I have been a proponent of the “H-O-T (Hands-On Training)” series for beginner training for a few years now. In fact, I had used a previous version of this book series from Peachpit for learning Dreamweaver MX (2003). It must said that Garrick Chow has done a very good job in keeping the book basic enough for a beginner to find useful yet supplying enough information to hold the interests of a intermediate user such as myself.

The first five chapters detail the basics of Dreamweaver CS3 by providing examples that are accessible in files located on the CD-ROM included with this book. The files and examples provide the reader with a good basic understand of the Dreamweaver CS3 user interface along with an understandable approach to its’ functionality.  Chapter 6 does a very good job in relating how Dreamweaver CS3 takes advantage of CCS (Cascading Style Sheets). The book provides the reader with some basic concepts of how CSS works and actually shows how to modify the actual CCS code. Mr Chow then illustrates the Dreamweaver CS3 CSS Styles Panel.

If there is one small weak point in this book, it is the chapter dealing with XHTML (eXtensilbe HyperTest Markup Language) and HTML (HyperTest Markup Language). But as stated in the book, the introduction of WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, this knowledge is not as vital as it once was.

One other strong chapter in this book was Chapter 13 - Working with Forms. This subject was covered in a very easy to follow format. The book provided a very realistic simple sample of setting up a form and having it submitted via email.

I would certainly recommend this book for a beginner. For an intermediate user - it would be a good book to browse and review if it accessible via a library or a user group.