Macromedia Flash(TM) MX Hands-On-Training

by Weil, Kymberlee

• ISBN13: 9780321112729
• ISBN10: 0321112725
• Format: Paperback w/CD
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Peachpit Press

Summary

There's no better way for you to get your feet wet using Macromedia Flash MX than with a H.O.T. tutorial, Lynda Weinman's well-loved and unique style of instruction. WithMacromedia Flash MX Hands-On Training, you'll learn core Macromedia Flash MX principles and techniques in a real-world Web design environment. The step-by-step projects build successively, teaching you not only the various features of Macromedia Flash MX, but also how to actually work with the program to achieve results. Each lesson is chock-full of background information, tips, and insight aimed at helping you understand the process as much as the exercise itself. And the accompanying CD-ROM includes both starter files and finished files for each lesson, as well as QuickTime instructional movies, so that you can learn by watchinganddoing.Macromedia Flash MX H.O.T.covers all of the most important new features of Macromedia Flash MX, beginning with projects that focus on the MX interface, drawing and color tools, animation basics, tweening, symbols and instances, bitmaps, and more. As the projects progress, you'll tackle more complex techniques, such as working with movie clips, text, sound, and video. The latter part of the book addresses publishing and managing Macromedia Flash MX content, as well as how to create content by integrating other software into Macromedia Flash MX. If you're looking for an intelligent, approachable guide for learning Macromedia's latest version of Flash, you'll find lynda.com's Hands-On Training your e-ticket to Macromedia Flash MX expertise!

Table of Contents

Introduction.
1. Background Information.

Why Use Macromedia flash MX? What's New in Macromedia Flash MX? Macromedia Flash MX as Project, Player, or Projector? File Types Associated with Macromedia Flash MX. Caution: Player Required! Beyond Macromedia Flash MX.

2. Interface.

The Document Window. The Timeline. Docking and Undocking the Timeline. The Layer Controls. The Information Bar. The Toolbox. The Panels. Undocking and Docking Panels. Resizing Panels. Expanding, Collapsing, Hiding, and Closing Panels. Using the Panel Options Menu. Creating and Saving Panel Sets. Switching to Another Panel Set. The Panels Defined. Custom Keyboard Shortcuts. Creating a New Shortcut Set.

3. Drawing and Color Tools.

Drawing Tools Explained. Lines, Strokes, and Fills Explained. Exercise 1_Drawing with the Pencil Tool. Exercise 2_Modifying Lines. Exercise 3_Using the Oval and Rectangle Tools. Exercise 4_Using the Brush Tool. Exercise 5_Modifying Strokes and Fills. Exercise 6_Working with Multiple Objects. Exercise 7_Grouping Objects. What Is the Color Mixer Panel? Exercise 8_Creating Gradients. Exercise 9_Drawing with the Pen Tool. Exercise 10_Modifying Paths.

4. Animation Basics.

The Timeline. Projects and Movies. Exercise 1_Document Properties. What Is a Keyframe? Keyframes in Macromedia Flash MX. Exercise 2_Frame-by-Frame Animation with Keyfames. Exercise 3_Onion Skinning. Exercise 4_Understanding Frame Rate. What Is the Frame Rate? Recommended Frame Rates. Exercise 5_Inserting and Deleting Frames. Exercise 6_Copying and Reversing Frames. Exercise 7_Testing Movies.

5. Shape Tweening.

What Is Shape Tweening? Exercise 1_Shape Tweening Text. Exercise 2_Shape Hinting. Exercise 3_Multiple Shape Tweening. Layer Properties Defined. Exercise 4_Animating Gradients.

6. Symbols and Instances.

The Symbol and Instance Structure. Symbol Naming Conventions. Important Timeline Vocabulary Terms. Exercise 1_Creating Graphic Symbols. Exercise 2_Creating Symbol Instances. Exercise 3_Editing Symbols. Exercise 4_Editing Symbol Instances. Color Styles. Exercise 5_Animating Graphic Symbols.

7. Motion Tweening.

Shape Tweening Versus Motion Tweening. Exercise 1_Basic Motion Tweening. Exercise 2_Tweening Effects. Exercise 3_Editing Multiple Frames. Exercise 4_Using a Motion Guide. Exercise 5_Exploding Text. Motion Tweening Options and Limitations.

8. Bitmaps.

Benefits of Bitmaps. Compression in Macromedia Flash MX. Exercise 1_Importing and Compressing Bitmaps. Exercise 2_Importing Bitmap Sequences. Exercise 3_Converting Bitmaps to Vectors. Exercise 4_Basic Masking. Exercise 5_Animated Masks. Exercise 6_Breaking Apart Bitmaps. Exercise 7_Stroking a Bitmap. Exercise 8_Combining Bitmaps and Vectors.

9. Buttons.

Button States. Button Types. Exercise 1_Rollover Buttons. Exercise 2_Rollover Buttons with Text. Exercise 3_Duplicating and Aligning Buttons. Exercise 4_Adding Sound to Buttons. Exercise 5_Invisible Buttons.

10. Movie Clips.

What Is a Movie Clip? Exercise 1_Creating a Movie Clip. Exercise 2_Animated Graphic Symbols Versus Movie Clip Symbols. Exercise 3_Creating an Animated Rollover Button. Exercise 4_Animated Rollover Button in Action.

11. ActionScripting Basics.

Where Do I Place ActionScript? The Actions Panel Defined. Exercise 1_Controlling the Timeline. Interactivity and Actions: Events and Event Handlers. Mouse Events. Keyboard Events. Movie Clip Events. Time-Based Clips. Exercise 2_Controlling Movie Clips. Exercise 3_The goto Action to Create a Slideshow. Exercise 4_On Mouse Event: getURL. What Are Scenes? Exercise 5_Targeting Scenes. Exercise 6_Creating a Drop-Down Menu. What Is loadMovie? Exercise 7_Loading Movies.

12. Working with Text.

Text Blocking Types. Creating, Modifying, and Formatting Text. Text Options in the Property Inspector. Exercise 1_Working with Static Text and Device Fonts. Embedded Fonts Versus Device Fonts. Exercise 2_Loading Dynamic Text Fields Using External Files. Exercise 3_Working with Dynamic Text and HTML. Exercise 4_Scrollable Dynamic Text Fields. Exercise 5_Working with Input Text.

13. Sound.

Exercise 1_Importing Sounds. Exercise 2_Compressing Sound. Exercise 3_Creating Background Sound with Sound Effects. Modifying Sound Settings. Exercise 4_Controlling Sound with On/Off Buttons. Exercise 5_Compression Settings for Narration. Exercise 6_Synchronizing Sound to Narration Cues.

14. Components and Forms.

What Are Components? Working with Components. Exercise 1_Creating a Form. Exercise 2_Configuring Components. Exercise 3_Modifying Components.

15. Video.

Importing video into Macromedia Flash MX. Sorenson Spark Video Compression. Exercise 1_Importing Video. Exercise 2_Controlling Video with stop and go Actions. Exercise 3_Controlling Video Targeting Frame Labels. Exercise 4_Applying Effects to Video. Exercise 5_Linking to QuickTime Video. The QuickTime Dialog Box. What Is Sorenson Squeeze?

16. Publishing and Exporting.

What Types of Content Can Macromedia Flash MX Publish? Exercise 1_Macromedia Flash MX and HTML. Exercise 2_Creating Projectors. Exercise 3_Modifying Projectors with FS Commands. To Publish or to Export? Exercise 4_Exporting Image Files. More About the Publish Settings. Flash Settings. HTML Settings. GIF Settings. JPEG Settings. PNG Settings. QuickTime Settings. Settings for Projector Files. Top Tips for Optimizing Movies.

17. Putting It All Together.

Exercise 1_The Big Picture. Exercise 2_Examining the Scenes. Layer Management. Exercise 3_Examining the Layers. Library Organization. Exercise 4_Investigating the Library. Exercise 5_Using the Movie Explorer. What Is a Preloader? Exercise 6_Building a Preloader. Exercise 7_Printing from the Project File. Exercise 8_Printing from the Macromedia Flash Player. Exercise 9_Exporting the Scenes. Exercise 10_Creating Draggable Movies.

18. Integration.

Importing Vector Files. Exercise 1_Bringing Fireworks Editable Content into Flash. Exercise 2_Bringing Fireworks Flattened Content into Flash. Exercise 3_Importing FreeHand Content as Keyframes. Exercise 4_Importing FreeHand Content as Scenes. Exercise 5_Dreamweaver and Macromedia Flash MX. Exercise 6_Illustrator and Macromedia Flash MX. Exercise 7_Creating Accessible Content.

Appendix A. Troubleshooting FAQ and Technical Support.

Frequently Asked Questions. Technical Support.

Appendix B. Macromedia Flash MX Resources.

Macromedia Flash MX Application Development Center. Macromedia Online Forums. Macromedia Exchange for Flash. Macromedia TechNotes. Third-Party Web Sites. Flashforward. CD-ROMs from Lynda.com. Online Training Movie Library from Lynda.com. Books for Further Learning about Macromedia Flash MX.

Index.