Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: For those who only use the design view of Dreamweaver
Comment: This book is very good at what it does - it is an advanced css book that shows you how to build Standards compliant sites using Dreamweaver in the design view. It is a slightly funny thing, because people who build css sites in general do not use the design view - they use the code view. Dreamweaver's code view has easy-to-use code hints and the great find and replace tool - those are the reasons I use Dreamweaver. However, it is hard to find a reference for doing css related tasks from the design view, and that is exactly what this book does so well. I can't think of any other book that has taken this particular angle on css. Back in the MX days there was a book Dreamweaver MX Templates that was as unique and ambitious as this, covering proprietary Dreamweaver skills at an advanced level, but that book is far out of date, while this book is incredibly timely. I recommend this book, but would say that it may be worth trying to learn how to write code in the code view. When you are coding from the design view, you have one more level of abstraction between you and the matter at hand than is necessary. It may be EASIER to code from the design view, and the skills you gain will not need to be updated when a new version of the software comes out. If you are set on using the design view, this book will be a great find, if you are interested in writing code directly, CSS Web Site Design Hands on Training (Hands-On Training) is very easy to follow and teaches some great techniques.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Needs some serious editing
Comment: The use of color and layout in this book is gorgeous but the writing leaves a lot to be desired. I am not a Dreamweaver super expert but I can find my way around the Dreamweaver GUI and panels. Unfortunately the authors' writing style regularly leaves me "up the creek without a paddle", trying to figure out "what I have missed", almost from square-one. Some examples.
On page 7 there is an instruction to "Right-click on the top of the document to verify that the Style Rendering Toolbar is displayed". Following it gives different results - depending on whether I click in the Design View pane or the Code View pane. Neither context menu has an item related to a Toolbar; I didn't know what the Style Rendering Toolbar should look like and neither could I see the described "world icon Toggle". Of course - I went to > View > Toolbars > Style Rendering Toolbar and, voila, the Style Rendering Toolbar appeared above and to the left of the Document Toolbar. It was not until several hours (and pages) later that I discovered that if you right-click ON THE DOCUMENT TOOLBAR (not in the document panes themselves) - you will see the "missing" pop-up that shows which toolbars are displayed. There is one caveat: If you happen to have NO toolbars currently displayed then "right clicking" will not get the desired result; and you must resort to the > View menu.
On page 27 you are told to "1. Open starter.html from the sample files for this chapter. ..." and "2) ... place the cursor in front of ... text in the mainContent div, ...". The problem here is that the "starter.html" file does not have any divs - let alone a "mainContent div". You can complete the rest of the exercise wondering if you missed something; but apparently "the div" has nothing to do with it.
On page 29, Figure 1.17 shows the Design View result of applying the new .fltlft class. It took me awhile to figure out that I had turned-off the "Toggle that displays CSS Styles", in the above exercise with the Style-Rendering Toolbar.
These just a few of the faux pas that seem typical of the writing in the book I could continue but I am not being paid for editing. I just want to learn enough about using CSS so that I can proceed directly with creating a good "look and feel" for my current website, without exploring too many blind alleys. Using this text is an exercise in frustration - which is a shame. The book still looks like it contains a lot of worthwhile material. It is just not very accessible in this 2008 edition.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Terrific Reference and Guide
Comment: I knew I needed to do some serious study to upgrade my piecemeal, muddle-through skills on CSS with the advent of newer tableless techniques, and Mastering CSS has been perfect for me. It's a beautifully crafted blend of concept and tutorial that will not just suit, but really deliver, for all but the newest newbies or code-hardened cavemen. (And even some cavemen could learn a thing or two.)
It's a tough subject to get the mix right, what with the tangle that the browser war has gotten us into... too much attention to IE hacks and the concept is overwhelmed; too little and you're not really prepared for battle. I particularly liked the detailed coverage of page flow logic, and notes throughout on the precise tool or technique that gets a job done in the fewest actions. Yes, sometimes it's working under the hood, but make no mistake, DW has tools that for some tasks no ASCII fingertips can touch... and Sullivan and Rewis tell you where and when.
With great, readable editing, detailed and painstaking supporting graphics right in place, and a great flow of content, it's hard to imagine covering the topic better.
Customer Rating:
Summary: CSS at a master level from the top talents in the field, who else would you want learn from.
Comment: I wanted to learn CSS from the best, not from a friend, a college tech, or a book written by a designer who is 'familiar' with CSS. I've watched Greg Rewis' video tutorials on Adobe TV called Taming The Web and have gained more in those 5 or 6 'shows' so far than the quickie learning books. These two are the best, and they make me want to be as good as they are at CSS and the tool for creating it. Talent sharpens talent. Haven't you felt more challenged and have ended up pushing yourself to be better when playing a game or sport with someone better than you versus someone you can beat with ease. This book is like having Michael Jordan as your coach, not the local kid whose pretty good.
Learning CSS is vital to my family's livelihood and time is hard to come by, and I've already given to much time to some of the many books out there that simply offer tips & tricks which force me to buy another book later on that covers the proper construction of CSS to allow those tips & tricks to work in the first place.
Thanks to the two writers of this book. What a blessing to have the best at CSS teaching me how it works & what it is capable of while the best at using the very tool, Dreamweaver, instructs me on building it.
This book will make my precious time set aside for schooling myself be productive and my family's business at GiveItToRob.com prosperous.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Packed with color charts, screens and examples throughout.
Comment: Dreamweaver is the leading web authoring tool and CSS is the recommended method for creating accessible web pages, yet it's a common idea that the two cannot operate smoothly together. That's why Mastering CSS with Dreamweaver CS3 is an essential acquisition for any serious programmer's library: it covers the latest tools for building CSS-based sites and covers all the basics of how to use CSS styling under Dreamweaver's tools. Highly recommended, it's packed with color charts, screens and examples throughout.
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