Can't delete old layers

Question

I've been using Dreamweaver for years now, usually just
simple stuff. But I've just started using CSS in my latest site and
I've noticed that EVERY layer I've ever drawn on a page is retained
as a 'style' in the code. It doesn't matter whether I delete, save,
reboot, try a different site, start the page from fresh without
attaching a CSS sheet - they ALL stay in the page code.
I've even gone back to an old site I did and drew a layer,
then deleted it, and it stayed in the code as well ! I'm sure this
never used to happen as I doodle around a bit on pages when
developing, and have never struck this before.
I suspect I've switched on some odd 'mode' or something, but
can't find any info on this problem.
Here's an example page with four (deleted) layers (1,2,3,4)
still showing in the page source. I know I can go into the code and
delete them manually, but this will be much harder once the pages
build up, and surely this shouldn't be happening anyway ?
Any suggestions at all please ?

Answer 1

The High Frontier wrote:
> I just tried it on another machine and got the same
effect, so maybe it's just
> the first time I've noticed. Funny really.
Judging from your code, you're using Dreamweaver 8, which
creates the
style rules for a "layer" in style block in the head of the
page.
Previous versions of Dreamweaver embedded the styles in the
opening
<div> tag. Consequently, if you deleted a "layer" in an
older version of
Dreamweaver, both the <div> and the accompanying styles
were deleted. In
Dreamweaver 8, deleting the <div> does not get rid of
the styles. To do
so, you need to go into Code view. Alternatively, open the
CSS Styles
panel, click the All button, highlight the associated style
rule, and
press Delete.
In Dreamweaver CS3, there is no such thing as a "layer". What
you call a
"layer" is now called an AP (absolutely positioned) Div. The
Layers
panel has been replaced by the AP Elements panel. Basically,
they work
the same way as Dreamweaver 8, but the change isn't simply
cosmetic. The
AP Elements panel now displays *all* absolutely positioned
elements, not
just those that use the <div> tag. So, for example, you
can have an
absolutely positioned unordered list, and it's displayed in
the AP
Elements panel.
> But what's wrong with layers ? Always worked fine for
me.
There is nothing inherently wrong with "layers" - or
absolutely
positioned elements. What frequently goes wrong is when
developers fail
to understand what they are and how they work. An AP element
is
absolutely positioned. If the style rules say top:25px;
left:100px,
that's where the element will be positioned - 25px from the
top of the
page, and 100px from the left. It never moves, even if the
browser
viewport changes in size. The other feature of an AP element
is that
it's removed from the normal flow of the page. That's why a
paragraph
that comes after an AP element in the code usually floats up
to the top
of the page. Excessive use of AP elements can also result in
the
underlying code being in a totally illogical order; it may
look fine in
a browser, but comes out as gibberish in a screen reader for
the blind,
or in a text browser.
If you understand the implications and limitations of AP
elements,
there's usually no problem. However, a deeper understanding
of CSS
frequently helps you find more appropriate solutions, keeping
AP
elements for special cases where they achieve an effect that
can't
easily be done with non-positioned styles. I used "layers"
extensively
for a couple of years. Now, I rarely touch them.
David Powers, Adobe Community Expert
Author, "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" (friends of ED)
Author, "PHP Solutions" (friends of ED)
http://foundationphp.com/