Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course [Paperback]

Wendy Peck (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764549308 | ISBN-13: 978-0764549304 | Publication Date: June 15, 2002

* Updated coverage of the new version: Enhanced and detailed coverage of all the newest features in Dreamweaver over the span of a weekend.
* Series features: Easy to follow 30-minute sessions make learning Dreamweaver simple and fast! Each session is designed to take 30 minutes to complete, so the Crash Course is an intense 15-hour learning period beginning on Friday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon.
ABOUT THE CD-ROM:
CD includes self-assessment software so readers can test their knowledge of ActionScript, plus author source code and examples.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"?strength is it's rigid structure?" (MacFormat, December 2002)

From the Back Cover

Get Up to Speed on Dreamweaver MX - in a Weekend!

The big day is Monday. The day you get to show off what you know about Dreamweaver MX. The problem is, you're not really up to speed. Maybe it's been a while since you worked with Dreamweaver. Or maybe you just like a challenge. In any event, we've got a solution for you - Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course. Open the book Friday evening and on Sunday afternoon, after completing 30 fast, focused sessions, you'll be able to dive right in and start building a Dreamweaver Web site. It's as simple as that.

The Curriculum

Friday Evening: 4 Sessions, 2 Hours
* Introducing Dreamweaver MX
* Getting Started
* Understanding Dreamweaver Site Structure
* Creating a Document

Saturday Morning: 6 Sessions, 3 Hours
* Defining a Dreamweaver Site
* Building a Dreamweaver Site
* Using Tables for Liquid Design
* Enhancing Tables with Background Color and Images
* Adding Backgrounds, Meta Tags and Links
* Transferring Files

Saturday, continued
Afternoon: 6 Sessions, 3 Hours
* Editing HTML
* Creating and Checking Links
* Generating JavaScript Rollovers
* Creating Forms
* Creating Library Items
* Building Templates

Evening: 4 Sessions, 2 Hours
* Planning Site Navigation
* Continuing to Build Site Navigation
* Creating a Template for a New Site
* Preparing Library Items for the New Site

Sunday Morning: 6 Sessions, 3 Hours
* Exploring Dreamweaver's Production Tools
* Understanding Web Graphics
* Controlling Text with CSS
* Pulling Your Site Together
* Creating a Finished Page
* Placing and Creating the Extras

Afternoon: 4 Sessions, 2 Hours
* Using Layers for Layout
* Creating Motion with DHTML
* Working with Frames
* Increasing Productivity

CD-ROM includes:
* Macromedia Flash MX, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and FreeHand trial versions
* Photoshop Elements tryout version from Adobe Systems, Inc.
* Paint Shop Pro evaluation version from JASC Software
* Image Optimizer trial version from xat.com
* TopStyle trial version from Bradbury Software
* Assessment software to help gauge your progress

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764549308
• ISBN-13: 978-0764549304
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,648,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands on Dreamweaver training, September 22, 2002

By 

Nan (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course (Paperback)

I have tried several of the 5 star rated Dreamweaver books and found them of less value than this book. You must actually work with Dreamweaver to learn it and this book forces you to do this. To really work through this book will take awhile unless you have 100% free time, but it is really better this way. You will make errors and the book has some errors (which makes you think-you can work through these) and there are a few omissions. These issues are not a big deal. Peck's writing style is pleasant and down to earth. Yes, it doesn't cover everything, but it covers most aspects of Dreamweaver (I don't have MX). Actually, this is an advantage for beginners since it is not overwhelming. After you work through this book, you will be able to construct your own website. If you want advance features like transactions and databases, you will need additional references, but you must get the basics. Templates and CSS (basic aspects) are covered. Best of all, Peck has the practical experience to give you what you really need to know.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unfair reviews, May 28, 2003

By 

M. Marcotte "web_dev" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course (Paperback)

I am not reviewing this edition of the book. I am writing this because of a few unfairly negative reviews I see here. When I started learning Dreamweaver 4, Wendy Pecks "Dreamweaver 4 Weekend Crash Course" was the single best book I used for getting up to speed on Dreamweaver. I'm sure this book is very similar. It should be noted that I am a long time HTML handcoder who has started using Dreamweaver in the last year.

As far as those reviews who discredit it because it doesn't cover the more advanced features.... What do you expect from a crash course book. This type of book is aimed at getting beginners up to speed quickly, and it does this admirably. After that you go to on to more advanced, and in depth books.

I am always disapointed to see mac users give a bad review just because a book is not mac specific. The differences are minor. You have a couple of keys in the exact same place with different names on them, and you have to use two hands to do what we can do with one (right clicking). So what. How hard is that to deal with. I learned the most about the pen tool in Illustrator from a Mac book that was two versions older, (6 versus 8). This was substantially harder because menu choices had changed places in the newer version of Illustrator. It was still worth it because the author gave the best instruction I had come across on understanding the pen tool. When Apple allows me to build a computer from competetively priced hardware of my own chosing, I will think about giving the Mac OS a try. Until then I am happy building my own custom machines for less money with the setup that I want on them.

Wendy Peck is a very good author with a great sense of design. Check out her articles in the graphics section of webreference.com if you want to see for yourselves.

One last thing. Her section on liquid table design in Dreamweaver was the single best instruction I have read on the subject. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is that I haven't read this particlular version of the book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crash Course that doesn't Crash!, August 8, 2002

By 

Stretchr (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamweaver MX Weekend Crash Course (Paperback)

This is the first Wendy Peck book that I have read. Her style is easy to follow and the book is generously spiced with hands-on tutorials. I recently switched to DMX and found her book helpful and effective in doing just as advertised. My only "complaint" is that she piqued my interest so many times, I kept getting distracted, only to find myself delving deeper into DMX's many features and capabilities. Needless to say, I certainly did not manage to finish in the allotted 15 hours! I sure wish some of the more advanced tutorials were as effectively written and stayed on-topic as well as this one did. A small but very helpful feature was her including a PDF version of the book on the CD. How much more comfortable it was not to have to juggle a book while working! This feature should be a STANDARD. I'm spoiled now. Well done, Wendy! Thanks!