Quick question about VSD...If I create a website in VSD, upload it to my server...then edit the html files on the server (add some css, etc.), download them back down to my local drive (overwritting the old html files)...will VSD overwrite all of my changes when I upload back to my server??

Nope, sorry Mike, you cannot edit HTML files in VSD. VSD will only edit a .vnu file which is the format it creates for the program. Once outside of VSD anything edited will then need to be edited outside of VSD from then on.

Hey Jo Ann, thanks for your quick reply...Happy New Year btw

I understand I can't edit HTML files in VSD...I'm just wondering if VSD will overwrite my changes once I've edited the actual HTML files...

Here's the scenario -

VSD generates the HTML files and uploads them to my server

I edit the HTML files on the server and make any necessary changes

I download the HTML files i've edited on my server and overwrite the HTML files on my local drive so they are insync (the HTML files VSD originally generated)

I save the website again in VSD - ok now at this point will VSD overwrite my changes when I upload to the server again?

The way I understand it... YES VSD will overwrite your files on the server if you upload again. Any changes made outside of VSD will be unsupported, and lost to the program.

IF you feel the need to change the code on any individual pages, I would recommend using HTML Editor and utilizing the Visual Tab as needed. Beware, however, that this tab is meant as a separate tool and not to switch back and forth between it and the Code Tab. Doing so WILL cause headaches, as well as blood-pressure spikes, could be dangerous to your (or surrounding peoples') health.

Hiya Mike,

Well see what you suggest "sounds" like it would work, but, the problem is that the files that VSD spits out do not go back in ever. When you edit your site in VSD it saves it all into a file that ends in the extension .vnu. This file is always the file that is used to edit your site and nothing can be put back into it, it can only generate files to output them for uploading.

The good news is that it does have quite a bit of functionality as far as inserting HTML and FLASH and such using insertion tools in the program, so it's possible that maybe what you're trying to do "outside" of VSD might actually be doable "inside" the program instead?

Give us maybe a bit more info on what it is you are trying to edit and maybe we can get you info on if it's workable using VSD or not.

I'm trying to create a footer that will always stay at the bottom of the page...the thing is my page's height (the store page) will constantly be changing (i have it set in VSD at 950px but my shopping cart system will push beyond 950px when needed, so I need to find a solution that will always keep my footer at the bottom no matter the height of the page (and apply that in VSD...)

This wouldn't be good, because the browser scrollbar will only allow visitors to scroll down as far as 950px because of the way VSD's absolutely positioned layouts work.

The only way you can make this happen with VSD is to start with VSD, but then make many changes to the pages in a text editor outside of VSD, changes which will be unknown to VSD and lost if and when you go back to the original pages in VSD.

The page actually gets pushed beyond the 950px (the height is actually 1650px) ... so the scrollbars do extend when needed...it's just getting a footer that will always stay at the bottom...

One thing I do when I 'mod' a VSD site is to keep the modification in a notepad file(call it html mod) in the folder where I have the site stuff. I save, open the VSD html page in notepad and copy paste the changes, close, and then ftp. Sounds like a lot of work, but after you do it a couple of times, you can do it fast.

Don't need it a lot, but it it does give you more flexibility.

Just thought I would throw that in.

In the past when I have a variable page because of adding some app(or code), I have added my footer to the code in bottom(footer) of the app, and just leave the footer off the VSD page. That way when the page is displayed and is longer or shorter, the app(or code) itself displays the footer, and I can keep the VSD file intact without having to modify it.

I have Apache on my machine as a local server. How can I redirect the setting in VSD so that I can FTP my website developed in VSD to my localhost htdocs area? I shouldn't need to specify username or password as it is all under my control, I believe.