Adobe Books

This is a great book to learn how to build Flex Rich Internet Application. It is easy to read and follow, and it also includes SEO omptimization techniques for higher ranking in SEO results. Highly recommended!

This is a very basic introduction to Flex, and doesn't provide much into how it fits into web design as a whole!

I have mixed feelings about this book which I got because it was one of the first to cover Flex 3.

I think it is a bit weak on the pure Flex bit - I just can't see someone actually learning Flex out of it, though they will get a pretty good feel for what Flex does. It presents just enough information to explain their application, the RMX, no more. The coding examples are also somewhat hard to follow, with code being all over the place. Yes, it might be real-life production/business code but that doesn't mean that it is automatically great for teaching. Simpler, more illustrative, tighter code would have been better.

On the other hand, the book does a much better job at presenting the big picture of a Flex website and how all the parts fit together, almost at a business/planning level. The wireframe chapters and how to integrate ads are great. Also, though I don't use PHP+Drupal, which they use as a backend, I definitely came away with a confirmation that Flex wasn't tied to particular backend server technologies. If you do use PHP and Drupal, you will get more value out of it for sure.

All in all, a 3.5/5 book.

CAST FROM A NEW MOLD

Early in the history of the Adobe Flash Platform it was possible to read all of the great books on the subject because there were so few notable titles. However, now with the incredible popularity of Flash CS3 and Flex 3, the industry is flooded with training materials. While decent, most are rehashes of the introductory 'Welcome to Flash/Flex' perspective giving a broad overview without taking the bold position to teach pertinent topics and to teach them correctly.

INTRODUCTION

This book is a great well rounded resource, perfect for anyone serious about Flex application development. This book 1) features a blend of various learning styles, 2) it offers the right amount of depth to tease & inspire, as well as actually teach, but 3) it is not for all audiences (and I like that).

LEARNING STYLES

With technical literature the tone and style ranges from the dry dictionary-like reference to the micro-task-oriented recipe books. There is not often an editorial voice giving industry insight, technological context, and workflow experience. That is one of my favorite aspects of this AdvanceED book, it gives all that and more. There is a historical introduction to application development, deep coverage on the many steps of the software development lifecycle through the real-world application of techniques on the authors' RMX application project, as well as some relevant, isolated (albeit kinda' non sequitured) programming recipes that can be plucked from the greater project shown in the book and applied in your own projects with ease. The multiple-learning styles is refreshing for those who have been disappointed by reading many other books. Most of the audience for this book has surely done some reading of tech texts and should appreciate the change of pace.


DEPTH AND SCOPE

The book lacks the breadth of a thick reference book, but what subjects it covers it covers deeply. Don't expect to be able to crack open a chapter and a fresh Flex project in your Flex builder and get typing. The book doesn't work like that. Its more of a casual read in many parts, fit for any time you get away from your computer. Fit even for some of the less-technical personnel on your team who would like to see the big picture of application development. Project managers, executives, and any creative folks with an eye toward project leadership will get great value from the book, but of course the intended audience is developers.


INTENDED AUDIENCE

Perhaps rather than titling this section 'Intended' Audience, I should say suggested-by-me audience. Part of the appeal of this book and what sets it apart from what else is available on the subject is its unique perspective. The book focuses on building one application, RMX. This application has a specific purpose and a different one than any we'd likely make as the readers, but one that has components that are immediately relevant to our every day app-developer-lives; Styling, UI/UX + Navigation Design, Forms, Video (that continues to be a big topic these days),

It goes on to feature some rare gems such as Advertising (specifically for Flex) and SEO (specifically for Flex). You just don't find those covered anywhere else.

CONCLUSION

This book is a refreshing read and the only must-read on my Flash bookshelf from this publisher.

This book is not all about FLEX it spends time covering the creation of RMX which is not what i wanted at all. The authors are idiots and don't focus mainly on flex. If you want to learn flex puchase something else. If you are interested in their (the authors) project and what they use in their project spend 42.00. WHAT A WAISTE!!

Great book. Very insightful explanations.... it's very obvious that
the author is master of the subject. This book has been a great resource in my Illustrator class; it's also the assigned textbook. Highly recommended!

As a relatively new Illustrator user I purchased this book because it covered a broad range of topics, and seemed to have extra detail on features that were of particular interest (e.g., graphs, clipping masks). I am somewhat disappointed so far. The introduction is short -- not enough to even learn where all the tools are located -- yet the topics do not provide enough depth to master the topics. There aren't many pictures (and only 16 color pages), so when the book says "Use the Direct Selection Tool" for the first time without a picture, a novice needs to turn back 3 pages to remind themselves what that is. (An expert obviously already knows what this is and has no use for this section at all.) So this seems to be a book for people who have some familiarity with Illustrator but not enough that they will tire of only 3-4 pages per topic.

A major pro to the book, however, is that the topics are very accessible. I am getting a good introduction to a variety of topics, and learning the lingo enough to be able to Google for more information when necessary. Many of the Adobe programs are difficult to break into, and this book does make that possible for Illustrator.

Although this book was not what I expected from the cover descriptions, it is serving an alternate purpose.

Real World Adobe Illustrator CS3 (Real World) All too often, when trying wrap your mind around a particular piece of software, the guru who writes the how-to book tries to dazzle you with a whole lot of extraneous, "dig me!", "look what I can do!" "I am so clever!" "watch me pull a flaming monkey out of my butt!", nonsense, when all you want to do is learn how to use a certain tool. Mordy's not like that. His book makes Illustrator way easy to learn. I'll give you an example. In all the books I've bought over at least a decade to learn several applications, I've always had to "hack my way through the underbrush", in the effort to discover and highlight key points. In Mordy's book, I haven't underlined anything, 'cause it's all concise, with no added fluff. When I need to look up something, I grab Mordy's book, go right to the correct page, scan down the instructions, bang, bang, bang, got it, toss the book aside, back to the computer, and I'm there. Seldom have to pick up the book a second time to look up the same thing again. It's easy to remember because I didn't have to wade through numerous digressions into obtuseness. A friend purchased an Illustrator book by another author and she has a couple pages of diagrams on the correct finger placement on certain combinations of keys. "Finger-dances", she calls them. If I was in a class this person taught, I'd run screaming out into the hallway. Come on, I'm not learning to play the piano here or how to read Braille. Don't make things more difficult than they have to be. By now I know how to find the Control, Shift and Alt keys. I can even find the Spacebar. (Whoa! Hold me back!) And don't waste expensive pages showing me other people's work. I can buy a big stack of magazines at a garage sale for a couple bucks if I want to look at other artists stuff. Okay, rant over. If you want to learn Illustrator pretty easy buy Mordy's book. That's all you need.

I can only comment on the Web and Mobile Design chapter as that's all I read (put the book down after that!). It's as if the explanation of web safe color palettes and dithering were lifted right out of 1998. In fact I double-checked the cover to make sure it was for CS3! I'm a professional web developer, and let me tell you, for the most part you don't have to worry about the "216 web safe colors". My jaw is still stuck open...

This volume is a great disappointment. I'm sure Mordy could answer my questions but the book sure doesn't.
Deke McClelland's version (Real World Illustrator 10) is a far more thorough book. If you're a novice this book is
ample. I'm looking for more detail and it's just not here.

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

Unfortunately, I can't give a personal recommendation as to content, but this is required for our daughter's BS degree in Art. What a great way to purchase college texts and save money on the exorbitant cost of required college materials!

I have used the Classroom in a Book to learn Photoshop in the past. I really enjoy these lessons. I haven't started using the Creative Suite lessons yet but after browsing through the book expect the lesson to be fun to learn.

If your learning design. This book will get you started. Great for beginners. Not for advanced users.

The book covers two or three not-too-deep projects through photoshop/illustrator/indesign, etc., but it's a little like having someone hold your hand through the woods. Anyone can pick up these basics, the same concepts, as soon as they start a project using the Creative Suite modules -- Adobe provides excellent "Help" resources, and there are all kinds of tips and support out there from online searches/blogs. Save your $30+ and pick up a few magazines on the subject.

As a professional graphic designer, and a power user of Adobe Illustrator, this is the only book I recommend for someone who wants to learn this program.

You'll need at least a week of concentration, best to carefully ready the whole book. (This is not a quick start book)

After first determining why I needed Illustrator when I already had Photoshop, I picked up this book because of my positive experience with another book from this Classroom in a Book series (Photoshop 7.0). And this book does not disappoint in the least bit either.

It follows a tutorial style approach to teaching how to use Illustrator (both Mac and Windows versions). The book is mostly black and white with all the relevant color pictures tucked between lesson 12 and 13. It hasn't caused me any problems as I follow along on the computer as I read the book (I have a color monitor).

In 15 lessons, this book does an excellent job of teaching you how to use Illustrator 10 without having to be in a classroom. All lesson files are on the CD-ROM that comes with the book. The book starts off with explaining how to use the Work Area and builds from the basic to the more complex topics. The basic topics of creating shapes, painting, drawing, working with brushes are followed by the more difficult topics of transforming objects, working with type, blending shapes and colors, etc.

Even though the two programs Photoshop and Illustrator are coming closer with each new version, the main differences between them are to do with whether you want to start with an existing photo and modify it for print & web or you want to start from scratch and create illustrations and artwork for print & web. I am oversimplifying here but this explanation helps me keep the differences between these two programs straight in my head.

The technological differences are that Photoshop uses bitmaps to represent images and Illustrator uses vectors (and complex mathematical equations) to represent the images. Of course, you don't need to bother with this part as it is irrelevant to using the tools effectively.

I use both Photoshop and Illustrator for basic web design but mostly stay with Photoshop. The reason for this is that I am a photographer and have never been good at artwork so I use Illustrator mostly as a hobby to improve my creativity in this area. It has been a lot of fun for me and I hope the same for you! Have fun learning to use this amazing and cool tool! And don't forget to check out Adobe's website for their latest release of Adobe CS (Creative Suite) that includes the next version of Illustrator after Illustrator 10.

Although I had a lot of experience with CAD programs, I struggled with Illustrator 8. I finally upgraded to v. 10 and bought Classroom In a Book for that version. You CAN teach yourself Illustrator with the manual and this book in a few weeks. ICIAB is a good supplement to the manual, which for reasons that always baffled me, has too few illustrations for information aimed at visually oriented people.

You will have to do some experimentation to get full benefit from the lessons, but I picked up things I was clueless on before. It does help to have some additional book such as Visual series (PeachPit Press) for details not covered.

Downside: some errors of tools or keys, nothing serious. But I was disappointed by two topics; the web chapter separately covers making a Flash animation for the web, and slicing a graphic for the web, but while the "finished" version of the lesson shows both in a complete web page, the lesson doesn't tell you how to put them together without the Adobe Web program (too expensive for me). You have put both html files in a text editor and combine them using the complete example for reference as to where to put the Flash file and what to include or leave out.

Also, the section in lesson 6 on data/variable objects is applied in a page of business cards, but doesn't explain how to get the data base and variable fields applied to all incidences of the biz cards on the sheet. I did figure it out for myself, but it took me about an hour of experiment, and is almost as tedious as just editing the file, though once the database is set up it would be quick to print out new cards with the variations.

But overall, a really good way to learn Illustrator to an intermediate level, and a whole lot cheaper than any class I've looked into (plus classes tend to be taught on MACs in my area).

This book came highly recommended by an Illustrator 10 instuctor. It's an excellent resource for a very powerful software application. One doesn't need to be very technically oriented to get the most out of this book.

(Note to "A reader" from Hollywood, CA USA: You may benefit from the English course into which you suggested Chris Youngs enroll himself. I am confident that, if you do, you will learn that languages are always capitalized. Until then, perhaps you will realize that you do not possess perfect grammar skills either and your tacky comments should kept to yourself.)

I've always liked the Adobe Classroom in a Book series. This book is no exception. The lesson plans are easy to follow and structured in a way that allows even the most inept user to create nice looking illustrations. A very good beginner's book that teaches the basics as well as time saving shortcuts.

This book may be Ok for an advanced user, but much to complicated for anyone else. The title is misleading. I would really feel ripped off had I paid the full price.

This book covers image manipulations in a clear, step-by-step format, answering questions as it goes. The writing is clear, the steps are exact, and the techniques clearly go beyond the basics -- yet do so in a way that even I can understand (I think I am an intermediate user). There are unique techniques for selection, use of layers, making patterns, working with web images, and CLEAR discussion of resolution, retouching photographs, and using a scanner! There are some pretty wild specific applications of the techniques. I really like that the LAYERED solutions are included on the CD.

One distraction, The CD images were not put on the CD with extensions, so PC users have to copy them to their harddrive and add the extension before opening. However, I wrote to the author and he mailed me back that solution! He answered another question on making a watermark personally. For me, being able to ask the author questions directly negates any problem with the CD.

I look forward to his book on 5.5...if there is one planned.

That about sums it up. And overpriced. Not recommended

It's also overpriced. :)

Seriously, this might be a good book for someone who teaches at a university level to use as a reference. It's way too esoteric for most of us, and the writing style will send you off to sleep in minutes. I regret buying it, but it does make a nifty doorstop.

I thought I'd read every book on Photoshop. When I saw this in the store I found things I'd never seen in a Photoshop book before. When I brought it home I became even more amazed. I love this book.

I am still using this manual. So far, I do like it. What I like best are the detailed instructions on the Organizer segment of the program. I find that I am much more adept at keeping track of the pictures I take. I would never have done as well on my own by just "exploring" the program by trial and error. The Classroom book excels here.

You have to be careful when following some of the editing instructions, and occasionally I got a little "muddled" and had to start over. Maybe I was just having some "senior moments." The processes relating to tagging and relocating pictures seemed unecessarily redundant at times.

Nevertheless, it is a valuable manual and succeeds in preparing one for use on a program that is more complex than it seems at first blush. I do recommend it as a good "starter" edition.

If your a beginner with Adobe Photoshop elements, this book surpasses any thing that the manual tells you. There are lessons included on a CD DISC included which has you give you hands on work to use as you learn. A great asset for anyone wanting to use the full potential of photoshop elements.

I absolutely loved this book. I have tried many of the self-teach books out there for other products and I have not found one that is as well written and easy to follow as this one. Before I purchased Photo Shop Elements 4.0, I knew nothing....zip.....nada about the program and how it worked. I was so impressed with what you can do with this software and the instructional training manual was excellent. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is new to this product or for anyone who wants to take their photo editing to the next level. It's pretty amazing.

This is very well done and ready gives you good examples to learn with.

Excellent general overview of PSE 4.0. Orderly, step by step introduction to the features of Elements. It is a great place to start and allows the beginning Elements user to scratch the surface of a powerful program. It will whet the appetite to learn more and to play with the program in order to become more proficient with its many, many features.

i have read all the other reviews. interesting points made by all who have taken the time to review. this is the 1st book i used to learn A.E. i had NO A.E. experiance and was out to expanding on my adobe premiere knowledge. so basicly i was coming in blind folded.

for the first 3 chapters i agree with that one review, "they should have called the book, freaking out in a book!" after the 3rd chapter things started becoming more clear. at first it seems that all your doing is clicking, right clicking and you don't really understand why your doing it? your basicly doing so just because the book said so. i wanted to learn after effects to enhance my DV work. wanted to create motion graphics in my videos.

if your absolutely new to after effects i would recomend this book to get you started. at the end of the book i was very comforatable in moving around in the program. i knew where everything was and what they did. i truly beleive those who really want to learn this complex program, "WILL" learn it. again, the beginning was frustrating BUT after about the 3rd chapter i started enjoying it. biggest thing is just to stick with it. read it, if you dont understand something, read it again until it sticks.

after your done this book and can move around fairly well in the program. i would THEN recomend trish and chris meyer's after effects book (creating motion graphics). after completing BOTH books you will be well on your way.

i ONLY rated this book 3 stars because the purpose of the book is to teach new comers how to use the software. at some points i found the book wondering off in to complex projects. EX: using motion cameras etc........ most beginners do NOT use motion cameras. you have to learn to crawl before you can walk!

all in all the book is an EXCELLENT way to get started. i do, however, feel that after completing the book a person must continue with their studies to fully understand after effects. there is just so much to know and do, classroom in a book does NOT cover everything.

hope the review helps someone!

This isn't the best book on After Effects available, but it is the best beginner book for learning AFX. Like all of Adobe's classroom in a book series, it starts at the basics and works towards more intermediate concepts. "Creating High Impact Motion Graphics" by Trish/Chris Meyer takes over from the intermediate stuff and takes the reader to and beyond the advanced parts of the program (without a doubt, the best book on AFX available -but too complex, and not intended for a beginner).

Anyway, back to this book, step by step instructions let you follow along at your own pace, and the CD-ROM provides you with the material. The book is not a reference book, and will only benefit you if you read it (ie. show up for the classes). But definately a good way to start learning After Effects.

Having written training material myself, I know how difficult it is to write for every contingency, considering everything a novice might do wrong. The authors of this book have done a great job at presenting instructions clearly and completely, so that even an absolute newbie at After Effects like myself can follow every lesson. Various checkpoints allow you to verify that you are on the right track. The lessons are very clear and easy to follow, and I appreciate the continuity in presenting an entire project throughout the book, so that I feel I am really accomplishing something. After just a few lessons, I feel that I am grasping what After Effects is all about.

In general, these series of books are a great way to get hands-on experience with highly technical products, and I recommend them enthusiastically.

The authors of After Effects Classroom in a book edition 5.5. unfortunately have lost themselves in showing some nice stuff AE5 is capable of. Doing so they have forgotten about the principal goal of the book, teaching peopple how to use AE5. In comparisson to CIB 3.1 the new book is very meager in really explaning what is done every step. They simply tell you the steps, yes, but they don't help in understanding them all. Freaking in a Book would be a good alternative title.

Disappointed with this text because of the single project through which this publication teaches After Effects. Compared to previous AE: Classroom in a Book books (earlier versions of After Effects) in which multiple creative projects unfolded as the learner used the tools, After Effects 5.0 teaches the program through one long project. The authors clearly guide the learner through important aspects of After Effects. However, if you are seeking a learn-and-do book that exposes you to a range of creative uses for After Effects, this book may be a disappointment.

I've used several of Adobe's Classroom in a book for a reason. They're well-written and a great beginning to a relationship with a new (and complex) program. The clear steps and page pictures made learning very easy. If you want to make and manage great web sites with GoLive, get a copy of this book.

I would not necessarily recommend this book to someone breaking into the world of Web Design. While it does cover in depth the wide range of tools in GoLive, it doesn't explain which ones you would want to use when. Classroom in a Book can teach the basics, but the skill of knowing how to design, and what is appropriate compared to what is over the top, or browser incompatible are glossed over.

There is still an excellent use of this book. Adobe offers a certification program for most of its programs, including GoLive. The questions that are asked in the Certification are in many cases addressed in the Classroom in a Book. For the user who knows GoLive fairly well and wants certification, this book is essential. The chapters cover those small odds and ends you didn't know GoLive could do. The questions at each chapter end make for a great study guide for the A.C.E.

This book teaches the core functions of GoLive and that's all. You will not learn about why you would use one function verses another. No thoughts into what will work best for certain web designs. I bought it for a college course and I found it cumbersome.

Adobe software, the cornerstone ofthe desktop publishing industry, has issued a superior product and this is a superior instructor. Follow these step and create easy, sharp and FAST web sites.

The interface with this book is so precise that there is little to no room for error.

Rating reflects book's overall very good statute given clear, enjoyable, efficient organization and writting combined with moderate price and numerous examples included with the CD-ROM. These strengths are however offset by its limited scope, its introductory level, its lack of critical analyses and its somewhat boring follow-step-by-step approach.

* * *

Classroom in a book is here because Adobe online 'help' is so poorly organized, so redundant and confusing that is makes it hardly useable. (Adobe has also to sell its books!)

This book, like all other 'Classroom in a book' is very clear, well designed, easy to understand and follow. It gives very pratical guidance through lessons whose elements are on the CD-ROM. With it, all essential elements for web design (entering text, creating tables, inserting pics etc.) are immediately accessible.

However, this book is introductory level only. Besides, it gives only answers to how to perform essential elements, i.e. descriptive approach, and doesn't discuss issues or indicates the best solution (critical, value-added approach).

I am really quite surprised by those who are down on this quickstart book. I think it holds up just as well if not even better then some of the previous Dreamweaver books in the series.

The great thing about the book is that it works so well as a quick reference guide in which it was meant to be used as , amongst other uses that it will meet your needs for.

So if its just having to quickly do some basic tasks with the program like adding links, pictures or frames to a page it will quickly guide through that. But it will dive into the newer aspects of the program like Spry and CSS and teach it in an easy to use and understand manner.

I was a little rusty with the program, not having used Dreamweaver for a few years since I finished my college classes and I was able to jump right back into the program mostly due to this book. Almost any basic question I had it was easily answered mostly due to this book.

Its very informative and will explain clearly what every menu, option and set up situation does so you can get the most out of the Dreamweaver CS3 program.

As great as the book is, and it really is, there are some downsides to the book I do have to admit. One is its really just for the beginner to intermediate skilled person. So you won't be able to build a site like, say Amazon.com with this book. You will need a more advanced oriented book for that task. And you may even wish there was more to offer in the book then just the quick step by step process that guides you through each skill you are trying to learn at the given moment.

But for me, this fit the needs I had just fine . I won't use this program without this quickstart reference book at my side. I highly and greatly recommend this book to any who are using this program. Its ok to forget a few basic things every now and then, this book will easily give you that refreser you needed. Not to mention it will also teach you some ways to do things that you may not have realized you could, making your life that much easier.

Whether its template set ups, setting up the ftp for your site through Dreamweaver, how to fix broken links, checking browser compatibilities or anything else that you want to set up on your newly created page, this book will guide you to an easy and effective path to do so.

Its really the greatest purchase I have made book wise in a long time. Even if you are looking for something more advanced, this book is still must have. It also serves as a great compilation to other more advanced books when you just want to quickly look up something that you wanted to implement.

Bottom line, if you are using Dreamweaver CS3 and need a book to help you get through some of the more confusing elements and menus of it, look no further. You will want to have this book handy at all times and be glad that you have it there. Its saved me many a times from moments of confusion or question and its always lead me to finishing a site successfully.

Get this book. Even if you get others, this is one you don't want to be without.

I am familiar with basic web design and basic HTML. I have used Dreamweaver to put together simple web pages and was looking for a book to help me learn to do more than my limited knowledge allows me to at this point. This book was an utter disappointment.

What you can expect from this book is an assumption of familiarity with earlier versions of Dreamweaver. This book basically tells you about how to use the functions of Dreamweaver, not how to create a web page. It assumes you understand what divs, ids, and classes do, how to create them, how they function on web pages, and why you might want them. It jumps around and you should not expect to get much web knowledge at all out of this book.

Visual Quickstart guides are great both for learning and reference

As a dreamweaver buff, I use this guide for reference pretty much, but it is great for both. I just bought more of this outstanding series.....

I love these Visual QuickStart Guides. I have them for all the Adobe design software. I don't read them, just dip in and out when I need something. I'm swapping over from Go Live to Dreamweaver and this book is a must have reference because it shows where things are... where the properties are, the CSS details, etc. Love it.

I read the other reviews and had to comment.

This book is NOT a technical manual, nor a step-by-step on how to design websites. Rather, it is a COMPANION book on how to use DreamWeaver. If you are familiar with other Adobe products, then you will appreciate that DreamWeaver maintains many similarities. If you are NOT familiar with Adobe products, then you are in for a major learning experience!

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat ... DreamWeaver is a highly complex program that is NOT meant for just any [dingbat] one to pick up on a whim and design the "perfect" website. You actually have to know how to read and understand (X)HTML, you can't just plop a site together without knowing this. Just because you CAN use the WYSIWYG interface doesn't mean you can do that exclusively.

If you are used to using FrontPage, then you have a RUDE awakening when it comes to the difference between that and DreamWeaver.

This book was the required book for the class in Web Design with DreamWeaver that I enrolled in (at an actual school) and completed very successfully.

This book is EXACTLY what the title states: a "quick start". It in no way ever implies that it is anything other than that! It is there as a gentle nudge. It is NOT there as a guided class!

AND, it NEVER EVER states that it teaches CSS ... NEVER!! Maybe you thought that "CS3" was the same as "CSS"??

If you are looking for an entire "class in a book" strictly on DreamWeaver, then I recommend the "Missing Manual" by O'Reilly and/or the "Classroom in A Book" series from Adobe Press.

If you are looking for a book on CSS (cascading style sheets), then you want the "Head First" series entitled "HTML with CSS & XHTML", or the Visual Quick Start book entitled "HTML, XHTML & CSS" ... DUH!! I mean, really - make sure you buy the correct book for what you want to learn! If you don't, then DON'T BLAME THE BOOK!!

I use this book as a reference quite often, and to remind myself how to do certain functions in DreamWeaver. It has a great index, and the appendices are very informative.

Also, the website is as complete as it can be. They give you the links for the resources in the book. There is only one "errata" that relates to using a Mac, and it's listed on the site.

About emailing ... they specifically say to READ THE FAQ'S FIRST. There is a disclaimer about them NOT being able to answer each and every email on page xiv of the book - so quit griping about that! Read the FAQ's, or get a teacher! [such a freakin' whiner you are M.F.Summy.]

I wish people would THINK before posting a negative review. There is value in every book. Before you buy it, look through it either online or in a book store! Whether you bought the proper one for your needs is NOT the book's fault! Grow up!

I've read some of the previous reviews and couldn't believe that they were not 5's across the board. Several years ago, I had to learn Framemaker very quickly. This book made that possible. Since that time, I've used Framemaker on a day-to-day basis and I still consider _FM_5.5.6_for_Dummies_ to be a very good book. (I use FM 6.)

I own over 500 computer books and this is the first I've felt compelled to review, and now only because this book is truly awful. Like many computer people, when I buy a book, I usually give it a quick reading and then look up troublesome items in the index as I work with the program. After a quick reading of FFD I knew little more than when I started, because it's very chaotic, but it wasn't until I started trying to use the index that I really grew to hate this book. FrameMaker is a program for making books, but there is no entry in this book for captions, no entry for crop marks, no entry for color profiles, ICM or Pantone. These are standard words in the publishing biz but they don't even rate an index entry, let alone decent treatment. There isn't even any information on how to make FM respect your font selection. You will, however, find an index entry for Easter Eggs, and index entries for half the people who have written dummies books... Is there anything useful in this book? Sure. You can't write 360 pages about anything without saying something useful, but good luck in finding it.

I have used the few manuals that exist for FrameMaker, and this one is the only one I have found really usefull. My work advanced rapidelly with it.

I've tried, over and over, to make this book work. But I can't. I'm a beginner and this book makes absolutely no sense, for the most part. If you have no experience with FrameMaker, do not go near this book. O'Keefe seems to have written this thing without much worry about detail or really taking you throug the process of creating documents. This book is a mess and I've been left to look for online tutorials.

This book could use some clarity. There's a lot of instruction on how to do a lot of things, but there's never a reason for why some processes are needed. For a beginner, this book isn't as easy as it should be. RoboHELP for Dummies was a phenominal book. This book hardly compares. The author, a technical writer, doesn't break down the why's and I'm left frustrated and starting over. It's too bad there's no real competition for a book like this. I really wish there was a more user friendly FrameMaker tutorial.