Book Review

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Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips

by Joseph Lowery and Angela C. Buraglia

Published by New Riders

Publication Date: January 2003

List Price: $39.99

Length: 264 pages

ISBN: 0735713022

Review Details

This book has 221 content pages exclusively devoted to tips for using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX. It is part of the Killer Tips series produced at New Riders by Scott Kelby.

The authors explain that they wrote the book because they realized what they had "wasn't just a bunch of stuff; it was a full range of time-saving, productivity-enhancing, Dreamweaver MX tips with an energy efficiency rating of 11.3." The chapter titles reflect this efficiency theme, as well as the enthusiasm the authors have for this software. Detailed contents are at peachpit.com.

1. Built For Speed Dreamweaver Interface Tips. Organizing your workspace.
2. Speed, Grace, and Style Power CSS Tips. Strong advocacy of CSS for design.
3. Racin' Down the Rows The Best Table Tips. Solving specific table problems, including selecting and adding rows and columns, aligning data, importing data, nesting tables, avoiding empty cells, and managing borders.
4. Speed Daemons Browser Compatibility Tips. Editing the browser preview list in Dreamweaver MX and making Dreamweaver the default editor as well as specific tips for compatibility, including AOL, Netscape 4.X, and Internet Explorer 6.
5. Speed of Light Layouts Advanced Layout Tips. Working with layers and frames.
6. Rev Your Engines Templates, Library, and Production Tips. Creating and using Dreamweaver templates and the library. A special production tip for using Flash text for mock ups.
7. Maximum Acceleration Dreamweaver Tip Variety Pack. Miscellaneous tips.
8. Greased Lighting Application Building Tips. Using forms and dynamic data.
9. Pedal to the Metal Cool Coding Tricks. Taking advantage of code view.
10. Customizing Your Hot Rod Customization and Extensibility Tips. Advanced options.

One way to increase efficiency is to know what problems people are trying to solve and provide short, clear instructions. For example, since many work in a Microsoft Office environment, several tips specifically deal with Word or Excel data.

One way to extend efficiency is to consider the reader's audience as well as the reader. When we create websites, we want to do that efficiently and well. When people come to our sites, they have similar goals; they want to use their time efficiently and well. Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips supports this by adding a significant number of tips for accessibility.

The Killer Tips series is a winner. I will look forward to reading other books in the set.