Customer Reviews

Building Web Sites with Macromedia Studio MX

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased the whole Studio MX shortly after it was released. Dreamweaver is my main tool on a daily basis. Though I've used Freehand and Flash, it's been a while. I was thrilled to find a book that could bring me up to speed on the programs I'm less familiar with as well as give me tips on the whole line.

Not only does this book give you information about each product and their integration, but it gives a great overview of the entire production process. There are a lot of books that give you the "hows" of building; this one also gives you the "whys." I personally loved the chapter about typography unlike a previous reviewer. If more web designer/developers paid attention to this type of information, the web would be a better place.

Some of you have been building sites for years. Others are just getting started. Everyone will learn a great deal. We all do things differently and sometimes we get stuck in a rut. Pick up some new tips and methods. A great book to add to your reference library.

I agree with the recommendations of some of the previous reviewers to consider Amazon reader recommendations carefully before you purchase this book.

If you are expecting a practical "how to" guide that will get you up and running with the MX Studio applications, a handy reference that will live along side your computer that's full of carefully detailed explanations, or a guide to efficient workflow by sharing tasks among the applications, then either "The Macromedia Studio MX Bible" or "Dummies" guide will give you so much more in terms of information and advice.

The focus of this book is more about working with a team of developers, each of which talks specifically about an application or two, rather than the nitty gritty of how to get a lot of tasks accomplished yourself. But when it comes to process analysis and integrating motion and static web design with database and content management, Hillman Curtis' "MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer " is a much more thorough and in depth analysis of both the creative, development, problem solving aspects of interaction design.

For the same price or for less money, any of books I mentioned above will give you much more information in a more logical and practical format, than this book.

I was expecting to learn more than just about how a group of web designers build websites with StudioMX. This book got high marks from the other reviewers, but in my opinion the marks were for what it teaches about "work flow" and team work. If thats what you are looking for then great. I ranked this book based on its worth for teaching about the software.

Overall it is verbose, wasted much valuable time and not a good teaching book (not to mention typhos). If you are looking to learn more about Dreamweaver or Fireworks or Flash or Freehand, this book is not for you. Better to spend the cash on dedicated books even though you may spend more in the end (but you will likely learn more thoroughly too). For me this book has not been a good investment of time and money.

This book is probably better suited for those that are working as a team with the different skill sets and interested in figuring out how Studio MX can fit in as a tool.

The last couple of years have seen the New Media market flooded with new tools, plugins and software packages to help design and build interactive content. Arguably the best suite of tools available are those found in Macromedia's latest offering of Studio MX. In addition to the most robust version of Flash to date, Studio MX also includes revamped versions of Cold Fusion, Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Freehand. However, though having the right tools will definately make life easier, building New Media content is much more than just knowing the latest features and tricks. Unfortunately, many of the books currently available are little more than expanded feature spotlights, or a rehash of the manuals.

That's where Tom Green and Co. have strayed from the pack. Building Web Sites with Macromedia Studio MX outlines a real-world web project from start to finish. Beginning with brainstorming and planning, the reader learns the why of web design, not just how. Discussions include wireframing, flowchats, and navigation issues. Also of note is the welcome inclusion of interaction with the client (via Macromedia Sitespring), reviews, signoffs, and version tracking. From the planning stages, we move through the actual design and creation of the site using Fireworks and Dreamweaver, then on to more advanced tasks including dynamic content via Cold Fusion.

Building Web Sites provides a very comprehensive overview into the actual workflow of a project. The brick and mortar approach should appeal to a wide variety of both novice designers and programmers.

I pre ordered this book as soon as it was listed expecting to get four nuts and bolts books in one. This book is more about project managing a website than it is about how to use the tools in Studio MX. There are 12 pages about the history of typography alone. And although I don't generally mind a few rough edges, this book clearly went to press before it's time. It is packed with annoying grammatical errors and bad typeset. In fact, immediately after a 2 page diatribe on the misuse of single quotes, there is a sentence that contains 5 double quotes. To my knowledge, they should always be used in pairs.
It appears as though the authors set out to write a Studio MX bible in a short amount of time, and when they fell short on material, they resorted to writing about their life experiences instead.

What is more exciting than learning how to build killer websites and impress your friends and family?
(nothing - that's why I bought this book)
In short I strongly agree with my friend mxreader from Queensland. This book is for those who want to integrate their workflow in a corporate level webhouse. If you pick up this book knowing next to nothing about Dreamweaver, Fireworks or Flash as I did, spend too many hours reading and then skimming through hundreds of pages, you'll put it down, if you're lucky, knowing one new thing about each program.
Is this an acceptable return on investment?
Is this the way to learn these programs and put a website up from scratch?
Is this the way to impress the three f's (friends, family and fiance)?
No. No. and No.
I am returning it. Thank goodness for amazon. They deserve their reputation for the best service company in existence.

My perspective
I am a Senior MX Developer, author, professor, corporate trainer, and freelancer in the Toronto, Ontario region in Canada. My focus is making things work and bringing things to life. I use many Macromedia tools such as Flash MX, ColdFusion MX, and Dreamweaver MX, as well as many other tools, including Adobe's Illustrator and Photoshop. My goal has always been to balance out good design with extraordinary code implementation... meeting in November of 2002. Having been a long time colleague of Tom Green, I was very interested in the work he and his co-authors had done. I asked him directly if this was an advanced level book that would benefit me. He said no. I didn't buy the book. We were both in error.

If you are reading this article, and want the short review, here it is ... buy the book. If you are part of a web team, manage a web team, or want a full explanation of the process of building static and dynamic web applications, and how to use Macromedia's tools seamlessly together, this is the book to buy.

For those of you who want the full breakdown, please read on.
The Pros
Upon receiving this book for review, the first thing I did was scan the table of contents. Then I skimmed each chapter to get a better look. Well, I didn't put the book down for five hours! One thing kept leading to another, and before I knew it, I was hooked. I spent a total of four days working through the entire book. Now I feel more equipped to go about my daily business.

The first two chapters introduce us to the whole process of planning out a web project. Many developers (and clients) believe the computer is all that is needed to complete any project. This is not true in my experience. Everything starts on paper then more paper. 99% of the site is actually conceptualized on paper before I even touch the computer. This book offers keen insight as to why that process is crucial to all your endeavours.

Chapters four through eight break down the next stages of your project. What is a mockup? Why use it? How do you wire-frame a site? When is it appropriate to use dynamic content? It's all in this book in detail.

Chapters nine through eleven teach you everything you need to know about images, artwork, and video, and basically all multimedia in a simple manner. It is in these chapters that the book gets down to it. The flow between applications in Studio MX is now almost seamless; it's made editing that much easier. Previously, I hadn't often used Fireworks or Freehand, but doing the exercises in the book has moved me to give these programs consideration. When used properly, they are quite powerful, and this is still only the beginner material!

I have to pause here for a moment and make a personal comment about chapter twelve. I am so very pleased it was included. It is about typography. I have seen a lot of projects that are very good, but have lousy typography. The inclusion of this chapter reiterates to me, as a serious developer, just how well the authors understand the real process behind generating projects of utmost excellence. By far, this is my favourite chapter.

In chapters thirteen through nineteen the book gains some momentum. The next few lessons are on building dynamic web sites, creating animation, effective use of assets, optimization techniques, navigation (the KEY element to any web site), transitions, and much, much more. The chapter on video stood out to me especially. I reviewed another book specifically dealing with video and Flash MX, and was thoroughly disappointed to see how much dependence was put on third party utilities. I myself, teach about three paragraphs on video in Flash MX. To be blunt, hands down, this chapter tells you the best way to use video in your Flash MX projects.

Chapter twenty introduces one of my favourite tools, ColdFusion MX. With a few simple steps, the sample project was dynamic and connected. It was almost effortless.

The final chapter in this book goes beyond the sample project. It covers final debugging, testing, and implementation, a smart way to wrap up this experience.
The Cons
You may have noticed I didn't mention chapter three. Chapter three covers Sitespring, a project management tool, developed by Macromedia. Personally, I have had exposure to this tool, and I think it's great. Unfortunately, Macromedia no longer sells Sitespring. This was an unforeseen issue that has occurred because the book was written without knowledge of Macromedia's intentions of discontinuing sales of this product. I'm sure it will leave readers disappointed and/or confused.

I was also somewhat let down to see that Flash Remoting MX was not included. It is a built in part of ColdFusion MX Server, is very powerful, and quite user-friendly, and would have been a great addition to this book. Of course, you can only include so much in one volume.

The Verdict
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The book was thorough on the topics it introduced. The code was solid. Everything from the book's website worked, as it should. It was easy to read, and the whole book flowed very well from chapter to chapter. Although it is not a reference manual that I will refer to frequently, it was a great tutorial experience that added to my knowledge base, and therefore my marketability.

Whether you are new to MX, or a pre-MX pro, this book definitely holds value. It is not to be overlooked. I found myself constantly wanting more. The authoring team generated such an excitement for Studio MX that I was sorry to see each chapter end.

Congratulations to Tom et al, on a great book. I anticipate the possibility of a follow-up volume for advanced users.

There are a LOT of books out there dealing with how to use software; very few cover the rest of the development cycle, AND relate it to professional software products I use everyday.

When you buy a software package like MX Studio, some of the software may be new to you, as it was to me. This book really helped me see where all the pieces fit together.

This book is a great introduction to the Macromedia MX product line up, and an excellent resource for learning about project management. The production cycle is well explained here, and I am really impressed with the writers' insistence on paper-based development at the concept stage. This area of development is often overlooked; the preference being to dive right into the software. Storyboards, wireframes, click-thru, usability - all are covered in an informative and conversational manner.

I found myself nodding and smiling as I read some of sidebar anecdotes.

If one were to follow the guidelines set here, one would have some very satisfied clients.

Like it says in the intro, "This book is for those of you who get it". I like to think I get it, and this book addresses many of the concerns I have about building and managing complex web sites.

Rather than taking an approach of duplicating the manuals that come with the product, Green/Chilcott/Flick's book takes on the whole world of web site development. It's deep in its coverage of fundamental concepts in good design.

The book does an excellent job of covering how to work with clients so they get what they want and need, and protect yourself at the same time from misunderstandings about what you're committed to delivering. Key concept: Document, Document, Document.

Good coverage too on architecting dynamic content, Flash's new Video functionality, and ColdFusion integration.

Because of it's focus on fundamental concepts in good design, and although there's lots of info on working in Studio MX, this would still be a great book to have even if you aren't working with Macromedia products.

This is a book about the process of web development masquerading as a book about software.

If you had to keep only one chapter: keep chapter 18. How the authors relate their own experiences putting together a website is invaluable for newbies and old pros alike.

I also liked where they gave the developer (aka author) a chance to explain why they chose a particular strategy, file format, or made a particular decision. While I might not agree it is always interesting and helpful to see another point of view.

Oh it is also a useful guide to several key pieces of software for those of us who want to make websites.