How Behaviors Work - Adobe 38040334 - Dreamweaver CS3 User Manual

How Behaviors work

When a user selects an HTML element in a Dreamweaver document and clicks the Plus (+) button on the Behaviors
panel, the following events occur:
Dreamweaver calls the
1
priate for the document or the selected element.
If the return value of this function is
example, the Control Shockwave action is dimmed when the user's document has no SWF files.) If the return value
is a list of events, Dreamweaver compares each event with the valid events for the currently selected HTML element
and target browser until it finds a match. Dreamweaver populates the Events pop-up menu with the matched event
from the
canAcceptBehavior()
element (marked in the Event file with an asterisk [*]) becomes the top item. The remaining events in the menu are
assembled from the Event file.
The user selects an action from the Actions pop-up menu.
2
Dreamweaver calls the
3
function is not defined, the size is determined automatically.
windowDimensions()
A dialog box always appears, with OK and Cancel buttons at the right edge, regardless of the contents of the
element.
4 Dreamweaver displays a dialog box that contains the
contains an handler, Dreamweaver executes it.
onLoad
The user fills in the parameters for the action. Dreamweaver executes event handlers that are associated with the
5
form fields as the user encounters them.
6 The user clicks OK.
Dreamweaver calls the
7
behaviorFunction()
functions return strings that are inserted into the user's document.
8 If the user later double-clicks the action in the Actions column, Dreamweaver reopens the Parameters dialog box
and executes the handler. Dreamweaver then calls the
onLoad
file, which fills in the fields with the data that the user previously entered.
Inserting multiple functions in the user's file
Actions can insert multiple functions—the main behavior function plus any number of helper functions—into the
head section. Two or more behaviors can even share helper functions as long as the function definition is exactly the
same in each Action file. One way of ensuring that shared functions are identical is to store each helper function in
an external JavaScript file and insert it into the appropriate Action files using
When the user deletes a behavior, Dreamweaver attempts to remove any unused helper functions that are associated
with the behavior. If other behaviors are using a helper function, it is not deleted. Because the algorithm for deleting
helper functions errs on the side of caution, Dreamweaver might occasionally leave an unused function in the user's
document.
What to do when an action requires a return value
Sometimes an event handler must have a return value (for example,
). But if Dreamweaver inserts the
link'; return true"
handler, behaviors later in the list are skipped.
function in each Action file to see whether this action is appro-
canAcceptBehavior()
, Dreamweaver dims the action in the Actions pop-up menu. (For
false
function at the top of the list. If no match exists, the default event for the HTML
function to determine the size of the Parameters dialog box. If the
windowDimensions()
and
elements of the Action file. If the Action file's
BODY
functions in the selected Action file. These
applyBehavior()
inspectBehavior()
<SCRIPT SRC="externalFile.js">
onMouseOver="window.status='This is a
"return behaviorName(args)"
DREAMWEAVER CS3
Extending Dreamweaver
body
body
function in the selected Action
action into the event
231
tag
.