Rating: 
Summary: Bad reviewers got the wrong book, not a bad book!
Review: ...I'm a working web designer using Dreamweaver, I teach Dreamweaver at universities, and I write books about Dreamweaver and web design. The DW MX Bible is *the* resource that professional web designers use for Dreamweaver design. We *need* the kind of accurate, specific, concrete, detailed documentation and advice provided in the DW Bible....The description of cascading style sheets does a good job in synthesizing the critical relationship between external and local formatting as managed by Cascading Style Sheets. Similarly, it's necessary to understand the naunces of font support and substitution when assigning fonts. This book does not claim to be the Complete Idiot's Guide to Dreamweaver MX (in the interests of full disclosure, I wrote that book). And perhaps some readers will want to start with a simpler and less detailed approach to Dreamweaver. But everyone who moves to the level of professional web design with DW MX needs this book. I do have my own minor criticism of the book. I would have liked to see a little advice on how to find and connect with reasonably priced web hosts that provide good support for DWMX's UltraDev features - which scripting language is easiest to work with, what options are available for developers without local servers... But whatever it's omissions and weaknesses, this book is the single most valuable resource for anyone serious about using Dreamweaver on a professional level.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT for beginners!! Unless you enjoy waisting your money..
Review: After reading only 30 pages I realized I had bought the wrong book. I was hoping to be educated and get a basic understanding of Dreamweaver in Chapter 1 but this was not to be. It reads like one long commercial for Dreamweaver MX and the snippets of information that you do get are bewildering to the beginning webdesigner (unless you are already familiar with terminology like CSS styles, Server behaviour, ColdFusion, and so on). Despite the dozens of times the author had mentioned how easy Dreamweaver is to use, after chapter 1 I had the intimidating feeling that learning Dreamweaver using "The Bible" was going to be a real struggle. Unfortunately, I was absolutely right.
At about the same time I bought the Bible I also bought books about Pagemaker (Complete Reference) and Photoshop (Studio Techniques). These books were clearly written and much easier to read. Had fun too, am in control of those programs now. As far as the Bible is concerned, I have to push myself hard to read another chapter (finished chapter 3 with a headache). If you're a professional webdesigner this book might be very valuable, but beginners will sink without a trace.
Only 1 star rating because the flap suggested that this was suitable for beginners and professionals alike.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive Technical Manual for DWMX
Review: Agreed, this is not a book for people starting out designing their first ever website. That's true and a very important point. However, it shouldn't result in a low star rating - the book is not aimed at beginners! This book is aimed at the professional user of DWMX, and as such, it does a great job. DWMX has become a huge product - the tool of choice for large web projects. Therefore, a book which details all of DWMX's commercial features will NECESSARILY be overcomplex and confusing for a beginner. This book will not spoon-feed you with a 'Hello World' project-based introduction to web page building. It WILL help you organize code versioning within your project or plan for a more easily maintainable web project etc etc. As a web-development professional currently working alone, I find the book very useful.
Rating:
Summary: Covers MX very adequately.
Review: Biblical in heft, this iteration of the Dreamweaver Bible covers pretty much all the features available for Dreamweaver MX. For past users of Dreamweaver, much of the book is a re-run of previous iterations, which serves to make a fair chunk of this one redundant, anything new not obvious. But this sort of thing can't be avoided so that new users are properly catered for. The writing is clear and not too chummy, like many books of this type can be, in order to make them less intimidating. The examples are comprehensive and plentiful And many hints and tips are given. The CD is comprehensive with a properly Bookmarked .PDF version for when out and about. My only gripe was the lack of information included with the extension folders, only Massimo Forti bothering to include a detailed description of what was what. Everyone else - the author as well - sticking to quasi-cryptic file names. Come on JL! To get even better use from the Dreamweaver Bible, it's a good idea to look up the Macromedia news groups, and maybe give Jakob Neilson's useit website a visit.
Rating:
Summary: Ha what a joke
Review: Click on the menu item you wish to choose, select the appropriate options, examine the results. 90% of this book is just that sentence over and over again. If you want to learn, you have to have concrete examples, not general suggestions. Don't waste your money like I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: First off, I'm not a professional web developer - I am merely the backup for our division's page. I bought the book to gain exposure to Dreamweaver MX's features. I wanted to know how to do the "routine" stuff as well as learn what additional features the software is capable of. I've gone through the book, reading most chapters thoroughly, not to remember everything but to be familiar with the general contents. Now, I plan to use the book as a reference. No one book can be all things to all people, but Mr. Lowery has put together an invaluable resource. It won't be the only resource I use, but it will definitely be the primary one. And, at the price Amazon's selling it for, it's not going to break your pocketbook. If you're an advanced web designer, maybe you don't need it. For the rest of us, it's a real asset.
Rating:
Summary: Moving Up From Frontpage
Review: I am certainly no professional web designer. I am learning web design on my own. After mastering and taking Frontpage as far as I think I can go with it, I am now looking for a new program to design websites that is more advanced. Web Designer friends recommended Dreamweaver. I picked up this book, as it looked understandable & thorough. The cover of the book promises 100% comprehensive, and he keeps his word. I have gone from knowing nothing about Dreamweaver to having a good grasp, and still learning with this book. It has covered every topic I can think of. A trial version is included. I can't speak for professionals, but it is a great resource for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Joe does it again
Review: I am not a hobbyist - I am a professional web developer with real cients, and I have been picking up the Dreamweaver Bible since version 2. I read a lot of web development and programming titles, and for Dreamweaver, the Bible is hands-down always the best. Granted, its a big book, and there are things in the book that I already know - there always are. But time and time again, I find myself going back to this book to remind myslef of something I forgot, or a tip or trick to make things easier. This particular version - MX, has a lot of changes from version 4, and that was where this particular book really made a difference for me, as all the new features are called out with a special icon so I could pick them up quickly. Since the book 'starts at the beginning' I could see where this would be a good book for beginnnig web designers or even developers who might want to use DW as their new editor of choice for PHP, ASP or the like. Thanks Joe.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Reviewer Completely Misses the Point
Review: I feel that the last review is somewhat misleading; whatever you might think about the use of the word Bible in a book title (and that was a choice the publisher made for an entire line of books, not just this one), the important thing is that Joseph W. Lowery is almost undoubtedly THE authority on Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Lowery has closely following the development of these excellent products for years and has been personally influential in lobbying Macromedia for much-needed improvements. Most serious web professionals will be sure to buy the MX editions of his books even though they already own the previous versions, simply because they know that they can reliably turn to them whenever they have a problem; in that sense, these books ARE bibles! From the perspective of new-comers to DW and FW, Lowery entertainingly explains both the detail and the broader picture in a straight-forward and clear manner, step by logical step. He is a very good writer. In my case, the "Dreamweaver 3 Bible" made an important contribution to my path from beginner to skilled professional. Lowery's books remain, even now, an essential reference. Don't be put off by the low ... score resulting from previous reviewer's low marking of this book. I have no connection to either the author or publisher but, in any case, ask around; Anyone who knows their stuff will recommend both the Dreamweaver MX and Fireworks MX Bibles. All of his previous books have scored perfect fives, this low score is an anomoly based on one persons' misguided objections.
Rating:
Summary: THINK YOU REALLY KNOW DM? - THIS BOOKS 4 U!
Review: I had no idea there was still so much more to learn after using DW MX every day for a year now! This book has me constantly asking "WHO KNEW"? I've read all the source books, the book that the MX suite came with, trained one on one with peers, and developed over 20 sites with this program and still this book (in the short 24 hours I've had it) HAS BLOWN ME AWAY! It has filled in some blanks that have irked me; issues that other books, training, websites, & experience just didn't cover. Especially with regard to the wonderful intergration between fireworks & DM. If you are ready to move on to mastery - this book is a must. IT IS NOT a step-by-step training guide, BUT when you think you have a solid foundation in DreamWeaver move on this this baby & test your knowledge. This book has already paid for itself in the time I have already learned to save. I feel like I found a goal mine - dig & you shall find! PS: I looked at this book a few times but whenever I skimmed through it - it seemed to cover things I was certain I knew thoroughly. So finally I borrowed it from the library - I'm glad I took a closer look and have just ordered a copy of my own as this is one for the reference shelf if ever there was one!
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