Customer Reviews

Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual: The Missing Manual

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I can't tell you how many books I've trudged through to "learn" innumerable new applications only to find out that the book or the tutorial CD has errors. I never knew if I was making the mistake, or if the book was wrong. It was incredibly frustrating to spend $50 on a book, only to find that it was useless because you couldn't depend on anything in the book but the page numbers.

FINALLY someone takes the time -- and has enough respect for his audience -- to get it right. I own 3 Dreamweaver CS3 books and this is, by far, the best, most comprehensive and most error-free. In fact, I haven't found a single error yet -- and, believe me, I've looked.

The great thing about this book is that all of the tutorials are online. So there's no CD to lose or scratch. You can download the tutorials as many times as you want, no password needed.

There are just enough tutorials in this book to give me the information I need, but not so many that it becomes a rote "how-to" book. There's real information here combined with real-world applications in the form of tutorials. I'm actually in the middle of one right now and I'm so impressed with this book, I just had to stop and write a review for it!

If you want to learn Dreamweaver CS3 -- and learn it RIGHT THE FIRST TIME -- buy this book. Or steal it. Just get it.

REVISED: After making my way through this book in its entirety, I did discover some fairly significant errors. McFarland does post some of the corrections on his website, but he also moved the website and it's a little difficult to find. All-in-all this is still the best of the books that are out there, but its star got a little tarneished the farther into the book I got.

At nearly 1000 pages and 26 chapters, 'Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual' by David McFarland is one of the rare books that I can EASILY give a Highest Possible Recommendation for. It has been known for quite some time that Dreamweaver is THE #1 resource for creating a professional web site in the most efficient way possible and with the fewest steps so that you can get your site created with netters surfing to it in the shortest amount of time. Now learn how to use Dreamweaver as efficiently as possible and get a peek at all the newest features in CS3!!

The material contained within is simply staggering: Basics, CSS, Forms, Flash, Automation, Database connectivity, and server-side XML and XSLT, it's all here!!

The Missing Manual is my favorite line of books because of the logical separation of content, the writing, and the design. My only gripe with this book would be the lack of color which could have easily been put in for only a small amount more added to the retail price, but this is not enough to knock my recommendation down. If you use Dreamweaver or want to learn more about what CS3 has to offer, pick this book up TO-DAY!!

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

This is the second book I've studied by this author (the other is "CSS, The Missing Manual"). I've used Dreamweaver from the very first version, and as a Marketing Communications/Graphics/Web professional for more than 18 years, I'm no novice where web design and production is concerned. Now that web design has finally emerged from the table-dominated HTML world, it's great to have an instructional resource like this to aid the transition to CSS-based page layout.

Both of McFarland's books are excellent instructional manuals (and I seriously recommend that you buy both). They combine concise, easy-to-understand explanatory text and superb tutorials to present the material in a manner that only the dimmest bulb could fail to appreciate. I've read many intstructional texts over the years, and this is the most fully competent and effective manual I've yet encountered.

It helps if you have some experience with Dreamweaver, but even if you don't, this is the book you should buy. I can't imagine any other manual that could possibly give you a better -- and usefully functional -- overview than this one. Buy it and study it. If you do, all your web friends (pretenders) will be knocking on your door, asking you to share your expertise.

The "Missing Manual" series, at least as far as I've been exposed to it, is excellent. I just bought the Flash CS3 manual, and I will report on that shortly.

This book is exceptionally well-organized and clearly-written. It is a pleasure to read, and the tutorial exercises that cover the key aspects are very, very worthwhile. I've *never* come across a manual for a software package that is as well-done as this one.

Unlike some manuals and texts which are either a SUMMARY or a BORING TECHNICAL PARALYSIS on the software, this book is very objective, quick to the point, yet goes into detail when necessary. Forget the BIBLE style books, or NUTSHELL style books. This book can be made into an example of how software manuals are written in the future. If there is one drawback, the book is difficult to handle with its so so many pages. I would have broken this down into two books. Just for ease of handling. Also, maybe have the text font size slightly larger.

All right I admit it, I have been known to resist change. But it appears that Dreamweaver is rising higher and higher in the sky as the star called Adobe GoLive nears the western horizon. As one who derives at least some income from web site design and maintenance I understand the need to start the process of migrating to the new mainstream product. The question then becomes, "What do I use to help me ascend the learning curve?" Time and budget constraints preclude formal classes, workshops or personal trainers.

Enter "Dreamweaver CS3" from the highly acclaimed "Missing Manual" series. The Missing Manuals have long been a regular part of my computer reference library. Helping me, time and again answer not only my own questions but those of my clients as well.

Mr. McFarland presents the material in a well organized, clearly written, easy to understand format. The illustrations are a mixed bag of PC and Mac screen shots so no one feels excluded or exclusive. But for me the most valuable parts of the book are the lessons. These lessons are stored on a related web site not on a CD stuck in the back of the book. This virtual CD can't get lost, bent, scratched or broken. It can also be easily updated if an error is detected. What a great and simple idea! That being said it is the lessons themselves that teach me the most about Dreamweaver. Common scenarios are played out in a way that allow me to apply much of what I already know to the Dreamweaver experience. I find myself virtually slapping my virtual forehead and saying, "Oh, that's how you do that! It is starting to make sense now." Furthermore, the lessons gave me new insights into basics (CSS for example) that I didn't understand previously and have been able to apply when using my old software of choice.

This book is an excellent self tutoring guide opening much of the common, real world web design experience to the Dreamweaver novice. It is what I need at this time. The only way that I could fault the work is, I wish it were a little more "Reference Manual" to go along with the valuable textbook. There have been times where I wanted to know how to do something in Dreamweaver that is comfortable for me in GoLive and I am unable to find the Missing Manual reference. Perhaps I am looking for expanded indexes or additional Appendixes. Maybe I want David Sawyer McFarland to be sitting next to me when I have a question. Perhaps this is expecting too much for my $45. Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual will find a spot close at hand on my reference shelf even if it is not constantly on the desk absorbing spilled coffee and dispensing answers to every question.

This may possibly be THE BEST how-to book of any kind I have ever owned and read. Unlike many of the other how-to books on Dreamweaver - which usually amount to not much than a very wordy version of the Quick Reference Guide - "The Missing Manual" contains everything I was looking for and more.

This book takes you through the WHOLE process of organizing and building a web site using Dreamweaver CS3. It does so in a very logical fashion with very easy to understand language. If you are (like I am) someone who has limited experience building a web site, this book will give you a very good head start. It explains to you WHAT are important and WHY they are important in Dreamweaver and in web design in general.

The included tutorials (the files need to be downloads from the author's web site) are very helpful, especially for beginners.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with this book. It was well worth the money to purchase it and the time to read it.

I love this book (and its predecessors).

First, each chapter has a kind of 'theoretical' section at the beginning - not over the top - which is excellent for enabling the reader to really understand the topic of discussion. Good bedside homework!

Next, the tutorial section ... which is clear, concise and very easy to follow. All of the required images/webpages that the reader needs to complete the tutorials are freely available to download from the publishers. Fantastic.

Finally, this book is accessible but also comprehensive. Consequently, whilst you will be able to build a decent website after reading through the first nine or ten chapters, if you read on you will get to learn how to really jazz up your sites using forms, Flash elements etc.

Having stated that I prefer video tutorials over self-help books - this book has gone a long way to changing this opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I has a very good balance of concept and exercise. It is not a step-by-step book only, but has a great deal of background information before you get to the step-by-step instruction. I would recommend to anyone this book on web development with Dreamweaver CS3!

This is a verbose, somewhat unorganized book that could easily have been condensed to less than half the size the book. It has you referencing later in the book while mentioning something early in the book I think in an attempt to be cohesive but I found it irritating. I like bullet points but found it mostly in lengthly, overly wordy form. Just not my style. Now, with that said, once I am fluent, so to speak, in DW CS3, then perhaps I may refer to it and it may hold value to me then...not sure.

I won't mention this problem without a solution that fit for me. I bought Dreamweaver CS3 Video Training with Garrick Chow. This was an outstanding solution for me! Perfect. Everything you need to get started from start to finish with DW CS3.

I am absolutely new to Dreamweaver, and must note that as it may contribute to your expectations of what you want/need in supplemental materials to the DW program.