Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual

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!

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.

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.

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.

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...