Dreamweaver Live View Shows Raw Server Code: A Diagnostic Guide

The Problem: Live View Displays Source Code Instead of a Rendered Page

Dreamweaver's Live View is designed to preview your page, but when you are building a server-side application—PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, or similar—Live View sometimes shows the raw source code instead of the rendered result. You might see tags such as <?php echo "Hello"; ?> or <cfoutput> on screen, or the page might be blank, even though Code View shows the correct markup.

This is not a bug in Dreamweaver's preview engine. Live View does not execute server-side code by itself. It relies on a properly configured Testing Server and a running web server process to fetch the already-rendered HTML. When that chain breaks, you see source code. The fastest path to recovery is to confirm that the Testing Server definition points to a live local server, then verify that server can render the file independently of Dreamweaver.

Recognizable Symptoms

• Live View shows raw server-side tags or HTML source instead of the rendered page.
• Live View is blank or shows only a partial document.
• Code View shows the expected markup, confirming the file itself is intact.
• The problem may appear immediately after creating a site, or after moving a project to a new computer.

Common Causes and How to Tell Them Apart

Symptom	Likely Cause	How to Confirm
Raw server tags visible in Live View	Testing Server not defined or not selected for the site	Site Setup > Servers shows no server marked as Testing, or the Web URL is empty
Blank page or connection error	Local web server is stopped, or the Web URL path is wrong	Opening the same URL in an external browser fails or returns a 404
Raw tags only after recent edits	Stale site cache in Dreamweaver	Refreshing Live View does not update the content
Code hints are missing or incorrect	Server model mismatch in Site Setup	Server model does not match the file extension (for example, HTML selected for a .php file)

Step-by-Step Diagnostic Checks

Check 1: Confirm the Testing Server Is Active

In Dreamweaver, open Site > Manage Sites, select your site, and choose the edit option. In the Servers category, verify that a server exists and is marked as Testing, not Remote. The Web URL field must match your local server root.

For example, if your project folder is C:\xampp\htdocs\myproject on Windows or /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/myproject on macOS, the Web URL should be http://localhost/myproject/. If the field is empty or points to a remote domain, Live View has no local server to ask for rendered output.

Risk: Changing site definitions can affect synchronization and link management. Export or back up your site settings before making major edits.

Check 2: Verify the Local Web Server Is Running

Live View depends on a web server process such as Apache or IIS to execute server-side code. Test that process outside Dreamweaver first.

1. Open an external browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari).
2. Navigate to the Web URL from Check 1, appending the filename. For example: http://localhost/myproject/index.php.
3. Observe the result.

If the browser shows rendered HTML, the server is healthy. If you see raw PHP tags, the server is missing the language module or is misconfigured. If you get a connection error, the service is stopped. If you get a 404, the folder mapping is wrong.

On a local stack like XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP, you can start or restart Apache from the control panel application. No special operating-system permissions are required for a standard local install, but you must run the control panel as an administrator if the service was installed system-wide.

Check 3: Match the Server Model and Document Settings

In the same Servers category of Site Setup, check the Server model dropdown. For PHP files, select PHP MySQL. For Classic ASP, select ASP JavaScript or ASP VBScript as appropriate. If the model does not match the technology in your files, Dreamweaver may fail to route the request correctly.

Also confirm the file extension. A file named page.html that contains <?php ?> tags will not be processed by the server, because the server only executes code in files it recognizes. Rename the file to page.php and update any links that reference it.

Check 4: Force a Fresh Render and Rebuild the Cache

Dreamweaver caches site structure and link data. If the cache is stale, Live View may serve an outdated preview.

1. In Live View, click the Refresh button in the toolbar.
2. Toggle to Code View and back to Live View.
3. If the output is still wrong, rebuild the site cache. The command is typically labeled Rebuild Site Cache and is found under the Site menu or in the Files panel context menu; the exact location varies by Dreamweaver version.

Rebuilding the cache can take time on large sites. No special permissions are needed, but avoid editing files while the rebuild is in progress.

Fixes Tied to Specific Findings

If the Testing Server Is Missing or Incorrect

Create or edit the site definition so that a Testing Server points to your local execution environment. Set the connection method to Local/Network, point the server folder to your project directory, and enter the correct Web URL. Mark the server as Testing. Example configuration:

Site name: myproject
Local site folder: C:\xampp\htdocs\myproject
Server folder: C:\xampp\htdocs\myproject
Web URL: http://localhost/myproject/
Server model: PHP MySQL
Testing server: Yes

If the URL Is Wrong

Correct the prefix and folder mapping. The Web URL must resolve to the same directory as the server folder. A common mistake is using http://localhost/ when the project lives in a subfolder, or using a different port such as http://localhost:8080/ without updating the field.

If the Server Is Down

Restart the web server service from your local stack control panel. Re-run the external browser test from Check 2 before returning to Dreamweaver. If the server starts but still shows raw code, consult your stack's documentation to ensure the PHP (or relevant) module is enabled.

If Code Hints Are Stale

Rebuild the site cache as described in Check 4. If hints remain incorrect after a rebuild, close and reopen the site, or restart Dreamweaver.

When to Escalate

Escalate to Adobe support or a senior engineer if all of the following are true:

• The Testing Server definition is correct and marked as Testing.
• The external browser renders the page successfully using the same URL.
• Live View still fails after rebuilding the site cache and restarting Dreamweaver.
• The issue reproduces across multiple Dreamweaver versions.

Also escalate if you suspect that security software, a corporate proxy, or firewall rules are blocking Dreamweaver's embedded rendering engine from reaching localhost. In that case, the problem is environmental rather than a site configuration error.

Limitations and Final Validation

Dreamweaver's embedded rendering engine may not match modern browser behavior. Even when Live View renders correctly, validate the final output in an external browser. Server-side logic, JavaScript frameworks, and CSS layout can differ between the embedded engine and standards-compliant browsers.

To confirm the fix, open the same file directly in an external browser using the local server address configured in the Testing Server settings. If the browser renders the page and Live View now matches, the configuration is sound. If Live View still diverges, refresh it once more and check the Site Setup servers category to ensure the Testing server is still selected.