Comments about oreilly Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual:

I find the e-book long-winded and not very well laid out. The author just says "do this, do that" and I find I am not any wiser on how to really use Dreamweaver Cs3.

Comments about oreilly Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual:

DREAMWEAVER CS3 - The Missing Manual

Author: David Sawyer McFarland

Published: 2007

OʼReilly Media, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-596--51043-5

Pages: 995

US $44.99 CAN $58.99

Anyone who has ever tackled the web creation software program Dreamweaver CS3 knows all-too- well of its massive complexity. From absolute divs to CSS, FLASH and other multimedia, HTML and XHTML, Java Script coding, to the all-new SPRY widgets by Adobe, you are taken on a real adventure of what Dreamweaver CS3 has to offer in this, the "missing manual".

McFarland states that this book "should have been in the box" and this is so true. This book is an excellent, easy-to-follow guide that takes you from simple to way beyond in website design creation and tricks and tips. You get to test-drive the software with the help of this book. The author demonstrates this concept right at the beginning on page thirty-eight wherein he points out that "Many of this bookʼs chapters, therefore, conclude with hands-on training: step-by-step tutorials that take you through the creation of a real, working, professionally designed Web site" for a "fictional" magazine. This way you get a hands-on approach to web design.



Even if you are novice to web design, you can easily follow along with McFarlandʼs simple instructions after each chapter.

This book is a work book. You design websites by tutorials. However, if you happen to be already accustomed to Adobeʼs Dreamweaver software, this book will act as an amazing reference guide to ensure that you use this software to its best capabilities.

You are always kept abreast with the many screen shots throughout, and "Tip" boxes to keep you going in the right direction. There is nothing worse than getting off track with a website from the onset. This book definitely helps you steer a course for success in web design and creation.ʼ

At the back of the book you will find an invaluable section called: Menu by Menu. Here is where each part of the menus is described and the functionality of each is given in plain language for everyone to understand. The file, edit, view, insert, modify, commands, menus and so many more are hear for very easy reference.

At the very end of the book is an in-depth, 24 page, Index ensuring you will not get lost. McFarland makes searching so simple, as did he make the entire book, simple yet very complex.

It is an excellent companion to such an extensive and amazing web design program.

Gregory West is a Computer Tech columnist and a Computer Consultant for Seniors. He also runs free weekly seminars in the Fall and Winter on basic Computer and Internet instruction. He can be reached at: gregorywest (at) bell.net and http://tips4computers.wordpress.com

Comments about oreilly Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual:

A very handy and extensive guide to using CS3 and all its features, including a great chapter on Advanced CSS. I enjoyed the tips and references to websites when appropriate and found it a clear and concise reference guide to have on hand, even though it clocks in at close to 1,000 pages!

Comments about oreilly Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual:

Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual, is definitely the book you wished you'd found in the box with the installation disk for Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. Weighing in at 995 pages (including a 25 page index), The Missing Manual is the best resource book for learning and using this equally robust web development tool. The book is divided into 26 chapters and two appendices, organized into seven sections. The Table of Contents is quite detailed, listing the chapter headings and sub-heading, making it easy to locate a particular subject. This book is filled from beginning to end with very detailed step-by-step tutorials to help you learn how to use Dreamweaver to accomplish a wide variety of web development tasks. I consider Dreamweaver CS3 The Missing Manual a definite must-have bookshelf reference for anyone who wants to investigate and learn every nook and cranny of this extensive application.

Chapter 1 begins at the beginning and is geared to the new user. There is a tour of the interface followed by a thorough step-by-step 'Test Drive' tutorial. Starting with customizing the program preferences, the chapter continues with setting up a site, creating and saving a web page, adding text and images, and previewing your page in a browser. This first chapter touches on a lot of subject matter covered in greater detail in later chapters. Dreamweaver has a wealth of dialogs and wizards to help you create rather sophisticated web documents and they can be just as daunting as writing code. And, there are also extensions (extend the functionality of Dreamweaver), you can install to facilitate productivity. The Missing Manual really holds your hand, leading you through the process of learning to use the Dreamweaver tools. For those who want a little more, there are insets throughout the pages with the titles (in the title bar) of 'Workaround Workshop', 'Up to Speed', 'Power Users' Clinic', 'Frequently Asked Questions', 'Gem in the Rough', and even 'Easter Egg Hunt'.

To really take control of the web document creation process it's important to understand and be able to work with the underlying code. Beginning in Chapter 8: Advanced CSS, the discussion moves to talking about the HTML elements, the building blocks of creating a web page. Terms such as ID and Descendant Selectors enter the tutorial discussion. Why would you care? Well, even when using Dreamweaver as a visual editor and the GUI (graphic user interface) to modify the appearance of say, a list item, you need to know what the tag is and that it needs to be selected for styling. And then wee come to Chapter 10, Under the Hood: HTML. Here we learn about using the Code View. First there are Preferences settings suggested, one for targeting and fixing invalidly nested or unclosed tags, and another for targeting extra closing tags for removal. Dreamweaver provides some great tools for working with code such as code hints, code collapse, the tag inspector and tools for file comparison. This chapter will help ease you into working with code, if you are interested.

Adobe's Spry Framework for Ajax is mentioned as a technique for creating navigation menus in Chapter 5 and as a method for validating form data in the Chapter that explains how to build forms. Spry is the current hot web technology and you'll find the thorough explanations of Spry and Spry Widgets (an element made up of HTML, CSS and JavaScript), clear and understandable. Even if you don't completely understand the technology, you'll find the step-by-steps easy to follow. There are tutorials for adding Spry Widgets such as an accordion of collapsible panels and creating Spry Effects in the chapter that covers Dreamweaver Behaviors. If you've never been able to figure out how to use Dreamweaver's behaviors, working through the information and tutorials in this chapter will help get you past that obstacle.

While a 995 page tech book is not usually a cover to cover read, you should be sure to refer to Chapter 16: Testing Your Site, before going public with your creation. It's a relatively short chapter with a checklist and the usual info on Dreamweaver tools for checking the site performance and detecting errors on your pages. The next chapter addresses getting your site onto the Internet. Section 5 is about how to really get the most out of using Dreamweaver. The chapters cover the topics of snippets, libraries, templates, automation and customizing the application. Section 6 is titled Dynamic Dreamweaver and has extremely good tutorials on using a variety of server side technologies. You'll even be stepped through setting up a free testing server on your computer, XAMP for Windows and MAMP for MacOSX. The last section contains two appendices. The first gives details about a variety of help resources including the Dreamweaver Help System, the Adobe site, Forums, the DMX Zone, and paid support. The second appendix is a detailing of every Dreamweaver menu.

Comments about oreilly Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual:

Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual

David Sawyer McFarland

Pogue Press - O'Reilly Publishing

$44.99

All right I admit it, I have been known to resist change. But it appears that Dreamweaver is rising higher and higher in the sky as the star called Adobe GoLive nears the western horizon. As one who derives at least some income from web site design and maintenance I understand the need to start the process of migrating to the new mainstream product. The question then becomes, "What do I use to help me ascend the learning curve?" Time and budget constraints preclude formal classes, workshops or personal trainers.

Enter "Dreamweaver CS3" from the highly acclaimed "Missing Manual" series. The O'Reilly Publishing catalog page for this book provides a good taste of what one will find in this 1000+ page tome. For example the table of contents page provides a glimpse into each chapter. The Missing Manuals have long been a regular part of my computer reference library. Helping me, time and again answer not only my own questions but those of my clients as well.

Mr. McFarland presents the material in a well organized, clearly written, easy to understand format. The illustrations are a mixed bag of PC and Mac screen shots so no one feels excluded or exclusive. But for me the most valuable parts of the book are the lessons. These lessons are stored on a related web site not on a CD stuck in the back of the book. This virtual CD can't get lost, bent, scratched or broken. It can also be easily updated if an error is detected. What a great and simple idea! That being said it is the lessons themselves that teach me the most about Dreamweaver. Common scenarios are played out in a way that allow me to apply much of what I already know to the Dreamweaver experience. I find myself virtually slapping my virtual forehead and saying, "Oh, that's how you do that! It is starting to make sense now." Furthermore, the lessons gave me new insights into basics (CSS for example) that I didn't understand previously and have been able to apply when using my old software of choice.

This book is an excellent self tutoring guide opening much of the common, real world web design experience to the Dreamweaver novice. It is what I need at this time. The only way that I could fault the work is, I wish it were a little more "Reference Manual" to go along with the valuable textbook. There have been times where I wanted to know how to do something in Dreamweaver that is comfortable for me in GoLive and I am unable to find the Missing Manual reference. Perhaps I am looking for expanded indexes or additional Appendixes. Maybe I want David Sawyer McFarland to be sitting next to me when I have a question. Perhaps this is expecting too much for my $45. Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual will find a spot close at hand on my reference shelf even if it is not constantly on the desk absorbing spilled coffee and dispensing answers to every question.