Flash 8: The Missing Manual

274 Pages·2006·41.65 MB·English

by  E. A. Vander Veer

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Flash 8: The Missing Manual
By Emily A. Vander Veer
...............................................
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: March 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-596-10137-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-610137-4
Pages: 460
Table of Contents | Index
Macromedia's Flash 8 is the world's premier program for adding animation to websites. And with the
latest version, this popular program becomes more versatile, letting beginning webmasters and expert
developers alike create sophisticated web content. But Flash isn't intuitive. And it doesn't come with a
manual. Whether you want to learn the basics or unleash the program's true power, Flash 8: The
Missing Manual is the ideal instructor.
This hands-on guide to today's hottest web design tool is aimed at nondevelopers, and it teaches you
how to translate your ideas into great web content.
It begins with a solid primer on animation, which helps you get comfortable with the Flash interface.
Once you have these basics under your belt, Flash 8: The Missing Manual moves on to advanced
animations, including adding special effects and audio, video, and interactivity to your presentations.
When you're really feeling steady, the book shows how to use a dollop of ActionScript to customize
your content. It then teaches you how to publish your Flash creations for web surfers everywhere to
enjoy. Along the way, the book shows you good design principles and helps you avoid elements that
can distract or annoy an audience.
Author Emily Vander Veer has more than a dozen books to her credit, including titles on web design
and scripting--most written for non-technical readers. Her background makes her the perfect author for
a straightforward book on a complex subject. She takes Flash 8: The Missing Manual from the basics
to the advanced, yet avoids a hasty jump into tough topics that can leave readers confused.
Not only will Flash 8: The Missing Manual help you turn a concept into unique, dynamic content, but it
will continue to serve as a reference as you develop your website.
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Flash 8: The Missing Manual
By Emily A. Vander Veer
...............................................
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: March 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-596-10137-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-59-610137-4
Pages: 460
Table of Contents | Index
Copyright
The Missing Credits
About the Author
About the Creative Team
Acknowledgements
The Missing Manual Series
Introduction
The Two Flavors of Flash 8
What's New in Flash 8
Anatomy of an Animation
Flash in a Nutshell
The Very Basics
About This Book
About MissingManuals.com
Safari® Enabled
Part I: Creating a Flash Animation
Chapter 1. Getting Around Flash
Section 1.1. Starting Flash
Section 1.2. A Tour of the Flash Desktop
Section 1.3. Toolbars
Section 1.4. Panels
Section 1.5. The Timeline
Section 1.6. The Flash 8 Test Drive
Section 1.7. Opening a Flash File
Chapter 2. Creating Simple Drawings
Section 2.1. Planning Pays Off
Section 2.2. Preparing to Draw
Section 2.3. Creating Original Artwork
Section 2.4. Copying and Pasting Drawn Objects
Section 2.5. Adding Color
Chapter 3. Animating Your Drawings
Section 3.1. Frame-by-Frame Animation
Section 3.2. Adding Layers to Your Animation
Section 3.3. Animating Automatically (Tweening)
Part II: Advanced Drawing and Animation
Chapter 4. Organizing Frames and Layers
Section 4.1. Working with Frames
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Section 4.2. Adding Content to Multiple Layers
Section 4.3. Viewing Layers
Section 4.4. Working with Layers
Section 4.5. Organizing Layers
Chapter 5. Advanced Drawing and Coloring
Section 5.1. Selecting Graphic Elements
Section 5.2. Manipulating Graphic Elements
Section 5.3. Adding Text to Your Drawing
Section 5.4. Advanced Color and Fills
Section 5.5. Creating Custom Colors
Section 5.6. Saving Color Swatches
Section 5.7. Importing a Custom Color Palette
Section 5.8. Copying Color with the Eyedropper
Chapter 6. Adding Special Effects
Section 6.1. Built-in Timeline Effects
Section 6.2. Spotlight Effect Using Mask Layers
Chapter 7. Reusable Flash: Symbols and Templates
Section 7.1. Symbols and Instances
Section 7.2. Templates
Chapter 8. Incorporating Non-Flash Media Files
Section 8.1. Incorporating Graphics
Section 8.2. Incorporating Sound
Section 8.3. Incorporating Video
Part III: Adding Interactivity
Chapter 9. Automating Flash with ActionScript
Section 9.1. How ActionScript Works
Section 9.2. Adding an Action
Section 9.3. Adding a Prebuilt Behavior
Chapter 10. Controlling Animation
Section 10.1. Slowing Down (or Speeding Up) Animation
Section 10.2. Organizing an Animation
Section 10.3. Looping a Series of Frames
Section 10.4. Reversing a Series of Frames
Chapter 11. Interacting with Your Audience
Section 11.1. Dynamic Text
Section 11.2. Input Text
Section 11.3. Tying Actions to Events
Chapter 12. Components for Interactivity
Section 12.1. The Built-in Components
Section 12.2. Adding Components
Section 12.3. Customizing Components
Section 12.4. Finding Additional Components
Part IV: Delivering Your Animation to Its Audience
Chapter 13. Testing and Debugging
Section 13.1. Testing Strategies
Section 13.2. Testing on the Stage
Section 13.3. Testing in Flash Player
Section 13.4. Testing Inside a Web Page
Section 13.5. Testing Download Time
Section 13.6. The Art of Debugging
Chapter 14. Publishing and Exporting
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Section 14.1. Optimizing Flash Documents
Section 14.2. Publishing Your Animations
Section 14.3. Exporting Flash to Other Formats
Part V: Appendix
Appendix A. Installation and Help
Section A.1. Installing and Activating Flash 8
Section A.2. Getting Help from Flash
Section A.3. Getting Help from Adobe
Section A.4. Finding Flash Gurus
Colophon
Index
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Copyright © 2006 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.
O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions
are also available for most titles (safari.oreilly.com). For more information, contact our
corporate/institutional sales department: [phone] or [email protected].
Printing History:
March 2006: First Edition.
Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, the O'Reilly logo, and "The book that should have
been in the box" are registered trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. The Missing Manual, The Missing
Manual logo, Pogue Press, and the Pogue Press logo are trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as
trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O'Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a
trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume
no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.
ISBN: 0-596-10137-6
[M]
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The Missing Credits
 About the Author
 About the Creative Team
 Acknowledgements
 The Missing Manual Series
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About the Author
E. A. Vander Veer started out in the software trenches, lexing and yaccing and writing
shell scripts with the best of them. She remained busy and happy for years writing C++ programs and
wresting data from recalcitrant databases until reaching the proverbial fork in the road, when she chose
the dark pathmarketing. After a stint as an Object Technology Evangelist (yes, that's an actual job title),
she found a way to unite all of her passions: writing about cool computer stuff in prose any human being
can understand. Books followedover a dozen so farincluding JavaScript For Dummies, XML Blueprints,
and the fine tome you're holding right now. Her articles appear in online and print publications including
Byte, CNET, Salon.com, WEBTechniques, CNN.com (and a bunch you've never heard of). She lives in
Minnesota with her husband and daughter. Email: [email protected].
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About the Creative Team
Nan Barber (editor) has worked with the Missing Manual series since its inceptionlong enough to
remember booting up her computer from a floppy disk. Email: [email protected].
Michele Filshie (editor) is assistant editor for the Missing Manual series and editor of four of O'Reilly's
Personal Trainer books. Email: [email protected].
Sohaila Abdulali (copy editor) is a freelance writer and editor. She has published a novel, several
children's books, and numerous short stories and articles. She's currently finishing an ethnography of an
aboriginal Indian woman. Sohaila lives in New York City with her husband Tom and their small but
larger-than-life daughter, Samara. Web: www.sohailaink.com.
Greg Dickerson (tech reviewer) is a systems administrator at O'Reilly. During his time at O'Reilly, he has
helped tech review several titles and was the QA lead for O'Reilly's Deluxe CD Bookshelf's product line.
Michael Hurwicz (technical reviewer) is a writer, animator, musician, and trainer who has written two
books and a number of articles on Macromedia Flash and Studio. Web: http://www.hurwicz.com.
Michael D. Murie (technical reviewer) is a multimedia consultant and developer based in Boston.
Rose Cassano (cover illustration) has worked as an independent designer and illustrator for over 20
years, working for both corporate and nonprofit clientele. She lives in southern Oregon, grateful for the
technology that makes working there a reality. Email: [email protected]. Web:
www.rosecassano.com.
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Acknowledgements
My name may be on the cover, but the fact is, this book wouldn't exist if it weren't for the tireless army
of editors, technical editors, copy editors, production folks, and other O'Reilly professionals who
shepherded it from manuscript to finished product. An especially heartfelt shout out to Sarah Milstein,
who took a chance; Nan Barber, who made my life easier (while making this book ever so much better);
and Michaels Hurwicz and Murie, whose eagle eyes straightened the bent, buffed the cloudy, and
trimmed the fat. Quality is second nature to this teamand in this day and age, that's saying something.
E. A. Vander Veer
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