Dreamweaver 8 : The Missing Manual (Missing Manual)
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| Dreamweaver 8 : The Missing Manual (Missing Manual) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Available for both the Mac and Windows, Macromedia's Dreamweaver 8 is a professional web design and development program used by millions of Internet professionals to build high-quality static and dynamic database-driven web sites. It offers drag-and-drop simplicity, streamlined HTML coding tools, and powerful database integration features. But Dreamweaver 8 is missing one vital component: a printed manual.
Enter Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual, the completely revised fourth edition of this bestselling book by experienced web site trainer, Macromedia Certified instructor, and Dreamweaver Advisory Council member David McFarland. This book enables both first-time and experienced web designers to create visually stunning and highly interactive web sites. With crystal-clear writing and much welcome humor, this new edition offers features such as:
No matter what your level of expertise is, you'll also learn how to manage your entire web site-whether you've just launched or if it's been around for awhile and takes up thousands of pages. Beginners with no web design experience will appreciate the step-by-step guide to designing, organizing, building, and deploying a web site; long-time Dreamweaver users will appreciate the advanced, real-world techniques for controlling the appearance of their web pages with CSS. With more than 500 illustrations, a handcrafted index, and the clarity of thought that has made bestsellers of every Missing Manual to date, this is the ultimate atlas for the complex and powerful Dreamweaver 8. |
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| 06-06-08 | 2 | (NA) |
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I bought this book hoping it would be all that I would need to build my sites with cleanly and yet some complexity. I've found that I'm often at the library borrowing many other Dreamweaver 8 titles and finding them much more helpful. I've found finding specific help in this book a bit difficult, and the chapter progression doesn't really make sense. My main background is design and the arts - but I don't think this book is too technical for me... just counter-intuitive in its structure. I much prefer the Sitepoint books so far... even the Dreamweaver for Dummies are at least just as good, and much less expensive. Would not recommend to buy - maybe try it at your library first.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-08-20 08:00:26 EST)
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| 01-12-08 | 5 | (NA) |
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The title says it all. This is an must-have resource when learning Dreamweaver and the authors give you tips, shortcuts, as well as explanations for many of these tips and shortcuts which help you seriously cut through the clutter and get to the point, which is how to get your site up and running! I bought it along with Dreamweaver Hands On Training and I think it a great compliment.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-06-06 07:23:49 EST)
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| 12-28-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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For those who find it hard to follow on line help or tutorials, this is the book for you. The Missing Manual series is very instructive and helpful to those who are just beginning and to those who are well on their way to using Dreamweaver. Commands that you may have forgotten are easy to find in this book. I would recommend it.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-01-13 12:28:43 EST)
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| 12-03-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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I'll keep this short. Starting as a total novice in Dreamweaver this book has taught me pretty much everything I need to know. When ever I get stuck now I can get the answers that I need. Certainly blows the online help from Adobe out of the water. This is a must have book.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-12-28 07:39:56 EST)
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| 10-29-07 | 4 | (NA) |
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This is a very good instruction book for anyone starting out with Dreamweaver. The book is laid out in a very logical manner in seven sections which lead you clearly through the art of creating a web site in Dreamweaver. At nearly a thousand pages it covers a lot of ground but whether you are a novice or have some experience this book will definitely help you create a better web site. For those of you without Dreamweaver or those who want a little more detailed background in web design I recommend [ASIN:0596008422 Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual]
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-12-04 10:53:01 EST)
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| 09-16-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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This manual has helped me catch up on the entire web design movement with Cascading Style Sheets that I need to brush up on. As an owner of my own graphic design business, I needed to refresh my skills on Dreamweaver 8 and this manual with its easy-to-follow tutorials and sense of humor sprinkled throughout certainly helped me do that. David Sawyer McFarland helps you each step of the way. Definitely recommended.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-10-29 07:38:46 EST)
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| 09-04-07 | 4 | (NA) |
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This book works through every aspect of the Dreamweaver program, but is still a bit difficult to understand unless you are an experienced website creator.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-09-17 19:15:56 EST)
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| 08-20-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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I went through every book review, then checked out all the books at the local Book Superstore and ended up getting this, although I wondered why it only had 4.5 stars.
It is the perfect book for DW8 and fully deserves 5 full stars! I had been using DW4 for five years and it is nice that this book is both understandable and not over simplified. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-09-05 07:41:08 EST)
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| 07-21-07 | 5 | 1\1 |
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I've never taken the time to review anything on the web before and have always been amazed by the numbers of people who do. That being said, I had to tell people how much I love this book. The last site I designed was a tiny static site back in 2001 using golive and I recently committed to building two database sites. I went though many, many books + tutorials and none are as good as this one. [...].
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-08-16 08:19:02 EST)
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| 07-10-07 | 5 | 6\6 |
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I very seldom take the time to write reviews, and usually do so to warn people away from an awful book. This is the exception; I loved this book.
To give some perspective to my review, I am a professional programmer but a complete "newbie" to web design and development. I've taken on the task of creating and maintaining a web site for a local summer swim team. I needed help and I needed it quickly. My first stop was "Macromeda Dreamweaver 8" by Short and Green. This is a good book for beginners to get their feet wet with Dreamweaver 8. However, after doing all the exercises, I did not get the feeling that I actually could design a nice web page and knew for sure that I couldn't create a form with a working submit button. Then I bought this book, "Dreamweaver 8 The Missing Manual". The first few chapters cover the basic building blocks of using text, images and links. The next section deals with how to design a web page; first using tables and then using CSS. Other sections of the book deal with forms and how to set up Dreamweaver to manage your remote site and a testing site. (I find it much easier to let Dreamweaver figure out what files are out of date rather than use a stand-alone FTP program.) The last section of the book deals with dynamic web pages and was the answer to my quest for a functioning "submit" button on my web forms. This section is what sealed the 5-star rating for me. The book's tutorials use the ASP server model, but you can download equivalent tutorials for PHP/MySQL from the author's web site. I found all the tutorials to work (and I did almost every single one), but do check the author's errata page. For you programmers out there who are getting into the web, this book mostly stays with the Dreamweaver wizards and does not delve into code view (probably a good thing for the non-programmers). If you are into coding and PHP, a good next step is "PHP for Dreamweaver 8", by David Powers. The Powers book covers a lot of the same dynamic web ground as "The Missing Manual", but is not afraid to dive into code view. All in all, I was very happy with "Dreamweaver 8 The Missing Manual". It's a big book packed with information, but easy to read. Based on what I've learned, I was able to create a decently attractive web site, some very useful forms and private areas for team administrators and coaches. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-22 08:13:39 EST)
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| 06-27-07 | 5 | 0\1 |
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Sent sooner than expected and in the conditioned promised can't ask for much more. thanks
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 16:54:06 EST)
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| 06-13-07 | 3 | 0\1 |
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I bought this book because it had many good reviews but I didn't like much. I prefer software manual with a lot of examples than just text. I felt like reading novels rather than software manual. If you like to know how to use software in short time, this may not be the right one but if you like to know all the details of software, this might be the one.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 16:54:06 EST)
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| 06-01-07 | 5 | 2\2 |
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Extremely well written, clear step by step directions, lavishing expanation of topics, full of insider tips and tricks...just what you need for a solid start and a successful finish. I will never regret I bought this book. It has put me on feet understanding Dreamweaver.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 16:54:06 EST)
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| 05-22-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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I haven't had a chance to go completely through the book, but what I have read so far has been very helpful.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 16:54:06 EST)
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| 05-21-07 | 5 | 1\1 |
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This book could be a real time saver. It is a great resource to learn from and later on, when you start working on some real project,... having it in the drawer makes you want never to shut it again. This book really saved me a lot of trouble and time looking for possible reason why something is not working as it should. And the way how it is written ... Pleasure to read it.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 16:54:06 EST)
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| 03-17-07 | 3 | 2\16 |
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if u have graphic background but have never touched Dreamweaver, this is a good book for u but u don't have to read words by words. Only go thru the tutorial and u would be fine.
If u don't have graphic background, this is your life saver. Super details like missing manual and easy english. Good for ESL students. For advance user who know Dreamweaver before, it has some advance techniques or professional tricks on "tips" or u have to read words by words to find it. don't worry to lose resource files in tutorial. instead of using CD, it uses web download. Save ur home space and access anywhere anytime. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 07:42:54 EST)
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| 02-06-07 | 4 | 10\14 |
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I would not consider myself new to web design, just behind the times. After having used MS FrontPage 2000 for several years it was time for an upgrade. I chose Dreamweaver and bought this book. It did a good job in the beginning with the basics to help me to understand the user interface as well as learning about CSS. However, the flow of the book later on, just jumps around too much. In my opinion the tutorials should stay on topic and build on what was previously done. Instead the tutuorials don't follow a logical path. My biggest peve is that some of the tutorials DONT WORK!!!!! Due to the fact that there are internal settings in Windows XP that need to be set for the dynamic web pages to work that is beyond what the book tells you, one ends up getting errors while trying to do the tutorials on Dynamic Web Pages that can be very disappointing while your trying to learn a concept. I actually had to go to the Dreamweaver site and watch some free online videos to figure out how to configure my computer to make dynamic pages work.
I would not consider this to be the one and only resource you should have on Dreamweaver but it will get you pointed in the right direction. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-06-27 06:49:32 EST)
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| 01-16-07 | 5 | 3\3 |
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Well written, easy to follow, and thorough for a beginner to intermediate user of Dreamweaver.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-20 08:47:52 EST)
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| 01-12-07 | 5 | 10\10 |
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The Missing Manual is a great book for beginners wanting to know how to get started with building websites with Dreamweaver 8. The manual is very well structured taking you through key elements and connecting you with their usage in CSS. It's very straight forward, easy to understand, and has great tutorials that gets you working with the software instead of just reading text. In less than 30 days I finished creating my first website for a local company. A 13 page site with navagation bars, links, and images. The Missing Manual was the tool I needed to learn Dreamweaver 8. I highly recommend this manual!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-20 08:47:52 EST)
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| 01-09-07 | 5 | 8\8 |
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I have never developed a website, nor know anything about HTML. I bought Dreamweaver. Although my website design is not overly complex (nor is it simple), I had many questions that I could not answer within the help system of Dreamweaver. I was in trouble. I bought this book. This book had all of the answers that I needed. The writing style is lighthearted enough to raise a smile now and then, but does not waste the reader's time. The descriptions are complete with copious illustrations and germane examples. Now I have a clean design based on templates and CSS that does the job and is easy to maintain.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-20 08:47:52 EST)
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| 01-09-07 | 5 | 4\4 |
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By far the best Dreamweaver 8 resource I've found both for a novice and advanced user. It has everything and is clearly written to cater to both a design or code oriented web designer. You won't be disappointed!!!!
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-20 08:47:52 EST)
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| 01-09-07 | 5 | 4\4 |
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david really gives you the tools to build a professional website, even if you are completely new to dreamweaver. if you go through his exercises/tutorials, you'll really get to know the functions of dreamweaver and can take off with them. when i'm making websites, i never hesistate to consult this book, which is fast and easy to read and understand.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-03-20 08:47:52 EST)
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| 01-04-07 | 4 | 1\1 |
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I have several of the Missing Manual series and found them much better than the scant information software publishers provide these days. The Dreamweaver Missing Manual works you through all aspects of the program with detailed tutorials covering everything from CSS programming to setting up ecommerce sites.
BW Tucson AZ (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-01-10 06:40:54 EST)
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| 11-23-06 | 5 | 16\16 |
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Dreamweaver is a complete Web site production and management tool that works with Web technologies like HTML, XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This book provides great insight into using this tool. Along with basic instruction it also has tips I haven't found anywhere else. As you read the book's chapters, there are a number of living examples--step-by-step tutorials that you can build yourself, using raw materials like graphics and half-completed Web pages that you can download from from the web. Simply reading these step-by-step lessons might not gain you much. However, if you take the time to work through the examples at the computer, you'll discover that these tutorials give you unprecedented insight into the way professional designers build Web pages. Also in this book's lessons are the URLs of the finished pages so that you can compare your Dreamweaver work with the final result. In other words, you won't just see pictures of Dreamweaver's output in the pages of the book. You can also find the actual working Web pages on the Internet.
Part One, Building a Web Page, explores Dreamweaver's interface and goes through the basic steps of building a Web page. It explains how to add text and format it, how to link from one page to another, and how to spice up your designs with graphics. Part Two, Building a Better Web Page, goes deeper into Dreamweaver and explains how to gain greater control of the design of a Web page. It shows how to use more advanced features, such as tables, layers, and Cascading Style Sheets. In addition, there's get step-by-step instructions for creating advanced page layouts, as well as on how to view and work with the underlying HTML code of a page. Part Three, Bringing Your Pages to Life, discusses adding interactivity to your site. From using forms to collect information from your site's visitors to adding complex JavaScript programs, this section guides the reader through adding animation, multimedia, and other interactive effects with ease. Part Four, Building a Web Site, covers the big picture including managing the pages and files in a Web site, testing links and pages, and moving a site onto a Web server connected to the Internet. This section also covers features that let you work with a team of Web developers. Part Five, Dreamweaver Power, shows how to take full advantage of such time-saving features as Libraries, Templates, and History panel automation. It also covers Dreamweaver's Extension Manager, a program that can add hundreds of new free and commercial features to the program. Part Six, Dynamic Dreamweaver, presents a gentle introduction to the often confusing and complex world of database-driven Web sites. It discusses how to build a dynamic Web site; how to connect Dreamweaver to a database; and how to use Dreamweaver to build pages that can display database information as well as add, edit, and delete database records. The last chapter of this section covers Dreamweaver 8's powerful new XSLT tools for converting XML files (including RSS feeds) into browser-ready Web designs. At the end of the book, two appendixes provide a list of Internet resources for additional Web design help and a menu-by-menu explanation of Dreamweaver 8. I highly recommend this addition to the Missing Manual series for anyone interested in using and thoroughly understanding the latest version of Dreamweaver. The following is the detailed table of contents: Part I: Building a Web Page Chapter 1. Dreamweaver 8 Guided Tour Chapter 2. Adding Text to Your Web Pages Chapter 3. Text Formatting Chapter 4. Links Chapter 5. Images Part II: Building a Better Web Page Chapter 7. Page Layout 101 Chapter 8. Advanced Page Layout Chapter 9. Under the Hood: HTML Part III: Bringing Your Pages to Life Chapter 10. Forms Chapter 11. Dreamweaver Behaviors Chapter 12. Flash, Shockwave, and Other Multimedia Part IV: Building a Web Site Chapter 13. Introducing Site Management Chapter 14. Testing Your Site Chapter 15. Moving Your Site to the Internet Part V: Dreamweaver Power Chapter 16. Snippets and Libraries Chapter 17. Templates Chapter 18. Automating Dreamweaver Chapter 19. Customizing Dreamweaver Part VI: Dynamic Dreamweaver Chapter 20. Getting Started with Dynamic Web Sites Chapter 21. Adding Dynamic Data to Your Pages Chapter 22. Web Pages that Manipulate Database Records Chapter 23. Advanced Dynamic Site Features Chapter 24. XML and XSLT Part VII: Appendixes Appendix A. Getting Help Appendix B. Dreamweaver 8, Menu by Menu (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-01-05 06:52:52 EST)
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| 11-10-06 | 5 | 2\2 |
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I started designing web sites in 2004 with no experience. I bought Dreamweaver MX in 2005 and knew nothing about the program. I just sat down and messed around with the program until I learned how to use it.
When I bought The Missing Manual, my web sites improved. I learned how to incorporate MySQL databases into my web sites and how to use CSS. As a web designer you need to know how to use the programs to make sites look good and be functional. The Missing Manual made my life so much easier!! I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn Dreamweaver the easy way. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-11-23 06:42:38 EST)
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| 11-09-06 | 5 | 2\2 |
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The other reviews are correct, this is the book to get.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-11-23 06:42:38 EST)
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| 10-20-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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This is by far the best book I have ever bought on Dreamweaver. I am a self-learner, and I have about ten books at all levels on Dreamweaver, starting from "dummies" to "beyond". In this book, the author goes through the laborious tasks of explaining the basic concepts first, and then follows these up with one or more step-by-step tutorial. He also provides a host of appropriate tips and "notes" such as "Power Users' Clinic", "Up to Speed", etc. that are very useful to a self-learner like myself. I assume that the author will continue writing such books. How about a Flash 8 book, David?
As I am a very satisfied reader of this book, I have nothing much to complain about. However, I would have found the book even more enchanting if it had the following: -- If each tutorial started with an image of the final page to be completed in the tutorial. The completed tutorials files are not available in the downloaded files. So, often I did not understand of exactly what we are supposed to accomplish when we complete the tutorial. Okay, finally I found some of the completed pages in the author's web site. Well, in that case, at the least, include the URL of the finished product, or simply include it in the downloaded folders. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-11-10 06:46:57 EST)
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| 10-20-06 | 5 | (NA) |
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This is by far the best book I have ever bought on Dreamweaver. I am a self-learner, and I have about ten books at all levels on Dreamweaver, starting from "dummies" to "beyond". In this book, the author goes through the laborious tasks of explaining the basic concepts first, and then follows these up with one or more step-by-step tutorial. He also provides a host of appropriate tips and "notes" such as "Power Users' Clinic", "Up to Speed", etc. that are very useful to a self-learner like myself. The videos are simply outstanding. I wish that there were more videos. I assume that the author will continue writing such books. How about a Flash 8 book, David?
As I am a very satisfied reader of this book, I have nothing much to complain about. However, I would have found the book even more enchanting if it had the following: -- If each tutorial started with an image of the final page to be completed in the tutorial. The completed tutorials files are not available in the downloaded files. So, often I did not understand of exactly what we are supposed to accomplish when we complete the tutorial. Okay, finally I found some of the completed pages in the author's web site. Well, in that case, at the least, include the URL of the finished product, or simply include it the downloaded folders. -- Please add more videos. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-10-21 07:06:35 EST)
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| 09-30-06 | 5 | 0\1 |
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There's really no review for me to write here, as I agree with every positive reviewer below. Simply a fantastic book in breadth and depth. If you want to know nearly everything about DW, this is your book. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-10-21 00:39:55 EST)
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| 08-03-06 | 5 | 4\4 |
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I haven't gotten very far into the book, but I can already tell that this manual is very comprehensive. It is simple to use and explains everything thoroughly. I noticed that even though I did free shipping, the book arrived well before the approximate arrival date it gave me, which was nice. I would reccomend this book for anyone.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-10-01 00:40:56 EST)
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| 07-09-06 | 5 | 4\5 |
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This book was recommended when I signed up for a Dreaweaver workshop. I knew I could get a better price through Amazon, and I did--it was almost half the price! It was also very worth it. I especially like the fact that it contains tutorials so that I can see how to do the things described in the various chapters. I think it covers just about everything I need to know and maybe then some. I highly recommend this book.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 05-11-06 | 5 | 21\24 |
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I admit, I am a techno-junkie. As a technical writer and web designer I buy all the latest software and try and keep up with all the latest languages and hardware to support my techno-habits. Whenever I purchase new software I also purchase 3-4 books on the subject as I am mostly self-taught when it comes to trying the latest things. I use Dreamweaver moderately for work and the last source of training I used was for version 4. I also took a Dreamweaver MX course at a local community college to get up to speed quickly on the newest features Dreamweaver had to offer, the course pretty much taught me what I already knew. To be fair I understand the ciriculum is pretty much pre-determined but I needed more than the basics or what I could easliy find in the help system.
After attending a seminar by David McFarland, I did what I usually do and ran out to purchase his book on Dreamweaver 8 as many of the Dreamweaver 8 books had yet to have hit the shelves. To my surprise this time I would not need 3-4 books in order to fully utilize all Dreamweaver has to offer. This book was so clear, concise, and downright READABLE, I found tips and techniques I had never used before, nor read about in any of the other manuals or bibles. By the first chapter I had already resolved an issue I could find no information on anywhere else. I passed this book around at work and we now have 4 copies. Each of my co-workers have thanked me profusely for suggesting the book and use it frequently when working with Dreamweaver. Beginners will be walked through every detail of Dreamweavers interface and be up to speed and desiging quickly and efficiently in no time. Advanced user will also benefit in learning new features, tips, tricks and techniques and gain an in-depth knowledge of all that Dreamweaver has to offer. Mr. McFarland is obviously highly knowledgeable in his subject and such a pleasure to read that as you go through the contents of the book I can only describe it as having your own personal tutor standing beside your desk advising you each step of the way. I have not run into a question or issue yet that could not be solved by referencing the Missing Manual. I strongly encourage all users, beginner and advanced alike to purchase this book. If you have a question about Dreamweaver, it's in there. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 04-28-06 | 5 | 22\23 |
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This is a really heavy book, and it's loaded with great examples, explanations, and illustrations. Unlike most Dreamweaver books, which stick either to basic, static web design or to advanced, dynamic pages, this book runs the gamut, not skimping on either (but certainly concentrating on the former). The chapters are organized logically, the chunks are reasonably small, and many of the chapters end with a very illustrative hands-on example to demonstrate the topics covered. Supplemented with on-line materials only available to owners of the book (for example, five chapters on PHP and SQL), the book covers almost everything, although a couple of topics (animation and frames) are available only as freely downloadable chapters from the prior (2004) edition of the book.
The style is less formal than many other books, but the material is covered in depth and accurately, for the most part. Like almost every technical book, the book's first printing does contain a reasonable number of minor errors, so be sure to refer to the author's website and take note of the errata before digging in. The book is printed in black and white with no color plates, but this does not affect its usability at all. Despite the book's title, this really isn't a "manual" for Dreamweaver -- it's more of a primer. If you're an advanced user looking for a reference volume to provide a quick reference into every picayune detail of Dreamweaver, this isn't your book. This also isn't your book if you're looking for anything other than a first-pass introduction to ASP, PHP, or one of the other server models. But if you're a novice to HTML or a seasoned web designer making the jump from manual coding to the advanced WYSIWYG features of Dreamweaver and need a gentle immersion into the broad power of Dreamweaver 8, this is a great book to use. For this reason, this is easily my favorite Dreamweaver book. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 04-28-06 | 5 | 9\9 |
| Reviewer | Permalink | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This is a really heavy book, and it's loaded with great examples, explanations, and illustrations. Unlike most Dreamweaver books, which stick either to basic, static web design or to advanced, dynamic pages, this book runs the gamut, not skimping on either (but certainly concentrating on the former). The chapters are organized logically, the chunks are reasonably small, and many of the chapters end with a very illustrative hands-on example to demonstrate the topics covered. Supplemented with on-line materials only available to owners of the book (for example, five chapters on PHP and SQL), the book covers almost everything, although a couple of topics (animation and frames) are available only as freely downloadable chapters from the prior (2004) edition of the book.
The style is less formal than many other books, but the material is covered in depth and accurately, for the most part. Like almost every technical book, the book's first printing does contain a reasonable number of minor errors, so be sure to refer to the author's website and take note of the errata before digging in. The book is printed in black and white with no color plates, but this does not affect its usability at all. Despite the book's title, this really isn't a "manual" for Dreamweaver -- it's more of a primer. If you're an advanced user looking for a reference volume to provide a quick reference into every picayune detail of Dreamweaver, this isn't your book. This also isn't your book if you're looking for anything other than a first-pass introduction to ASP, PHP, or one of the other server models. But if you're a novice to HTML or a seasoned web designer making the jump from manual coding to the advanced WYSIWYG features of Dreamweaver and need a gentle immersion into the broad power of Dreamweaver 8, this is a great book to use. For this reason, this is easily my favorite Dreamweaver book. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-06-25 09:42:17 EST)
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| 04-28-06 | 5 | 6\6 |
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(Please note: This is an old version of my review. Amazon decided for some reason to remove my revised review, which was a bit more tempered than my original review shown here.)
This is a really heavy book, and it's loaded with great examples, explanations, and illustrations. Unlike most Dreamweaver books, which focus either on basic, static web design or on advanced, dynamic pages, this book runs the gamut, not skimping on either. Supplemented with on-line materials only available to owners of the book (for example, five on-line chapters on PHP and SQL), the book covers everything. The style is less formal than many other books, but the material is covered in depth and accurately. The chapters are organized logically, the chunks are reasonably small, and each section of the book ends with a very illustrative hands-on example to demonstrate the topics covered. This is by far my favorite Dreamweaver book. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-06-20 08:42:53 EST)
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| 04-28-06 | 5 | 6\6 |
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This is a really heavy book, and it's loaded with great examples, explanations, and illustrations. Unlike most Dreamweaver books, which focus either on basic, static web design or on advanced, dynamic pages, this book runs the gamut, not skimping on either. Supplemented with on-line materials only available to owners of the book (for example, five on-line chapters on PHP and SQL), the book covers everything. The style is less formal than many other books, but the material is covered in depth and accurately. The chapters are organized logically, the chunks are reasonably small, and each section of the book ends with a very illustrative hands-on example to demonstrate the topics covered. This is by far my favorite Dreamweaver book.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-06-19 01:15:10 EST)
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| 03-17-06 | 5 | 14\17 |
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The Missing Manual for Dreamweaver is a must-have book for learning the many great features of the site-building software, as well as for keeping it on your desk as a grab-it-now reference reminder.
It is the greatest substitute for the manual that didn't come in the box, period. Tutorials, workarounds, explanations, advice ... what more could you ask for on the road to publishing your own site? Maybe it's just me, but the online help for DW8 is only OK for when you're sitting in front of the screen. If you're looking to read a bit before snoozing, (or while relaxing and dreaming up your ideas) this is definitely the book to flip through. Five stars ... because there ain't anything higher to rate it with. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 03-09-06 | 5 | 6\8 |
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I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants to learn dreamweaver and web design from the ground up. I started knowing nothing and with this book, I am now on my way. It was a worthwhile investment because it is packed with information and the writing does not put me to sleep. This is the kind of book you pause from reading and wish you could personally thank the writer.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 03-09-06 | 3 | 18\33 |
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The content is not well structured and does not flow easily. The style is fluffy, and untidy. Terminology is not precise, and different words are used liberally to designate the same thing thus sacrificing pertinence. For example, it calls "Page Layout 101" the chapter dedicated to tables; and "Advanced Page Layout" the one dedicated to Layers. In addition, it refers to layers as CSS-positioned, Css-based, building blocks, etc... and you start wondering if these are the same beast.
It would have been much better to stick to Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 terminology and not to try to make this look like an "essay" on interpreting it. Often, it tries to explain the obvious (long paragraphs where few words would have been enough). The book may gain in quality if its size were cut in half, and written with conciseness and economy, and where the essential is separated from the important from the useful from the ancillary... Technical writing (such as about Dreamweaver 8) is meant to be "to the point", and this book lacks that quality. It clearly assumes the reader is not a programmer (or does not have much knowledge in web or programming); It looks more destined for starters. It certainly is not the "missing manual" as it pretends to be, others such as the Lynda.com book (or others) better qualify for this title. Each time I grabbed the book I got confused and bored, while I could not put down the Lynda's book, and learned more from it in few hours more then from this book in days. If you are a starter, this book may be good for you, but if you are an experienced programmer, then be aware... I hate being unfair... so you get 3 stars. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-08-17 05:59:01 EST)
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| 02-21-06 | 5 | 18\23 |
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With over 900 pages of "Missing Manual" goodness, 'Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual' just might be the finest book of this series. For the retail price of $44.95, it's incredible that this much information could be contained within. I have written lots of reviews on the line by David Pogue, and I am continually impressed at how well these books are written and laid out. David Sawyer McFarland puts his heart and soul into this book and boy does it show!
From the basics of getting your web site up and running with Dreamweaver to a discussion on CSS to a discussion on page layout to adding dynamic content, this book will take someone who has never made a web page before to becoming a superuser in no time. If you need to create a web site at your work or you are delving into the world of producing a personal web site, you cannot go wrong if you want to use Dreamweaver to develop your spot on the web. Dreamweaver has been the web development tool of choice for many, many years, and it's no surprise. Version 8 of the popular tool only improves upon everything else that used to be good before and this truly is the manual that SHOULD have been in the box!! ***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMENDATION (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-07 01:05:21 EST)
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| 02-15-06 | 5 | 21\21 |
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There's no shortage of Dreamweaver super-users who want to pass on their expertise. Only a very few have the teaching and writing skills to create documentation that really makes sense.
David McFarland is a master of Dreamweaver, and he's also an exceptional teacher. His writing is crystal clear, easy to follow and makes so much sense I have been known to slap my head and say "d'oh." My copy of his MX2004 manual is dog-earred and worn. The new edition for Dreamweaver 8 is bigger and even better. It has great material for beginners and is also an excellent reference for more experienced users. And don't forget to take advantage of the online supplemental material he provides on his website. I highly recommend this book. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-07 01:05:21 EST)
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| 02-02-06 | 5 | 15\17 |
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I read the reviews on David's earlier book on DW MX 2004 and decided to buy his book as I recently upgraded to DW 8. I've used DW for years and love the program and while I would not consider myself to be an expert, I have used the program extensively. I started from Chp 1 expecting to already know most of what he said but I soon found myself learning new ways of doing things and possiblities that I didn't know about. In CSS chp, David not only tells me HOW to use the tools but is giving me new ideas of WHAT to use it for. You could say I was very happy with the book - and you'd be right. Highly recommended from this Dreamweaver lover.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-07 01:05:21 EST)
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