Macromedia Flash Mx Studio

by Baldwin, Dennis; Macdonald, Jamie; Peters, Keith; Steer, Jon; Tudury, David; Turner, Jerome; Webster, Steve; White, Alex; Yard, Todd

• ISBN13: 9781590591888
• ISBN10: 1590591887
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc

Summary

Macromedia Flash MX Studio takes your raw Flash talent and multiplies its potency by focusing it on real-world web design situations. This book examines all the avenues open to professional or aspiring professional Flash MX designers. It takes a look at advanced uses of the new MX features, such as components and the Drawing API, and gives guidance on building whole new structures for animation, Dynamic Content, PHP, ColdFusion MX, XML, video, audio and audiovisual formats. Never before has so much power been so accessible to the web designer. This book is designed to put that power in your hands.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
Macromedia Flash MX: The Lay of the Land	1	(6)
Flash MX Studio: not for the faint-hearted	1	(1)
What's on the CD?	2	(1)
Layout conventions	2	(1)
Start building this movie	3	(1)
Support	4	(3)
section 1: Site Presentation
chapter 1: Motion	7	(34)
Easing out	8	(8)
Making a movie clip move with easing	8	(3)
Initiating motion with a mouse click	11	(1)
Adding a trail to an object's motion	12	(4)
Making the trail fade	13	(3)
Frame-based motion	16	(10)
Constant velocity	17	(1)
Swinging motion	18	(6)
Scale in motion	24	(2)
Managing the motion	26	(13)
Using empty movie clips	28	(5)
Picture navigator	33	(6)
Summary	39	(2)
chapter 2: Formatting Text	41	(48)
Creating our own text effects	41	(6)
Creating a typewriter effect	42	(3)
SetInterval	45	(2)
Creating a text field dynamically	47	(9)
Typing in	49	(7)
A note on prototypes	56	(1)
Working with textFormat	57	(4)
Using setTextFormat	57	(4)
Application of technique	61	(6)
Converting Strings	64	(3)
Advanced text effects	67	(9)
Calculating the width of a string	68	(1)
Obtaining character positions	69	(1)
Obtaining further data	69	(4)
Using the character positions	72	(1)
Using character data for a text fade	73	(3)
Further possibilities	76	(2)
Creating a random fade	76	(2)
Enhancing the picture navigation interface	78	(9)
Dynamically positioning images and adding text effects	79	(8)
Summary	87	(2)
chapter 3: Drawing API	89	(34)
Drawing a straight line	89	(2)
Drawing a curved line	91	(4)
Adding fills	95	(1)
Adding gradient fills	96	(2)
A draw square function	98	(3)
A draw circle function	101	(2)
Drawing a curve through a specified point	103	(5)
Making a sample application	108	(13)
Drawing	108	(2)
Shared objects	110	(1)
Using a shared object	111	(1)
Saving our picture data	112	(2)
The fully functioning drawing application	114	(7)
Summary	121	(2)
chapter 4: Components	123	(40)
The guts of a component	124	(9)
Tooltip basics	125	(8)
Live preview	133	(3)
Setting up a live preview	134	(2)
What we want our tooltip to do	136	(25)
Making a tooltip appear on rollover	138	(4)
Dynamically changing the text inside the tooltip	142	(2)
Adding an enabled property	144	(2)
Attaching the tooltip dynamically to a movie clip	146	(2)
Preserving the original button actions	148	(4)
Adding the final requirements for the tooltip	152	(5)
Extra button interactivity: retrieving alpha and brightness settings with Color.setBrightness	155	(2)
Building our own button component	157	(4)
Summary	161	(2)
chapter 5: Taking Things Further	163	(58)
The Stage object	163	(22)
Resizing the stage with the Stage object	164	(6)
More efficient resizing	170	(3)
Applying motion when the stage is resized	173	(12)
XML	185	(34)
An XML loader	191	(3)
Building the XML loader	194	(11)
Preloading the pictures	205	(8)
Displaying the photographs	213	(6)
Summary	219	(2)
section 2: ActionScript Interfaces
chapter 6: Introduction to Events and Handlers	221	(32)
Some basic definitions	221	(4)
Deleting event handlers	225	(1)
Changing event handlers	226	(2)
Passing parameters to event handlers	227	(1)
Event driven programming	228	(5)
Other events	228	(2)
Button event handler	230	(3)
Keyboard event handlers	233	(18)
Event listeners	233	(2)
Creating a Simple Game	235	(18)
Watches	247	(4)
Summary	251	(2)
chapter 7: Advanced Collision Detection	253	(34)
hitTest	253	(6)
Bounding boxes	254	(1)
Using shapeFlag	255	(2)
Using the different types of hitTest	257	(2)
Mathematical collision detection	259	(24)
Bouncing ball	259	(5)
World cup pong	264	(14)
Distance-based movie clip to movie clip collision detection	272	(2)
Look at the size of that thing	274	(3)
Multiple object collision	277	(1)
Handling multiple objects in an array	278	(5)
Summary	283	(4)
chapter 8: Flash Math and Physics	287	(56)
Introducing trigonometry	287	(8)
Circular motion	290	(3)
You looking at me7	293	(2)
Motion basics	295	(44)
Uniform speed	297	(2)
Acceleration	299	(1)
Do you want to go faster?	299	(2)
Gravity	301	(1)
Project #1: Asteroids	302	(25)
Springs	320	(5)
Coordinate rotation	325	(2)
Ships in flight	327	(2)
Project #2: Bounce	329	(10)
Summary	339	(4)
chapter 9: Animation and Interactivity with the Drawing API	343	(46)
Coded line drawing	343	(3)
Chaos lines	344	(2)
Animating drawings	346	(13)
Cel generator	347	(3)
Frame-by-frame animation	350	(2)
Coded tweens	352	(1)
Morphing fruit	353	(6)
Gradients	359	(27)
Linear gradients	360	(2)
Radial gradients	362	(3)
Dynamic color palette	365	(16)
Transformation matrix	378	(3)
Gradient transform 1: sunrise blues	381	(1)
Gradient transform 2: rotation	382	(2)
Gradient transform 3: fading gradients	384	(2)
Summary	386	(3)
chapter 10: 3D with the drawing API	389	(30)
Methods for 3D	389	(1)
Pre-rendered	389	(1)
Approximated illustrations	390	(1)
Real-time 3D	390	(1)
3D concepts reviewed	390	(2)
Axes	391	(1)
Vertex	391	(1)
Depth	391	(1)
Vectors	392	(1)
Matrices	392	(1)
Coding the cube	392	(12)
Setting the vertices	393	(2)
Adding meshlines	395	(9)
Transformation matrices	398	(6)
Depth sorting	404	(3)
Filling the sides	405	(2)
Backface culling	407	(4)
Rendering only the necessities	409	(2)
Lighting polygons	411	(6)
Lighting the cube	411	(6)
Summary	417	(2)
chapter 11: Case Study: SphereCage	419	(44)
Concept	420	(1)
The 1%	421	(5)
Reflection map	421	(3)
SphereCage: media	424	(2)
The code	426	(34)
The SphereCage interface	427	(4)
Master Classes	431	(17)
Exploring inheritance
Game functions and object instantiation	448	(12)
Developing SphereCage further	460	(1)
Summary	461	(2)
section 3: Rich Media	463	(88)
chapter 12: Dynamic Graphics	467	(26)
Optimizing JPEGs	467	(1)
Optimizing JPEGs with Fireworks MX	468	(4)
Loading JPEGs	472	(15)
Flatpack sleeve designs	472	(12)
Preloaders	475	(2)
Coding the Flatpack designs and photography	477	(7)
Random backdrop	484	(3)
Bracken photo diary	487	(4)
Constructing the photo diary	488	(1)
Calendar buttons	489	(2)
Summary	491	(2)
chapter 13: Video	493	(38)
Digital video basics	494	(4)
Exporting from QuickTime Pro	496	(2)
Importing video into Flash	498	(5)
Optimization with Sorenson Spark	499	(3)
MX video test	502	(1)
Controlling video in Flash	503	(1)
Banthacontroller	504	(10)
Stage	505	(1)
Video	505	(1)
Buttons	505	(1)
Library	506	(1)
Actions	506	(1)
Creating rewind and fast forward controls	507	(5)
Broadband Banthafodder	512	(2)
Flatpack video	514	(14)
Video menu components: the Slipshod tour diary	520	(8)
Manipulating video: video playground
Summary	528	(3)
chapter 14: Audio	531	(20)
Non-streaming audio	532	(1)
Streaming audio	532	(2)
Encoding MP3s using iTunes	533	(1)
Loading MP3s into Flash	534	(6)
Flatpack MP3	535	(5)
File management	540	(7)
Backing theme	541	(5)
Mute	546	(1)
Summary	547	(4)
section 4: Dynamic Data Integration	551	(114)
chapter 15: Working with external files	551	(22)
The text file	551	(3)
The functions	554	(6)
loadVariables	554	(3)
loadVars	557	(3)
Multiple variables	560	(6)
Updateable marquee	560	(3)
Updateable navigation bar	563	(3)
Putting it all together	566	(4)
Easily updateable site	566	(4)
Summary	570	(3)
chapter 16: Dynamic Flash: PHP	573	(36)
History 101	573	(1)
Two servers of Verona	574	(2)
Installing PHP	576	(1)
PHP in action	576	(6)
Recap, cap'n	577	(1)
Another message of the day	578	(4)
PHP for the masses	582	(2)
Creating a simple e-mail application	584	(21)
Designer application	585	(1)
Funky button component ahoy	586	(5)
Da Flash Moo-Vee	591	(11)
And Now for something completely PHP	602	(8)
Trouble and strife	604	(1)
Where to go from here	605	(1)
Summary	605	(4)
chapter 17: XML	609	(26)
What is XML?	610	(3)
Tags and elements	610	(1)
Attributes	611	(1)
Why use attributes when a bit of content would do?	611	(1)
Nodes	612	(1)
Declarations	612	(1)
Comments	612	(1)
Well-formed XML	613	(3)
Error message	614	(1)
Nesting	614	(1)
White space	615	(1)
Naming	615	(1)
Styling XML content	616	(3)
Default style sheet	616	(1)
Attaching style sheets to XML documents	616	(3)
Valid XML	619	(1)
Accessing XML from Flash	619	(5)
Updateable marquee revisited	621	(3)
Dynamic XML driven content	624	(9)
Creating a browser in Flash with PHP and XML	625	(8)
Summary	633	(2)
chapter 18: Flash, ColdFusion and Remoting	635	(30)
Getting started with ColdFusion	636	(4)
The basics	636	(3)
Message of the day using ColdFusion	639	(1)
Flash Remoting	640	(23)
Setting yourself up for Remoting	642	(1)
PMA contacts application	642	(8)
The database	643	(2)
The components	645	(5)
Getting contacts	650	(3)
Adding user interaction	652	(1)
Selecting contacts	653	(2)
Adding contacts	655	(4)
Updating contacts	659	(2)
Delete contacts	661	(2)
Summary	663	(2)
Index	665