Macromedia Dreamweaver MX: Training from the Source
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Author: Khristine Annwn Page
List Price: $44.99
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0201799294
Publisher: Macromedia Press (23 July, 2002)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 27,931
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 5 out of 5
Great Dreamweaver starter
I was familiar with pre-MX versions of Dreamweaver, and this book allowed a great refresher course that cleaned a few cobwebs and taught many new features along the way. Teaching method very similar to hands-on projects/case studies in college; the best method to learn the myriad of the software's capabilities is to apply it! Included file disk makes it easy to skip ahead to lessons for more advanced users (i.e. each lesson comes with its up-to-this-respective-lesson's files, such that lesson 10 does not require you to successfully complete lessons 1-9; just copy lesson 10's files!)For those users looking to start a static website (v. dynamic...do a simple websearch if you don't know the difference) this book is a GREAT starting point. Taking your site to the dynamic level will require - prepare yourself for this - the "DYNAMIC Applications" edition (book 2 of this series). I could not help but pick this book up as well. For intermediate users, expect the "time approximation" for each section to be a conservative measure. I find that if it says it will take an hour, I usually get through it in 30-45 minutes, pending restroom breaks. One word of advice: the entire project may seem overwhelming looking at its entirety. However, breaking it down lesson by lesson, you will find that the piecemeal approach avoids the intimidation factor associated with the overall project. It's quite impressive to finish the series and look back to from where you started!
Rating: 4 out of 5
A Good Resource for Learning Version MX
I must admit when I first opened this book (even though I still decided to keep it anyway), I found the amount of text and steps in each chapter rather daunting -- so I became a little impatient, set the book aside for 6 months and avoided using Dreamweaver MX altogether. Since I primarily do web design as a hobby, I wondered if I was getting in over my head with version MX.Recently, I've been asked to redesign our company's website and decided it would be a good time to finally dive in and learn MX (I have used Dreamweaver 3 exclusively since 1999 and never upgraded to version 4). So far, I have found this book to be very helpful and have gone though most of the lessons in 3 days!! I picked up lots of great tips and new ways to use the software that I did not originally anticipate. The chapter on Cascading Style Sheets was especially informative and clear, and I no longer feel intimidated about using them in a website (and now feel silly that I never did...). Overall, the book is an excellent resource if you have the patience to read LOTS of copy, but all the essential features of the software are thoroughly covered. The book provided a solid foundation for learning the basics and I found it to be a good review. The chapters could have used a few more illustrations, but were packed with lots of substance. Is this book for advanced users? Probably not -- but for the rest of us, it's a useful guide to MX.
Rating: 5 out of 5
This book saved my life!
I had a little HTML knowledge when I bought and installed Dreamweaver MX, but no web design experience. I was afraid to even open it! I bought this book because it was recommended for beginners. It starts by holding your hand and walking you through the workspace explaining all the tool bars and panels and how they're docked. I laugh now at, "Rest the pointer over a button to see it's name", but I wasn't laughing when I started the book. Training From The Source guides you through creating a web site about light houses called "Lights of the Coast". Although I never want to see another light house after completing the lessons, it was an excellent way of applying what I was learning. I also liked the list of "What You Will Learn" at the start of each chapter, and "What You Have Learned" at the end of each chapter, to keep me on track. The illustrations are numerous and just what I needed back when I was afraid to touch anything. There is a huge amount of information throughout the book I previously knew nothing about. Reading and working through it saved me from a lot of headaches when I set off on my own. Good book!
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