Dreamweaver MX 2004 Accelerated: A Full-Color Guide

Rating:
Summary: Dreamweaver MX 2004 Accelerated
Review: Dreamweaver MX 2004 Accelerated REVIEW

This book has a very good layout plus the print quality is exceptional.
The screen shots are very legible; pages are not overcrowded, at the same time the information precise.

A CD comes with the book, filled with all the source files you need to complete the exercises.
This book is for beginner to professionals. Very easy to follow exercises.
As with all Accelerated books there are handy tips & notes scattered through the book.
Chapter 1 covers installing Dreamweaver MX 2004 & downloading extensions.
Very handy for a beginner.
Chapter 2 covers Basic Techniques.
All the tool menu bars etc.
Making a site map.
Producing different layouts with tables.
Creating rollover effects.
Using a table to make a calendar.
Chapter 3 covers Formatting Web pages with style sheets.
Creating rollover effects in tables.
Creating unique scroll bars.
Chapter 4 using frames.
Design a link page using frames.
Using inline frames (this will make a lot of people happy).
Also shows you how to add Looping background music.
Chapter 5 all about forms.
Jump menus.
Database pages.
Login pages.
Also goes through installing Apache, MYSQL and PHP.
Chapter 6 covers all layers.
Nested layers.
Creating a floating menu.
Adding a flash barrier with an invisible background.
Using click layers.
Adding moveable layers
Chapter 7 covers Behaviors.
Creating pop-up labels for an image.
Creating for thumb nail images.
Swap images.
Using the change properties behavior.
Chapter 8 covers the assets panel.
Using / creating templates.
Using style sheets.
Using the replace command to update links.

Chapter 9 covers Multimedia elements.
Inserting a Real Video file.
Inserting a movie as an Active X object.
Using flash elements to make a slide show.
Chapter 10 covers Dreamweaver & Fireworks.
Slicing images.
Pop-up menus in Fireworks.
Creating a photo gallery.

Some of the exercises involve you downloading extensions from the Macromedia site. The book does give you the extension file name, BUT two came up with no results found, which are creating a floating menu (chapter 6) and inserting a real video file (chapter 9). So you may have trouble doing these.
It would have been much better if the extensions where on the CD.

Conclusion: Source files on the CD along with the easy to follow exercises allows you to LEARN DREAMWEAVER the easier way. A must book for the beginner as well as the intermediate to advanced. Layout graphics and printing are exceptionally presented. The book content along with CD full of source files are remarkable. Learning by reading is very important but equally important is learning by doing, which this book demonstrates.

The book sells for $29.99 in the US.
Marks: Four (4) out of Five (5)


Rating:
Summary: Dreamweaver MX 2004 Accelerated
Review: I like the examples in this book very much, they are professional in nature and gradually increase in complexity. However, this book has some basic procedural errors in almost every chapter. These are not substantial errors but they make for a bit of a challenge in a classroom when your students get confused. Sometimes the wrong supporting image will be displayed and referred to by an unrelated step. Other errors include an incorrect procedure, or a missing but important procedure. Also, be aware, some copies out there are missing pages. By now this problem has probably been corrected and I hope that a new edition comes forward soon with the errors fixed. Otherwise, I agree with the other comments, this is a fantastic resource with top notch examples. When new concepts are introduced by example, a thorough and detailed description of what is being introduced preceeds the example. I still recommend this book for my classes.

Rating:
Summary: Dreamweaver for the distracted brain
Review: I was looking for a good book on dreamweaver, and I found it. Tons of great photos and example projects to work with. I hate reading software manuals, and it's nice to see a book for people who just want to jump in and do it.

Rating:
Summary: Attractive but flawed
Review: This book is attractive(all glossy pictures) and is able to just show just the basics. The problem is that the CD in the book doesn't boot and it is impossible to do the lessons without it. In addition, there are problems in the lessons and they skip steps, or show the wrong picture for a step. The email for support is also missing, you may be able to use it if you know Korean. Good luck with this pick you will need it, I would look for a better alternative. I have read a lot tech books and work in MIS, this book would not help me complete my job.