Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 3 [Paperback]

Mike Wooldridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2000 | ISBN-10: 076453470X | ISBN-13: 978-0764534706 | Edition: 1

With hundreds of screenshots in full color, Teach Yourself Dreamweaver 3 VISUALLY™ is the fastest way to learn this powerful Web design package. The book leads you through the basics of building simple Web pages with text and images, then shows them how to use tables, forms and frames, as well as some of the program's more advanced features.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Experienced Dreamweaver users might think that this latest edition in the Teach Yourself Visually series is strictly for beginners. But, if there are any features that they've left unexplored, this would be a good place for them to begin. For example, if cascading style sheets seem daunting, the corresponding chapter here gets you up and running within minutes, while it simultaneously gives a solid background on how they work, and what their pros and cons are.

For novices, this book is a great first look at the application. Although there is text to read here (in the form of succinct captions and call outs), each page is a succession of illustrated panels, like a comic strip. Screen shots walk you step by step through Dreamweaver--from the basics (including the basics of HTML) to working with text and images to designing with tables, frames, and forms. Many of the illustrations try to explain concepts by using cartoons and visual metaphors. For example, padlocks mark noneditable regions on a template, paint cans fill table cells with individual background colors, and large hooks pull out the dimensions of a frame. Sidebars--for example, "Can I modify the appearance of my ordered lists?" or "Is there a shortcut for saving all the documents in my framed page?"--provide further insight on selected topics.

If there's any drawback to this visual approach to teaching Dreamweaver, perhaps it's the juvenile style of cartooning; a little moderation would have streamlined the occasionally cluttered visuals. On the other hand, the book does make using this sometimes complex application seem like child's play. It's highly recommended for beginners, especially those who learn best by imitation. For intermediates who still have gaps in their Dreamweaver knowledge, Teach Yourself Dreamweaver 3 Visually makes a good appetizer, to be followed by a main course of the more in-depth bible- or tutorial-style books. --Angelynn Grant

Topics covered:

• Visual instructions for Dreamweaver 3
• Dreamweaver and HTML basics
• Working with text, images, and links
• Designing with tables, frames, and forms
• Using libraries and templates
• Cascading style sheets, behaviors, and timelines
• Publishing a Web site

From the Publisher

Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 3 offers you:

"Teach Yourself" sidebars offering practical tips and tricks
Full-color screen shots demonstrating each task
Succinct explanations walking you through step-by-step
Two-page lessons breaking big topics into bite-sized modules

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Visual; 1 edition (July 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076453470X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764534706
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,753,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Wooldridge is a user-interface designer and Web developer. He has authored more than 20 books for Wiley's Visual series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good beginners guide, October 25, 2000

By 

Water Monkey "Marc B." (Santa Clarita, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 3 (Paperback)

The concept behind "Teach Yourself Visually..." is to illustrate rather than write out the lessons. Since most people learn visually the concept seems interesting. The best desription I can think of is a classroom in a book. If you were taking a class to teach you Dreamweaver 3 your instructor would more than likely show you screenshots to walk you through the lesson. That is what this book does, walk you through the lesson visually.

Unfortunately, the visual concept seems to be light on explanations, especially when there are exceptions. Also, in a classroom setting you have the luxury to ask an instructor any questions, you can't with this book.

This is a great book for the absolute Dreamweaver beginner. I would recommend you use this book in conjunction with the "Dreamweaver 3 Bible". This will get you up and running, while the DW3 Bible will help answer more complex questions.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introductory book!!, June 12, 2001

By 

"steve_t2q" (Rosedale, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 3 (Paperback)

This is, in my opinion, the best introductory book for Dreamweaver 3 on the market! If you know nothing about the program, you will definitely have working knowledge after going through this book. It makes it so easy!! This book along with the Dreamweaver 3 Bible is all you need to master this program. If you already know it, just get Dreamweaver 3 Bible. If you don't know Dreamweaver at all, GET THIS BOOK!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book really delivers!, February 11, 2001

By 

Ron (North York, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 3 (Paperback)

This book is extraordinarily effective. Without those long-winded discussions (and incessant distractions) that plagued most computer learning books, this one made learning Dreamweaver extremely easy. I've basically learned it in a 2 hour sitting (i do have a little bit of Basic HTML background though). Each lesson is visually very pleasing and very VERY easy to follow. If you would like to learn Dreamweaver by yourself, you should definitely check out this book first. Good Luck!