Set Environment Variables command

This command allows you to set temporary values for environment variables. For example, if you wanted to see what your page would look like to someone using a particular browser, you could set the HTTP_USER_AGENT (the environment variable that specifies the browser being used). There are a number of other variables that can be set as well.

While you're in Dreamweaver (or using the "Preview in browser" command"), your page will work as if these were the actual environment variables, but once you save your page and leave Dreamweaver, these variables will no longer be set.

How to use the command
The dialog box for this command has two tabs at the top, marked "Browser" and "Advanced." Since the most common reason many people use environment variables is to check which browser is being used to view the page, the default mode for this command is "Browser" mode. This mode makes it easy to set the HTTP_USER_AGENT variable to various versions of Netscape or Internet Explorer. Just select the browser, version, and platform you want to set and click "OK."

If you want to specify other environment variables, or enter a different value for the HTTP_USER_AGENT, you'll need to use "Advanced" mode. To do so, click on the "Advanced" tab at the top of the dialog box.

Advanced mode
The box on the left lists all the variables that will be set. When you highlight a variable in the list, its name and value appear in the text boxes on the right. To change a value, simply edit it in the box. To add a new variable, click the button and fill in the new name and value in the text boxes. To subtract the highlighted variable from the list, click the button. Once you're happy with the list of variables and their values, click "OK" to set them.

If at any point you want to revert to the default list of environment variables, you can click the "Default" button. (If you want to permanently change the default list, you'll have to edit the "XSSI - Default Envars.js" file in the Dreamweaver/Configuration/Commands/ directory).

For more information about using environment variables with XSSI, take a look at Electric Types Introduction to XSSI.