This rather thin book covers in-depth perhaps the world's best web graphics creation and editing program. Sure you can do some of the things that Fireworks does in other programs like Adobe Photoshop CS2 or Adobe Elements 4.0 but none of these programs are designed for the sole purpose or creating and editing web graphics. Not even Adobe's own ImageReady program that comes with Adobe Photoshop comes close.

But with all of this power comes a program that can take a little time to learn, understand and fully appreciate. Macromedia Fireworks 8 Training from the Source will get you well on your way. This black and white book covers everything you need to know about Fireworks 8 from the basics of how the interface works to exporting images and more.

Macromedia Fireworks 8 Training from the Source is easy to read, easy to follow and laid out in a very logical way. Each lesson starts with a list of the things you will learn from the lesson, the approximate amount of time it will take to complete the lesson, what media files are required and what the completed files are. Both the media files and completed files are important as they are included on the included CD, and enable you to follow along in each lesson and using the completed images even jump ahead and see what the completed images should look like. The end of each lesson provides you with a list of things you should have learned along with their page numbers so that if you need to you can go back and refresh your memory.

There are tons of screen shots and sample images. There are tips and notes to help you not only become more proficient with Fireworks but help you watch out for things you may not have thought of. All of the lessons are done in a numbered step-by-step fashion so they are easy to follow along with.

Lessons:

Lesson 1: Bitmap Editing

Lesson 2: Using the Vector Tools

Lesson 3: Working with Layers

Lesson 4: Adding Text

Lesson 5: Advanced Techniques

Lesson 6: Creating Buttons

Lesson 7: Creating Slices and Hotspots

Lesson 8: Optimizing and Exporting

Lesson 9: Creating GIF Animations

Lesson 10: Making and Pop-up Menu Techniques

Lesson 11: Integration with Dreamweaver 8

I was thrilled to get this book. Being a long time Adobe Photoshop user for my web graphics I have always wanted to learn to use Macromedia Fireworks 8. This book made that very easy. The only thing it doesn't do is give you the creative knowledge to create creative things. That is just something you have to learn on your own. What this book will do is get you up to speed with Macromedia Fireworks 8 quickly and effectively.