Macromedia Studio 8 All-in-One Desk Reference

About This Book

Macromedia Studio 8 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (we know, it’s a mouthful) is designed to be a hands-on, easy-to-understand guide to the fea¬tures in all the Macromedia Studio products. The no-nonsense approach is designed to help you begin to build Web sites by covering the basics in a clear and concise fashion. The way we see it, you’ve got things to do, and reading a book, even a clever one, takes up valuable time. The faster we can help you do something or answer a question, the better.

There have been some changes in the latest version of Macromedia Studio 8 that are worth noting here. In Studio 8, FreeHand and ColdFusion have been dropped from the product. However, we still cover them here because if you have upgraded from a previous version of Studio, then you still have those products on your computer. In addition, you can still download FreeHand MX and the developer edition of ColdFusion from the Macromedia Web site.

How This Book Is Organized

Like all the All-in-One Desk References, this book’s chapters are organized into minibooks. Most of the minibooks revolve around products, but one is geared toward the Web development process. The following sections describe each minibook in more detail.

Book I: An Introduction to Building Web Sites

Before we jump into the products in the Macromedia Studio suite, we want to frame the conversation around how Web sites get built: things to consider, organizing yourself, and so on. This minibook walks you through how to figure out what it is you’re really building and how you should go about preparing to build it.

Book II: Dreamweaver 8

Dreamweaver 8 is the crux of any Web development effort with Macromedia Studio, so naturally, this is a good place to start. In this minibook, you get a hands-on look at how you can use Dreamweaver to create and manage your Web sites, whether they’re more design-oriented (with Macromedia Flash) or technology-driven (with ColdFusion).]

Book III: Fireworks 8

Whereas Dreamweaver is the tool that helps you manage your Web site, Fireworks 8 is designed to spur your creative vision. This minibook shows you how to use the variety of tools in this impressive program to bring the look and feel of your site to life. It also shows you how to use Fireworks in conjunction with the other Macromedia Studio products (such as Macromedia Flash) effectively.

Book IV: Flash 8

Macromedia Flash 8 is probably the most exciting of the Macromedia prod¬ucts. Flash delivers animation, sound, and interactivity to the Web like no other product ever has. If you’ve ever wanted to find out how to use this tool to add some new zeal to your Web site, then this is the minibook for you!

Book V: Contribute 3

In this minibook, we introduce you to the newest member of the Macromedia Studio family, Contribute 3. Designed as a collaborative tool that turns your hard development work into an easy interface for non-techies to update and publish content to the Web, Contribute puts the power of building Web sites in the hands of the people you work with. In this minibook, you find every¬thing you need to know to get you and your collaborators up and running with Contribute in no time flat.

Book VI: FreeHand MX

This is the minibook for the true illustrators. Whether the final product is a Flash-based or a traditional HTML-based site, FreeHand MX gives designers the tools they need to create compelling imagery. In this minibook, you find out how to turn your ideas into working graphical art to be used in a variety of Web applications.

Book VII: ColdFusion MX 7 Developer Edition

ColdFusion, once left for dead by many in the industry, now appears well-poised to lead mainstream Web development into the dynamic content arena. In this minibook, you too can find out just how easy it is to use ColdFusion to create dynamic Web sites.
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