Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Flash CS4 Professional in 24 Hours

497 Pages·2009·16.65 MB·English

by  Phillip Kerman

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From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
▼ TRY IT YOURSELF
When you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get some hands-on experience,look for one of the more than 90
“Try It Yourself” mini-lessons that provide step-by-step walkthroughs of key Flash tasks and techniques.
HOUR 1:Basics HOUR 9:Using Shape Tweens to Morph HOUR 17:Introducing Components
.Make an Animation in 30 Seconds 8 .Make a Simple Shape Tween 178 .Manually Populate the ComboBox
.Change Your View on the Stage 12 .Use Shape Hints for a Better Shape Component 314
.Use the Properties Panel to Inspect Tween 183 .Populate the ComboBox Component
and Change Fill Colors 18 by Using ActionScript 316
HOUR 10:Advanced Animation with .Create Multiple Buttons for a Portfolio317
HOUR 2:Drawing and Painting Original Inverse Kinematics .Use the RadioButton Components 320
Art in Flash .Create a Shape and Add Bones with .Apply the Radio Buttons 321
.Use the View Tools to Help You See 37 the Bone Tool 192
.Draw and Change Lines 40 .Create a Shape from Multiple Movie HOUR 18:Using Components
.Paint Fills 44 Clips and Add Bones 194 .Use the List Component to Enable
.Draw and Modify Shapes 47 .Animate a Figure by Adding Poses 197 Users to Select Images 333
.Fill the Stage with the Deco Tool 48 .Control the Motion of an Armature .Use the ProgressBar Component as
.Use the Pen Tool 50 with the Bind Tool 198 a Preloader 338
.Create and Style Text 51 HOUR 11:Simulating 3D Animation .Use the Slider to Access Frames in
a Movie Clip 339
.Use the Selection Tool to Select and .Create a 3D Movie Clip 207
Modify Shapes 57 .Use the 3D Translation Tool to HOUR 19:Using Video
.Select Attributes with the Dropper Tool 60 Create an Animation 210 .Embed a Video 349
.Transform Drawn Objects 62 .Create Multiple Rotating Movie Clips 210 .Make a Playback Controller for an
.Use Snap to Objects to Draw Perfect Embedded Video 353
Shapes and Connect Objects 65 HOUR 12:RMeoutsioinng P Yreosuer tAsn imations with .Create an .flv and Use the
HOUR 3:Importing Graphics into Flash .Apply an Existing Motion Preset 217 .FRLoVtPolsacyobpaec k( DCroamw pForanmenets of a Video) 335557
.Import a Raster Graphic 77 .Modify and Save an Existing Preset 220 .Inject and Use Cue Points 359
HOUR 4:Staying Organized with the .Change the Easing of an .Animate a Video in 3D 363
Library and Layers Existing Preset 223,225
.Create a Symbol by Converting HOUR 13:Including Sound in Animations HOUR 20:Linking a Movie to the Web ptg
Selected Objects 90 .Import a Sound 231 .Publish a Movie 371
.Create a New Symbol from Scratch 93 .Add Sounds and Sound Effects to .Use navigateToURL to Create a
.Transform the Location,Scale,and an Animation 240 Hyperlink 374
Rotation of Instances 101 .Create a Text Hyperlink 376
.Change Color Styles on Several HOUR 14:Nesting Animations in Movie .Use Dynamic Text to Create a
Instances 103 Clip and Graphic Symbols Hyperlink 377
.Make a Symbol by Using Instances .Use a Movie Clip to Make a .Display Text by Using CSS 379
of Another Symbol 108 Rotating Wheel 254
.Compare a Movie Clip Symbol to a HOUR 21:Designing a Website to be
HOUR 5:Controlling Color Graphic Symbol 258 Modular
.Create a Custom Color and Swatch 119 .Load a Movie 392
.Create a Custom Gradient 122 HOUR 15:Creating Special Effects .Use the Loader Class to Display
.Transform Attributes of Gradients .Use an Imported Bitmap as a Fill Progress 395
Used in a Movie 123 Color in a Hall of Mirrors 268 .Play an External MP3 398
.Animate a Block of Text,One .Load Text from File 399
HOUR 6:Applied Layout Techniques Character at a Time 269
.Display the Time in Dynamic Text 133 .Convert Text to a Shape for Special HOUR 22:Minimizing File Size
.Use the Hard Light or Overlay Blend Effects 270 .Use the Bandwidth Profiler to Judge
to Add a Highlight 135 .Splatter Animated Movie Clips 272 Download Times 415
.Combine Techniques to Improve .Add a Shadow to Show Depth and .Reduce a File’s Size with the
the Bevel Filter 137 Distance 275 Bandwidth Profiler’s Help 419
.Add a Filter with the Motion Editor 277 .Use a Preloader in the Bandwidth
HOUR 7:Understanding Animation .Use Masking to Create a Spotlight Profiler 421
.Analyze a Finished Animation 150 Effect 278 HOUR 23:Optimizing Performance
HOUR 8:Using Motion Tweens to Animate .CTrraenastiet ioan Hand-Drawn Masking 280 .Use a Custom Performance Meter to
.Create a Basic Motion Tween 157 .Use a Mask as a Stencil 281 Calculate Frame Rate 428
.Tween Position,Scale,Rotation, HOUR 24:Publishing a Creation
and Color 161 HOUR 16:Basic Interactivity
.MStaakrets an Animation Finish Where It 165 .MYoaukre M aonv iAection That Loops Part of 291 .STheet nU pP utbhleis Phu ab lMisohv Sieettings and 435
.Make an Animation Ease In and .Use a Frame Label as the .Address Users Without Flash 440
Ease Out 170 Destination of a gotoAndPlay Action 293 .Customize a Template 441
.Make a Simple Button 296 .Add Metadata for Search Engine
Optimization 443
.Add Buttons to an Animation to
Stop and Continue Playback 299 .Add XMP Data to a Movie 445
.Make a Simple Portfolio Viewer 305
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
Phillip Kerman
and Lynn Beighley
SamsTeachYourself
Adobe
®
Flash
® CS4
Professional ptg
24
in
Hours
800 East 96th Street,Indianapolis,Indiana,46240 USA
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Flash CS4 Professional in 24 Hours Acquisitions Editor
Copyright © 2009 by Sams Publishing Mark Taber
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, Development Editor
or transmitted by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or other-
Songlin Qiu
wise,without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with
respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has Managing Editor
been taken in the preparation of this book,the publisher and author assume no responsi- Patrick Kanouse
bility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the
use of the information contained herein. Project Editor
ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33041-4 Seth Kerney
ISBN-10: 0-672-33041-5
Copy Editor
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Jovana San Nicolas-
Shirley
Kerman,Phillip.
Sams teach yourself Adobe Flash CS4 professional in 24 hours / Phillip Kerman and Indexer
Lynn Beighley. -- 1st ed. Tim Wright
p. cm.
Proofreader
ISBN 978-0-672-33041-4 (pbk.)
Matt Purcell
1. Flash (Computer file) 2. Multimedia systems. 3. Web sites--Design.
I. Beighley,Lynn. II. Title. Technical Editor
QA76.575.K4625 2009 Brandon Houston
006.7'8—dc22
Publishing
2009015798
Coordinator
Printed in the United States of America ptg
Vanessa Evans
First Printing May 2009
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but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The
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From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
Contents
Introduction 1 Part II: Animating in Flash
What’s New in This Edition........................2 HOUR 7: Understanding Animation 143
Who Should Read This Book......................3
How Animation Works ..........................143
How This Book Is Organized......................3
Elements of Animation............................144
What’s on the Book’s Website ....................4
HOUR 8: Using Motion Tweens to
Part I: Assembling the Graphics You’ll
Animate 157
Animate in Flash
Creating a Motion Tween........................157
HOUR 1: Basics 7 Fine-Tuning a Motion Tween ..................165
Jump Right In and Make an Animation ......7
HOUR 9: Using Shape Tweens to
Getting Your Bearings ................................9
Morph 177
Getting Around in Flash ..........................23
Document Properties................................28 Making a Shape Tween ..........................177
Refining and Fine-Tuning a
File Types ................................................29
Shape Tween ..........................................182
HOUR 2: Drawing and Painting Original
HOUR 10: Advanced Animation with
Art in Flash 35
Inverse Kinematics 191
Drawing on the Stage................................36 ptg
Tools ........................................................36 Linking Symbols with the Bone Tool........191
Selecting and Transforming Objects ..........54 Animating the Armature ........................195
HOUR 11: Simulating 3D Animation 203
HOUR 3: Importing Graphics into Flash 69
Vector Graphics Versus Raster Graphics....69 Creating a 3D Movie Clip........................203
Moving Objects with the 3D
Reasons to Avoid Importing Graphics ......70
Importing Vector Graphics........................71 Translation Tool......................................209
Rotating Objects with the 3D
Using Bitmaps (Also Known as Raster
Graphics)..................................................75 Rotation Tool..........................................210
HOUR 12: Reusing Your Animations
HOUR 4: Staying Organized with the Library
with Motion Presets 215
and Layers 89
The Concept of the Library ......................89 The Motion Presets Panel........................215
Using the Library......................................96 Applying an Existing Motion Preset........217
Editing an Existing Preset with the
Using Symbols from the Library..............100
Motion Editor Panel................................222
HOUR 5: Controlling Color 113
HOUR 13: Including Sound in
Using Blends and Filters..........................113
Animations 229
Creating and Saving Color Swatches ......118
Importing Sounds ..................................229
HOUR 6: Applied Layout Techniques 129 Using Sounds..........................................232
Setting Text ............................................129 Controlling Quality and File Size ............241
Applied Examples Using Color Styles,
Blends, and Filters ..................................134
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
iv Sams Teach Yourself Adobe® Flash® CS4 Professional in 24 Hours
HOUR 14: Nesting Animations in Movie HOUR 21: Designing a Website to
Clip and Graphic Symbols 253 Be Modular 391
Movie Clip Symbol Behavior ..................253 Loading Movies or Images......................391
Subtleties of Movie Clips ........................260 Determining When a Movie Is
HOUR 15: Creating Special Effects 267 Fully Loaded..........................................395
Playing External Sounds ........................398
Effects with Shapes ................................267
Loading External Text ............................399
Splatter Movie Clips with the Spray
Brush Tool..............................................272 HOUR 22: Minimizing File Size 405
Using Filters for Special Effects................274 File Size Considerations..........................405
Masking Effects ......................................277 HOUR 23: Optimizing Performance 427
Part III: Adding Interactivity and Video Measuring Performance..........................427
HOUR 16: Basic Interactivity 287 Impacts on Performance..........................428
Basic ActionScript ..................................287 HOUR 24: Publishing a Creation 435
Making Simple Buttons ..........................295 How to Publish ......................................435
Listening for Events................................299 Adding Metadata to Your Flash
HOUR 17: Introducing Components 313 Creation..................................................443
What Is a Component?............................313 Choosing Which Version to Publish ........445
Deciding Which Media Types to
Using the Button Component..................317
Using the RadioButton Component ........319 Publish ..................................................446 ptg
Changing Component Appearances........322 Exporting Other Media Types..................455
Index 459
HOUR 18: Using Components 329
Using Data Providers..............................329
Working with Other Components............337
HOUR 19: Using Video 345
Embedding Video Versus Playing
External Video........................................345
Using Video............................................352
3D Animation with Video........................363
Part IV: Putting It All Together
for the Web
HOUR 20: Linking a Movie to the Web 369
Basic Publishing......................................369
Simple Hyperlinks..................................373
Using Style Sheets ..................................378
What Other Web Tasks Can Flash Do? ....380
Using Flash Inside a Larger Website........382
Uploading Files to a Web Server..............386
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
About the Authors
Phillip Kermanis an independent programmer, teacher, and writer, who specializes in the
Adobe Flash platform.
He has trained and made presentations around the world, in such exotic locations as
Reykjavik, Iceland; Melbourne, Australia; Amsterdam, Holland; and McAlester, Oklahoma.
He has programmed several games on MSN and Messenger Live, including Sudoku Too and
Jigsaw Too, as well as the real-time cattle auction site stampedecattle.com. Phillip is also the
author of Macromedia Flash @work,Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications, and
ActionScripting in Flash MXfrom New Riders Publishing.
Lynn Beighleyis a freelance author, web designer, and web developer. After going back to
school to get a Masters in Computer Science, she worked for the acronyms NRLand LANL.
Then, she discovered Flash and wrote her first bestseller. Avictim of bad timing, she moved
to Silicon Valley just before the great crash. She spent several years working for Yahoo! and
writing other books and training courses. Upon discovering that technical book writing
actually paid real money, she learned to accept and enjoy it. Finally giving in to her creative
writing bent, she moved to the New York area to get an MFAin creative writing. She current- ptg
ly creates Flash animations and applications that range from the ridiculous to the sublime.
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
Acknowledgments
CS4 Edition
The creation of this book could not have happened without the skill and patience of many,
many people at Sams Publishing. Most of all, I want to thank Mark Taber for offering me
this opportunity and Philip Kerman for writing such a great book. I also greatly appreciate
the efforts of Songlin Qiu for keeping me on track and organized, not an easy task.
Other folks I’d like to thank include Seth Kerney, Brandon Houston, and Jovana San
Nicolas-Shirley.
Finally, thank you Adobe for keeping Flash the great product that it is and taking it in inter-
esting new directions. Keep up the awesome work!
—Lynn Beighley
CS3 Edition ptg
Most successful feats involve the efforts of many people. This book is no exception. I’m
proud of the result, but I can’t take full credit. Here is my attempt to acknowledge everyone.
First, I’d like to thank the people at Sams Publishing. When Randi Roger approached me,
not only did she provide the faith that I could write this book, but she also stressed the sup-
port I would receive from Sams Publishing. She wasn’t exaggerating. The following people
were professional and prompted me every step of the way: Betsy Brown, Lynn Baus,
Brandon Houston, Jeff Schultz, Amy Patton, Carol Bowers, Mark Taber, Kate Small, Matt
Purcell, Vanessa Evans, and Damon Jordan (who as Development Editor made this book
flow), plus all the editors listed in the front of this book. When you look at other Sams
books, you’ll see many of these people acknowledged for a reason—they are great!
There are countless correspondents with whom I’ve learned a lot about Flash. Instead of
naming several and inadvertently neglecting many, let me just say that participating in local
user groups and online forums is a great way to expand your knowledge and build your
business—they’ve helped me and helped this book. Of all the places I’ve learned about
Flash, being in the classroom and teaching has probably been the most educational for me.
The students and staff of the Northwest Academy, Pacific Northwest College of Art and
Portland Community College deserve special recognition.
—Phillip Kerman
From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
We Want to Hear from You!
As the reader of this book, youare our most important critic and commentator. We value
your opinion and want to know what we’re doing right, what we could do better, what
areas you’d like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you’re willing to pass
our way.
You can email or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn’t like about this
book—as well as what we can do to make our books stronger.
Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that
due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message.
When you write, please be sure to include this book’s title and author as well as your name
and phone or email address. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the
author and editors who worked on the book.
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Mark Taber
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Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA
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From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff
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From the Library of Lee Bogdanoff