Amazon.co.uk
Dreamweaver is a favourite among web professionals thanks to its high quality output and fast visual tools. It is also highly extensible, which is ideal both for power users and third-party vendors. Author Joseph Lowery is well known for his authoritative, in-depth writing on Dreamweaver, not least in the previous edition of this title.
Dreamweaver 3 Bible maintains the high standard. This is a comprehensive guide to Dreamweaver 3, complete with explanations of key web technologies. The CD-ROM includes a trial version along with hundreds of extensions and code examples.
Starting with an introductory overview, the book's first section is a hands-on tour of Dreamweaver covering all of its menus and preferences, and introducing site management and publishing. Next up is an introduction to HTML with in-depth coverage of using Dreamweaver for text formatting, image handling, links, lists, forms and frames. That accounts for around half the book.
The latter part of Dreamweaver 3 Bible puts the focus on dynamic web pages. Topics include CGI scripts, JavaScript, and understanding Dreamweaver Behaviours. A strong section on multimedia explains Fireworks integration, using Shockwave, and streaming video and audio with RealMedia and other technologies. Four chapters on Dynamic HTML show how you can use Cascading Style Sheets, layers and timelines to achieve rich dynamic effects. There is a brief look at advanced topics such as live database links, XML, and e-commerce. Finally, there is an explanation of Dreamweaver templates and libraries and a discussion of cross-browser compatibility.
Suitable for intermediate and advanced users, Dreamweaver 3 Bible is an excellent in-depth guide. It is particularly strong on multimedia and dynamic effects. The chapters on database links and e-commerce are too brief to be really useful, but that merely reflects Dreamweaver's status as a client-side authoring tool. --Tim Anderson
Amazon.com
According to Macromedia, there are few more qualified or capable to teach the ins and outs of
Dreamweaver than author James Lowery. This high praise is well earned with the
Dreamweaver 3 Bible, a comprehensive manual that covers everything from basic site creation to working with
Fireworks, as well as using CSS, DHTML, XML, and multimedia.
Beginners and intermediate users will appreciate the solid foundation provided in the opening 12 chapters. Readers are given a quick tour of the work environment, shown how a sample site is built up from scratch, and introduced to all the features of Dreamweaver. Here and throughout Dreamweaver 3 Bible, the text is augmented by frequent screenshots (from the Windows platform, although the text includes Macintosh instructions and commands) and applicable generated HTML code. More importantly, the book provides ample reasons for why things work the way they do and examples of how a feature might be put to use.
Other sections of the book cover frames, tables, forms, objects, behaviors, integrating Shockwave and Flash, working with layers, creating templates, using the Library, and many more topics. The appendices cover the companion text editors (Homesite 4.5 for Windows users, BBedit 5 for Mac users) and CourseBuilder for creating instructional Web pages. The companion CD-ROM includes 30-day trials of Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, and CourseBuilder, plus lots of extensions and sample files mentioned in the text.
Changes since the last edition include all the new features of Dreamweaver 3: the History palette, Design Notes, and the enhanced interrelationship with Fireworks, for example. Many processes are now automated in the latest version, like creating a command out of a group of steps from the History palette. Within Dreamweaver 3 Bible, new features like these are set in a different font and marked by an icon in the margin, making it easy for those already familiar with Dreamweaver to quickly access what's new.
One great benefit of a well-written book such as this is the confidence one gains with the application--confidence to look beyond the text and explore on one's own. This is especially fulfilling given Dreamweaver's expandability. By helping readers customize Dreamweaver, the text saves hours and hours of work time. --Angelynn Grant
Topics covered:
- Thorough instruction on all features of Dreamweaver 3
- Introduction to the work environment
- How to customize features and preferences
- Creating Web pages and managing sites
- Using the History palette
- Creating commands
- Using the new HTML styles
- Effectively using Templates and Libraries
- Working with Fireworks integration
- Working with DHTML, JavaScript, XML and CSS
- Incorporating plug-ins, ActiveX objects, and Java applets
