Chapter 17: Server Formats - MACROMEDIA DREAMWEAVER 8-EXTENDING DREAMWEAVER Manual

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CHAPTER 17
Server Formats
Chapter 16, "Data Sources," on page 379, discusses how Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 inserts
dynamic data into a user's document by adding a server expression at the appropriate location.
When a visitor requests the document from the web server, that server expression is converted
to a value from a database, the contents of a request variable, or some other dynamic value.
The Dreamweaver server formats let you format how this dynamic value is presented to
the visitor.
This chapter discusses the API that formats the dynamic data that is returned by the functions
described in Chapter 16, "Data Sources," on page 379. The functions that are described in
both chapters work together to format dynamic data. If the user selects a format for the
dynamic data, Dreamweaver calls the data source function , see
generateDynamicDataRef()
"generateDynamicDataRef()" on page 394, to get the string to insert into the user's
document. Before inserting the string into the user's document, Dreamweaver passes that
string to the function, which is described in this chapter. The
formatDynamicDataRef()
string that the function returns is the formatted dynamic data
formatDynamicDataRef()
that is finally inserted in the user's document.
Dreamweaver users can format data with built-in formats, create new formats that are based
on built-in format types, or create new formats that are based on custom format types.
The user can format dynamic data in several ways. By using the Format menu in the Dynamic
Data or the Dynamic Text dialog box or in the Bindings panel, the user can format the data
before inserting it into an HTML document. If the user wants to create a format, he or she
can select the Edit Format List command from the Format menu and select a format type
from the Plus (+) menu. The Plus (+) menu contains a list of format types. Format types are
basic format categories, such as Currency, DateTime, or AlphaCase. Format types collect all
the common parameters for a category of format, letting you streamline the work to create a
new format.
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