Drawing layout cells and tables

You can draw layout cells and tables on your page in Layout mode. When you draw a layout cell that isn’t inside a layout table, Dreamweaver automatically creates a layout table as a container for the cell. A layout cell cannot exist outside of a layout table.

When Dreamweaver automatically creates a layout table, the table initially appears to fill the entire Design view, even if you change the size of your Document window. This full-window default layout table allows you to draw layout cells anywhere in Design view. You can set the table to a specific size by clicking the table border, then dragging the table’s resize handles.

When you move the pointer over a layout cell, Dreamweaver highlights it. You can enable or disable highlighting or change the highlight color in preferences.

To draw a layout cell:

1. Make sure you are in Layout mode (see Switching from Standard to Layout mode).
2. In the Layout category of the Insert bar, click Draw Layout Cell button.

   The pointer changes to a cross hair (+).

3. Position the pointer where you want to start the cell on the page, and then drag to create the layout cell.

   TIP

   To draw more than one layout cell without having to repeatedly select Draw Layout Cell, Control-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Macintosh) when you draw the layout cell. As long as you continue to hold Control or Command, you can draw layout cells one after the other.

   If you draw the cell close to the edge of the layout table, cell edges automatically snap to the edges of the containing layout table. To temporarily disable snapping, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) while drawing the cell.

The cell appears outlined in blue on your page. To change the outline color, see Setting preferences for Layout mode.

To draw a layout table:

1. Make sure you are in Layout mode (see Switching from Standard to Layout mode).
2. In the Layout category of the Insert bar, click the Draw Layout Table button.

   The pointer changes to a cross hair (+).

3. Position the pointer on the page, then drag to create the layout table.

   TIP

   To draw more than one layout table without having to repeatedly select Draw Layout Table, Control-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Macintosh) when you draw the layout table. As long as you continue to hold Control or Command, you can draw layout tables one after the other.

   You can create a layout table in an empty area of your page layout, around existing layout cells and tables, or nested inside an existing layout table. If your page contains content, and you want to add a layout table in an empty area of your page layout, you can draw a new layout table only below the bottom of the existing content.

   TIP

   If you try to draw a layout table below existing content and the no-draw pointer appears, try resizing the Document window to create more blank space between the bottom of the existing content and the bottom of the window.

   NOTE

   Tables cannot overlap each other, but a table can be completely contained inside another table. For more information, see Drawing a nested layout table.

The Layout table appears outlined in green on your page. To change the outline color, see Setting preferences for Layout mode.

To change highlighting preferences for layout cells:

1. Select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Dreamweaver > Preferences (Macintosh).

   The Preferences dialog box appears.

2. Select Highlighting from the category list on the left.
3. Make either of the following changes:
   • To change the highlighting color, click the Mouse-over color box, then select a highlight color using the color picker (or enter the hexadecimal value for the highlight color in the text box).

     For information about using the color picker, see Working with colors.

   • To enable or disable highlighting, select or deselect the Show checkbox for Mouse-Over.

     NOTE

     These options affect all objects, such as tables and layers, that Dreamweaver highlights when you move the pointer over them.

4. Click OK.