Customer Reviews

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004: Training from the Source (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my attempt to learn Dreamweaver MX 2004 I purchased 5 books on the subject and scoured through dozens of others to find the most comprehensive yet easy to understand book. This book tops the list in both categories. Outlined below are some of the most helpful and useful features in this book.

1. Written in plain English without coming across as overly technical and with a full explanation of "WHY" things are done the way they are.

2. Step-by-step tutorials that not only walk you through the exercise, but also explain ALL the options available to you for each command/segment. This leaves you the option of either going through the options or just breezing through the basic exercises.

3. Helpful "tips and notes" are also a part of each step to introduce the reader to different methods of performing the same function.

4. Very well structured (chapter listing below):

a. Dreamweaver Basics
b. Adding Content to a Page
c. Working with Graphics
d. Creating Links
e. Designing with Tables
f. Developing Style Sheets
g. Using Library Items
h. Using Templates
i. Creating Frames
j. Creating Forms
k. Adding User Interactivity
l. Managing Your Site
m. Accessibility and Testing
n. Editing The Code
o. Using Find and Replace
p. Creating Layers
q. Extending Dreamweaver

5. Easy enough to be used as a reference book after you complete the tutorials.

Best book for your dollars, bar-none!

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004: Training from the Source is a project based book with the goal of learning Dreamweaver 2004 in a hands on approach. There are 17 lessons and other resource material. The topic is lighthouses. Each chapter builds on past concepts taught and progresses in a logical manner. Each chapter contains very concise step by step directions. Screen shots are abundent. The additional tips and notes are very useful. The production techniques are valuable. After finishing the book I went and visited two of the lighthouses. Excellent!

In college I used to do some freelance web design using Dreamweaver/Fireworks 4. Then I moved on to other career paths, and 3 years later I want to get back into web development. I got a demo of Dreamweaver MX, and I was totally lost. At the recommendation of my local Macromedia User Group Admin, I checked out this book. It was a perfect combination of review (the small amount of things I remembered from 4) and all of the great new functions.

I really liked how the author integrated all of the lessons within the framework of the "Lights of the Coast" website. (Even though I catch myself getting really tired of lighthouses by the time I was done). The lessons were the right length to get a firm understanding, without overkill or boring me to sleep. The steps for the most part we straight forward, and in bold type. There were a few sections where I was confused if the author wanted me to perform an action, or if it was just a side note (not in bold type). A couple extra screenshots through longer lessons could have relieved some confusion if I was really doing things correctly.

I am surprised the author spent as much time with frames and tables, and only one chapter on CSS. But I also understand that this is a basics book, and they wanted to cover the major functionalities. Luckily most of the lessons did not require the previous lesson to be complete, so the reader is able to jump around. (Skipping frames didn't stop me from learning about forms). And even if they did the completed lesson files were already available.

In summary, I highly recommend this book to any newcomer or out of practice user like myself. The lessons were organized with quality content. The ability to pick and choose from topics is essential. I'm sure I will read this book a few more times before I move on. I also look forward to reading more "From the Source" books, especially the Flash and Dreamweaver w/ PHP, Coldfusion. 5 out of 5

I purchased Dreamweaver MX 2004 not knowing a thing about web design/programming. After 1 day with this book, I was able to create basic pages. After finishing the book in 1 week, I feel that I have a very good BASIC understanding of Dreamweaver. This book was very beneficial to me.

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 is a very powerful program, and this book walks users through the newbie stage right into advanced techniques. Personally, I started out as a newbie to the program so the simplicity of early chapters was a huge help. For those who possess more experience, however, I believe there is still a great deal the book has to offer. Especially if you want introductory lessons in using css, javascript and more. In addition, the language and tone of the instructor is very straight forward and helpful. None of the cheeky side humor found in similar resources that can negatively affect concentration. So whether you're completely new to dreamweaver or you're somewhat seasoned and just want to augment skills you currently have, I would definitely recommend Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004: Training from the Source.

This book is fabulous for those who have never seen a copy of Dreamweaver in any incarnation. The author gives simple and thorough explanations of each new skill and reinforces the skills throughout the book so that the student comes away with a working knowledge of the program and is confident enough to strike out on her own. The author also interweaves simple design and programming philosophies into the text. For those with some background in either HTML programming or in using Dreamweaver, the author also provides a quick synopsis so that students can skip sections that they do not need. I own many training manuals for various programs and this is one of the best I've come across for those who are new to WYSIWSG web design programs. Highly recommended.

This is the textbook for a class I'm taking on Dreamweaver 2004MX - the book shows great step-by-step exercises. I have others, but really prefer this one.
The instructor of my class is literally following this book chapter by chapter (although is changing some of the order).

I'm a visual learner & the text & examples are easy to follow. If you set aside the time to actually work through the lessons, you will learn this complex program. Enjoy!

I make no claims to be an expert HTML programmer or even an expert at web pages but if I ever become one, it will be in large measure because of this book. It is one of the finest training tools to learn a software application I have found. It only barely touches on the "expert" stuff but the basic introduction is well thought out, thorough and easy to follow. The book is also unique in two respects:

The screen illustrations are actually big enough to read and understand. This is not always the case. There seems to be a general rule that publishers add more screen shots and fit them in by making them either painfully or impossibly small. That is not the case here. The shots are plentiful enough but also large enough.

The directions in the book corresponded EXACTLY to what was happening on my screen and to the examples on the included disk. Few things have been more frustrating for me in the past than to try to work through an example and then find that what happened on my system started to deviate more and more from what was described. For the first time ever, that never happened

Much of the information was very basic. That is what I needed. Someone who is merely looking to upgrade from a previous version of Dreamweaver will probably be disappointed and find the book practically useless. Beginners, though, should find this as much a joy to work with as any tutorial can possibly be.

Another thing to consider is that other books may be more useful as shelf references. This one will stay on my shelf but the nature of it is to teach through the tutorials and add extra information in those chapters. This is fine for learning the concepts but I will look for another as a reference.

When I first bought Dreamweaver MX 2004, I knew very little about it. After reading this some odd 550 page book I felt very confident with my skills, You can choose to read the book or you can just go through the steps and pick up all you need to know that way. This book allows you to learn very fast and choose the amount of detail you want to learn. I have read many techincal books, which in most have many errors. I found no errors in the step by step part of this book, which is a huge surprise for a book of this type. Great book, I recommend it to everyone I know.

I agree, this book should come with Dreamweaver. A phenomenal resource and wealth of information on Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004, a full-featured, professional, and seemingly complex yet intuitive software program.
I am a graphic artist/print professional who has toyed with the idea of getting into web design for years. Talk about timing! I love that the book supports a self-paced learning environment, that it is well-written and illustrated, self-critical of possible Macromedia bugs, written from the source, and full of alternative commands and shortcuts to obtain the same effect different ways--and best of all, informative without being overly "techno."
Great stuff!