Creating a site map is a great way to examine the structure of your Web site because it lets you see the different levels of your Web site and the files and folders contained within those levels. Many people use site maps to show their client how the site looks from a structural viewpoint. You can easily create site maps in Dreamweaver 8, and you can even render the site map as a BMP or PNG file. Anytime you change the structure of the site, the site map updates automatically. This exercise shows you how easy it is to create and save a site map.

Figure 1

1. In the Files panel, click the Expand/Collapse button in the upper-right corner to expand the Files panel so it fills the entire screen.

By expanding the Files panel (Figure 1), you'll have access to the Site Map feature, which you'll use to create a site map.

2. Click and hold the Site Map button in the Files panel and choose Map and Files from the pop-up menu to display a site map of the Chapter 3 site.

Dreamweaver 8 offers two ways to view a site map - Map and Files or Map Only. The illustration here (Figure 2) shows the Site Map view. The Site Map view is great if you want to see the overall structure of your Web site and how the different pages link to each other. If you click any of the plus signs, you will see the pages linked to that page. Next, you'll take a look at the Chapter 3 site using the Map Only view.

Figure 2

3. In the Files panel, click the Site Map button and choose Map Only.

In the Map Only view (Figure 3), you can see the overall architecture of your Web site. Like with the Site Map view, if you click any of the plus signs, you will see the pages linked to that page.

Next, you'll learn how to save and print a site map.

Figure 3

4. The process of saving the site map as an image, so you can view or print it later, is a bit different between the Windows and Mac systems:
   Mac: While viewing the site map, choose File > Save Site Map. In the Save dialog box, name the map by typing the filename for the site map (with the .bmp or .png file extension) and click Save.
   Windows: While viewing the site map, choose File > Save Site Map from the Files panel Option menu. In the Save Site Map dialog box, type the name for the site map in the File name field, choose the format from the Save as type pop-up menu, and click Save.

5. At the top of the window, click the Expand/Collapse button (Figure 4) to return to the default Dreamweaver 8 interface.

Figure 4

6. Close all open files. You don't need to save your changes.