaver, create a blank dynamic page by selecting File > New > Dynamic, selecting a dynamic page, and clicking Create.

   This page will become the master page.

2. Define a recordset for the page.

   You can define a recordset at design time (see Defining a recordset) or the user can define one at runtime (see Building search/results pages (ColdFusion, ASP, JSP, PHP)).

   Make sure the recordset contains not only all the columns you’ll need for the master page, but also all the columns you’ll need for the detail page. Typically, the recordset on the master page extracts a few columns from a database table while the recordset on the detail page extracts more columns from the same table to provide the extra detail.

3. Open the master page in Design view and select Insert > Application Objects > Master Detail Page Set.

   The Master Detail Page Set dialog box appears.

   

4. Complete the dialog box.

   For more information, see Setting the Master Detail Page Set dialog box options.

5. Click OK.

   The application object creates a detail page (if you didn’t already create one) and adds dynamic content and server behaviors to both the master and detail pages.

6. Customize the layout of the master and detail pages to suit your needs.

   You can fully customize the layout of each page using the Dreamweaver page-design tools. You can also edit the server behaviors by double-clicking them in the Server Behaviors panel.

After creating master/detail pages with the application object, use the Server Behaviors panel (Window > Server Behaviors) to modify the various building blocks the application object inserts into the pages. For more information, see Editing dynamic content on a page.

You can also build master/detail pages using individual server behaviors. For more information, see the following sections:

• Building master/detail pages block by block (ColdFusion)
• Building master/detail pages block by block (ASP and JSP)
• Building master/detail pages block by block (PHP)