Bruce Von Stiers

The new set of programs from Macromedia goes under the MX banner. There is Flash MX Fireworks MX and Dreamweaver MX. Along with the new versions of the programs comes a whole set of self help books that are designed to help guide you through using them. One of the latest books comes from Que Publishing and is part of their How To Use section. The title of the book is How To Use Macromedia Dreamweaver MX & Fireworks MX. It was written by Lon Coley and is touted as being “your complete step-by-step solution” for learning Fireworks MX and Dreamweaver MX.

The book has 23 chapters and an Index to bring in a 404 page training manual for the beginner and intermediate user of Fireworks MX and Dreamweaver MX. The book is done with slick pages and each one is in full color.

Lon does things a little different in this book. You first get a few chapters on Dreamweaver MX. Then you get a few chapters on Fireworks MX. Then the rest of the book mixes and matches elements from both programs so that you get exposure to most of the basic elements in each one.

Chapter 1 introduces you to Dreamweaver MX. Find out how to use the program menus and what the various panels are for. Then you move onto planning and setting up your web site in the second chapter.

The third chapter covers adding text to a web page and the fourth goes over the aspects of reusing elements on different pages. The fifth chapter covers things like links and page structure. In this chapter you will learn about how to create thumbnails and page anchors. The sixth chapter goes over adding frames into a web page.

The book then moves onto Fireworks MX. The seventh chapter introduces you to the program and by the eighth chapter you will be working with images in Fireworks. Learn about the Property Inspector and how to insert an image from Fireworks into Dreamweaver.

The eleventh chapter shows how to insert and work with layers for your images. It will also show how to create a simple animation using the tools available in the program.

Later chapters include designing things like an ellipse and some cool shadowing for 3-D elements in your images. You will learn how to export the different things done in Fireworks into Dreamweaver without and degradation of color or style. There are lessons on optimizing graphic files for both size and image colors.

On the Dreamweaver side, you will learn how to embed a sound file and set up and populate a database table for use on a web page. Learn about recordsets and how to incorporate database elements into dynamic web pages. You will also learn about creating a layout with a Cascading Style Sheet.

This book has a whole bunch of useful information in it to get you started on your way in using both Dreamweaver MX and Fireworks MX. It doesn’t have the intensity or in depth study of program parts like an Unleashed or Special Edition Using title might, but offers you some basic hands on techniques to get going.

If you are an entry level user of Dreamweaver MX or Fireworks MX, this would be a good title to have close at hand. You might be surprised how much can be learned from a full color illustrated beginner’s book.

How To Use Macromedia Dreamweaver MX & Fireworks MX is available at stores like Barnes and Noble and Waldenbooks. It can also be ordered from Que Publishing through their web site. It can be found at www.quepublishing.com. The book lists for $ 29.99 U.S.