TechNote (Archived)

Which type of path should I use?

Introduction
Dreamweaver can create links in two ways, site root-relative or document-relative. This TechNote will outline the major advantages and disadvantages of each type.For a description of both,see Different path types (TechNote 15595).

Note:If you're unsure, we recommend using document-relative paths, which is the Dreamweaver default. Document-relative paths are arguably easier to manage.

Document Relative

Advantages

	Document relative paths preview better locally. For more information,see Why do my links stop working after previewing the first page? (TechNote 15625).
	The levels of the folder structure above the two files can be changed, and the paths will still work. This means you can take a site that is completely contained within a folder, and move it to another folder. All the paths within such a self-contained site will still work.

Disadvantages

	If either the source or destination file is moved, the path is broken.

Site Root Relative

Advantages

	If the source file is moved, the path remains intacts. Moving the destination file, of course, will still break the path.

Disadvantages

	Site root-relative paths do not preview perfectly locally. There is no 'site root' locally, so to preview site root-relative paths in the browser, Dreamweaver simulates a site root by passing additional information to the browser. Issues with this simulation, which is necessarily limited, are described in:Why do my links stop working after previewing the first page? (TechNote 15625).
	The entire folder structure on the server (up to the site root) must remain unchanged, or paths will break.

Additional information
For more details about paths in Dreamweaver, please see:

	For help determining when you would choose one path type over another, seeDifferent path types (TechNote 15595).
	If you are experiencing problems following site root-relative paths after uploading to the server, see Why do my site root-relative paths break on the server? (TechNote 15609).
	If you are experiencing problems following site root-relative paths when working locally, see Why do my links stop working after previewing the first page? (TechNote 15625).