Book Reviews

Until reviews of the Dreamweaver CS3 edition begin to appear, here are some Amazon reviews of the previous edition, covering Dreamweaver 8.

The most useful reference for Dreamweaver so far

I've been using Dreamweaver for a couple of years now, and I've found this to be the most useful Dreamweaver reference in my library. The visual images alongside the bulleted points is perfect for my learning style, and this book covers exactly the information I was looking for. The authors demystify some of the more complex tasks, and even provide new tips for some old favorites.

Comprehensive and specific at the same time

This is a great book, though I have used Dreamweaver for several years, I wanted to see how DreamWeaver 8 was going to deal with CSS. I took the time to read most of the chapters, and picked up a lot of tips. The book is comprehensive and specific at the same time. Concepts are interlaced with keystroke instructions. Well worth the price and a great reference.

A Desktop Companion for All Dreamweaver 8 Users

There are some software books that try to be all things to all levels of users and wind up serving no one very well. The title of this volume says it all - "Visual Quickstart Guide". Smith and Negrino's book hits its target dead center.

If what you want is a straightforward, to-the-point handbook to learn how to use Dreamweaver 8, this is it. The VQG covers the entire Dreamweaver interface - all the menus, panels, and features. It is not a book that teaches you how to program a PHP, ColdFusion, or .NET application - that's not its purpose. What it does, it does very, very well. So well, that it's one of two books I keep within arm's reach on my desktop.

True to its name, the book is capable of taking a beginner through the processes of configuring the Dreamweaver workspace, defining a site, and creating his or her first pages. It'll help an intermediate user grapple with Templates, get up to cruising speed with CSS, or work with and create Snippets. Of great importance (at least to me)is the authors' willingness to tell it like it is when it comes to using some of the not-so-grand features such as Layout Tables, Layers, and Layer-to-table conversions.

Dreamweaver 8's CSS panels are a work of programming art. There is no comparison to similar tools in competing programs. Negrino, Smith, and contributing author Virginia DeBolt explore these new panels very thoroughly. As someone who can write CSS with a fair bit of expertise, I learned some fascinating ways that the new CSS tools in Dreamweaver can help me achieve a more efficient workflow. Without reading this book, I very likely would not have explored these features in much detail.

I rarely recommend Dreamweaver books but give this one a hearty thumbs up - actually I give it all five digits. Get it - you need it.