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Rating: 
Summary: Not Helpful For Real Beginners
Review: Before I bought this book, I suspected how effective it would be to learn graphing softwares without a CD ROM or a supplementary website where readers can download some pre-made graphs or images used as samples. Since this is one of the very few and low-priced books which covers Fireworks 3 on the market, I just have to give it a try. Turn out my hunch is right: it's not worthwhile to select ineffective approaches in learning almost anything. I used to learn fast from other VQS series like "JavaScript for the WWW" and "HTML 4 for the WWW". I also digetsted Lynda Weinman's Dreamweaver 2 completely over the weekend. But I just have to give up this book even before finishing Chapter 2. I guess I am very slow to learn web publishing stuffs without practical, operational samples. My suggestion is: if you are a real beginner and want to learn fast, it is indispensable to have samples that you can practice and see the results in your own screen, whether they are from CDs or websites. In this sense, HTML and JavaScript are bargains from VQS series, but for Fireworks 3 and Flash 4, I have to look for other sources, even though that could cost me twice as much as I can get from the Peachpit Press.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Vague
Review: I bought this book, spent an hour or two looking it over, and realized that I don't have the time to try and figure out how to apply what the author is trying to explain. I needed a true quick start book, with solid examples of applications. I brought it back and exchanged it for "Fireworks, Fast & Easy Web Development" by Lisa Lee. A much better book for someone who doesn't have a whole lot of time on their hands. It has solid examples of how to do things like create buttons, optimize images, etc., just what I needed.
Rating:
Summary: Too Vague
Review: I bought this book, spent an hour or two looking it over, and realized that I don't have the time to try and figure out how to apply what the author is trying to explain. I needed a true quick start book, with solid examples of applications. I brought it back and exchanged it for "Fireworks, Fast & Easy Web Development" by Lisa Lee. A much better book for someone who doesn't have a whole lot of time on their hands. It has solid examples of how to do things like create buttons, optimize images, etc., just what I needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Fireworks 3 visual quickstart guide
Review: I gave it 3 1/2 start cause it doesn't include a CD. You'll have to follow the chapters one by one from scratch making it time consuming. Overall the book is very easy to read. I recomend reading chapt. 1 thru 4 without the computer on. Don't put too mch energy into it, it's just how any image editing software works. still leave the computer off and put enphasis on chapter 14,15,17. Import, export and slices. They are the objective of fireworks. Then turn on your comouter and follow on chapt. 5 thru 13, 16, and 18 thru 19. It teach you how to use fireworks just like you would dreamweaver to create web pages.
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners, not so good for the experienced.
Review: I was at my local bookstore, looking for something to further my graphic design. I had been working with Fireworks 2 for a few months, and now Fireworks 3 for a week or so. I picked up this book, and I was somewhat disappointed. It was basically a beginner's guide to the program, and someone with more than a month's experience won't really need it. However, it does have some nice tips for someone who knows what they're doing.
Rating:
Summary: lacks enough information to do advanced techniques
Review: I've bought many of the visual quickstart series and I wish they all were as good as this one. Not only is it logically organized, but it is laid out very well. At first I was put off by all the lessons on basic drawing. I didn't think I would ever get to the important stuff. But then I saw that she recommends skipping directly to chapters 14 and 19. As soon as I did that I was able to finish off 5 projects I had sitting waiting for me. Just those two chapters alone were worth it for me. A few weeks later I picked up the book again and skipped over to the chapter on effects. Again, that one little chapter gave me more than I ever expected. I just started playing around with the chapter on animation. I've already created a simple fade in that I would have never figured out by myself.I find this book extremely clear and it covers far more than the manual.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good book to learn how to use Fireworks
Review: This book is almost devoid of any real help. 80% of the book lists what buttons to click to select a feature. It does not tell you much about when and where to use the feature. It also has no real examples, it just shows menu screen shots, with a list of buttons to click. The manual that comes with Fireworks 3 is 10 times better. Don't waste your time and money. There is almost no content or explainations in the book. Good books give you a good reference source and go through some common examples of how to use the program. A really big disappointment. I don't normally return books, but I returned this one.
Rating:
Summary: Easy Way To Get Started
Review: This book lays out the basics in a manner that is simple tounderstand and interesting. The descriptions are short, and black& white graphics are used to illustrate the points. Everything it explained I was able to do, though a few explanations took some thinking out and some trial and error, and that may be why some people wish the book was more detailed. This may not teach you everything you want to know about Fireworks 3, but if you are new to graphics programs or Fireworks, this is a fast and easy way to get up and running with this awesome program.
Rating:
Summary: Very weak. Lacks solid information. Don't buy.
Review: What makes Fireworks for Windows and Macintosh 3 a great book is that the material is produced visually. There is truth to the statement that a picture is worth 1,000 words. The author is good at giving the process in a step by step fashion with visuals making it easy to pick up. My problem with the book is that it is not presented in a tutorial fashion making it more of a reference guide. This is fine as I knew that before my purchase and use it as a reference guide. The book averages two to three pictures a page. +Dana+
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but leaves out many things
Review: While this book helped me out with learning the basics of Fireworks, when I tried to create animations, it didn't go into depth very much on the subject. It explained all the componets of Frames and Layers, but never just showed a simple example of how to create animations.
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