Dreamweaver 3 Hands-on-Training (2nd Edition)

Macromedia Dreamweaver is one of the most empowering Web development tools on the market. Using it, even folks with no HTML coding experience can become productive Web designers. Dreamweaver 3 Hands-On Training is a fine companion to this application, presented in a style that dovetails nicely with Dreamweaver's user-friendly nature.

The book is a great jumping-off guide for users new to Dreamweaver. Authors Lynda Weinman and Garo Green skillfully weave hands-on exercises into general topical introductions. This means you'll learn right away about subjects like layers, for example; and, as you go, you'll find out about relevant browser compatibility issues. Its style makes the book both fast-paced and engaging--it won't bore you with what markup languages are, and the various flavors of HTML.

The accompanying CD-ROM is key. In addition to trial versions of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Netscape, and Microsoft browsers, plus a few crucial plug-ins, it contains example files organized by book chapter. Fortunately, the exercises move along quickly, demonstrating various techniques for performing operations. In one chapter, for example, you might be asked to open Web pages individually into the program, while in another you'll be shown how to attach a "site" to the folder that contains the files and work from there.

Dreamweaver is a fun program with which to work, and this tutorial is right on the mark. Even if you're just finding your Web legs in site design and want to give Dreamweaver a whirl, this book is worth purchasing. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Site control
• Linking
• HTML source
• Typography
• Layers
• Margins
• Tables
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• Templates
• Libraries
• Frames
• Rollovers
• Automation
• Forms
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
• Behaviors
• Commands
• Plug-ins
• Site publishing