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Dreamweaver
4 Hands-On Training
"A
Fantastic Book For Learning Dreamweaver 4!"
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Title:
Dreamweaver
4 Hands-on Training
Author: Garo
Green, Lynda Weinman
Publisher:
Peachpit Press http://www.peachpit.com
Publication Date: May
2001
Pages: 650
with CD
ISBN: 0-201-74133-4
Price:
$39.99
Dreamweaver
4 Hands-On-Training
is the newest version of the Hands-on-Training series book for Macromedia's
Dreamweaver 4, a WYSIWYG HTML editor. The book is structured as a series
of exercises that explore Site Management; Layers; Tables, including the
new Layout Tables feature; Tracing Images; Cascading Style Sheets; Libraries/Templates,
including the new Assets Panel; Frames; Rollovers; Forms Design; Interactivity;
Sound/Plug-Ins; and much more. The authors didn't set out to cover every
single aspect of Dreamweaver, but wanted to write a book which was a process-oriented
tutorial that taught readers core principles, techniques, and tips in
a hands-on training format. So this book is full of insider tips, illustrated
with detailed graphics, and is accompanied by a CD-ROM that's loaded with
guided exercises and QuickTime moves.
This book is appropriate for both PC and Macintosh users. Check out the
Peachpit Press Web site (http://www.peachpit.com)
for more information about the book and other books in the Hands-On-Training
series. Also check out Lynda Weinman's Web (http://www.lynda.com)
site for information on her other books and classes.
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Beginning to intermediate computer users.
This book is targeted toward beginning to intermediate level Web developers
who are looking for a tool to speed up production, offer workflow flexibility,
and create great code and results. |
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What
I like:
-
Step-by-step instruction;
- Even
more exercises in this version than in the last;
- Screen
shots on almost every page;
- Notes,
Tips, and charts galore;
- CD
full of extra goodies and demo software.
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How
The Book Is Organized |
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Dreamweaver
4 Hands-on Training
is divided into an introduction, 19 chapters or lessons and an appendix.
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Introduction |
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Introduction--describes
basics about how the book works and background on the authors.
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Chapters
1-19 |
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Chapters
1 through 19
cover the following:
- Chapter
1:
Background--presents information
on: Roundtrip HTML; HTML; File Naming; Extending Dreamweaver; DHTML;
XML; and JavaScript. The chapter Includes a very clear description of
what HTML is and provides two visual charts. There are two lists, one
for online HTML resource sites and another for Dreamweaver shared resource
sites. It includes helpful charts on file-naming conventions; filename
extensions; and DHTML terms.
- Chapter
2:
Interface--discusses: Interface
Tour; Objects Panel; Launcher and Mini-Launcher; Customizing the Launcher;
Properties Inspector; Document Window; Toolbar; External Editors; and
Preferences. Includes screen shots of the interface and types of objects.
This chapter has excellent charts of Object Panel types; Launcher and
Mini-Launcher features; launcher shortcuts; toolbar features; document
window features; and shortcuts.
- Chapter
3:
Site Control--covers: Defining a
Site; Relative and Absolute Links; File and Folder Management; Understanding
Paths; Different Path Notations; and Site Maps. Very important chapter
on the necessity of defining a site in Dreamweaver with a root folder
so that Dreamweaver can automatically update your pages when you add,
modify, move, or delete files or folders. There is a chart on path notations
and an excellent notation explaining absolute vs. relative URLs. It
includes six exercises.
- Chapter
4:
Basics--presents information on:
File Name Versus Title Name; Significance of index; Html; Inserting
Images and Text; Page Properties; Links; Meta Tags, and Looking at HTML.
Walks you step-by-step through the process of creating a Web page with
images, links, and meta tags. It includes charts on color picker options
and page properties. It includes ten exercises.
- Chapter
5:
Linking--provides information on:
Linking with Point to File; Browse for File and Link History; Linking
to New Source Files; Email Links; Named Anchors; and Image Maps. There
are no charts but it does have a great section on anchors with screenshots
which simplify the process. It includes seven exercises.
- Chapter
6:
Typography--shows: Creating and
Formatting HTML Text; Font Lists; Aligning Text; Text and Images; Ordered,
Unordered, and Definition Lists; Color Schemes; Formatting Text in Tables;
Applying HTML Styles; Character Entities; and creating Flash Text. Informational
charts of system fonts; font sizes; HTML text and image alignment definitions;
ordered, unordered, and definition lists; HTML styles; character entities;
and using Flash text are included. There are ten exercises.
- Chapter
7:
Tables--gives you information on:
Changing the Border of a Table; Sorting the Table; Changing the Color
Scheme; Creating and Modifying a Table; Percentage-Based Table Alignment;
Seamless Image Assembly; Combining Pixels and percentages; Inserting
Tab-Delimited Data; Nested Tables and Borders; and Rounded Corner Tables.
Useful step-by-step instructions on sorting the contents of a table
and creating an image map. There are charts on anatomy of a table; sorting
features; cellpad versus cellspace; and tabular data settings. It includes
eleven exercises.
- Chapter
8:
Layout--discusses: Applying a Tracing
Image; Tracing Images, Background Colors, and Images; Adding Layers;
Converting Layers to Tables; Converting Tables to Layers; Using Margin
Tags; Layout Tables and Layout Cells. The chapter includes charts on
tracing images, layers, and tables defined; convert layers to table
options; layers to tables versus layout view; and layout view vs. standard
view. It includes six exercises. See top image to the left for a view
of a file that you work with.
- Chapter
9:
Frames--covers: What Are Frames;
Saving Your First Frameset; Different Ways to Save Frames; Coloring
Frames; Links and Targets; Adding a Background Image; Seamless Background
Across Two Frames; and Frames Objects Panel. There are charts describing
the good and bad features of frames; ways to save frames; HTML specifications
for target names; frame size settings; and frames properties. Informative
chapter on a difficult subject. The author hits on the basics without
overwhelming you with detail. There are six exercises.
- Chapter
10:
Rollovers--describes: Creating a
Simple Rollover; Animated Rollovers; Creating Pointer Rollovers; Creating
Multiple-Event Rollovers; Inserting a Navigation Bar Rollover; Rollover
States; Creating Flash Buttons; and Inserting a Simple Rollover from
Fireworks. There are charts describing: swap image at a glance, creating
Flash buttons; using Flash text; rollover states, and adding elements
to the navigation bar. It includes seven exercises.
- Chapter
11: Cascading Style Sheets--provides
information on: Redefining HTML with Style Sheets; Defining a Custom
Class; Using Selectors to Group Tags; Affecting Links with Selectors;
Linking to a Style Sheet; and Converting from CSS to HTML. Excellent
step-by-step tutorials for making the three types of style sheets and
then converting styles back to HTML. There is are charts on types of
style sheets and creating styles in Dreamweaver. There are six exercises.
- Chapter
12:
HTML--includes information on: Code
View; Editing in the Code View; Using the Quick tag Editor; Cleaning
Up HTML; and Cleaning Up Word HTML. It includes charts on code view
options and the different selections available under the Clean Up HTML
command. It also has five exercises.
- Chapter
13:
Forms--provides information on:
Working with Form Objects; Creating a Form; and Creating a Jump Menu.
The chapter has a chart for form objects. Again, the author makes this
task look simple. There are three exercises.
- Chapter
14:
Behaviors--presents information
on: Creating a Check Browser Behavior; Creating a Set Text of Status
Bar Behavior; Creating a Set Text of Text Field behavior; Opening a
New Browser Window; Validating Forms with Behaviors; The Macromedia
Exchange--Dreamweaver; Installing the Macromedia Extension Manager;
Inserting ImageReady HTML; and Downloading from Macromedia Exchange.
It includes a chart to add the Set Text of Text Field Behavior. There
are eight exercises.
- Chapter
15:
DHTML--describes: Dragging Layers;
Using Timeline for Animation; Playing, Stopping, and Resetting the Timeline;
and Creating a DHTML Pop-Up Menu. The chapter shows you what you can
do with DHTML in a straightforward manner. There is a chart for timeline
features and four exercises. See bottom image to the left for a view
of a file that you work with.
- Chapter
16:
Automation--includes information
on: Using the History Panel for Undo/Redo; Copying and Pasting History;
Creating Custom Objects; Creating a Web Photo Album; and Optimizing
Images in Fireworks. There are no charts but it has five exercises.
- Chapter
17:
Templates/Libraries--discusses:
Creating and Modifying Templates; Library Items in Action; Creating
and Modifying a Library Item. Step-by-step instructions are easy to
follow and make creating and modifying templates a snap. There are no
charts. It includes six exercises.
- Chapter
18:
Plug-Ins--covers: Linking to Sounds;
Embedding Sounds; Inserting Flash Content; Inserting Director Content
(Shockwave); and Inserting QuickTime Content. This chapter includes
charts for URLs for downloading plug-ins; sound formats; and what QuickTime
supports. There are five exercises.
- Chapter
19:
Getting It Online--describes: Free
Web Hosting with GeoCities; Setting the FTP Preferences; Putting Files
onto the Web Server; Getting Site Reports; and the Reports Dialog Box.
There are charts for FTP settings in Dreamweaver and report dialog box
options. It has four exercises.
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Appendixes
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- Appendix
A: A Troubleshooting FAQ: gives you frequently
asked questions and answers.
- Appendix
B: Online Resources: provides online sources.
- Appendix
C: Technical Support: gives
you all the information on where to get technical support.
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Dreamweaver
4 Hands-on Training
is a must have book. I must confess that the Hands-on Training series is
one of my favorites. This book is concise and easy to understand, and it
has charts galore and screen shots on almost every page. The step-by-step
instructions, along with the files on the CD, make it easy for even the
most faint-of-heart beginner who wants to learn this program. |
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For
running Dreamweaver 4, you need:
PC:
- Intel
Pentium process or equivalent, 166 MHz or faster, running Windows 95,
Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows NT (with Server Pack
5);
- Version
4.0 or later of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer;
- 32
MB of random-access memory (RAM) plus 110 MB of available disk space;
- 256-color
monitor capable of 800 x 600 pixel resolution;
- CD-ROM
drive.
Macintosh:
- Power
Macintosh running Mac OS 8.6 or 9.x;
- 32
MB of random-access memory (RAM) plus 135 MB of available disk space;
- 256-color
monitor capable of 800 x 600 pixel resolution;
CD-ROM drive.
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Graphics:
Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Web Page Design: Macromedia Dreamweaver
4.0
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This
site is (c) Copyright 2001, by PC Cafe Online. All World Wide Rights Reserved
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