Books for/about - macromedia dreamweaver

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8: Training from the Source

Publisher: Macromedia Press
Authors: Khristine Annwn Page

ISBN: 0321336267
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: Great walk-through
I recently picked up a copy of Dreamweaver 8 as a possible alternative for my current development environment. I can be a bit old fashioned and am much more experienced using emacs rather than any other tool for developing websites. Having zero experience with Dreamweaver or other similar tools I decided I needed a good reference to help me jump in, and this book has served that function well.

The writing is clear and generally concise, the information is easy to follow and has done a good job of helping me jump in to this new world.

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Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Hands-On Training

Publisher: Peachpit Press
Authors: Daniel Short Garo Green

ISBN: 0321293894
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Summary: Effective, but needs a little tweaking....
Dreamweaver is a deceptively simple-appearing program, but is incredibly powerful and complex "under the hood". Thus, future users will need exceptionally well-prepared materials to learn it well.

This book is an excellent start, with numerous tutorials and videos, but the reader will definitely need additional materials.

Lynda.com is quite well resepected for its tutorials, and rightly so, though I personally find them rather dry (in comparison with the Total Training series). Author Daniel Short, while undeniably a talented, skilled and capable instructor, has a voice that could be bottled and sold as a prescription-strength sedative.

The book is an ideal supplement to the Lynda.com series, and could even be considered critical to adequately grasping Dreamweaver, but the section on CSS falls seriously short in conveying understanding to the neophyte.

I do recommend this book (even highly), but hope that Mr. Short and Lynda.com can address these shortcomings.

Summary: Great book for starters
Before I picked up this book, I had no experience with dreamweaver whatsoever, and basic html skills (I can read html and know what it is.

When flipping through the pages, I noticed that the pictures were in color! Not only that, the layout of the lessons made it easy and fun to read! This book taught me the basics with dreamweaver (how to make forms, website, and etc. efficiently)

The only thing I "bad" about this book is that it is a short read; I bought it 2 days ago and I am almost finished, but its probably because the book is layed-out so well or most of it was easy to me.

I would definately recommend it to anyone with no experience in dreamweaver.

Summary: Can follow lessons, can't work independently
OK, so I'm half-way through Chapter 15 and this book frustrates me. I'm on a Mac, so that offsets the instructions by one jog. It doesn't help, either, when Mac instructions are given incorrectly, or not given at all.

Most of my software learning has been from books, not classes. This is my first experience of being able to follow exercises, but then not being able to work on my own. There is no sense of where to begin to build a practice site. For my style of learning, it is not helpful to be shown one way to do something, then to be told, "Don't do it that way. Here's a better way."

I'll work the lessons through to the end even though the time spent feels partially wasted. Then, I'll try another book.

I would not recommend this book to others.

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	The Web Collection, Revealed: Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, Flash 8, and Fireworks 8, Deluxe Education Edition (Revealed) Publisher: Course Technology Authors: James E. Shuman Sherry Bishop Barbara M. Waxer
ISBN: 1418843075 List Price: $62.95 Amazon Price: $62.95 Usually ships in 6 to 11 days Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: Reviews: Summary:

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Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Hands-On Training (Hands-on Training (H.O.T))

Publisher: Peachpit Press
Authors: Garo Green

ISBN: 032120297X
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Summary: Terrible
I had to buy this book for a class, it is terrible. All the author does is have you go click here and drag this to go through the exercises with no explainations. It's a waste of time and money.

Summary: Best book out there to learn Dreamweaver
I have taken several classes to learn Dreamweaver but still didn't handle to use Dreamweaver very well...until I found this book which answered all the questions I had to master Dreamweaver. This book is the best book out there so far for beginner; A must have.

Summary: I Was Forced To Read This For A Class, and Will Never Be The Same Again
This has to be the worst book ever written. Do yourself a favor, and spare yourself from the pain. The author thinks it's cute to make little quips that a 3 year might think of and put little wink things behind them, you know what I mean ;). The problem is they just annoy you to no end. The other annoying thing is that it takes the author a page and half to say "Hit the Enter Key". He spends page after page talking of inane things, hawking other books, and making stupid, juvenile comments. The book is a laborious 700 pages long, an agonizing 700 pages long. I have noticed that they have fired the dweeb who wrote it, Garo Green (who I always imagined him as a pasty white, fat 50 year old geek-you'll see what I mean if you have the misfortune of being forced to use this book), and significantly shorten the book, even though Dreamweaver 8 has many more features. I write this with the full knowledge that I will be selling my copy of this at the end of the semester, and that this review will adversely affect my selling price, but the book is really that bad. Unless you need it for a course, do not buy it. I promise you will regret it.

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Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide (Visual Quickstart Guides)

Publisher: Peachpit Press
Authors: Tom Negrino Dori Smith

ISBN: 0321350278
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: Confusing for the Novice
While I have a background in graphics programs, I'm entirely new to Dreamweaver. This book looked like it would be a sole resource. It wasn't. Too often terms are mentioned without definitions (a glossary would be a help). More than once a process was described without a basic first step that would seem obvious to experienced users, but only confused novice users. I wound up having to use other resources to make sense of this book. I wouldn't recommend it to first timers like myself.

Summary: comprehensive and specific at the same time
This is a great book, though I have used DreamWeaver for several years, I wanted to see how DreamWeaver 8 was going to deal with CSS. I took the time to read most of the chapters, and picked up a lot of tips. The book is comprehensive and specific at the same time. Concepts are interlaced with keystroke instructions. Well worth the price and a great reference.

Summary: Clear and concise introduction to Dreamweaver 8
I decided to try my first Dreamweaver site today. Thankfully I had this book on my desk.

So, when I tried to create a template, I found the information that I needed right away in this book.

I appreciate the tips and suggestions. The layout is great and easy to read, not overwhelming as I have found many other books to be. Efficient use of graphics as well.

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	Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself in 24 Hours) Publisher: Sams Authors: Betsy Bruce
ISBN: 0672327538 List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $18.89 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 4 Reviews: Summary: Betsy Bruce's writing is clear and easily digestible In the computer world, things change in the blink of an eye. The Sams Publishing Teach Yourself . in 24 Hours series can get the reader up and running in a matter of days. Concepts are delivered in units that are designed to be completed within 1 hour per unit. Betsy Bruce's Teach Yourself Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 in 24 Hours is no exception. Teach Yourself Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 in 24 Hours is written for a reader new to building websites and to Dreamweaver or a reader who is somewhat familiar with those topics but not Dreamweaver. The structure of the book begins with a quick tour of Dreamweaver 8 then takes the reader through basic HTML and images and beyond to more advanced topics such as Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and form handling. Due to reader request and because many new Dreamweaver users also have Macromedia Fireworks (as part of Macromedia Studio , there is a "bonus" lesson on the use of Fireworks to optimize images for the web. Dreamweaver how-tos and HTML concepts are introduced in a logical progression; for example, readers are taught basic layout using tables and frames then are introduced to the use of layers and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). As with all books in the in 24 Hours series, each lesson concludes with a Q&A section to reinforce the key concepts presented and a Workshop section which contains a simple quiz to test understanding and a hands-on "lab" that asks the reader to perform certain tasks that were explained in the lesson. As a training aid targeted at getting new Dreamweaver users up and running quickly, the book covers static pages only, leaving database connections, server-side scripting options, and other advanced topics for other books such as Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours (ISBN 0-672-32619-1) or Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Unleashed (ISBN 0-672-32760-0), part of Sams Publishing's Unleashed series. Betsy Bruce's writing is clear and easily digestible. She gives enough explanation with some background information where applicable without meandering through unnecessary or confusing information. Where beneficial to understanding the use of a Dreamweaver feature or capability, she gives examples of how she uses that feature or capability in her own work. Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 in 24 Hours is an excellent aid for the new Dreamweaver user who has a need to hit the ground running. Those who have used Dreamweaver MX or Dreamweaver MX 2004 or are a new Dreamweaver 8 user who can afford a more leisurely pace may be better off taking a look at the previously mentioned Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Unleashed. Reviewer: Robert Saucier Member, D-MAG.org Summary: Scratches the surface and just that... This is a great book for beginners that want to create amateur-decent websites. Any knowledge beyond the intermediate level will have to be sought elsewhere. The book is broken down into chapters, each chapter refered to as "one hour." The first few hours are easy-to-follow, but as you advance the chapters, the author's wear and tear becomes more and more evident. The instructions and descriptions start becoming sloppy and lackluster. Some chapters - particularly the early ones - cover simple concepts comprehensively with unnecessarily meticulous description, while the later chapters are skimmed and vague. For instance, the author doesn't bother to explain the real difference between table layout, table cells and layers - the advantages, disadvantages, etc. If you're not familiar with these concepts, you will be baffled and left out in the cold. She also doesn't expand further than merely teaching you how to make a table, cell or layer, which is a shame because these tools are pivotal designing tools for professional webdesigners (what the book promises to make of you at its completion). Another tragic mistake by the author was skipping another crucial designing method called floating and failing to spend sufficient time on CSS. Instead she spends a whole chapter on frames, a primitive designing feature that has long been abandoned with stone tires. The book is also misleading because every "hour" takes closer to two hours. Some even three. This is not because the chapters are so long, but because it takes time to consume the material and process the information into your cerebral registry. It takes time to apply the instructions and practice to perfect the chapters. And that could easily mean more than one hour per chapter. Plus, there are a lot of times you just don't understand what some of the poor descriptions are talking about and spend 30 minutes easy trying to figure out what's happening on your own. Sooner or later you start drifting into space and the next thing you know, an hour has flown by in lala land. Don't get me wrong. For a newbie, the book is excellent at acquainting you with Dreamweaver 8, but if you're looking to be designing professional websites afterward as the book asserts, I recommend you do a lot of research online, as few books on DW cover beyond the basics. Summary:

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Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide (Visual Quickstart Guides)

Publisher: Peachpit Press
Authors: J. Tarin Towers

ISBN: 0321213394
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 4
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Summary: Helps Dreamweaver Live Up To Its Name
I only rated this book a 4 because although I've read dozens of software books, the only other book on Dreamweaver I'd read was a no-frills intro. Tarin's book delves deep into the hard-core details of this annoyingly complex, but increasingly necessary set of tools. This book is actually fun to read - I liked that. It is also irreverent - I REALLY liked that. The examples are crisp and easy to follow, if you think them through. I especially liked Chapter 10 on converting Excel and Word data to HTML, as Dreamweaver has a way of shrinking them to acceptable file sizes - a pain to sort out on your own. Dreamweaver's complexity can give you nightmares. This book, will let you count sheep instead. Good work Tarin.

Summary: not very clear, sometimes confusing
Being able to follow directions well is not good enough for this book. This book was recommended to me by teachers, but it is useless and should not be used at all. I don't like that the visuals are old, and it is worse if you are using a MAC because they are mainly for PCs. The instructions are not straight foward - for instance I tried to upload my site images and half way through his instructions I was lost--I coulnd't find the windows he was referring to. I struggled for hours and finally, feeling defeated, I googled what I needed and found a web site that had more straight forward instructions. If I ever wanted to throw your computer or a book out the window, this was the time. Also, he seems to abbreviate his instructions to emcompass all the how to's in short sentences, but it gets too abbreviated that there seems to be steps missing -- he does this through out the book and uses names of windows this way as well. To my opinion this is definitely a waste of money and I regret buying it.

Summary: Companion web site not there
The companion web site mentioned in the book is not there. When I typed in that URL, I got redirected to Peachpit's advertising site of this book, but no "links", "tools", nor "examples" mentioned in the book at all!

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Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 with ASP, ColdFusion, and PHP: Training from the Source (Training from the Source)

Publisher: Macromedia Press
Authors: Jeffrey Bardzell

ISBN: 0321336259
List Price: $44.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: No online errata for this book
I'll say something good first. I found the author to be well skilled in explaining the concepts as well as the procedure when using Dreamweaver 8. Each chapter is written like a good lesson plan, and takes you through the book task by task. I usually have to read more than one book on a technology because what one author fails to explain adequately, another explains very well. That is the case with this book, But don't buy this book.

When I did run into a problem with the code in the book, I went to the website and found that there was no erata page or anything else for this book, the last update was for Dreamweaver MX or some previous version. So now I have to figure out on my own why the code in the book is giving me errors. Unforgivable.

I also read "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8", and of course it also had errata, but it was fully corrected on the accompanying site. I did not have the problems with the server as the other reviewer did, because I didn't use this book for it after reading about his problems. I used the Foundation book to set up the PHP/MySQL, and it worked just fine, although I haven't tested it on the remote server yet...

Anyway if he's not going to support the book by listing errata on an accompanying site (that he references in the book), then don't bother buying the book.

Summary: wow.
i enjoyed this book. it opened my eyes to coldfusion, asp, and php web site design.

Summary: Disappointing At Best
The book was good up until the 10th Chapter in my opinion. I went through the excercises developing on a remote server running PHP/ MySQL. Up until the 10th chapter the author made several minor mistakes in the hand code to insert for both PHP and also in how to modify the existing SQL file to upload it to a remote database server via PHP My Admin. I must admit that researching and solving these mistakes on my own was a valuable learning experience. The real problem occurred starting with chapter 11. After uploading and testing my pages after each step as coached to by the author I began getting MySQL syntax error messages prompting me to consult the manual for my version of MySQL. I verified that my hosting company was running the same version of MySQL that the author demonstrated to those developing locally to install so I loaded the completed pages for the lesson from the CD and they would not open at all. At least the pages I was developing would load and had some functionality so that tells me that there was not even continuity between the completed pages on the CD and the text in the book. I think that is pretty inexcusable that nobody bothered to make sure that the completed projects worked in all development environments both locally and remote. I would have to say that the book is a complete waste of time for the PHP/ MySQL developer. To be fair I plan to upgrade my hosting account to include Cold Fusion so I can go through the book again following the Cold Fusion steps. Maybe they will work fine, one can only hope. Right now I can't recommend the book as it was extremely frustrating to put in all the time I did in the earlier chapters only to run into an insurmountable roadblock. One other thing of note is that the author invited readers to visit his website for updates and errata but when you go there you find that it has not been updated since 2004 and doesn't even mention Dreamweaver 8. It also says that the author's company is out of business so I must assume that Adobe/ Macromedia just copied the MX 2004 book (errors that it had and all) and just put a new jacket on it and changed the label on the CD and put it to market. I would have expected more from a $45.00 book that supports a $500.00 program. There is a book called "Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8" written by David Powers that has received high reviews that I am going to try next.

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