Short Order Dreamweaver 3.0   

Reviewed by: Nigel Graham (nigel@hit.uk.net )

Author: Publisher: ISBN: Price

Monix, S HAYDEN 0789721503 £14.50

**Webmaster's Note
Nigel Graham has considerable experience in building web sites and is an avid fan of Macromedia Dreamweaver 3. When he heard that I had this book, he begged me to loan it to him. A deal was struck and the following review is the result. Check out Nigel's sites at www.st-thomas.org.uk and www.hit.uk.net

They say.....
Short Order Dreamweaver 2.0 teaches you Dreamweaver in a step-by-step progression of the complete Web site creation process. Presented in a comprehensive yet streamlined format, examples based on real-life projects cover all phases of site development and management. In building a basic Web page, you'll learn how to specify text and paragraph properties and insert images, hypertext links, and URLs. You'll also learn to create tables, frames and forms, use cascading style sheets, and work with behaviors, timelines, and libraries. Then move on to managing your Web site with Dreamweaver, using plugins, windows, palettes and inspectors. Find out what's new in version 2.0, and gain access online resources.

Metcom Says .......
Let me start by saying that Dreamweaver is not an entry-level program for HTML editors.  It is a typical WYSIWIG (What You See is What You Get) visual editor. The difference is that you can create anything from a basic text file to a whole frames based JavaScript packed, graphically enhanced all singing, all dancing web site. Likewise this book is not really for the beginner, it assumes you have already got a good grasp of HTML, DHTML, and JavaScript.

I have been using Dreamweaver 2 for over a year now and upgraded to Dreamweaver 3 a few months ago.  My introduction to web authoring was using Homesite 4 so have a good grasp of HTML raw code.  The jump to Dreamweaver took a lot of the drudge out of creating sites but I have never been able to use Dreamweaver to it's full. 

Bob gave me the book to review because I had badgered him! My first impression of the book was that it was clear and is well presented.  The introduction lays out the plot well and encourages the reader to build on their existing knowledge and experience with Dreamweaver  (from the beginning they assume you are already using Dreamweaver). 

Knowing Dreamweaver I skipped the first chapter on how to set it up and dug straight into Chapter 2.  All the usual stuff about how to format your text, methods to divide you page up and all interspersed with screen shots from both the Mac and PC formats.  Then on to editing the HTML code by hand, this is where the beginner would be lost.  I went back to Chapter 1 later and found I didn't know Dreamweaver as well as I thought.

The book then goes on assuming you know about web art and optimising graphics.  It's only when you get to chapter 10 that I realised that the book had taken me trough all the stuff I already knew but pushed the boundary a little further each time.  Adding a little know-how to each operation of Dreamweaver.  Ever thought to yourself,  "So that's how they do that?"  Well that is what I found myself doing.  It's not until you have used a package and then gone back and read the book that you realise how much you know and how much you missed. 

Bob has a saying . "If you have to read the instructions the programmers have failed." Well Dreamweaver is able to be used without reading the instructions but having now read this book the mist has cleared and all (most) of those whizzie things become a reality instead of a dream.  The book is well indexed making it ideal for occasional reference to find the functionality of Dreamweaver little used in every day coding.

In conclusion the book is a must for all Dreamweaver users and will become a reference book for me in the future.