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Creating paths to other pages in templates: When you link to other pages or insert elements (such as images) on your page, Dreamweaver creates a path in the HTML source code of your document so that a browser displaying your page can find the appropriate files.

Editable versus non-editable regions of the template
 

Paths can be in either editable or non-editable (locked) regions of a template. A path placed in an editable region of a template will not change when a page is created based on the template.

When Dreamweaver writes paths in non-editable regions of templates, however, the links behave differently. The effect of using the different kinds of paths in non-editable regions of templates is discussed below:

 
Paths in the non-editable regions of templates:
 

1) Document-relative paths in templates

If you allow Dreamweaver to create the document-relative path in the template (by clicking the Browse for File icon on the Property inspector, for instance), the path to the page or element will be—in the template itself—relative to the template. When you create a page based on the template, Dreamweaver will alter the path in the new page to reflect the page's new location.

In other words, Dreamweaver is smart enough to know that your page based on the template is in a folder different than the one holding the template and so the document-relative path in the new page will reflect this change.

Note: If you wish to type your document-relative path yourself, remember to make the path relative to the template's location and not to where you think the future page based on the template will be. If you type a document-relative path that points to a location outside of the Templates folder, the link will ultimately not work in the browser or the element will not display in either Dreamweaver or the browser.

2) Site root-relative paths in templates

Dreamweaver does not adjust site root-relative paths in pages based on a template, because the adjustment is not necessary. Site root-relative paths work from any location within the same site.

Important note: Use document-relative paths in templates, unless you plan on using site root-relative paths site-wide. An extremely rare error in Dreamweaver may rewrite your existing paths as site root-relative throughout your site if even one site root-relative path is found within your template. This change will not affect the functionality of your site, but such a change would understandably be surprising to some users.

3) Absolute paths in templates

Dreamweaver does not adjust an absolute path in a template when a page is created based on the template. Absolute paths work without regard to the source file's location.