Extend the Components panel

To use a component strategy that is not represented in the current Components panel, extend the logic of the Components panel. This way, the panel can handle new kinds of components.

To add a new component to the Dreamweaver Components panel, locate the available components (in the environment of the user). Then, request descriptions from each component (or parse them if they are written using ASCII files).

The precise way that the location of components and how component details are retrieved varies among technologies. Additionally, it can vary based on the server model (ASP.NET, JSP/J2EE, ColdFusion, or others). So, the JavaScript you write to extend the Components panel depends on the component technology you want to add. The functions described here are meant to assist you in getting information to appear in the Components panel. But, you yourself must write much of the logic for locating components and introspecting them. It includes querying the internal structure of the component and making its fields, methods, and properties available through Dreamweaver.

Finally, server models such as ASP.NET, JSP/J2EE, or ColdFusion tend to support some, but not all, component types. For example, ASP.NET supports web services but not JavaBeans. Adobe ColdFusion also supports web services and CFCs. When you add a new component type to the Components panel, it must be server-model specific. For example, if a Dreamweaver user is working on a ColdFusion site, CF Components appear in the pop-up menu in the Components panel.

In some cases, writing some JavaScript code that calls certain component-related function, is a must for altering files.