Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

List Price: $24.99 Discount Price: $4.27

Customer Reviews:

my top pick among the intro books [Posted on 2007-03-23]
Having just started a new job in which I need to begin developing web-based training very soon, I reserved every book I could on Dreamweaver through our local libraries. This one is my favorite.
I think one reviewer complained about the 'cutsey' stuff, and let me say that this is not your typical "Dummies" book - I was almost to page 50 before I came across one comment about her spouse, and I think there was one more such comment later on. I will also say that as a trainer, instructional developer, technical writer, and journalist, I tend to judge computer books with a critical eye (and I read a LOT of them).
I found the pace of this one to be just right -- I am rather impatient and I didn't have a lot of time to waste, so I didn't want something that proceeded slowly, but I was also new to Dreamweaver, so I didn't want something that proceeded at a breakneck pace.
This book does what it claims to do. It doesn't claim to be a Dreamweaver book for those who are already power users. It does not propose to be an exhaustive reference, as perhaps does the other Dummies title that describes itself as being nine books in one. The all-in-one is a nice enough book, but I didn't have time to read 900 pages before beginning to develop my projects. Speaking of 900-page books, I chose this book over Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual, because the latter one, albeit much larger, did not present the information as concisely, and I found myself reading three paragraphs to get the amount of content that I could get from one paragraph of this author's book.
This book does, in its 400 or so pages, give a reasonably good foundation from which one can learn more about advanced topics, if desired. In that sense, it gave me a good road map of the territory ahead, such that I can converse intelligently with those in my office who are way beyond my level, and it positions me to be a good consumer of more advanced books/material. This author's book more fully fleshed out the topics that I needed to know about than did How To Do Everything with Dreamweaver 8. Again, that was not a bad book, and in fact the screen shots of the toolboxes and menus and such were more clearly done in How To Do Everything with Dreamweaver 8. I did learn some new things from it. But overall, I got more bang for my buck from Warner's book.
This book differs from the Dreamweaver Design and Construction book -- which gets good reviews -- in that it does not focus (nor propose to focus) on the principles of designing a website. This book's agenda is to teach the reader how to use Dreamweaver.
This book does not propose to be a tutorial, as does Dreamweaver 8 Hands on Training, so it is a matter of being aware of the way that you learn best, and picking a book that fits with your learning style.
Speaking of, I am a visual learner, so I used this book in tandem with "Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 8" -- and some time later realized that both were written by the same author. "Teach Yourself Visually Dreamweaver 8" is a good companion because it gives an overview of the concepts, such that I already had a mental framework for what I would learn. I preferred it over the Dreamweaver 8 Visual Encyclopedia, which uses a typeface and layout that I found more difficult to follow.
I also own the Quickstart guide for Dreamweaver 8, which I keep beside me at work and consult when I need to see how to complete a specific task. The QuickStart guide is great for this purpose, but it is not, in my opinion, as good as Warner's book if a beginner wants to sit down and read a narrative about how to use the program. The QuickStart guide would move too quickly for that purpose.
Warner's book shows sensitivity to the learners in that it does not use terms that haven't yet been explained; it sequences the topics well; and I haven't found any errors in the book. It has not in any sense been a frustrating or incomplete read. The writing is clean and effective and doesn't draw attention to itself. It has a rather conversational tone without being inefficient.
I think she did a great job with it and I will be on the lookout for her name when I look for books on other computer topics.

so easy to use [Posted on 2007-03-24]
Love this book and it is so easy to use... If your new to dreamweaver 8 this is a nice tool to help you learn.. much easier to use than some of the other tools out there..

Good reading! [Posted on 2007-06-08]
This book helped reaffirm my knowledge from the other book and gave me a few different looks at how to do things.

Great! [Posted on 2007-06-09]
What a great book for someone who just learning how to use this program. It has been extremely helpful and it is easy to follow, very user friendly.

Helpful and Terrific as Usual for the Dummies Series [Posted on 2007-09-10]
I am just learning to use Dreamweaver, so I find this book helpful in every way. You can easily skip the things you already know. It is detailed in all areas.

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