Reviewer rating:

When first learning Dreamweaver, I dove into the text, behaviors and tables management aspects of it. It wasn't until much later that I discovered the power of using its image maps and style sheet capabilities. Those needing support with HTML won't find it in this book since its focus, as it should be, is solely on using the Dreamweaver application to design HTML pages, create and manage templates, manage the site's structure, and create pages that work on all browsers and platforms.

One of the hottest things today is creating Web pages with XHTML markup accompanied by CSS. There are several pages dedicated to tweaking Dreamweaver to produce correct XHTML markup and an entire chapter devoted to using its CSS features. The book briefly touches on the importing and exporting of XML content, also gaining attention.

The authors can't control what Dreamweaver can or cannot do, but they show you how to use it to work around browser issues such as linking to external style sheets with @import as opposed to using link or using both where one satisfies older, lesser compliant browsers and the other for the newer browsers.

Surprisingly, there is little reference to making Dreamweaver pages accessible except for a downloadable extension that validates the pages. Though the book is not focused on teaching general Web design, it does add a few tips in utilizing Dreamweaver to create accessible pages such as Javascript workarounds for people who have it turned off.

The timelines and interactive chapters lack concrete examples. At least, there are step by step instructions for completing the process.

Dreamweaver befuddles the users working with tables especially when they're nested. Though we should be moving away from complex tables in design, the book walks you through various ways to create and manage tables using layout and standard views accompanied by advice on when to use which.

Those already using Dreamweaver can count on the book to push their knowledge and skills beyond its basic features and make the most out of this powerful application. It doesn't happen magically, however, but the book's reference style will make it reliable as a "when you need help" or "when you're ready to go to the next level" reference.

Reviewer rating:

Like many (most?) of the O'Reilly books, this is one of those books you'll want to keep handy on your desk. If you want just one book on DW, this is the one. CSS, Javascript behaviors, DHTML timelines, site management. It's all in here.