Adobe(R) PageMaker(R) 7 (Against the Clock)

Whenever I work through a software tutorial, I inevitably find that some of my questions are not answered. This one is no exception but it does a better than average job. Along the way, I learned a lot that is probably good for me but which I had no pressing need to know. That is a good thing.

The book works systematically through most major topics with Pagemaker 7 and gives plenty of background information. Along the way, tutorials emphasize the important points and it was encouraging to actually get things done. The files that are needed are provided on the accompanying CD and were generally as depicted in the text; this is an exception to the general rule in my experience and very much appreciated.

All in all, I cannot claim competence in Pagemaker yet but I am a long way closer than I was when I started this tutorial 3 days ago.

This is a horribly written book, flawed by numerous instruction errors and miserable Quality Control and editing by the publisher. The premise and idea of this series is commendable, but as someone who teaches After Effects and Premiere, this was a sad experiment. I much prefer Adobe's Classroom in a Book, and I generally find much better third party titles than Adobe's. If possible, wait for more titles for the new version 6.5 to come out... authors will have had more time to catch up to the program than this particular volume.

An extremely well presented, and surprisingly complete inroduction to Adobe Photoshop 6. The organization of material and page layout are outstanding, together with spiral binding and "place-mark" cover create an extremely user-friendly courseware. The focus is on essential real-world applications of the software, not special effects. Much more than an exercise book, this book will continue to serve as a reference long after the "course" is completed. Of the Photoshop introductory courseware I've seen, this is the best.