Customer Reviews

Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004: Training from the Source

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

 

 

An excellent addition to the training from the source series. The lessons are very effective and informative. I have several years experience with Photoshop and I was lost with Fireworks until I picked up this book. Fireworks MX 2004 is a very powerful program.

As a 10-year Photoshop veteran, I was always wary of Fireworks. But it has some amazingly nice features and (much as I hate to admit it) blows Photoshop/ImageReady out of the water with web productivity features.
This book has 11 chapters which tutor the reader by developing a simple web site. The accompanying CD has all the image assets, as well as all the assignments from the preceding chapter (so those of us too impatient to do as directed and save our files as we work, or who improvise during a lesson, can start with an up-to-date version of where the design should be).
The last chapter gives a basic walkthrough of integrating the Fireworks design into a Dreamweaver site.
The language is clear and concise, the exercises are realistic, and there are plenty of tips and shortcuts sprinkled throughout.
So much of Fireworks is similar to Photoshop or Flash, that I was able to complete all 11 chapters in less than a day at a comfortable pace.

I came here to give the book a five star after finishing it this morning. After reading "joe reader's" review I'll just agree with him except, if your new to Macromedia, don't plan on absorbing this book in one day. It is thorough. What Patti does as an author is to make things easy with a nicely written step by step walk through of very powerful program. No mistakes or surprises that I could see. You will learn Fireworks and further you'll learn how powerful Fireworks is as a stand-alone program and as a front-end/companion to Dreamweaver.

Step-by-step, easy to follow instructios, with clear pictures and diagrams to indicate where to find the tools they want you to use. The projects in this book teach the basics in ways that users will be able to put to immediate use for their own projects. I found it especially useful since I have no training at all with any graphics programs, this book really helped me understand what tools were available and how to use them in effective ways.

I cannot stress enough, however, that this is a beginner's book. If you have experience with Fireworks (or probably any other similar program) this may not be the book for you.

I was blown away by the "Training from the Source" tutorial for DREAMWEAVER. That is why I had to have this one for FIREWORKS. I have to admit to being a little disappointed but that is mostly do to the previous book setting the mark so high. This is still a great tutorial to learn the program, especially for someone like me who knows nothing about this subject. This book is designed as an intro, not an advanced course.

A few of the qualities that this series seem to share are clear instructions, easy to read print, illustrations and screen shots that are big enough to be useful and an approach that continues to build on what has been done before. This is especially true with the examples on the enclosed CD.

What disappoints me is that this book is primarily designed from the approach of using FIREWORKS as a stand alone program. There is material that covers the integration with DREAMWEAVER but this material is neither as copious nor as clear as I would have liked. Still, I know a lot more today than I did 2 days ago.

This book is really great if your an absolute beginner. The instructions are easy and the tutorials with the CD make the book a great way to learn fast and easy. Maybe this is not the book you want if you really want to go into Fireworks more. I felt like I needed to know more stuff than the book taught me. There's a lot you can do with Fireworks, but the book doesn't take you all the way. It's a really great way to get from absolute beginner to advanced intermediate.

This book starts from the very basics in a clear and well set out format making it one of the value for money books on my shelf.

I have been through this book and its companion book for Freehand MX and have the same comment for this one that I had for the Freehand MX version. Almost Great! Thorough enough to be used as a reference but the actual examples need some editing. There was a lack of consistency to simple things like "select both items" being sometimes written and sometimes left to the reader to figure out. Overall, a good book for a beginner who will refer to it often for a reference.

Don't buy this book if you have a good, working knowledge of Fireworks MX. The lessons are very basic and will not serve you if you are looking for advanced web graphics design. To the publisher: Add a "search inside this book" synopsis! It would have saved me the hassle of returning it to Amazon.

I needed to create a logo, so I went to chapter 2 "using vector tools" and was disappointed in the presentation. I found myself getting lost in the explanations because of the lack of effort in the navigation of the tool bars and options in Fireworks. I figured out what I had to do but it was a lot more effort on my part then the books.