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Master standards-compliant web design with Dreamweaver CS4

Book cover Dreamweaver CS4 is the most significant upgrade of the leading web development tool since the release of Dreamweaver MX in 2002. The user interface has been redesigned to give Dreamweaver a more coordinated feel and look with the rest of the Adobe Creative Suite, but it's under the hood where the real changes have taken place.

To help you get the best out of the program, The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS4 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP takes an in-depth look at the following new features:

Related Files—inspect and edit external JavaScript files and style sheets while keeping the page design in view.
Live view—activate dynamic features, such as flyout menus, within the Document window, and inspect changes to styles without the need to leave the program.
Live Code—view the HTML code generated by JavaScript and PHP, an indispensible aid to debugging.
Code Navigator—context-sensitive inspection of style rules.
Photoshop Smart Objects—generate and update web images directly from a Photoshop PSD file.
Spry HTML Data Sets—update page information without the need to reload the page. Chapter 19 shows you how to build an accessible Ajax gallery.
JavaScript code introspection—code hints automatically generated from custom functions and classes.
jQuery and Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library widgets—add dynamic features to your pages in seconds, using third-party widgets created by leading JavaScript developers.
InContext Editing—build pages compatible with Adobe's new online page editing service.
Screen sharing—share your screen with up to three other people anywhere in the world.

The very best programming/instructional book I've ever read

Review of CS3 edition on Amazon.com

In clear, everyday language, The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS4 shows you how to build web pages using best practices and the latest technology, including CSS, JavaScript libraries, and PHP. The highly successful Dreamweaver CS3 edition of The Essential Guide has been rewritten from start to finish, and contains a large amount of new material.

The book focuses on using CSS, Ajax, and PHP in a Dreamweaver context. As long as you have an understanding of the basic principles of HTML and CSS, you should be building interactive websites in no time at all. You'll learn, among other things, how to style one of the preinstalled CSS layouts and add a Spry menu bar. The default layout provided by Dreamweaver is solid, but looks drab and uninspiring. However, by changing a few style rules and adding some images, you can quickly turn it into the basis for an elegant website.

No prior knowledge of JavaScript or PHP is required. The chapters on Ajax concentrate mainly on Spry, Adobe's implementation of Ajax, but the book also includes practical demonstrations of working with jQuery and the YUI Library.