Rating: 
Summary: Useful Thorough Precise
Review: This is a really good book on interface design and on incorporating more advanced DW features, like template and style sheet features, into your standard design structure. It is probably best used by intermediate to advanced level users. I've been using DW for about six months and the complexity of the book is just right because it opens up a world of functionality in DW that I sort of had a vague idea of, but which is really fleshed out by Sparber et al. The manner in which the "fleshing out" occurs is "good" because the author sort of presents techniques that lead up to the final project in well-contained procedural modules. It's not like a whole bunch of different techniques are mushed together; in this book you can definitely tell what's responsible for causing what effect.The precision of the instructions is crucial because it's easy to get lost in Dreamweaver. The book is very explicit in making sure that you do not get lost on the path along the way. Most of the more complex or less obvious steps are repeated or reinforced by screen caps of the DW interface. My only complaint really is that the text is a bit small. I think if they had bumped it up a couple of points, or made the typeface bolder, text would have been more easily read. Other than that, the layout is spacious and visually-appealing -- it is overall a very beautifully designed book -- and there is extensive detail on each page, meaning, the authors get down to business. The composite style is sort of like Lynda Weiman's but with turbocharge. It takes about 4 to 5 hours to get through each project, not including referencing DW Help to clarify new concepts. The projects themselves are useful because they present interface set-ups you would certainly use for conventional web sites. The CD has a browser enabled section that presents the final page designs and its a good interactive way to flip through the projects and see what you like or don't like. In counterpoint to what one review mentioned below regarding the CD, and the replication of similar effects in Homesite as in DW, first, I don't agree that the CD is just to inflate the price of the book. The book isn't cheap but you don't feel the cost of the book isn't justified in this case, because this book has such depth. I don't think most web designers have the level of virtuosity in wielding DW that Sparber and the other authors of this book have, much less would be willing to show you how to use it for less than $2000 in a w/e course. The CD actually has little bloat. The project files are well structured and the extensions are used in the projects rather than just thrown in there to fill up disk space. I suppose I could download files from the Internet and unzip them, then virus test them, and then place them somewhere on my hard drive. I could do all that -- but I don't FEEEL like it. The CD more or less just installs everything for you. Saves time. Secondly, while you probably could replicate the projects this book presents using raw HTML in Homesite, the whole idea of DW is that you don't have to, so I don't understand the "you could do this whole thing in Homesite, you know" argument, because its not relevant in the context of a book that uses DW. As for forcing you to learn HTML, you could always split the screen in DW and see how the code directly affects the graphical layout. Last I heard, most people receive information best visually. I can't remember the last time I recognized a picture of my dog Spot as a series of binary digits. I'd rather do the site in DW first then tweak the details in HTML afterwards, and then use DW to mass produce. Saves time and frustration, as does this book. This book is highly recommended for above-newbie level DW users.
*****
Rating: 
Summary: Dreamweaver Magic
Review: The content, design/lay out, and graphics are a magical five star rating in my book! That said, the reason I rated the book 4 stars and the reason I wrote this note is that I would advise people to go to the PVII web site and print out the errata page(s). While improving my trouble shooting skills, the omissions and errors left me scratching my head a few times. The precise, cutting edge and constantly evolving nature of the medium are exquisitely expressed in this book, and that's precisely why this book needed one more final "proof" read. Bottom line, this book has taught me more about clean (coded) web design than anything else I have read. I'm looking forward to Al Sparber and crew's next iteration. I recommend this book highly!
Rating:
Summary: extensions with a book
Review: I can't understand why so many people are so mad about this book. It's not really about learning Dreamweaver, it is about the extensions that are on the CD and how to use them. Nothing more nothing less. The extensions are good, all right, but you can get many great extensions for free legally on the net, even at the official Macromedia homepage. And more often than not these extensions are so easy to use that you don't really need to spend a lot of bucks for a book that tells you how to use them inside Dreamweaver. All the extensions are about Javascript, so if you don't want to force your websites` users to have Javascript enabled on their browsers then this book isn't for you.
Four stars anyway for the nice choice of extensions, which keeps you from spending hours on the net to find the extensions you need and because without a book like this one many people might not be aware of the power and ease of Dreamweaver extensions.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!! Terrific Dreamweaver Resource!
Review: This is the best "Magic" book ever written, period. Despite the fact that it was written for Dreamweaver 4, users of MX will still find the projects completely workable & engaging. The attention to detail and easy to follow instructions sets this book apart from all others. These projects are COOL and they really work! Better yet, they can be easily adapted to use in many real world scenarios. Al Sparber and the rest of the DW 4 Magic team should be extremely proud of their work on this one. I only wish they'd had 50 projects instead of 13. Buy it!!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This book made tasks and tricks I thought difficult and above my head simple and easy to remember. I frequently use the book for inspiration and instruction.
Rating:
Summary: Supercharge your Dreamweaver skills
Review: If you've been using Dreamweaver, Ultra Dev, or the new Dreamweaver MX, this book is a "must have." The book is project based so that you can turn to any chapter and learn a valuable technique or concept independent of the other chapters in the book. The concepts learned will take you well beyond the typical basics covered in most other Dreamweaver books. The authors selected for each chapter are like a "Who's Who" in the Macromedia community -- experts in their respective fields. If you want to supercharge your Dreamweaver skillset, this book will take you further than any I've read so far.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Magic
Review: This is a superb book for anyone familiar with Dreamweaver and wanting to know how far you can take it. This book might be a little advanced for the complete novice, but within reach of most. The book is full of original projects that you can use in real life. Once you worked through a few you will probably get ideas of your own, it's a great creative catalyst. The authors have gone to great lengths to ensure their code works in all the major browsers, a step often neglected by many other books. A great book by a great team. Looking forward to more books from Al Sparber and his team.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book - Not the usual how to...
Review: This book is great. The examples that are used can really be used in real life situations. This is the best book for learning to use Dreamweaver. Each lesson demonstrates how to use dreamweaver to create websites that you can really use. The authors are top notch and I recommend this book 100%
Rating:
Summary: Best book on taking Dreamweaver 4 to the next level
Review: As the webmaster for a major company, I got more out of this book than any other book on Dreamweaver 4. All the other Dreamweaver books I've read were informative but just dealt with the basics of the program. This book takes you through projects step by step using Dreamweaver 4 to create different WebPages. The techniques & ideas I learned from this book were awesome. By using the stuff I learned from this book I was able to completely upgrade our company's website. My boss was so impressed that I got a bonus and a raise. This book rocks!! I would give it six stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better
Review: I'be read 5 Dreamweaver books in the past year and none compare to this one. Sure, you need to know how to get around in dreamweaver, but that's what the manual is for. What really impressed me a lot was the great support on the authors web site (projectseven.com) and the fact that they even have a newsgroup. This book rocks folks. And the author's site rocks even more! I had the luck to see Al Sparber give a seminar at the Know Show in Cleveland a few weeks ago. It was the first dreamweaver training session I've been to where the instructor got a standing ovation. Don't miss this book. And if you ever hear about a seminar, don't miss that either!
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