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Summary: RUNNING is one of the best FP-2000 books available.
Review: I read Buyens'earlier FP-98 cover-to-cover to learn FP-98, and then got the FP-2000 version at that product's introduction. The books are quite similar with 2000 containing all the new features of the FP-2000 product, plus some additional development in a few areas. I have been very happy with both books. I used the first to learn FrontPage, and now the second as a good reference. Few texts can be used for such cross purposes like this one can. The material has a good layout and pleasing presentation, although it is not a "slick-page" book. It is neither a "for Dummies" book, as it is written in an intelligent and engaging style. It has a well-developed Table of Contents and extensive index for finding what you want. "Tables" are arguably the most important aspect of a Web page and the chapter on tables is particularly good. When I was finished, I really understood tables and now I use FP to just create the outline of complex multi-table tables, but then use HTML mode to go in and put them together. RUNNING showed me how to do that, by several examples in the book. The CD is good in that a lot of what was covered in the book is available without re-typing it in. I thought that more could have been made of this resource. Small complaint, and Buyens' book is still the best of the lot.
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Summary: a good comprehensive reference
Review: I've found this book to be very helpful as a comprehensive reference. It has a clear table of contents in the beginning, and a comprehensive index at the end. The book is very well organized into 5 main parts with 24 total chapters (Part I, Web Publishing; Part II, Creating Web Pages; Part III, Managing a Personal Web Server; Part IV, Using FrontPage Webs; Part V, Maintaining Your Site). The book is a little advanced, so I would recommend a few other books for beginners, such as Ruth Maran's FrontPage 2000 Simplified; Microsoft Press - Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Step-by-Step; or the Shelly Cashman Series - Microsoft FrontPage 2000: Complete Concepts and Techniques. More advanced users would probably feel comfortable reading this book straight through or using it as a resource for specific technical questions.
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Summary: STAY AWAY if u want to actually learn how to USE fp2000
Review: Like one of the previous reviewer said, this is what the manual of FP2000 should have been. If you want to learn FP2000, stay away from this book. You'll be wasting your money, time, and effort.
Rating: 
Summary: This is what the FP 2000 manual should have been
Review: Micro$oft is indeed a bunch of smart business people. I have used FrontPage since version 1 and have always found the user's guide ("Getting Started...") of little use beyond the basics. The online help is extensive, but purely and simply mechanical. This book is a good book (although the accompanying CD-ROM is rather useless, at least for me), as it details almost every aspect of using the great program. I don't think it's a good first-time user's guide (for that check out the "official FrontPage 2000 book" from Micro$oft), but it can serve as a good reference to FP 2000. What I like about it is the accuracy of the information contained therein. If you get a third-party book (like "Mastering M$ FP 2000"), you get a lot of inaccurate information. What we still need is a good FP 2000 resource book, like how to integrate e-commerce, how to create *good* themes, etc. Using FP 2000 is easy enough, but creating a good web site is a totally different, and very difficult, matter. Cheers.
Rating: 
Summary: Your Comprehensive Guide To All of FrontPage 2000
Review: Running Microsoft FrontPage 2000 is Microsoft's largest and most comprehensive book about FrontPage 2000, its industry-leading Web site creation software. First and foremost, the book provides a clear and complete reference to every feature of the FrontPage 2000 software. This is no dry, technical manual, however. The features are described in practical terms oriented to tasks you'll need to perform if you want your Web side to be the best. What's more, the book's organization by task means that features you'll use together are described together. This means you'll develop a comprehensive view of the software in the fastest way possible. The book is profusely illustrated with screen shots, sample Web pages, and diagrams that add visual impact and meaning to the text. Sidebars, Notes, Tips, Cautions, and Warnings explain fine points and ancillary topics without interrupting the main flow. Numerous See Also references function almost like hyperlinks in print, referring you to the exact page number where a topic related to the current text can be found. The companion CD provides the code for all the Web pages and examples in the book, packaged as a FrontPage Web ready for installation on your PC. In addition, it includes sample and demo versions of various third-party products that work with FrontPage. Running Microsoft FrontPage 2000 also addresses a variety of background topics most Web authors will sooner or later need to know. These include setting up and managing a personal Web server, working with the FrontPage Server Extensions, using other Office applications with FrontPage, and applying design principles in page layout, picture formats, typography, and color. If you're just starting with FrontPage, Running Microsoft FrontPage provides all the detail you need to get started and stays with you as your needs expand. If you're upgrading from a previous version, it describes each and every new and revised feature in detail. And whether you're new or experienced on the Web, it ties the process of Web site creation together like no other references available. Thanks for your interest and good luck with your site!
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Summary: Fulsom Praise for FrontPage
Review: This book contains pages of useless palaver about the "Web moving from obscurity to the mainstream", "anything involving two or more persons involves politics", "good page layout involves balance: use of the left margin as well as the right...", "real life offers-as does Web page design- a countless variety of potential contrasts", and so on, and so on. No topic deserves less than a long paragraph of zero content. The book also is really annoying in the way it pushes the product, talking about "rich" features, "making things easier than ever","the force of FrontPage themes". When push comes to shove, features simply are cataloged. With little attempt to link features to a complete project, or to answer natural questions that pop up as one goes through a project, the book forces one to flip back and forth trying to answer this or that. Bottom line: much blather, little direction
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Summary: Not what I had anticipated
Review: This book didn't meet my expectations. As another reader mentioned, the author spent a great deal of time talking about colors and style-sheets. Although they are important topics, I bought the book to learn about frontpage 2000. I fumbled around in FrontPage for about 2 weeks prior to purchasing this book. This book didn't tell me anything more than what I had already learned from using the program. So my recommendation is if you are new to frontpage and web design, this might be a good book for you. If you want to take frontpage to the next level , buy "FrontPage 2000 Developer's Guide".
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Summary: Mediocre title -- inconsistently organized
Review: To pick a topic to illustrate: FP has both themes and templates. It would be nice to get a compare/contrast, since templates are used in many products. Why choose one and not the other? No go. A chapter called "Using web-based front page components" is the place where templates are "explained" in 4 pages. What that chapter should be called is: "Front page components that don't require FP extensions". The themes section has a whole chunk of information on color theory. Why? There are good books on basic web design -- and color theory would seem to apply to more than just themes.
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Summary: A reference - you'll need another book to start
Review: Well, it DOES state on the cover "the complete reference" and that's what it is, a reference work: don't buy only this book if you are the average person who just wants to get started and actually use Frontpage. As far as how good of a reference it is, I have to go back to the bookstore and learn from another book before I can grade it in that way!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than most FrontPage 2000 books
Review: While preparing to teach a class on web/intranet design, I reviewed 7 books on the subject of FrontPage 2000. Most were either too simple or too complex for normal well-educated adults. This "Running" series was just about right. (I used "style sheets","frames", and "forms" as a benchmark to compare the books.) I particularly like the brief but clear comments regarding icons, options, buttons, etc. Bill, please use this author to write and design your online help. (Up 'til now, Microsoft "Help" is not)
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