Dreamweaver MX: The Missing Manual

Synchronizing Site Files

As you might suspect when you keep two sets of files—Local Folder and Remote Site—it’s easy to lose track of which files are the most recent. For example, say you finish your Web site and move all the files to the Web server. The next day, you notice mistakes on a bunch of Web pages, so you make corrections on the copies in your local site. But in your rush to fix the pages, you didn’t keep track of which ones you corrected. So although you’re ready to move the corrected pages to the Web Server, you’re not sure which ones you need to transfer.

When you use the Check In/Check Out feature described on page 494, you avoid this problem altogether. Using that system, the version on the Web server is always the latest and most definitive copy—unless you or someone else has checked that file out. In that case, whoever checked the file has the most recent version.

But if you’re operating solo, for example, and don’t use the Check In/Check Out feature, you may get good mileage from the Synchronize command, which lets you compare the remote and local sites and transfer only the newer files in either direction. (In fact, since the Synchronize command uses the Get and Put methods of transferring files, don’t use it if you’re also using Check In and Check Out [see the box on page 498.])

To synchronize your sites:

1. Choose Site → Synchronize.

   Windows users should use the Site menu on the Site panel; Mac users should choose from the menu bar (with the Site panel open and in ...