Adobe Books

The most thorough Adobe After Effects book in print. Everything that's new in version 4 is explained. Dozens of external plug-ins are detailed like nowhere else, making this an invaluable learning tool and reference for all after Effects users.

When I first used AE7, I was new to the entire realm of compositing and animating. This video series does a GREAT job of explaining how things work in AE, and really can get you up to speed very quickly. It is NOT, repeat NOT for the intermediate or experienced user. If you are brand new to AE, get this training cd. You will not regret it at all.

GREAT READ!
Adobe AIR In Action is a great resource for those starting to learn the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR). This book takes you from the absolute essentials, step-by-step with thoughtful screenshots to light your path to creating great AIR applications.

I was really impressed that the authors take you through everything you need or want to know in order to get up and running. For example, I have often avoided making a lot of configuration changes to the AIR app.xml file just because I did not have time to scurry around finding clear concise explanations of what effects my actions would have. Lott, et al. break it down thoroughly and completely in a section that took me about 5 minutes to fully understand all of the various settings of the config.xml file.

I am a visual learner and, in the past, spent hours looking at framework documentation ASDOCS only to realize that I didn't learn nearly what my time investment would have supported. I can say that the style of this book is very conducive to retention without "talking down" to the reader.

Coming from a Flex background, I enjoyed the many examples provided in Flex, but was especially interested in the step-by-step examples provided for people coming from a Flash CS3 background. As with all of the examples in the book, Adobe AIR In Action not only provides you with the "how" to do something, but background information on the "why" you do something (should you be interested in knowing the "why" that is).

There is an entire chapter devoted just to integrating your AIR application into your SQL database. The chapter is quite thorough, yet explained clearly and effectively.

My only criticism, if any, would have to be that I would have liked a little more in the way of network, and web service integration. Since the majority of AIR applications are distributed applications that call back to some form of data storage, I would have enjoyed a little more depth in different approaches of asynchronous server communication with your AIR application. However, the book does cover network monitoring for both HTTP and sockets.

I'm not trying to sell you anything. But I will say, that this is one of the better beginner level books I've read. Is it going to answer ALL of your questions? No. But it will give you a great head-start and sound foundational working knowledge of Adobe AIR.

This is the second experience I've had with Adobe's Classroom in a Book series and it hasn't let me down yet. The book is divided up into several lessons and forces the reader to apply the methods as they go from chapter to chapter. This system helps the student retain the information much more effectively because it's interactive, unlike many software help manuals. The terminology is easy to pick up and the instructions are simple to follow. I highly recommend for anyone using the Adobe software!

Once again Kevin Siegel has provided e-learning folks with very useful information. I took his Captivate class almost a year ago and remember asking if he had an example style guide we could "borrow"...here it is! This is great for those of us who don't use Captivate everyday (or even for those that do). The book is short, concise, and to the point...what every technical writer likes to see. This book will NOT collect dust on my bookshelf. Thanks Kevin!

I found this instructional book very helpful in learning how to write script for Adobe Captivate.

I am just starting out as a WBT developer and this book provides a good foundation for anyone new or even those who are familar with previous Captivate versions. It also gives a brief synopsis of how to set up a plan for developing a WBT. The quality of the book is great too with plenty of screen shots of the software.

Thanks to the publishers I had it just when I needed it.

Kate

If you are about to restore an abode building, or just curious about adobe building methods, history, and tradition, I recommend that you read this book first.
It covers solutions to every possible problem you might encounter. The Cornerstone Group has been restoring historic adobes, mostly in New Mexico, for more than twenty years. They have successfully restored historic buildings that most would have considered beyond repair. Their approach is aimed toward long-term survival of the restored building using appropriate styles and historically correct materials wherever possible. Everything written about in this book has been done in the real world and works. Writing and illustrations are clear and concise. Adobe construction styles and history are also clearly illustrated, and many building terms are given in both English and Spanish. Both traditional and modern methods of conservation are discussed. Valuable old oral tradition is also recorded here, such as repair of large cracks in adobe with lime water, animal bones, and adobe mud. Necessary subjects that I have not seen written about elsewhere are included, such the proper method of cleaning and conserving dirt-floor attics under tin roofs. I recommend this book as the best possible introduction to the subject, and a most useful reference regardless of one's level of knowledge and expertise. It is very readable and entertaining, even if you never intend to build with adobe. It is also a great introduction to understanding the spirit of early builders.

This book is very clear about it's purpose - it doesn't cover the basics of working in the Production Studio, nor does it attempt to explain a lot of the in's and out's of the software. What it does do is take a lot of the most frequently used workflows and procedures and break them down into 100 "How-To" bites that are clear and concise.

Sidebars abound throughout this book, and screen shots illustrate without confusion. If you are already familiar with the Production Studio and just want to know a little bit more about some major options in each of the softwares, this book could be just the thing for you.

This was a book required for a college class. I would recommend it for anyone who wanted to learn Dreamweaver on their own. It is very easy to follow and gives you some of the tricks to easier web design.