Dreamweaver CS3 Bible [With CDROM]

This book, while daunting in size, is very accessible and contains everything you need to know about Dreamweaver CS3. I'm a designer, comfortable coding CSS/HTML but pretty green when it comes to things like XML and Spry. Other Dreamweaver books I looked at didn't have anything I didn't already know...so I knew they were lacking in a big way. This book takes you through every nook and cranny and when compared to others its astounding how glaring their shortcomings are and much more is in here. While you probably won't lay in bed reading this giant book it is by far the best and only book to consider for Dreamweaver. For me its serving as a springboard to learn other technologies/languages, so I'd have to say you'll learn a lot even beyond Dreamweaver. Covers the subject matter thoroughly and teaches you so much more...they didn't have to bother writing any other Dreamweaver books. This is the one.

I ordered this book for it's coverage of the new Spry Ajax features of Dreamweaver CS3. Having used the three previous versions of DW for nearly 10 years, I was not looking for an introduction to DW, but more for an encyclopedic reference to look up and deal with specific situations and coverage of new features. So far I have found the Bible to be very good for these purposes. Subjects are easy to find using the table of contents and index and, once found, topic coverage is clear and full of usage/code examples. As I said, I am far from being a DW newbie who needs introduction to the basics of the software so I have not spent much time in the introductory chapters of the book. I have, however, loaned the book to a co-worker who is new to the product. She indicated that the Bible author's writing style and liberal use of figures and examples made the content easy to understand and she feels that her DW expertise has been pumped up dramatically by her exposure to this book. This is a good, well-organized resource both for the experienced developer and the web development novice.

I've had several "graphic bibles" in my career. Most of them have been OK, with only a few disappointments. I don't know if it's the software enhancements or the book itself, but this one delivers much more than I expected. The examples are concise and detailed. If you are new to web design though, you may want to start with some basic books on the subject, but for a designer who is familiar with Dreamweaver, Joe did a great job.

This book does what no other book can do; teach you everything you need to know about DW CS3 and how to utilize all of its significant features. Want to learn how to master the css panel to streamline your css processing without having to stare at code all day? check. Want to learn how to incorporate complex javascript behaviors without having to learn how to handcode js? check. Want to learn how to incorporate the holy grain of future web applications, ajax, with simplicity and ease? check. If you're going to spend money on resources this book is a must have. It's easy to understand, well-laid out, and an easy reference guide. This book is so good and so much in line with dw cs3 that adobe should make it part of their cs package! A must have, no question about it.

Not only is this a fantastic reference, it also serves as my idea generator. I use the book to refine techniques as well as get new ideas on how to better the content I've already created. I'm old fashioned enough to need a manual in my hand while creating with Dreamweaver. The book helps me get the most out of the software.