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Interview With Janine Warner
Host of Total Training For Macromedia Dreamweaver 8
The following is an interview we conducted with Janine Warner, author of the best-selling Dreamweaver For Dummies books, and host of the new HD video series Total Training For Macromedia Dreamweaver 8.
How would you describe the Dreamweaver learning curve for a total beginner?
The challenge with that question is how you define total beginner. When my friend's mother first tried using his computer, she picked up his mouse, pointed it at the monitor and quickly got frustrated that it didn't change channels. If that's how you define a total beginner, Dreamweaver has a steep learning curve.
If you've been using programs like Photoshop or InDesign for years, then it's hard for me to call you a total beginner, and I think you'll find you can pick up the basics and start using Dreamweaver in a weekend (if you have the right training video or books).
Is it easy to transition from GoLive to Dreamweaver - or is it a completely different way of working?
The essentials of Web design are the same in any Web design program. Once you've learned how to create a table to control page layout or how to insert an image, those skills should transfer from one program to another fairly well, even if the tools are in a slightly different place in the interface. That said, switching from GoLive to Dreamweaver is similar to switching from Quark to InDesign. You're going to run into interface and feature differences that may trip you up here and there.
One of the biggest differences is the way the two programs manage the organization of files and folders within a Web site. This is important because when you create links or insert images in a Web site you have to set them with the files and folders in the same relative location on your hard drive as they will be in when you publish them to your server. This may seem a little complicated if you're new to Web design. Fortunately, Dreamweaver manages all this for you but it does it differently from GoLive.
If you've been using GoLive and are switching to Dreamweaver, one of the first things you should get a handle on is the Site Setup process, which is all about identifying your main site folder so Dreamweaver can manage all your links. I cover the site set up feature at the beginning of Lesson 2, and refer to it many times throughout the video because it's the first thing you should do whenever you start working on a new site in Dreamweaver.
Is the Total Training video a complete program that starts you from zero, or does one need some knowledge of Dreamweaver or HTML?
I don't assume anything in this training. Okay, I assume you know better than to use your mouse as a remote control, but I start with a basic introduction to the interface and build from there. I call myself a "techy translator" and throughout the training I try to explain every new term and feature, point out any differences between the Mac and PC versions, and even tell you when I'm using features that aren't specific to Dreamweaver, like Alt+TAB (Cmd+TAB on the Mac). I'm still amazed how many people don't know that fabulous universal key command for switching between open programs on a computer.
There's an entire lesson on HTML, beginning with an intro to HTML tags and structure, but I consider it kind of an optional lesson. You don't need to know HTML to use Dreamweaver (which should be a relief to those of you who prefer not to study hieroglyphics). I teach an introduction to HTML because having a basic understanding is helpful for troubleshooting and understanding why some things work (or don't work) the way you might expect in Dreamweaver. I also include more advanced HTML features in that lesson because some alpha geeks prefer to work in the code and Dreamweaver has great code-editing tools.
Do you suggest using a training book as well, or is video training enough?
Since I'm the author of many books about Dreamweaver, as well as the host of the Total Training video, you might expect me to recommend a book as well as a video, and I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint you.
If you want the best of both worlds, think of it this way — the video is like getting a teacher in a box, your own private classroom. My Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies book is like having a good reference. Watch the video to learn Dreamweaver, and then use the book to look things up when you need a reminder or want to have instructions in front of you while you work.
What are your favorite new features in DW8?
This may seem trivial, but I really like the new copy and paste features. Web designers often have to insert formatted content from programs like Word or Excel, and Dreamweaver 8 now provides four different paste options, which enable you to choose whether to keep some or all the original formatting. It's a handy improvement.
Most designers I've been talking with seem excited about the enhancements to Dreamweaver's CSS features. Macromedia has improved these features, but what's really making them popular is that CSS is finally being supported better by Web browsers. That's not just a reflection of the evolution of Dreamweaver, it's a reflection of the fact that HTML itself has matured in the last couple of years, and it's taken a while for browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Netscape to catch up. Now that these browsers are more consistent, it's become more feasible to use these features, especially if you know your audience is using the latest browser versions.
These days it seems all the cool sites are being designed with CSS — thus these Dreamweaver features are more important and the improvements Macromedia has made are even more valuable. (They're not perfect yet, and the browser support still leaves much to be desired, but I'm sure we'll continue to see improvements in the future.)
Please tell us about any books you have planned for the near future.
You know I love this question. My Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies book just hit stores in late October and I have a new book series coming out next year, starting with Digital Family Album Basics in January and followed by Digital Family Album Holidays in the fall. I've been having a lot of fun helping families create Web sites — they're so inspiring and people say the darndest things about their kin folk.
If you're a professional Web designer and you're tired of your friends and family asking you to help with their personal Web sites, give them a copy of Digital Family Album Basics, or my Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies book, which was published earlier this year.
If that last paragraph is too much of a shameless plug for my books, feel free to cut it, but you can't blame a Web Goddess for trying. ;-)
No, your books are great, so we'll keep that in! Thanks for the interview Janine.
You can see some free video clips on our Total Training For Dreamweaver Page. Also see Janine's site, www.JCWarner.com. which includes a Dreamweaver Tips page.
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Dreamweaver CS3 Upgrades And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications — from start to finish — with Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. Work using either a visual layout interface or a streamlined coding environment. Get the full version for US $399, or upgrade for US $199.
Dreamweaver CS3 is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium ($1,599/$340) — which offers a complete solution for creating interactive websites, applications, user interfaces, presentations, and mobile device content. Web Premium combines all-new CS3 versions of Flash Pro, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Fireworks, Acrobat 8 Pro, Contribute, Bridge, Version Cue, and Device Central. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.
SiteGrinder 2 — Photoshop Plugin Review
Review by Jennifer Apple
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
So how does it work? Think for a second about the normal flow of work for any web design project. You'll spend a great deal of your time designing the visual appearance of your website in Photoshop, only to turn around and spend even more time working with a code editor like Dreamweaver or GoLive, going through the labor-intensive process of reconstructing these designs for the web.
Not to mention that fact that your creativity is often significantly limited when you're using a design program that's completely separate from the program that's used to prep everything for the web. Not everything that you design will be functional when it's translated to the web, nor will it be compatible with all web browsers period! As such, you'll often find yourself not going that extra creative mile just because you know that your web developer will have to re-work your designs just to make sure that they can be used online.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
SiteGrinder 2 throws all these considerations to the wind. By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
With SiteGrinder 2, you can easily convert Photoshop Type layers into CSS styled web text. Virtually all of Photoshop's character and paragraph styles are supported by CSS, so you'll be able to ensure a smooth transition from workspace to web browser. This includes everything from bold and italic to paragraph spacing and alignment. Even hyperlinking is made easy, as SiteGrinder 2 will automatically turn any HTTP and e-mail URLs into hyperlinks.
Create Buttons, Rollovers, Popups & Menus
Likewise, SiteGrinder 2 will convert image layers to web graphics, generating automatically the HTML needed to display your images on your website exactly where you had positioned them in Photoshop. All the basic elements of any standard website are also easy to achieve by using SiteGrinder 2 with Photoshop, which allows you to create buttons, rollovers, pop-ups and menus. Pretty much all you have to do is tell SiteGrinder 2 about special layers by including "hints" when you name the layers – simply include "button", "rollover" or "pop-up" in your layer name and SiteGrinder 2 will create your preferred interactive feature automatically.
No Tables Here — SiteGrinder Produces Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS
It's also a breeze to create a multipage website from a single Photoshop document, by using a Photoshop tool called the Layer Comps palette. Often overlooked, this incredibly powerful little tool lets you save and name particular document states, including the position and visibility of every layer. To create multiple pages, all you have to do is make the document look the way that you want a page on your site to look, and then make a layer comp — then set up the next page and make another layer comp, and so on. SiteGrinder 2 will then use these comps to figure out what to include on the web pages that it will generate for you. It's as easy as that!
SiteGrinder 2 effectively functions as your very own web technician, who knows all there is to know about CSS, HTML and other complex web formats.
You don't need to spend precious time and money learning the intricacies of web-speak when SiteGrinder 2 can do all this work for you, leaving you with much more time and freedom to explore the limits of your creative potential in the Photoshop world you know so well.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies
Dreamweaver 8 For Dummies
This book offers a friendly introduction to this sophisticated program that is noted for its advanced features, such as the capability to seamlessly move between visual and HTML modes. Covers the key features of Dreamweaver, including how to design a well-planned site, coordinate the design work, and add graphics. Addresses using Cascading Style Sheets, adding interactivity, working with multimedia files, building a dynamic site, bringing data into the site, and more.
The companion Website features links to trial versions of several software programs, templates to make building a site quicker and easier, sample Flash animations, a glossary of Dreamweaver lingo, all the examples provided in the book, and more .
Available at Amazon.com (34% off).
Photoshop And Dreamweaver Integration
Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration
Communicate a clear message with professional, integrative design using the world's most popular Web design combination - Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Follow along as expert Colin Smith shows you how to build Websites that are both well-designed and highly functional. Take standard Web page elements - such as navigation bars and content areas - and create a unique look based on the needs of your client, and the boundless capacity of your own imagination.
With a balance of technical instruction and Web design theory, this one-of-a-kind guide will show you how to create visually appealing and technically effective professional Websites.
Available at Amazon.com (34% off).
