A.2 Getting Help from Macromedia
You can also get more up-to-date and personalized support from Macromedia, ranging
from technical notes on the Macromedia Web site to pay-as-you-play support
plans.
A.2.1 Free Help by Email
www.macromedia.com/support/email/complimentary/
As a registered owner of Dreamweaver, you're entitled to free help by email for two
problems within 90 days. In other words, you get help with only two problems (can
you say, "cheapskates?") and only if you make both requests within 90 days. The
clock starts ticking when you make your first request for help, and it's available only
if you've registered your copy of the software first (by choosing Help
Dreamweaver).To post a question, go to the Web site whose address appears above, where you'll find
a Web-based support form to fill out. Macromedia says it will usually send you an
answer within one business day.For phone assistance, call this not toll-free number: (415) 252-9080. Expect to wait
on hold, but the support staff is usually very helpful and knowledgeable.
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A.2.2 Paid Support
www.macromedia.com/support/programs/
Once your free email help expires, you can turn to four levels of personalized feebased
support, ranging from $200 for a single incident to the whole-hog luxury of the
$3,000 Gold Support program. For more information on these programs, go to the
Web page whose address appears above. Each program has its own phone number, so
read the Web site to determine the type of support (Incident to Gold) that you need.
If you just have a single nagging question, the single-incident help program gets you
a Macromedia technician who will work with you until the issue is resolved. But at
$200, make sure you've tried to answer the question yourself first using one of the
free resources listed in this appendix. Customers in the U.S. and Canada call (800)
470-7211 to order this service. (More information on this option, as well as choices
for international customers, is at
www.macromedia.com/support/programs/singlesuppl
).
A.2.3 Macromedia Web Site
www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/
If you don't mind hunting around for the right information, you'll find plenty of good,
free information on Macromedia's Web site. If you've got a question or problem, the
best place to start is at the Dreamweaver support area. Here you'll find useful tips,
techniques, and tutorials, along with a searchable archive of tech notes (short articles
on specific, tweaky problems) that may just hold the answer you're seeking.Macromedia's Developer Center features articles and tutorials. The Dreamweaver portion
of the site includes sample database applications, video tutorials, and in-depth
articles. It's worth checking out frequently, at
www.macromedia.com/devnet/
.
A.2.4 Quick Reference Guide
www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/documentation/dwmx_shortcuts/
Cheat sheets are always a blessing when learning a program. Macromedia supplies Mac
and Windows reference guides in PDF format (and in multiple languages). Keyboard
shortcuts are neatly organized by topic in this handy two-page reference.
A.2.5 Newsgroups
.appdev
The Macromedia newsgroup (Internet bulletin board) is a terrific source of information,
offering almost real-time answers on Dreamweaver and related Web design
techniques. Macromedia sponsors two newsgroupsthe regular Dreamweaver
newsgroup for basic questions and the AppDev group, where people discuss Dreamweaver's
dynamic Web-page features. A popular newsgroup like Macromedia's can
generate hundreds of replies-to-replies a day. Using a newsgroup reader like the one
in Outlook Express, you can post questions here. Odds are one of the many knowledgeable
experts who always seem to be hanging around will come back with an
answer, sometimes within minutes. (If you're new to newsgroups,
www.macromedia.com/support/forums/usingl
explains how to use them. You'd be wise to visit
www.macromedia.com/support/forums/etiquette
, too, to learn the proper etiquette for
using newsgroups.)
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an online archive at
www.groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup =macromedia.dreamweaver
.