Create a Dreamweaver Template from an existing html page

Open the document you want to save as a template.
Do one of the following:
- Select File > Save As Template.
- In the Common category of the Insert bar, click the Templates button, then select Make Template from the pop-up menu.
  
  Note: Unless you selected Don’t Show This Dialog Again in the past, you’ll receive a warning that says the document you’re saving has no editable regions. Click OK to save the document as a template, or click Cancel to exit this dialog box without creating a template.
Select a site to save the template in from the Site pop‑up menu, and then enter a unique name for the template in the Save As box.
Click Save. Dreamweaver saves the template file in the site’s Templates folder in the local root folder of the site, with a .dwt filename extension. If the Templates folder does not already exist in the site, Dreamweaver automatically creates it when you save a new template.
Note: Do not move your templates out of the Templates folder, or put any non-template files in the Templates folder. Also, do not move the Templates folder out of your local root folder. Doing so causes errors in paths in the templates.
Then add "Editable Regions" which are the areas that you will be able to modify when you edit the file. Generally these areas will contain the content areas, but you should also allow the user to set the title (in the header area). Usually you would exclude the div tags that layout the basic document so that these are not inadvertantly removed.
1. Select the text or content that you want to set as an editable region.
2. Do one of the following to insert an editable region:
  
  Select Insert > Template Objects > Editable Region.
  
  OR right-click (Windows) or Control‑click (Macintosh), then select Templates > New Editable Region.
  
  OR In the Common category of the Insert bar, click the Templates button, then select Editable Region from the pop-up menu.
3. In the Name box, enter a unique name for the region. (You cannot use the same name for more than one editable region in a particular template.)
  Note: Do not use special characters in the Name box.
4. Click OK. The editable region is enclosed in a highlighted rectangular outline in the template, using the highlighting color that is set in preferences. A tab at the upper-left corner of the region shows the name of the region. If you insert an empty editable region in the document, the name of the region also appears inside the region.

Page Updated 01.24.2010