Select Edit>Preferences (Windows) or Dreamweaver>Preferences (Macintosh).
Last updated on
Dec 20, 2021
Select preferences and transfer modes in Dreamweaver to control file transfer features that appear in the Files panel.
FTP Preferences
You can set preferences to control how files are transferred between local and remote sites in the Files panel.
In the Preferences dialog box, select Site from the category
list on the left.
Set the options and click OK.
Always Show
Specifies which site (remote or local) is always shown, and in which Files panel pane (left or right) the local and remote files appear.
By default, the local site always appears on the right. Whichever pane is not chosen (the left one by default) is the changeable pane: this pane can display the files in the other site (the remote site by default).
Dependent Files
Displays a prompt for transferring dependent files (such as images, external style sheets, and other files referenced in the HTML file) that the browser loads when it loads the HTML file. By default, both Prompt on Get/Check Out and Prompt on Put/Check In are selected.
It’s usually a good idea to download dependent files when checking out a new file, but if the latest versions of the dependent files are already on the local disk, there’s no need to download them again. This is also true for uploading and checking in files: no need if up-to-date copies are already at the destination.
Note
If you deselect these options, your dependent files are not transferred. Therefore, to force the Dependent Files dialog box to appear even when these options are deselected, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) while choosing the Get, Put, Check In, or Check Out commands.
FTP Connection
Determines whether the connection to the remote site is terminated after the specified number of minutes have passed with no activity.
FTP Time Out
Specifies the number of seconds in which Dreamweaver attempts to make a connection with the remote server.
If there is no response after the specified amount of time, Dreamweaver displays a warning dialog box alerting you to this fact.
FTP Transfer options
Determines whether Dreamweaver selects the default option, after a specified number of seconds, when a dialog box appears during a file transfer and there is no user response.
Proxy Host
Specifies the address of the proxy server through which you connect to outside servers if you are behind a firewall.
If you are not behind a firewall, leave this space blank. If you are behind a firewall, select the Use Proxy option in the Site Definition dialog box (Servers > Edit Existing Server (pencil icon) > More Options).
Proxy Port
Specifies the port in your proxy or firewall through which you pass to connect to the remote server. If you connect through a port other than 21 (the default for FTP), enter the number here.
Put Options: Save Files Before Putting
Indicates that unsaved files are saved automatically before being put onto the remote site.
Move Options: Prompt Before Moving Files on Server
Alerts you when you attempt to move files on the remote site.
Manage Sites
Opens the Manage Sites dialog box, where you can edit an existing site or create a new one.
You can define whether the types of files that you transfer are transferred as ASCII (text) or binary, by customizing the FTPExtensionMap.txt file in the Dreamweaver/Configuration folder (on the Macintosh, FTPExtensionMapMac.txt). For more information, see Extending Dreamweaver.
File Transfer modes
The FTP protocol (inapplicable for SFTP) is used to transfer files with the below transfer modes:
Binary Mode/ Image mode
Used for non-text files / binary files. In this mode, file is transferred byte by byte and a copy of the transferred file is created in the recipient's system.
ASCII Mode
Converts the End of Line characters in the file from the sender's system to that of the recipient's system. It is used for text files.
Dreamweaver identifies and selects the transfer mode when an FTP connection is initiated. When a Get or Put command is triggered, Dreamweaver identifies the transfer mode of file extensions present in FTPExtensionMapMac.txt and FTPExtensionMap.txt.
If the file extension is unavailable in the configuration file, Dreamweaver transfers the file using the transfer mode configured on the server.
The above mapping files for File Extension and FTP transfer mode are available in:
Win: %appdata%\Adobe\Dreamweaver <version>\en_US\Configuration.
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Dreamweaver <version>/en_US/Configuration.
The Default file extension and the relevant transfer modes are provided below:
| File Type | Default Transfer Mode |
|---|---|
AIF |
BINARY |
AIFF |
BINARY |
AIFC |
BINARY |
AS |
ASCII |
ASCX |
ASCII |
ASMX |
ASCII |
ASP |
ASCII |
ASPX |
ASCII |
BIN |
BINARY |
BMP |
BINARY |
CFM |
ASCII |
CFML |
ASCII |
CGI |
ASCII |
CS |
ASCII |
CSS |
ASCII |
DCR |
BINARY |
DIR |
BINARY |
DMG |
BINARY |
DOC |
BINARY |
DWT |
ASCII |
DXR |
BINARY |
EXE |
BINARY |
FLA |
BINARY |
GIF |
BINARY |
HTM |
ASCII |
HTML |
ASCII |
INC |
ASCII |
JPG |
BINARY |
JPEG |
BINARY |
JS |
ASCII |
LBI |
ASCII |
MNO |
BINARY |
MOV |
BINARY |
MPEG |
BINARY |
MPG |
BINARY |
MXML |
ASCII |
BINARY |
|
PHP |
ASCII |
PHP3 |
ASCII |
PHP4 |
ASCII |
PHP5 |
ASCII |
PIC |
BINARY |
PICT |
BINARY |
PL |
ASCII |
PNG |
BINARY |
PSD |
BINARY |
QT |
BINARY |
RA |
BINARY |
RAM |
BINARY |
README |
BINARY |
RM |
BINARY |
RTF |
BINARY |
SEA |
BINARY |
SHTM |
ASCII |
SHTML |
ASCII |
SIT |
BINARY |
SND |
BINARY |
SWF |
BINARY |
TEXT |
ASCII |
TIF |
BINARY |
TIFF |
BINARY |
TPL |
BINARY |
TXT |
ASCII |
VB |
ASCII |
WAV |
BINARY |
XHTM |
ASCII |
XHTML |
ASCII |
ZIP |
BINARY |
You can change the transfer mode of any file type.
Quit Dreamweaver. In text editor, open FTPExtensionMapMac.txt (for MacOS) or FTPExtensionMap.txt (for Windows) from the below path:
win: %appdata%\Adobe\Dreamweaver <version>\en_US\Configuration
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Dreamweaver <version>/en_US/Configuration
In the configuration file, change the default value to the desired transfer type. If the file type is unavailable, type the file extension followed by a space and transfer type. For example: PHTML ASCII
Save and close the file.
- A binary file (JPG or MPEG) transferred in ASCII mode over FTP could be corrupted. All file types with non-ASCII content must be transferred in binary transfer.
- A text file (HTML, PHP, and so on) transferred in Binary mode via FTP retains the End of Line characters from the originating system. Text files transferred via FTP to a system with different End of Line characters are either double-spaced, compressed onto a single line, or corrupt. Such files must be transferred via ASCII mode.
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