Customer Reviews

Dreamweaver® 3 Bible

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to give some kudos to the author before I present my review. I have a great deal of admiration for Joseph Lowery. At a time when computer book authors seem to be more consumed with churning out books that rarely go beyond the manuals that come with the programs, Joe is truly dedicated to what he writes about. Since publishing the first Dreamweaver Bible in 1998, he has been a constant contibutor to the Dreamweaver community. And through his Dreamweaver Bibles I have learned a great deal about this wonderful program. Thank you Joe!

Now for the review:

After spending the last two years making my copy of Dreamweaver 2 Bible dog-eared, I was expecting that Joe would merely update the book to include the new features of Dreamweaver 3, but he has gone much further and - except for a few minor details - written a new Bible. Like the previous versions, this book does an excellent job explaining Dreamweaver basics and shows how to extend Dreamweaver through behaviors, commands, and objects. But where this book excels is teaching experienced users advanced topics like how to create custom behaviors, behaviors, commands and how to get the most out of Dreamweaver's JavaScript API extensions and C-level libraries. If you are new to Dreamweaver, you might want to start with another book, like Dreamweaver for Dummies, which does a good job covering the basics. If you are casual Dreamweaver user and want to take your skills up a few notches, this is the only book to buy, and if you are a professional web designer, this book is a must have.

I am a novice web-designer, who began using Dreamweaver about 1 month ago. I bought the Bible, thinking that I would learn the "ins" and "outs" of Dreamweaver. Boy, was I wrong. I was treated to the most thorough and well-documented resource on web-design and internet technology that I have read ... in addition to learning EVERYTHING about Dreamweaver.

I really hate drudging through computer resource books. Going through this text was a true pleasure. I am a novice ... don't be intimidated by the price or the title of this book ... It is easy to read and highly invaluable.

I am a novice Dreamweaver user, and a novice to web design in general. This book was (and still is) a great help to me, covering not only all major and minor issues in Dreamweaver, but also going beyond this, talking HTML, web integration with data sources and with other Macromedia products like Flash and Fireworks. I am the kind of user who would rather make an attempt, then when a problem occurs look for a solution. With the Dreamweaver Bible the solutions were easy to find, and I'm learning more every time I look at it. This book seems to me to be suited to both novices and more advanced users alike, a delicate balance. In the first instance, if like me you require answers to your questions, you can find them here. Then expanding on this, as your knowledge grows, you will find all the information you need to better yourself and your site. This is the first and only book I will buy on Dreamweaver 3. I believe it covers all the areas I wish to develop, so why should I look any further. I highly recommend this book to Dreamweaver users of any level; it's good as a tutorial, guide or a reference.

For The Pros: If you have ever read a Lowery Bible (DW or Fireworks), you probably should have already added this version of the DW Bible to your shopping cart. If you intend to use DW for web development, I would suggest doing the same.

For Novices Only: First get a quickstart guide. I like Peachpit's Visual Quickstart Guide (VQS) series. It is easy to read and does what it says- bar none. Easy and quick to read, not too techie, and gets you comfortable using the tool.

However, DW is an incredible and powerful tool that requires a little more knowlege (OK for some tools- alot) to leverage its power in your favor. Therefore, I would strongly suggest a reference book as well (OK- if you worked for me- I would demand it). And as far as they go, it don't get any better'n this. Mr. Lowery has written all the DW and FW Bible series and there is a reason why: He does it very well. Also DW and FW are made to work together, so it is important to learn them together.

P.S. If you bought DW3, I hope you bought the DW3/ FW3 combo- well worth the little extra $$. I was a die hard Photoshop fan- Fireworks showed me the error of my ways. I strongly suggest the same series for Fireworks as well (VQS and Bible).

Good Luck and Enjoy! ;~)

This book by IDG is absolutely the best reference for dreamweaver. It covers from the first page to the last page XML, HTML, SSI sand more. Dreamweaver is already the best application for web content design. I recommend this book for anyone interested in web design. Its great for beginners to advanced. Like I said, this is a dream come true. So weave your web designs with Dreamweaver and this reference Bible.

I consider myself pretty fussy when it comes to computer books. It is rare that I will take the time to review a book here on Amazon. If I do it is because I either loved the book or I want to warn others from wasting money on it. Well fear not with this book my friends! The authors go to great lengths to reveal the many secrets of this wonderful program. For the novice reader there are explanations about those basic topics of HTML, forms, the program interface, Javascript, imagemaps, frames, etc. Then the book moves on into the tougher stuff like CGI, ActiveX Components, Objects, Behaviors, Events, Actions, using Dreamweaver with Fireworks, incorporating multimedia, style sheets, layers, timelines, XML...get the idea? It is a BIG book (over 1,000 pages!) Jam packed with tons of information. It is both a tutorial and a reference book. I have already warned others they face death if mine disappears! (Just kidding...I would only inflict a little torture like maybe a paper cut or steal their copy of this book!) I urge users of all levels to get this book! You won't be sorry!! Thanks go out to Joseph and Paul for their fantastic effort!! Much appreciated!

I think that all people who bought the previous Dreamweaver Bible should get an up-grade price on the new version, if you have the 2 book, although the new stuff in 3 is essential to know, and covered here like nowhere else, there is too much reprint of the older book. If you donot have Dreamweaver 2 Bible, then give this book 5 stars, well done book. Nobody covers the customization features built into the program like this, excellent

I am relatively new to the world of web design and had never seen Dreamweaver before, let alone known how to use it. I am only halfway through the book right now but I feel safe saying that it is an excellent book. It is well laid out and full of information including notes, tips, warnings, and other tidbits to keep you wanting more. I really enjoy this book and am already looking into getting other "Bible" books if they are near as good as this one. The only reason I gave the book 4 stars is that I haven't read any other books on Dreamweaver and I am new to the program. But if you are anything like me, it's definately deserving of 5 stars! Hope you enjoy it.

This book is the best for beginners and advanced web designers, it gives step by step teaching method that apeal to anyone.

I am using it over and over.

This has been indeed been a great book! Its instructions were clear and sufficient as well as covering all the important possibilities ad variants. Each time I had a question in my head, I can be sure to find a paragraph that seems to address my question directly! What I also liked was the writing style, there were none too many "corny" jokes or "trying too hard to be funny" kind of prose and it got to the point in a straight and gentle manner. In fact, as a result of this book, I decided that I will only buy the "Bible" series of books!!! Which, I unfortunately found out, were not as good as Lowery's work. The Dreamweaver 3 Bible is a prize today because of Lowery's true deep understanding of his material! This book allowed me to learn the basic stuff at an advanced level (things I already thought I knew all about but....) as well as learn new advanced stuff! What I liked most about the CD that came with it was the pdf version of the book! Now I can carry the book with me in my laptop without having to lug the book around. That means when I am the move, I can still learn Dreamweaver or use it as a reference - thanks!