Customer Reviews

Authorware 6 (Inside Macromedia) [Paperback] by Wilson, Scott J

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Last year my company took the quantum leap into CBT, and I was offered the opportunity to help design and create it, using Authorware. While Authorware is marketed as a "non-programmer development tool" you find early on that a lot of typical CBT behavior cannot be accomplished without scripting, using AW's internal functions and variables. To my disadvantage, I don't have any formal programming training, and have purchased just about every book recommended by the AW community, each specializing in one or two areas of AW development.

This is the first book I've found on the use of AW that covers it all. It begins with the basics and then goes beyond...into detail on writing scripts, using functions and variables, using lists, etc. all inside one cover.

The tutorial style of the book is very appealing to me, and the accompanying CD includes plenty of example files that are very helpful. There's no way you can learn what this book offers without doing the exercises, so it is highly interactive.

I still have a lot to learn - it's great to have such a handy reference and "teacher" sitting on my desk! Thank you, Jennie and Scott!

As the Director of a Training Staff that uses Authorware I am always interested in new media available to teach non-programmers how to use Authorware. Of all the books currently on the market from Orsen Kellog's to the TAAM (The Alternative Authorware Manual) this book is by far the MOST comprehensive. Not only do the authors cover the basics of Authorware, but they provide even more intricate information such as using ActiveX controls and scripting.

I would recommend this book for the experienced Authorware user or as a guide for creating a course curriculum for teaching the general principles of Authorware programming. However, I would NOT recommend it for the novice simply for one reason: Throughout the book there are numerous editorial mistakes that can make the learning process for the novice confusing. For example, there are several references to incorrect file name titles, or references to using the white start flag (this was probably due to the authors using this function when creating the program but forgetting that the USER had not been instructed to use the white/black stop/start flags. There is actually a reference to a file on the help disk which must have had it's name changed before publication time (therefore, new users may not understand what to do or what file to use).

However, I fault the publisher OnwordPress/Thomson Learning for lack of proper proofreading for these mistakes. This is incredibly unfortunate, because without these mistakes, I would rate the book over all as a 5+!

Kudos to Scott Wilson and Jennie Thornton!

First time your mistake; second time mine. I have now used the Wilson/Thornton tutorial for two training sessions, and will never use it again. The format and layout is good, but the errors that should have been caught & corrected have enough of an impact upon learners that it should not be used, particularly for anyone at the beginning level, even though the book is marketed as a tutorial for beginners. Macromedia should be informed of the negative impact this book has upon AW. In the last training session I had one trainee have the IT person from where she works help her ... and he couldn't believe the errors found in the middle and later chapters. The trainee gave the book back to me and said she would never use AW again!

Enough said.

I am a new user of Authorware 6 and am using this text for a college-level course. Despite my novice status as an Authorware user and developer, I have 20+ years in using computers, programming, and developing computer projects; thus, I am no notive when it comes to computers. This text is RIDDLED with mistakes, some small and foolish, others major and appalling. (My favorite laughable one was "Ctrl + Shirt + R" found on page 537 rather than "Ctrl + Shift + R"!! Even a novice editor should have caught that one, so it gives you a good idea as to the overall quality of the editing.) Typographical errors appear throughout the text, particularly the later chapters; some files on the companion disc have different names from those in the text while other files aren't available, buttons or graphics that should be available are not, and the list goes on and on. For example, Step 10a found on page 503 has at least two errors: (1) ":=True" should be "=True" and (2) "ButtonBackup" should be "ButtonForward". If you use error (1) you receive a warning message that your expression is incorrect, and if you use error (2) your navigation will not work as it should. Perhaps most annoying, the book takes a step-by-step approach that guides the user through the development process, which is a great idea. HOWEVER, steps are occasionally omitted or a sentence is missing that makes you think you have done something wrong---until you retrace your steps (another waste of your time) and realize the book has neglected to mention something. Using this text to learn Authorware has been a frustrating, frustrating experience, a waste of many hours of my time, and has made me think seriously about wanting to develop software using Authorware. Having only recently purchased this text in January 2004 (text was copyrighted in 2002), the publisher should be ashamed not to have yet published a newer edition of this text to correct many of these errors. Grrr!

Normally I hope that a reference book will teach me everything I want to know about the subject matter. Sometimes I'm am pleased if I come away with a handful of new tips and insights. On some occasions I find I have wasted my time and money on a book that failed to teach me anything. Really, however, have I bought a book that actually leaves me STUPIDER after completing it.

This book is bad. Typos, rambling, disjointed thoughts and, most disturbing, incorrect information. I learned things from this book that I eventually found were either bad ideas or were completely wrong. This kind of mis-information is bad anytime but its really damaging when trying to learn a software package with as steep a learning curve as Authorware 7.

Luckily, I finally found:

1) Authorware 6 VTC Training CD
2) The AWARE user's list
3) The Macromedia User's guides.

These three resources helped me the most in my learning process. I would highly recommend all 3 - but PLEASE skip this worthless book - it will only set you back in the learning process.

One final suggestion - get Michael Allen's Guide to E-Learning - while not specific to Authorware it is a GREAT resource for planning and developing the programs you're going to design in Authorware.

Thank you so much Jennie and Scott! I work in Alaska and my boss would not pay for me to come to San Francisco and take your Authorware class. I have bought ALL of the other Authorware books on the market, but this is the only one that took me, step-by-step, from being a complete multimedia-novice to producing my first 1/2-hour long training piece that is running over the Web!

The best part was when I realized that I had gotten everything I thought I needed out of Authorware and I had only gone through 12 of the 27 chapters in this MASSIVE book. I am thrilled to have gotten such a great introduction to this software product.

My advice to anyone is that if you need to produce a training course and can't go to a class, buy this book and copy all of the application chapters...they even give you the authorware files on the CD...you will have your own working WBT in no time.

Thanks again...hopefully, NOW I can convince my boss to send me to your intermediate classes!

I'm a teacher learning to create learning software for high schoolers. I bought this book in 2002 to learn AW6. It's been a great resource that has made me a proficient user. However, I'm disappointed that the files for chapter 16 were missing from the CD which are the meat and potatoes of the program. That alone cost it 2 stars. Along with other errors people have mentioned. To the publisher, stop being sloppy, lazy and cheap. CLEAN UP YOUR EDITING!!!

This book is very focused on the beginner and goes through each property icon describing in depth their functions and purposes. It's much better than the ridiculous manual that comes with the software, but many of the exercises (which make up 80% of the book) are redundant.

For those wanting to advance beyond the basic drag-drop-publish routine I'd recommend staying away. There is very little content on coding and no tutorials on creating Knowledge Objects/Wizards or anything of the sort.

In the end, there's nothing here that can't be found for free on the web...

Finally I can lay my tattered, dog eared, coffee stained copy of Authorware 4 to rest.

I once took some classes from Jennie at The Alternative Authorware Conference 6. I found her teaching style light, friendly, and very very thourough. That is reflected in this book. Never in the years I have used Authorware have I found a more complete Guide to ALL aspects of Authorware programming.

This book will help the beginner with a detailed look at the interface, menu's, and nuances of every Icon.
It will further help the beginner by looking at the aspects of Multimedia beyond the software i.e. how to set up a project, what the roles are for various team members during development, and what instructional strategies there are to consider, How to build your navigational structures to fit your project.

The book then ventures into territory few others dare tread by taking a complete look into scripting covering base programming constructs, functions and variables, Arrays, and how to easily make that all work for you regardless of your prior experience.

Other areas reaching beyone Just the Authorware program itself include; connecting to databases, using XML, and active X.

Finally Jennie and Scott show you how to use the tools you have been given, by showing you how to create Dynamic structures that adapt based upon the input, subroutines that simplify your code by using the same piece over and over again by simply changing the variable data and jumping back to it as it is needed. Imagine building One multiple choice question on the flow line that can be used 100 times as a lesson is run Each time with different questions and answers.

Finally, every bit of this is supported with well thought out comprehensive examples that show your exactly what has been decribed. All at an extremly resonable price. Buy this book, weather just starting out or well versed in Authorware, this Book will be invaluable on your journey.

Dan 6.0

Jennie goes into great, great detail to explain a procedure. I'd estimate that somewhere between 1/4 to 1/3 of the book is step-by-step information on how to accomplish a particular task. This entails use of the CD-ROM which may or may not be a problem if you're the type to take the book home at night and you don't have AW at home. In short, this is really not a book to take home at night if you don't have a PC with AW loaded. BUT, if you do have AW at home, take the book home, especially if you're a newbie to early intermediate user.

There's a good bit of reference material here, although again, it seems skewed toward the new to early intermediate user. I think a book along the lines of Joe's Functions book will end up more dog-eared, but this book will not sit on the shelf gathering dust. I'd use it in a class setting for sure.

The typography is good, the instruction clear, the displays and graphics very good. And some are downright funny. I know there are stories behind some of these screen shots. And watch out for 2 video files in particular on the CD. Very funny stuff. Jennie does a good job of using real world examples to explain concepts. Remember the 35mm camera from an early version of AW? While it was cool, I'm not sure how "real world" it really was. Not too much of that here. Plus, she lets us in on at least one undocumented feature. Pretty cool.

In short, Jennie has done an outstanding job of explaining not only the tool itself, but also how to use the tool to create eLearning applications. That's no small feat. Most books explain the tool and present a hodgepodge of examples. This book, however, has been well thought-out, well-written, and well-edited. It flows.

If you're new to the tool, or not new but would like to learn Jennie's method of accomplishing a task, then this is a must-have book. Buy it.