Peachpit Press, October 2007

This book covers PowerPoint 2007 for Windows, going into more detail than the Visual QuickProject Guide. With more pages, I was able to cover more parts of the program and add lots of tips and tricks for making better presentations.

Peachpit Press, June 2007

This is a revision of the best-selling book written with Dori Smith. We cover the new features of Macromedia Dreamweaver CS3, including the improved CSS handling, management, and CSS layouts; the integration with Photoshop and Fireworks; the new Browser Compatibility Check and CSS Advisor; and we go into detail on Dreamweaver's addition of AJAX with the Spry framework, widgets, and effects.

Based on reader feedback, Dori also tore apart the two CSS chapters in the previous edition and turned them into three chapters, with the intent of making the explanations of the ins and outs of CSS even more approachable, as well as covering the new CSS features.

Peachpit Press, February 2007

This revision of my best-selling PowerPointVisual QuickProject covers the radically-different user interface of PowerPoint 2007 for Windows. The Microsoft Office UI got a big change, and it was reflected throughout this book.The book is still concise, to the point, and loaded with color pictures. Unfortunately, this edition drops the coverage of Mac PowerPoint, because a new Mac version had not yet been released, and because the user interface for the Windows version was so different that the two programs were very different. Until PowerPoint 2008 for Mac is released at the end of 2007, Mac users should still purchase the older edition.

JavaScript & Ajax for the Web, Visual QuickStart Guide, 6th Edition

Peachpit Press, August 2006

This was a big revision to our best-selling book. We broke from the past and redid virtually all of the scripts in the book, conforming them to current best practices. We've brought the scripts into line with the concepts of unobtrusive scripting, splitting the HTML, JavaScript, and CSS into separate files. This makes the scripts and the pages easier to maintain.And by separating content, scripting, and styles, you can make changes in any one file, and see those changes reflected in all pages that use the file you modified.

We changed the name of the book to include Ajax, and we have two entirely new chapters dealing with Ajax. We also jettisoned some old chapters, as well as the discussion of how to deal with old Web browsers; we now deal only with modern, standards-compliant browsers in this book. We do, however still have a chapter about dealing with older browsers; it's just not in the book. Instead, we've put it up on the book's companion site.

Peachpit Press, December 2005

This book was written with Dori Smith. We were asked by our publisher to take over this title from a previous author, and we wrote this book from scratch. Not only did we try to cover most of the new features of Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, we also wanted to take a different approach to teaching Dreamweaver.

We think that too many of the other Dreamweaver books out there rely on old-style methods for creating sites and pages with Dreamweaver, such as using tables for layout and font tags for styling text. Those methods aren't appropriate anymore, especially because Dreamweaver 8 has great tools for creating and using CSS. So our book walks readers through building sites the modern way, respecting Web standards throughout. We still show people how to do things the old-fashioned ways (because some people have special requirements for using those methods), but we focus on teaching modern methods.

Special thanks to Virginia DeBolt for contributing some important chapters to the book.

Peachpit Press, August 2005

After two years, Apple finally revised Keynote, their presentation program, and made it part of their new productivity suite, iWork '05. I've updated my book to include the new features in Keynote 2, such as hyperlinks, the new Media Browser, improved animations and transitions, and more.

Peachpit Press, July 2005

There are a lot of books on Tiger, but this one focuses on letting readers know all that needs to be done before, during, and after the upgrade from Panther or Jaguar. I zero in on just the need-to-know essentials that will ensure a smooth transition to Mac OS X Tiger. After a safe upgrade, I give a quick overview of what's changed before showing readers how to customize their systems and use three of Tiger's key features: Spotlight search, Automator (for streamlining repetitive tasks), and Dashboard (the control panel for Tiger's nifty new widget mini-applications). I wrap it up by recommending some of my favorite add-ons and utilities to make your Tiger experience even better.

Peachpit Press, May 2005

Apple's iWork '05 includes Keynote 2 and their new program, Pages. Another book in the Visual QuickProject series (one not written by me) covers Pages, and this one shows people how to get up and running with their first presentation using Keynote 2.

Managing Your Personal Finances with Quicken: Visual QuickProject Guide
Peachpit Press, December 2004

This book covers Quicken 2005 for both Windows and Macintosh. Again, it's a good beginners book for people who need help getting their personal finances under control. We did this instead of updating the Quicken for Mac Visual QuickStart, which because that program doesn't change that much from year to year, the book only needs updating every few years.

Creating A Presentation In Powerpoint: Visual QuickProject Guide

Peachpit Press, October 2004

This book was one of the first in a new series from Peachpit Press. It's a cross-platform book, covering the latest versions; PowerPoint 2003 for Windows, and PowerPoint 2004 for Mac. Like all of the books in this series, it's a tightly-focused book for beginners who want to get up and running fast.The book steps the reader though the process of creating and giving a presentation, and focuses on what people absolutely have to know. It's only about 160 pages, and it is loaded with color pictures. I'm told that it is selling quite well, helped along no doubt by the book's low price; it sells for less than $10 at Amazon.

Peachpit Press, September 2004

This third edition covers new features in Contribute 3 on both the Mac and Windows versions. On the Mac side, Contribute adds the ability to create FlashPaper documents. On the Windows side, you can now create FlashPaper from within Office applications, which is a nice touch. Both platforms tout integrated image editing, better CSS rendering and style control, better administrative controls,  the ability to put Google search fields on your pages, a nice new reviews process, WebDAV support, and more.

TidBITS Electronic Publishing, June 2004

It's my first ebook, covering the new features of Microsoft Entourage 2004. I think this is the first book-like publication on any aspect of Office 2004 for the Mac. The book is a tightly-focused 60 pages on the new features, with tips and tricks for getting the most out of them. And it's only five bucks!