Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash MX 2004 in 24 Hours, 2/e

Summary

 Since its introduction in 1996, Macromedia Flash has become the standard for delivering high impact, vector-based graphics to the Web. Flash is deceptively simple at first, yet has great depth and flexibility.

Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash MX in 24 Hours offers a clearly written, well-organized introduction to this powerful product, and gives the beginner an overview of the entire package, without becoming too overwhelming.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

I. ASSEMBLING THE GRAPHICS YOU'LL ANIMATE IN FLASH.

Hour 1. Basics.

Jumping Right In. Getting Your Bearings. Getting Around in Flash. Document Properties. File Types. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 2. Drawing and Painting Original Art in Flash.

Drawing on the Stage. Tools. Selecting and Transforming Objects. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 3. Importing Graphics into Flash.

Vector Graphics Versus Raster Graphics. Reasons to Avoid Importing Graphics. Importing Vector Graphics. Using Bitmaps (Also Known As Raster Graphics). Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 4. Applied Advanced Drawing Techniques.

Colors and Gradients. Customizing the Tools Panel. Isolating Objects. Grouping Objects. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 5. Using the Library for Productivity.

The Concept of the Library. Using the Library. Using Symbols from the Library. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

II. ANIMATING IN FLASH.

Hour 6. Understanding Animation.

How Animation Works. Components of Animation. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 7. Animation the Old-Fashioned Way.

Understanding the Brute-Force Animation Technique. Enhancing a Frame-by-Frame Animation. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 8. Using Motion Tweens to Animate.

Creating a Motion Tween. Fine-Tuning a Motion Tween. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 9. Using Shape Tweens to Morph.

Making a Shape Tween. Refining and Fine-Tuning a Shape Tween. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 10. Using Timeline Effects and Commands.

Timeline Effects. Commands. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 11. Including Sound in Animations.

Importing Sounds. Using Sounds. Controlling Quality and File Size. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 12. Using Layers in Animations.

How Layers Work. Using Layer Properties for Visual Effect. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 13. Animating Using Movie Clip and Graphic Symbols.

Movie Clip Symbol Behavior. Subtleties of Movie Clips. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

III. ADDING INTERACTIVITY AND ADVANCED ANIMATION.

Hour 14. Making Buttons for the User to Click.

Making a Button. Advanced Buttons. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 15. Using ActionScript and Behaviors to Create Nonlinear Movies.

Using ActionScript. Using Behaviors. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 16. Using ActionScript for Advanced Interactivity.

Making Drag-and-Drop Interactions. Programming in Flash. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 17. Using Components.

What Is a Component? Using the RadioButton Component. Changing Component Styles. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 18. Using Video.

Importing Video. Using Video. Optimizing Video. Other Video Options. Summary. Q&A. Workshop. Exercises.

IV. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER FOR THE WEB.

Hour 19. Linking a Movie to the Web.

Basic Publishing. Simple Hyperlinks. Using Style Sheets. What Other Web Tasks Can Flash Do? Using Flash Inside a Larger Web Site. Uploading Files to a Web Server. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 20. Designing a Web Site to Be Modular.

Loading Movies or JPGs. Determining When a Movie Is Fully Loaded and How to Unload It. Shared Library Items. Playing External Sounds. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 21. Optimizing a Flash Site.

File Size Considerations. Performance Hits. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 22. Advanced Animation Techniques.

It's the Result, Not the Technology. Applying Conventional Techniques. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 23. Working On Large Projects and in Team Environments.

Production Methodologies. Applying Productivity Techniques. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

Hour 24. Publishing a Creation.

How to Publish. Using Named Anchor Frames. Deciding Which Media Types to Publish. Exporting Other Media Types. Summary. Q&A. Workshop.

V. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A: Shapes You Can Make by Using Selection, Snap to Objects, and the.

Canvas Level. Semicircle. Spokes on a Wheel. Five-Pointed Star. Oblique Cube. Sine Waves. 3D Sphere. Color Wheel.

Appendix B: Resources.

Tutorials and Other Online Resources. Content Sites. Third-Party Products. Statistics.

Index.