Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual

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Manufacturer: Pogue Press

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.786
EAN: 9780596510435
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 0596510438
Label: Pogue Press
Manufacturer: Pogue Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 995
Publication Date: 2007-06-22
Publisher: Pogue Press
Studio: Pogue Press

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Editorial Reviews:

Welcome to Dreamweaver CS3. This new version of the popular web design software offers a rich environment for building professional sites, with drag-and-drop simplicity, clean HTML code, and dynamic database-driven web site creation tools. Moreover, it's now integrated more tightly with Adobe's other products: Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, and their siblings. But with such sophisticated features, the software isn't simple. So say hello to Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual, the fifth edition of this bestselling book by experienced web site trainer and author David McFarland. This book helps both first-time and experienced web designers bring stunning, interactive web sites to life. With jargon-free language and clear descriptions, this new edition addresses both beginners who need step-by-step guidance as well as long-time Dreamweaver users who need a handy reference to address the inner-workings of the program. Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual teaches designers how to construct and manage web sites by examining web-page components and Dreamweaver's capabilities through "live examples." With a complete A-Z guide to designing, organizing, building and deploying a web site for those with no web design experience, this book: Takes you through the basics to advanced techniques to control the appearance of your web pages with CSS Shows you how to design dynamic database-driven web sites, from blogs to product catalogs, and from shopping carts to newsletter signup forms Teaches you how to master your web site, and manage thousands of pages effortlessly Witty and objective, Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual is a must for anyone who uses this highly popular program, from beginners toprofessionals. Altogether, it's the ultimate atlas for Dreamweaver CS3.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Diamond Of Dreamweaver Books
Comment: At nearly 1000 pages and 26 chapters, 'Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual' by David McFarland is one of the rare books that I can EASILY give a Highest Possible Recommendation for. It has been known for quite some time that Dreamweaver is THE #1 resource for creating a professional web site in the most efficient way possible and with the fewest steps so that you can get your site created with netters surfing to it in the shortest amount of time. Now learn how to use Dreamweaver as efficiently as possible and get a peek at all the newest features in CS3!!

The material contained within is simply staggering: Basics, CSS, Forms, Flash, Automation, Database connectivity, and server-side XML and XSLT, it's all here!!

The Missing Manual is my favorite line of books because of the logical separation of content, the writing, and the design. My only gripe with this book would be the lack of color which could have easily been put in for only a small amount more added to the retail price, but this is not enough to knock my recommendation down. If you use Dreamweaver or want to learn more about what CS3 has to offer, pick this book up TO-DAY!!

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

Customer Rating:

Summary: Even a country girl can understand!
Comment: I am really impressed with this book. It is one of the few web building books that I can actually understand. They give you good examples and explain things in a easy to understand way. I have some basic knowledge in Frontpage and am switching to dreamweaver, with this book I think it will be a snap! Next time I need a manual I would look for "The Missing Manual" series!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Just buy it! This is the best book!
Comment: This guide is very lucid in its teaching. Most helpful: shows how to create using spry, demonstrates how to connect Dreamweaver to a local and/or remote database, and it covers the ways in which Dreamweaver does the programming for you, turning what would be complex lengths of code (in php, ajax, and xslt) into a few time-saving clicks of this or that button. Chapters 6 & 8 were ironically missing two pages. In their place were two from Varieties of Religious Experience by William James. And, after working through this book's easy to follow, step by step explanations and tutorials, I can honestly say that I too have faith in Dreamweaver.

Customer Rating:

Summary: This is the one to get
Comment: This book is soooo easy to use and complete in it's instructions and tutorials. No missing instructions or wondering how did they get there.
DO NOT GET Adobe's Classroom In a Book. That one is realllly bad.

Customer Rating:

Summary: In a word, "excellent!"
Comment: I love this book (and its predecessors).

First, each chapter has a kind of 'theoretical' section at the beginning - not over the top - which is excellent for enabling the reader to really understand the topic of discussion. Good bedside homework!

Next, the tutorial section ... which is clear, concise and very easy to follow. All of the required images/webpages that the reader needs to complete the tutorials are freely available to download from the publishers. Fantastic.

Finally, this book is accessible but also comprehensive. Consequently, whilst you will be able to build a decent website after reading through the first nine or ten chapters, if you read on you will get to learn how to really jazz up your sites using forms, Flash elements etc.

Having stated that I prefer video tutorials over self-help books - this book has gone a long way to changing this opinion.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A very good Guide
Comment: I really enjoyed this book. I has a very good balance of concept and exercise. It is not a step-by-step book only, but has a great deal of background information before you get to the step-by-step instruction. I would recommend to anyone this book on web development with Dreamweaver CS3!

Customer Rating:

Summary: FINALLY, SOMEONE GETS IT RIGHT - ALMOST (REVISED REVIEW)
Comment: ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I can't tell you how many books I've trudged through to "learn" innumerable new applications only to find out that the book or the tutorial CD has errors. I never knew if I was making the mistake, or if the book was wrong. It was incredibly frustrating to spend $50 on a book, only to find that it was useless because you couldn't depend on anything in the book but the page numbers.

FINALLY someone takes the time -- and has enough respect for his audience -- to get it right. I own 3 Dreamweaver CS3 books and this is, by far, the best, most comprehensive and most error-free. In fact, I haven't found a single error yet -- and, believe me, I've looked.

The great thing about this book is that all of the tutorials are online. So there's no CD to lose or scratch. You can download the tutorials as many times as you want, no password needed.

There are just enough tutorials in this book to give me the information I need, but not so many that it becomes a rote "how-to" book. There's real information here combined with real-world applications in the form of tutorials. I'm actually in the middle of one right now and I'm so impressed with this book, I just had to stop and write a review for it!

If you want to learn Dreamweaver CS3 -- and learn it RIGHT THE FIRST TIME -- buy this book. Or steal it. Just get it.

REVISED: After making my way through this book in its entirety, I did discover some fairly significant errors. McFarland does post some of the corrections on his website, but he also moved the website and it's a little difficult to find. All-in-all this is still the best of the books that are out there, but its star got a little tarneished the farther into the book I got.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A terriffic book!
Comment: This book is exceptionally well-organized and clearly-written. It is a pleasure to read, and the tutorial exercises that cover the key aspects are very, very worthwhile. I've *never* come across a manual for a software package that is as well-done as this one.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Amazing!!!
Comment: I have to admit that this is the best Dreamweaver's book I've read in years !! Very good job !!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Not for the faint hearted!
Comment: If you are learning web-paging from scratch, set aside at least three months for intensive study and practice in which to become capable of applying it to your purposes. This is a five-course dinner you are sitting down to. It's title, Dreamweaver, is well earned, but it won't do your weaving for you -- put real effort into learning how to use it and be patient over the learning period. You'll be glad you did! I'm half-way into my three months' and gratified to have grasped the essentials and to have done my first trial web page with it. It weaves your creativity into the woof. This manual is the key to learning how to use Dreamweaver --use it, don't just read it. --WTB

Customer Rating:

Summary: A well written book - something we all need.
Comment: Unlike some manuals and texts which are either a SUMMARY or a BORING TECHNICAL PARALYSIS on the software, this book is very objective, quick to the point, yet goes into detail when necessary. Forget the BIBLE style books, or NUTSHELL style books. This book can be made into an example of how software manuals are written in the future. If there is one drawback, the book is difficult to handle with its so so many pages. I would have broken this down into two books. Just for ease of handling. Also, maybe have the text font size slightly larger.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent Source for beginners and veterans!!
Comment: The walk through steps included in this manual make it as easy as it gets to complete even the hardest processes featured in the program. Adobe should have contracted David Sawyer McFarland to write this book to be included in their product off the shelf. Very pleased with my purchase.

Customer Rating:

Summary: No Bull Instruction
Comment: This is the second book I've studied by this author (the other is "CSS, The Missing Manual"). I've used Dreamweaver from the very first version, and as a Marketing Communications/Graphics/Web professional for more than 18 years, I'm no novice where web design and production is concerned. Now that web design has finally emerged from the table-dominated HTML world, it's great to have an instructional resource like this to aid the transition to CSS-based page layout.

Both of McFarland's books are excellent instructional manuals (and I seriously recommend that you buy both). They combine concise, easy-to-understand explanatory text and superb tutorials to present the material in a manner that only the dimmest bulb could fail to appreciate. I've read many intstructional texts over the years, and this is the most fully competent and effective manual I've yet encountered.

It helps if you have some experience with Dreamweaver, but even if you don't, this is the book you should buy. I can't imagine any other manual that could possibly give you a better -- and usefully functional -- overview than this one. Buy it and study it. If you do, all your web friends (pretenders) will be knocking on your door, asking you to share your expertise.

The "Missing Manual" series, at least as far as I've been exposed to it, is excellent. I just bought the Flash CS3 manual, and I will report on that shortly.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Was this written just for me?
Comment: Great book. Written in conversational style for non-techies like me. A thousand times easier to understand than the manual that comes with the software. This is my bible for Dreamweaver.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual
Comment: All right I admit it, I have been known to resist change. But it appears that Dreamweaver is rising higher and higher in the sky as the star called Adobe GoLive nears the western horizon. As one who derives at least some income from web site design and maintenance I understand the need to start the process of migrating to the new mainstream product. The question then becomes, "What do I use to help me ascend the learning curve?" Time and budget constraints preclude formal classes, workshops or personal trainers.

Enter "Dreamweaver CS3" from the highly acclaimed "Missing Manual" series. The Missing Manuals have long been a regular part of my computer reference library. Helping me, time and again answer not only my own questions but those of my clients as well.

Mr. McFarland presents the material in a well organized, clearly written, easy to understand format. The illustrations are a mixed bag of PC and Mac screen shots so no one feels excluded or exclusive. But for me the most valuable parts of the book are the lessons. These lessons are stored on a related web site not on a CD stuck in the back of the book. This virtual CD can't get lost, bent, scratched or broken. It can also be easily updated if an error is detected. What a great and simple idea! That being said it is the lessons themselves that teach me the most about Dreamweaver. Common scenarios are played out in a way that allow me to apply much of what I already know to the Dreamweaver experience. I find myself virtually slapping my virtual forehead and saying, "Oh, that's how you do that! It is starting to make sense now." Furthermore, the lessons gave me new insights into basics (CSS for example) that I didn't understand previously and have been able to apply when using my old software of choice.

This book is an excellent self tutoring guide opening much of the common, real world web design experience to the Dreamweaver novice. It is what I need at this time. The only way that I could fault the work is, I wish it were a little more "Reference Manual" to go along with the valuable textbook. There have been times where I wanted to know how to do something in Dreamweaver that is comfortable for me in GoLive and I am unable to find the Missing Manual reference. Perhaps I am looking for expanded indexes or additional Appendixes. Maybe I want David Sawyer McFarland to be sitting next to me when I have a question. Perhaps this is expecting too much for my $45. Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual will find a spot close at hand on my reference shelf even if it is not constantly on the desk absorbing spilled coffee and dispensing answers to every question.

Customer Rating:

Summary: One word....WOW!
Comment: This book is so easy to follow a monkey could build a webpage with it. I have been building computers for a decade, but building webpages has always seemed out of reach. The book is designed in a way that if you want the fine details...it's there...if you want to skip ahead to create that one thing on your webpage you can jump straight to the tutorials. McFarland is truly a master at writing manuals. Don't wait any longer, do youself a favor and GET THIS BOOK!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent learning tool and ongoing resource
Comment: This is an outstanding introduction to both the general concepts and the detailed processing of Dreamweaver CS3, written in a way easy to understand. It took me about 4 weeks to get through the 940 pages but I felt I was learning throughout the process. While obviously a fan of the program, McFarland also points out where it is lacking or confusing, and provides helpful workarounds. The tutorials are comprehensive and instructive. The book exceeded my expectations as a tool for trying to learn the program. As I convert my existing site to DW CS3, I'm now using it as a resource.

I did find a surprising number of typos, though none were terribly distracting. Things like "see page xx" and incorrect file names when describing the steps of the tutorials.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Brilliant
Comment: I have found this book thoroughly useful and am glad I purchased it. I wish the author would write a book on Illustrator CS3.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Worth every penny!
Comment: Well organized -great for a novice all the way through to an experienced user. I have purchased a number of other books on this topic and finally found this one. From now on when in need of a reference manual I will check in 'the Missing Manual' series first. They are user-friendly and well done. My only wish is that I had found this one first.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very good
Comment: If you screw up on any of the steps of the tutorials you don't have a teacher to tell you how to go back and fix the problem, you have to figure it out yourself. But as far as learning through book I think this is as good as you can get. And quite cheaper than attending lessons.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The best for long time
Comment: Well, My English is not native and I find this book easy to read and understand.
It covers every thing you need to jump and create your web site and even dynamic web site.
great book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Awesome Book, so far!
Comment: This is a great book.

After reading the amazon reviews and browsing through this one along with some others at borders I made the commitment.

I passed on the following after looking through them:
-Dreamweaver for dummies
-The Dreamweaver cs3 bible
-Dreamweaver one on one.

The tutorials are great. I don't really know anything about webdesign other than line breaks and tags...this book is showing me that I don't really need to know any more than that. The tone is good, humorous but not as relaxed as a dummies book, and very imformative. I'm going to pick us the Missing Manual series for Flash and Photoshop next.

I guess I could give it 5 stars but I'm not through the book yet, about half-way. Maybe I'll update the review when I'm done with the book.

-Armand
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Detail
Comment: The book has interesting tutorials, but I still had many problems with CSS and ended up just using Dreamweaver the old reliable way. I feel he's trying to get me to purchase his other book on CSS by not having enough details to get the basics working properly on all browsers. On the other hand, I'm not experienced with code, and perhaps I need an even simpler book. I ended up also buying Dreamweaver for Dummies which is more basic but not detailed. I needed both books to set up my site and the gadgets & CSS didnt work for me the way this booked explained. Could be my ignorance, but it should have walked me through it in a better way. Parts of the book were great like setting up a site, linking, etc. but what I really wanted to know is CSS, but seems I'll have to buy his other book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Wish List
Comment: The only problem I have is that there is no Missing Manual for CS3 InDesign or Illustrator. Are there any plans for such a book?

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CS3
Comment: Another excellent book by David McFarland. I don't recommend this book for the beginner, but I use it as a reference. In the CS3 version of Dreamweaver, Adobe has made changes that are clearly explained by the author.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Worth every penny
Comment: This may possibly be THE BEST how-to book of any kind I have ever owned and read. Unlike many of the other how-to books on Dreamweaver - which usually amount to not much than a very wordy version of the Quick Reference Guide - "The Missing Manual" contains everything I was looking for and more.

This book takes you through the WHOLE process of organizing and building a web site using Dreamweaver CS3. It does so in a very logical fashion with very easy to understand language. If you are (like I am) someone who has limited experience building a web site, this book will give you a very good head start. It explains to you WHAT are important and WHY they are important in Dreamweaver and in web design in general.

The included tutorials (the files need to be downloads from the author's web site) are very helpful, especially for beginners.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with this book. It was well worth the money to purchase it and the time to read it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Step by step-misses not a thing
Comment: Very comprehensive- easy to go through -you read a few chapters then do a tutorial to establish knowledge.

Awesome for reference-I needed help with a php site and went straight to that chapter- it walked me through it.

Light and humorous text-makes it an easy read. I highly recommend it. You wont be sorry.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Amazing reference and tutorial!
Comment: I am so happy with this book! I have never used Dreamweaver before, but with the Missing Manual's help I am now learning the basics and the fun design stuff too!

I really appreciate that not only does the book tell you how to do something, but it also tells you when you might use the feature and why you're doing it a certain way.

Great book, I highly recommend it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent Book
Comment: If you have a basic understanding of HTML but are a total newbie to Dreamweaver, then this book can get you up and going in a couple of days.

I read the first four chapters to get an understanding of the product. Then afterwards, I simply performed the tutorials several times in the remaining chapters.

Customer Rating:

Summary: This really is the book
Comment: the one that should have come with the CS3 Dreamweaver. It is much better than the classroom in a book thing, and it also has tutorial exercises you can down load.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Get This Book
Comment: I am new to Dreamweaver and this is by far the best book I have purchased to learn from. It walks you through step-by-step with lots of illustrations and useful tips. It is also written with a bit of humor which makes the manual seem more "personal." Within just a few days after starting this book, I was able to create my first website! Thanks Missing Manual!!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Total agony
Comment: If you are new to Dreamweaver, or even if you have used it a bit, this book will absolutely drive you nuts!! It is totally worthless to anyone that isn't a Dreamweaver guru. Mine will be for sale on ebay soon!!! What a waste of money and huge amounts of time. Save your money and buy something that you can actually use.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent product
Comment: This book is easy to use. It is two books in one, a comprehensive reference manual and a training manual. I like the format.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good Reference Manual and Tutorial
Comment: The book comes with clear and useful tutorials. It is well indexed and I have found it to be an excellent reference manual.

Lots of tips, tricks and workarounds are provided.

The only thing i found lacking was its reference to use of frames.
I know frames are "yesterdays news", however, sometimes they can be useful on individual pages.

All in all, a very well written and presented book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent Book!
Comment: I've been using Dreamweaver since version 3 and really love the program. I just finished Chp 5 (Links) in the CS3 Missing Manual and the tutorial walked me thru entering and editing the Spry menu bars which are new to DW CS3. The CSS used to create the menus is pretty complicated and the tutorial made it a breeze to edit the menu. The earlier chapters while mostly review still taught some new tricks to this old dog. I look forward to the rest of the chapters. So far I have to give this book a Two Thumbs Up!

Jim

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver
Comment: The book was a gift to my husband and he has been very pleased with it after studing the first half. He hope to finish the rest soon.

Customer Rating:

Summary: BRILLIANT! Easy to Understand; Easy to Use; Great Index, too
Comment: Highly recommended to anyone who wants to use Dreamweaver the website-creating program, DREAMWEAVER CS3: THE MISSING MANUAL is an invaluable source of information for both beginners and professionals alike.

As thick as a phone book with an exhausting array of information, this manual is wonderfully easy to read because it is written in simple English (rather than jargon) and includes a great index that makes finding specific tips a breeze.

When I first purchased this book, I did a hunt and peck to find exactly what I thought I needed. When I discovered how well written it was, I started DREAMWEAVER CS3: THE MISSING MANUAL from the beginning and now understand better what I initially believed I had mastered. This book is HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

-- Regina McMenamin

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great Book
Comment: This is a great book for any Dreamweaver CS3 owner, whether a virtual beginner or a more advanced developer. It covers all the basics and UI of Dreamweaver CS3, and later in the book provides more in depth information. It is by no means a book targeting extremely advanced developers, but a good reference can never hurt anyone. It's worth purchasing.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver
Comment: The book was a gift to my husband and he has been very pleased with it after studing the first half. He hope to finish the rest soon.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very informative
Comment: As a newcomer to Dreamweaver, I found this book very informative and easy to understand. The tutorials were well set out and easy to follow.

Customer Rating:

Summary: BEST How-to book EVER
Comment: I can't stop talking about how GREAT this book is! I've been trying to figure out how create a dynamic website for a couple years now, and I finally found a book to walk me through the process from start to finish- I practiced on my son's school track website- Thanks to Mr. McFarland, I got a dynamic site up and running!(With password protected admin forms for the coaches to update the data themselves!) I had no previous experience with MySQL or PHP, and didn't even know that I needed them, or how to get them (he gives you the links to do it for free)... I noticed that some people found the references and repeats to other sections irritating- Not having time to read everything, I found them essential, and appreciated him taking the time and effort to do that. I skipped to the sections I needed and found EVERYTHING I needed at my finger tips. (Who has time to read almost 1000 pages before you get to work!) His real world tutorials, and step by step instructions were EXACTLY what I needed to get my site up and running! He was logical, thorough and entertaining- I've been looking for a book like this for several years and am thrilled that I finally found it. I'll have to go back and read the chapters I skipped, and get his book on CSS (The missing manual)Then I will be a real expert.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Not for my personality....
Comment: This is a verbose, somewhat unorganized book that could easily have been condensed to less than half the size the book. It has you referencing later in the book while mentioning something early in the book I think in an attempt to be cohesive but I found it irritating. I like bullet points but found it mostly in lengthly, overly wordy form. Just not my style. Now, with that said, once I am fluent, so to speak, in DW CS3, then perhaps I may refer to it and it may hold value to me then...not sure.

I won't mention this problem without a solution that fit for me. I bought Dreamweaver CS3 Video Training with Garrick Chow. This was an outstanding solution for me! Perfect. Everything you need to get started from start to finish with DW CS3.

I am absolutely new to Dreamweaver, and must note that as it may contribute to your expectations of what you want/need in supplemental materials to the DW program.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CS3 the Missing Manual is a friendly course in the use of DW CS3
Comment: This book is ideal for the explanation of the use of Dreamweaver CS3. Its tone is light but not cutesy, quite accurate and detailed, but not pedantic or overly academic. I came to DW CS3 with some knowledge of DW 4, DW MX and html. I had also had used some CSS style sheets in making a few web sites. This version of DW is very advanced over DW 4 and MX in its support of CSS. For that alone DW CS3 and this book are worth their combined prices.

The pictures in the book are frequent and useful. The book is rather lengthy and therefore physically somewhat unwieldy, but with DW CS3 having so many features and so much power, I can't imagine any other way to address them all in such a form. And once you get a taste of the power of CS3 via this book you will want to learn every last thing you can from such a source as MacFarland's book. Perhaps the book isn't for the newcomer to web site construction, but neither is DW CS3 in my opinion. MacFarland's book is the definative guide to DW CS3. I highly recommend it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great book, easy to understand
Comment: I am new to both web design and dreamweaver. I have been reading this book from cover to cover. It is very well written in a logical manner and easy to understand. This is probably one of the best guide books I have ever read. The tutorial files available online really help to enforce concepts. Highly recommended.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The book you wished you'd found in the box.
Comment: Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual, is definitely the book you wished you'd found in the box with the installation disk for Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. Weighing in at 995 pages (including a 25 page index), The Missing Manual is the best resource book for learning and using this equally robust web development tool. The book is divided into 26 chapters and two appendices, organized into seven sections. The Table of Contents is quite detailed, listing the chapter headings and sub-heading, making it easy to locate a particular subject. This book is filled from beginning to end with very detailed step-by-step tutorials to help you learn how to use Dreamweaver to accomplish a wide variety of web development tasks. I consider Dreamweaver CS3 The Missing Manual a definite must-have bookshelf reference for anyone who wants to investigate and learn every nook and cranny of this extensive application.

Chapter 1 begins at the beginning and is geared to the new user. There is a tour of the interface followed by a thorough step-by-step `Test Drive' tutorial. Starting with customizing the program preferences, the chapter continues with setting up a site, creating and saving a web page, adding text and images, and previewing your page in a browser. This first chapter touches on a lot of subject matter covered in greater detail in later chapters. Dreamweaver has a wealth of dialogs and wizards to help you create rather sophisticated web documents and they can be just as daunting as writing code. And, there are also extensions (extend the functionality of Dreamweaver), you can install to facilitate productivity. The Missing Manual really holds your hand, leading you through the process of learning to use the Dreamweaver tools. For those who want a little more, there are insets throughout the pages with the titles (in the title bar) of `Workaround Workshop', `Up to Speed', `Power Users' Clinic', `Frequently Asked Questions', `Gem in the Rough', and even `Easter Egg Hunt'.

To really take control of the web document creation process it's important to understand and be able to work with the underlying code. Beginning in Chapter 8: Advanced CSS, the discussion moves to talking about the HTML elements, the building blocks of creating a web page. Terms such as ID and Descendant Selectors enter the tutorial discussion. Why would you care? Well, even when using Dreamweaver as a visual editor and the GUI (graphic user interface) to modify the appearance of say, a list item, you need to know what the

tag is and that it needs to be selected for styling. And then wee come to Chapter 10, Under the Hood: HTML. Here we learn about using the Code View. First there are Preferences settings suggested, one for targeting and fixing invalidly nested or unclosed tags, and another for targeting extra closing tags for removal. Dreamweaver provides some great tools for working with code such as code hints, code collapse, the tag inspector and tools for file comparison. This chapter will help ease you into working with code, if you are interested.

Adobe's Spry Framework for Ajax is mentioned as a technique for creating navigation menus in Chapter 5 and as a method for validating form data in the Chapter that explains how to build forms. Spry is the current hot web technology and you'll find the thorough explanations of Spry and Spry Widgets (an element made up of HTML, CSS and JavaScript), clear and understandable. Even if you don't completely understand the technology, you'll find the step-by-steps easy to follow. There are tutorials for adding Spry Widgets such as an accordion of collapsible panels and creating Spry Effects in the chapter that covers Dreamweaver Behaviors. If you've never been able to figure out how to use Dreamweaver's behaviors, working through the information and tutorials in this chapter will help get you past that obstacle.

While a 995 page tech book is not usually a cover to cover read, you should be sure to refer to Chapter 16: Testing Your Site, before going public with your creation. It's a relatively short chapter with a checklist and the usual info on Dreamweaver tools for checking the site performance and detecting errors on your pages. The next chapter addresses getting your site onto the Internet. Section 5 is about how to really get the most out of using Dreamweaver. The chapters cover the topics of snippets, libraries, templates, automation and customizing the application. Section 6 is titled Dynamic Dreamweaver and has extremely good tutorials on using a variety of server side technologies. You'll even be stepped through setting up a free testing server on your computer, XAMP for Windows and MAMP for MacOSX. The last section contains two appendices. The first gives details about a variety of help resources including the Dreamweaver Help System, the Adobe site, Forums, the DMX Zone, and paid support. The second appendix is a detailing of every Dreamweaver menu.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CSS3
Comment: This book was an excellent introduction to Dream weaver for a novice like myself.It has easy to follow tutorial and is very user friendly. High recommended.

Customer Rating:

Summary: 968 pages of help
Comment: The Missing Manual series sports the tag line "The book that should have been in the box". Generally it's the truth and "Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual" is a shining example of what a tech manual should be.

It's huge: 968 pages, not counting the index.

It is thorough: the table of contents runs 14 pages and you can see that just about every subject a beginning to advanced intermediate website creator is included. (Note that I say website creator and not designer. This is not really a book intended for designers.)

McFarland is an excellent writer for this kind of book. His style is moderately spare. He keeps his sentences concise and direct, which is a boon in this kind of manual. Unlike some tech authors, he does not see himself as a comedian, and doesn't attempt intoducing lame humor.

Website creation isn't a single subject and, if it is covered in detail, it isn't necessarily simple. One needs to understand HTML, XHTML, CSS, HTTP and more. McFarland does an excellent job of introducing the reader to both website creation and Dreamweaver CS3.

Dreamweaver CS3 is a complex environment, which accounts for its being the most used creation tool by web professionals. But McFarland takes the reader by the hand and walks him through virtually every aspect of Dreamweaver CS3. Not every capabilitity is treated in great depth, but that is to be expected.

Overall, this is a fine example of what a technical manual should be. Exhaustive, but readable and highly informative. Its 968 pages may look daunting at the outset, but the reward is in leaving with a thorough explanation of what Dreamweaver CS3 can do - and being able to do it.

Jerry

Customer Rating:

Summary: Great book for even Old Dreamweaver versions
Comment: Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual

I found that this book was absolutely great for my Dreamweaver 2004. I needed help with templates and my version as well as the books that came with software didn't do a good job with this. I have bought other books but when I got this one it did a great job with examples etc. 50+ pages just on this topic! I can't wait to use it for other types of things I plan on doing with my current version of Dreamweaver.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent Dreamweaver book...
Comment: This book is as it says...the book that should have been in the box. It is very clear and concise and covers most of the things you'll need to know to get your web site up and running and looking good...an excellent book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Up And Running
Comment: As a GoLive user for many years, I wanted to get up and running as fast as possible with Dreamweaver, now that I am making the switch-over. This book does the trick, with very well written explanations and tutorials. I highly recommend it!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent book
Comment: I own a dozen books of the Missing Manual series, and I haven't found a bad one yet. This one is exceptional. Dreamweaver CS3 is as deep as web design programs get, and this book allows extended dives well beneath the waves without running out of air.

Customer Rating:

Summary: An Average Book
Comment: This is an average book. The description is lengthy but the information is all over the place, making it difficult to reference. The steps to create a web page are presented in two ways: first a vague description of the steps are presented and after that, a tutorial at the back of each chapter is given. Thus, the steps are presented twice. This explains the thickness of this book.

A topic which is not covered in other books is the use of PHP in Dreamweaver. This book describes how to set up an online catalog using Dreamweaver but it stops short of creating an interface which takes in orders in a shopping cart, a powerful feature in PHP/SQL. Thus, this book is just an average book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Perfect User's Manual
Comment: This book is clear, with easy to follow descriptions and tutorials. It covers basic and complex web design in an easy to understand format. This is the best user's manual I've ever used.

Customer Rating:

Summary: To confusing
Comment: It is discouraging to work with the book. To much small talk and very little hands on. You have to go trough four pages of autor's ideas and tips before you find what you are looking for or what you have to do. The book could be four times smaller and then would have been one of the best.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Better than expected
Comment: I have had no prior experience with web programming, or with Dreamweaver. I really liked the flow of the manual and the amount of information in it. I did not realize how thick the manual is physically, but glad that it has so much information. The tutorials are a step by step process, which I needed to get me started. The examples and source files are all included. I recommend it.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Clean and motivating
Comment: I've heard about O'reilly books before. And I'm glad to have one. It has a comprehensible and sincere expression. After all I've found my missing manual! Thanks...

Customer Rating:

Summary: Best of the best
Comment: If you're new to dreamweaver this book will be very very helpful, pretty straightfoward, although it's huge, it will cover everything you need to know about dreamweaver cs3, very easy to understand, especially for newbies like me, highly recommended!!!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual
Comment: I like the Missing Manual series over other popular help series in the way they don't use as much empty space as filler. This book is wall to wall information on helping the novice (me) understand how DW CS3 works, but it also has advanced chapters that I might have needed if I wasn't building such a simple website. This was my second Missing Manual after having received the first on another topic for a Christmas gift. I will look for everything in this series from now on when I need a hand. I highly recommend it. It is written so it is clear to both the novice and intermediate users. However, I imagine an advanced CS3 user would not learn much, beyond the occasional, "Wow, I didn't know CS3 could do that...".

Customer Rating:

Summary: Well thought out and comprehensive -- this is the one you need
Comment: Calling this the "missing" manual may go a little too far, because I can't imagine any manufacturer doing such a thorough job with a guidebook. It's a comprehensive intro and reference that no Dreamweaver learner should do without. I looked at several and actually bought one that was so bad I wound up demanding (successfully!) a refund for at Borders. Good work, Mr. McFarland, and kudos to you for being visible and open to feedback through your blog.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent - I highly recommend this book.
Comment: I am a novice at web design - and with the help of this manual and of course Dreamweaver - I have set up two business web sites. I am pretty good generally with computers - though I think Dreamweaver and web design is still fairly complicated, but this book is able walk someone like me through the process and help me understand how to get things accomplished. There are several sections I won't have to use - but everything I have used is well written and thought out. I'd recommend this book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Dreamweaver CS3- Finally has a real book,
Comment: I painful dug thru many of the "well respected" writing out there and none of them measure up to the clean and clearly well thought out to Dreamweaver CS3 The Missing manual by David McFarland .

I recently moved from Front Page over to Dreamweaver CS3 and was looking for the one book to use and have found it after a long and sometimes a painful search.

I had originally purchased Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Classroom in a Book based on the excellent verion of Photoshop by the same group. Yet the version that David wrote is far cleaner and it what I alway recommend to friends an colleges about " the right stuff" You just earned 5 stars from me, and I told hand those out very often...
Keep up the awesome work David !

Customer Rating:

Summary: Complete, accurate, but just too wordy!
Comment: I like this book and the tutorials, and I'm glad I bought it, BUT it gets annoying after a while with how verbose it is. For instance, the author even says at one point in the first chapter,

'"Enough already! I want to build a web page," you're probably saying.'

Yes, you're right! That IS what I was saying!

He then takes p.44-64, (20 pages!) to walk you through importing a graphic, copying a text file, adding a background, and centering the page in the browser. When you list on a piece of paper the steps that you just did and repeat it, it can be carried out within maybe 90 seconds.

I started to think that this book is like friends you may have that are really nice, they're smart, and you like them, but they just can't give you the short version of a story! I find myself jotting in the margin the one thing from the whole page to remember.

This is a book for absolute beginners, not only to Dreamweaver but to web pages in general. If you've been writing web pages in a text editor and just want to see how Dreamweaver can make everything easier, this book makes you want to pull your hair out! For instance, three leading paragraphs in Chapter 2 on adding text to your pages that can be summed up as, "Text is still the most important thing on the web". WE ALL KNOW THAT! Don't make me read a whole page for that!!

I buy a new computer book about once a week, and this book does what so many are guilty of - sidebars to the point of distraction. There is a sidebar topic, hint, etc. on virtually every page of this book, which, along with the wordiness, adds to the "Let's get this done!" frustration you start to feel.

If you're already familiar with html and web pages and aren't real patient with people that take forever to tell you something, get a different book.

As another reviewer said, this book could be 1/4 its size and would be SO MUCH better!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Best Guide, Easy to Understand
Comment: This book is a lifesaver! I still had many questions about Dreamweaver after taking a six-week online class, but no one to ask. Dreamwear CS3 the missing manual answered all of them and more. It has made my job easier, and completing task faster.

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Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual