Certified Macromedia Flash

by Parker, Tim

• ISBN13: 9780789727176
• ISBN10: 078972717X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Macromedia Inc

Summary

The book does not teach Flash; rather, it is a review guide and will provide helpful pointers for examinees. The book is non-intimidating yet thorough, and is highly readable in small bite-sized chunks. Each subject is presented in clear and direct language, with useful and well explained code examples. Sample questions accompany each subject, as well as references to recommended reading (documentation, course work, and existing ColdFusion books).

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
Part I Flash Basics	7	(58)
The Flash Environment	9	(10)
What is Flash?	9	(1)
The Flash Interface	10	(1)
Flash File Types	10	(1)
The Movie Explorer	11	(3)
The Library	14	(3)
The Library Window	14	(2)
Flash Symbol and Asset Types	16	(1)
Summary	17	(1)
Sample Questions	17	(2)
Drawing Tools	19	(14)
Flash Drawing Tools	19	(1)
The Arrow, Subselect, and Lasso Tools	19	(3)
The Arrow Tool	19	(2)
The Subselect Tool	21	(1)
The Lasso Tool	21	(1)
Stroke and Fill Controls	22	(2)
The Color Section	22	(1)
The Stroke Panel	22	(2)
The Drawing Tools	24	(5)
The Line Tool	24	(1)
The Pencil Tool	24	(1)
The Pen Tool	25	(2)
The Oval and Rectangle Tools	27	(1)
The Brush Tool	27	(2)
The Painting Tools	29	(1)
The Dropper Tool	29	(1)
The Ink Bottle Tool	29	(1)
The Paint Bucket Tool	29	(1)
The Eraser Tool	30	(1)
Summary	31	(1)
Sample Questions	31	(2)
Flash Fundamentals	33	(16)
Symbols and Instances of Symbols	33	(2)
Creating Symbols	34	(1)
Layers	35	(4)
Creating, Viewing, and Editing Layers	37	(1)
Using Guide Layers	38	(1)
Using Mask Layers	39	(1)
Timelines	39	(5)
Working with Frames	41	(1)
Keyframes	42	(1)
Frame Labels	42	(1)
Frame Rates	43	(1)
Nested and Multiple Timelines	43	(1)
Frame-by-Frame Animations	44	(1)
Tweening	45	(2)
Motion Tweening	45	(1)
Shape Tweening	46	(1)
Summary	47	(1)
Sample Questions	48	(1)
Actions	49	(10)
Buttons	49	(7)
Creating a Button	49	(1)
Setting the Four Button States	50	(1)
Using a Button in a Movie	51	(1)
Changing a Button's Shape	52	(1)
Button Actions	52	(3)
Animating a Button	55	(1)
Invisible Buttons	55	(1)
Importing Graphics and Bitmaps	56	(1)
Summary	57	(1)
Sample Questions	57	(2)
Using Variables	59	(6)
Variables	59	(4)
Flash Date Types and Data Operations	60	(1)
ActionScript Functions	61	(1)
Scope of a Variable	61	(2)
Summary	63	(1)
Sample Questions	63	(2)
Part II Flash Development	65	(58)
ActionScript	67	(12)
What is ActionScript?	67	(1)
Objects and Classes	68	(2)
ActionScript Programs	70	(3)
Writing Scripts	73	(3)
ActionScript Keywords	73	(1)
Comments	73	(1)
Semicolons	74	(1)
Parentheses and Curly Braces	74	(1)
Dot and Slash Syntax	75	(1)
ActionScript Terms	76	(1)
Summary	77	(1)
Sample Questions	77	(2)
Events	79	(10)
Using Events	79	(8)
Programming Events	80	(1)
Mouse Button Events	80	(1)
Frame Events	81	(5)
Clip Events	86	(1)
Summary	87	(1)
Sample Questions	88	(1)
Variables	89	(10)
Data Types	89	(5)
Constants	90	(1)
String Data Type	90	(2)
Number Data Type	92	(1)
Boolean Data Type	92	(1)
Object Data Type	93	(1)
Movie Clip Data Type	93	(1)
The Typeof () Function	94	(1)
Naming Variables	94	(1)
Working with Variables	95	(2)
Loading and Sending Variables	97	(1)
Summary	98	(1)
Sample Questions	98	(1)
Functions	99	(8)
What is a Function?	99	(1)
Predefined Flash Functions	100	(1)
Using Functions	101	(2)
Writing Functions	101	(2)
Function Literals	103	(1)
Custom Classes	104	(1)
Summary	105	(1)
Sample Questions	105	(2)
Programming Basics	107	(10)
Flow Control	107	(1)
The if Statement	107	(3)
Loops	110	(7)
The for Loop	110	(2)
The for ... in Loop	112	(1)
The while Loop	112	(1)
The do while Loop	113	(1)
Controlling Looping	114	(2)
Summary	116	(1)
Sample Questions	116	(1)
Code Reuse	117	(6)
Includes	117	(1)
Smart Clips	118	(3)
Smart Clip Button and Check Box Objects	119	(1)
Smart Clip Menu Objects	119	(2)
Summary	121	(1)
Sample Questions	121	(2)
Part III Flash Objects	123	(58)
Using Objects	125	(4)
What is an Object?	125	(1)
Creating Objects	126	(1)
Summary	127	(1)
Sample Questions	127	(2)
The MovieClip Object	129	(10)
MovieClip Object Methods	129	(6)
The attachMovie Method	130	(1)
The duplicateMovieClip Method	131	(1)
The getBounds Method	132	(1)
The getBytesLoaded and getBytesTotal Methods	132	(1)
The globalToLocal and localToGlobal Methods	132	(1)
The hitTest Method	133	(1)
The loadMovie and unloadMovie Methods	134	(1)
The startDrag and stopDrag Methods	134	(1)
The swapDepths Methods	134	(1)
Using MovieClip Methods	135	(1)
MovieClip Properties	135	(2)
The _alpha Property	136	(1)
The _quality Property	136	(1)
Summary	137	(1)
Sample Questions	137	(2)
Arrays	139	(8)
Creating and Populating Arrays	140	(1)
Array Methods	141	(2)
Loops and Arrays	143	(1)
Summary	144	(1)
Sample Questions	145	(2)
Color	147	(4)
Color Object Methods	147	(2)
Summary	149	(1)
Sample Questions	149	(2)
Key	151	(4)
Key Object Methods	151	(1)
Key Object Properties	152	(1)
Summary	153	(1)
Sample Questions	153	(2)
The Mouse Object	155	(2)
Mouse Object Methods	155	(1)
Summary	156	(1)
Sample Questions	156	(1)
Sound	157	(14)
Sound Sampling	158	(5)
Sampling Frequency	159	(2)
Bit Depth	161	(1)
File Sizes	162	(1)
Supported Sound File Formats	163	(1)
Flash and Sound	164	(3)
Importing Sound Files	164	(1)
Using Sounds in a Movie	164	(2)
Sounds and Buttons	166	(1)
Background Music	167	(1)
Linking Sounds	167	(1)
Sound Editing Controls	167	(1)
Exporting Sounds	168	(1)
Using Sounds Effectively	169	(1)
Summary	170	(1)
Sample Questions	170	(1)
Other Objects	171	(10)
Math	171	(1)
Date and Time	172	(6)
Date Methods	173	(1)
Creating and Using a Date Variable	174	(4)
Using a Timer	178	(1)
String Object	178	(2)
Summary	180	(1)
Sample Questions	180	(1)
Part IV Building Applications	181	(28)
External Data	183	(8)
Sending Messages	183	(3)
Standalone Flash Player	184	(1)
Using Web-based Flash Players	185	(1)
Sending and Receiving Data	186	(1)
Flash and XML	187	(3)
Flash XML Object	188	(1)
Flash XMLSocket Object	189	(1)
Summary	190	(1)
Sample Questions	190	(1)
Data-Driven Movies	191	(4)
Flash and Middleware	191	(1)
Data Interaction with Middleware	192	(1)
Summary	193	(1)
Sample Questions	193	(2)
Debugging	195	(6)
The Output Window	195	(1)
Using the trace Command	196	(1)
Examining the Debugger	197	(1)
Using the Debugger	198	(1)
Summary	199	(1)
Sample Questions	199	(2)
Error Handling	201	(4)
ActionScript Error Handling	201	(2)
Showing HTML Errors	203	(1)
Summary	203	(1)
Sample Questions	204	(1)
Profiling	205	(4)
Previewing Movies	205	(1)
The Bandwidth Profiler	206	(1)
Summary	207	(1)
Sample Questions	207	(2)
Part V Appendix	209	(8)
A Answers	211	(6)
Index	217