Macromedia Flash 8 For Dummies,9780764596919

Macromedia Flash 8 For Dummies

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ISBN13: 9780764596919
ISBN10: 0764596918
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2005-11-14
Publisher(s): For Dummies
List Price: $26.74

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Summary

Make the Web interactive with your own animations Liven up your Web site with graphics that move, buttons that light up, and more Flash is fun - and this book makes it easy whether you're using a Mac(r) or Windows(r). Fill letters with images, create buttons that glow or change color when you pass your mouse over them, play video and sound files, morph objects into different ones, and do dozens of other things to make your site flashier. Discover how to * Create animated text * Find sample Flash files * Explore links to additional information * Add sound and video * Build great user interfaces * Publish your Flash files

Author Biography

Ellen Finkelstein has written numerous bestselling computer books on AutoCAD, PowerPoint, and Flash. She also writes articles on these programs for Web sites, e-zines, and magazines. The five editions of her AutoCad Bible have sold more than 80,000 copies in the United States and abroad. As an Adjunct Instructor of Management, she teaches eBusiness and Human Resource Management courses. Her latest book is Syndicating Web Sites with RSS Feeds For Dummies. She writes at home so that she can take the bread out of the oven on time.

Gurdy Leete has been working as a computer animator, computer animation software engineer, and teacher of computer animation since 1981. He has been teaching Flash and other computer animation programs for 14 years at Maharishi University of Management, where he is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media. You can see his art on the Web at www.infinityeverywhere.net.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1(1)
About This Book
1(1)
How to Use This Book
2(1)
Foolish Assumptions
2(1)
Conventions Used in This Book
2(1)
How This Book Is Organized
3(2)
Part I: A Blast of Flash
3(1)
Part II: 1,000 Pictures and 1,000 Words
3(1)
Part III: Getting Symbolic
4(1)
Part IV: Total Flash-o-Rama
4(1)
Part V: The Movie and the Web
4(1)
Part VI: The Part of Tens
5(1)
Part VII: Appendixes
5(1)
Icons Used in This Book
5(1)
Where to Go from Here
6(1)
Part I: A Blast of Flash
7(38)
Getting Acquainted with Flash 8
9(22)
Discovering Flash
10(1)
Understanding What You Can Create with Flash 8
11(1)
Determining When Not to Use Flash 8
12(1)
Getting the Right Start
12(2)
Starting Flash on a PC
13(1)
Starting Flash on a Mac
13(1)
Creating a new movie
13(1)
Opening an existing movie
13(1)
Taking a Look Around
14(6)
Tooling around the toolbars
15(1)
Using panels
15(1)
Discovering the Flash menus
16(2)
Staging your movies
18(1)
Following a timeline
19(1)
Getting Help in a Flash
20(1)
Multiple Help manuals
20(1)
Finding more help on the Web
21(1)
Try It; You'll Like It
21(10)
Conceiving your first animation
21(1)
Creating flashy drawings
22(3)
Making graphics move
25(2)
Publishing your first animation for posterity
27(1)
Exiting Flash
28(3)
Your Basic Flash
31(14)
Looking at the Big Picture
31(2)
Setting the Stage
33(2)
Choosing the Stage color
33(1)
Specifying the frame rate
34(1)
Setting the Stage size and adding metadata
34(1)
Grabbing a Graphic
35(6)
Understanding vectors and bitmaps
36(1)
Finding graphics
37(1)
Going to the Library
37(4)
Using a Template
41(1)
Printing Your Movie
42(3)
Part II: 1,000 Pictures and 1,000 Words
45(98)
Getting Graphic
47(32)
Sharpening Your Pencil
47(5)
Setting the Pencil modifier
48(1)
Setting the stroke type
49(3)
Setting the color
52(1)
Creating Shapely Shapes
52(2)
Line up
52(1)
Be square
53(1)
Be an egg
54(1)
Mixing and Matching Shapes
54(3)
Cutting up shapes
55(1)
Placing objects on top of each other
55(1)
Keeping objects safe and secure
56(1)
Creating Curves with the Pen
57(2)
Drawing straight lines
57(1)
Drawing curves
58(1)
Getting Artistic with the Brush
59(4)
Brush Mode modifier
60(1)
Brush Size drop-down list
60(1)
Brush Shape drop-down list
60(2)
Pressure and Tilt modifiers
62(1)
Brush smoothing
63(1)
Pouring on the Paint
63(1)
Strokes, Ink
64(1)
A Rainbow of Colors
65(6)
Solid citizens
65(2)
Gradient colors
67(2)
Bitmap fills
69(2)
Locking a fill
71(1)
Drawing Precisely
71(4)
The ruler rules
71(1)
Using guides
72(1)
Working with the grid
73(1)
Snapping turtle
73(1)
Pixel, pixel on the wall
74(1)
The Import Business --- Using Outside Graphics
75(4)
Importing graphics
75(1)
Using imported graphics
76(3)
You Are the Object Editor
79(36)
Selecting Objects
79(3)
Selecting with the Selection tool
80(1)
Lassoing your objects
81(1)
Selecting everything in one fell swoop
82(1)
Moving, Copying, and Deleting
82(5)
Movin' on down the road
83(3)
Aligning objects with the Align panel
86(1)
Copying objects
86(1)
Makin' objects go away
87(1)
Making Shapes More Shapely
87(9)
Reshaping shapes and outlines
88(1)
Using the Subselect tool
88(1)
Freely transforming and distorting shapes
89(3)
Straightening lines and curving curves
92(1)
Modifying line endings
92(1)
Optimizing curves
93(1)
Expanding and contracting filled shapes
93(1)
Softening edges
94(1)
Converting lines to fills
95(1)
Transforming Fills
96(3)
Transferring Properties
99(1)
Finding and Replacing Objects
99(1)
Transforming Objects
100(5)
Scaling, scaling ...
101(1)
'Round and 'round and 'round we rotate
102(1)
Getting skewy
103(1)
Flippety, floppety
104(1)
Combining Objects
105(1)
Getting Grouped
105(1)
Changing the Transformation Point
106(2)
Breaking Apart Objects
108(1)
Establishing Order on the Stage
108(2)
Undoing, Redoing, and Reusing
110(5)
Undoing actions
110(1)
Redoing actions
110(1)
Using object-level undo and redo
110(1)
Reusing actions with the History panel
111(4)
What's Your Type?
115(16)
Presenting Your Text
115(13)
Creating text
116(1)
Editing text
117(4)
Setting character attributes
121(3)
Hyperlinking text
124(1)
Getting the best text appearance
124(1)
Setting up paragraph formats
125(2)
Creating input and dynamic text
127(1)
Creating Cool Text Effects
128(3)
Layering It On
131(12)
Creating Layers
132(2)
Using layers
132(1)
Changing layer states
133(1)
Getting Those Layers Right
134(5)
Deleting layers
135(1)
Copying layers
135(1)
Renaming layers
136(1)
Reordering layers
136(1)
Organizing layers
137(1)
Modifying layer properties
138(1)
Creating Guide Layers
139(1)
Opening Windows with Mask Layers
140(3)
Creating a mask layer
141(1)
Editing mask layers
141(1)
Animating mask layers
142(1)
Part III: Getting Symbolic
143(36)
Heavy Symbolism
145(18)
Understanding Symbol Types
145(3)
Using graphic symbols
146(1)
Using movie clip symbols
147(1)
Using button symbols
147(1)
Using font symbols
147(1)
Creating Symbols
148(3)
Creating symbols from existing objects
148(1)
Creating empty symbols
149(1)
Converting an animation to a movie clip symbol
149(1)
Creating a symbol by duplicating a symbol
150(1)
Modifying Symbols
151(2)
Changing the properties of a symbol
151(1)
Editing symbols
151(2)
Using Symbols from Other Movies
153(3)
Using the Flash Library
155(1)
Using the Flash For Dummies Library
155(1)
Working with Instances, for Instance
156(7)
Inserting instances
156(1)
Editing instances
157(6)
Pushing Buttons
163(16)
Creating Simple Buttons
163(3)
Understanding button states
164(1)
Making a basic button
165(1)
Putting Buttons to the Test
166(1)
Creating Complex Buttons
167(12)
Adding a sound to a button
167(2)
Adding a movie clip to a button
169(2)
Adding an action to a button
171(5)
Creating a button that acts on text input
176(3)
Part IV: Total Flash-o-Rama
179(74)
Getting Animated
181(32)
Who Framed the Animation?
181(1)
Preparing to Animate
182(3)
Master of the Timeline
183(2)
Turtle or hare?
185(1)
Creating Animations Instantly with Timeline Effects
185(2)
Animating with Keyframes
187(3)
Frame after frame after frame
188(2)
Stillness in the night
190(1)
The Animation Tween
190(13)
From here to there --- motion tweening
191(7)
Tweening shapes
198(5)
Editing Animation
203(6)
Adding labels and comments
203(1)
Selecting frames
204(1)
Copying and pasting frames
204(1)
Moving frames
205(1)
Adding frames
205(1)
Deleting frames
205(1)
Turning keyframes back into regular frames
206(1)
Reversing your animation
206(1)
Changing speed
206(1)
Changing the animation settings
207(1)
Using onion skins
207(2)
Moving everything around the Stage at once
209(1)
Making the Scene
209(4)
Breaking your movie into scenes
210(1)
Manipulating that scene
210(3)
Getting Interactive
213(22)
Understanding Actions
213(1)
Using Behaviors
214(3)
Adding Actions to Frames
217(2)
Adding a basic action to a frame
218(1)
Stopping the movie before it starts
218(1)
Adding Actions to Buttons
219(3)
Adding an Action to a Movie Clip
222(2)
Using Actions
224(5)
Timeline Control actions
224(3)
Browser/Network actions
227(2)
Making Objects Work for You
229(2)
Method acting
229(1)
Creating animated masks with movie clips
230(1)
Exploring Advanced ActionScript
231(4)
Programming constructs
231(1)
Start-and-stop drag
232(1)
Making comments
233(1)
ActionScript 2.0
233(1)
External scripting
234(1)
Discovering more about ActionScript
234(1)
Extravagant Audio, High-Velocity Video
235(18)
Acquiring Amazing Audio
235(3)
Importing sounds
236(1)
Placing sounds into a movie
236(2)
Editing Sounds
238(2)
Deleting parts of a sound
240(1)
Changing the volume
240(1)
Managing Sound
240(2)
Video Magic
242(11)
Four cool ways to use video in Flash
243(1)
Preparing to embed video in Flash
244(1)
Embedding and editing a video
245(4)
Streaming a video
249(4)
Part V: The Movie and the Web
253(66)
Putting It All Together
255(30)
Using Named Anchors
255(2)
Adding the Power of Components
257(12)
Using radio buttons in a Flash movie
258(3)
Using check boxes in a Flash movie
261(1)
Using combo boxes in a Flash movie
262(3)
Using list boxes in a Flash movie
265(1)
Using scroll panes in a Flash movie
266(2)
Using windows in a Flash movie
268(1)
Creating a Preloader
269(1)
Adding Web Search Information to Your Flash Movie
270(1)
Creating an Entire Web Site with Flash
270(5)
Creating navigation with getURL
272(1)
Using the Timeline to store Web content
272(3)
Testing for the Flash Player
275(2)
Letting the user decide
276(1)
Detecting the Flash Player version
276(1)
Creating alternative sites
277(1)
Using the Movie Explorer
277(2)
Making Your Site More Accessible
279(2)
Sharing Libraries on the Run
281(4)
Creating a shared library
281(2)
Using a shared library
283(2)
Publishing Your Flash Files
285(34)
Optimizing Your Movies for Fast Download
286(2)
Simplifying artwork
286(1)
Optimizing text
287(1)
Using shared libraries
287(1)
Compressing sound
287(1)
Animating efficiently
288(1)
Testing Movies
288(3)
Using the Test Movie command
288(2)
Testing a movie in a Web browser
290(1)
Saving Your Work in Flash MX 2004 Format
291(1)
Publishing Flash Movies
292(1)
Publishing to SWF
293(3)
Publishing to HTML
296(9)
Understanding the HTML code for a movie
297(2)
Specifying Flash Player detection and other HTML settings
299(6)
Publishing to Other Formats
305(3)
Creating PNG graphic files
305(2)
Creating self-playing movies
307(1)
Using Publish Profiles
308(3)
Creating a publish profile
308(1)
Duplicating a publish profile
309(1)
Modifying a publish profile
309(1)
Deleting a publish profile
309(1)
Exporting and importing publish profiles
310(1)
Using Publish Preview
311(1)
Posting Your Movie to Your Web Site
311(1)
Exporting Movies and Images
312(2)
Creating Printable Movies
314(5)
Preparing your movie for printing
315(1)
Specifying printable frames
315(1)
Specifying the print area
316(1)
Printing movies from the Flash Player
317(2)
Part VI: The Part of Tens
319(26)
Ten Frequently Asked Questions
321(14)
How Do I Combine Two Flash Movies into One?
321(1)
Why Is Motion Tweening not Working?
322(1)
How Can I Sync Sound with Motion?
323(1)
What Is the Best Way to Import Bitmaps?
323(2)
How Do I Rescale My Movie's Size?
325(1)
What Are the Best Movie-Creating Tips?
326(1)
Can Flash Do 3-D?
327(4)
How Do I Center a Flash Movie in a Web Page?
331(1)
What Are the Size Limits for a Flash Movie?
332(1)
How Do I Dynamically Load Music from the Web?
333(2)
The Ten Best Flash Resources
335(6)
Play Around with the Samples
335(1)
Visit Our Site
335(1)
Take a Course
336(1)
Look on the Flash Web Page
336(1)
Join a Flash Discussion Group
336(1)
Check Out the Flash Resource Sites
337(2)
Check Out Sites That Use Flash
339(1)
Attend a Flash Conference
339(1)
Collect Flash Movies
339(1)
Reuse Your Best Stuff
340(1)
Ten Flash Designers to Watch
341(4)
Ola Berger
341(1)
Hillman Curtis
341(1)
Joshua Davis
342(1)
Anthony Eden
342(1)
Ben Hantoot
342(1)
Shane Mielke
342(1)
Keith Peters
343(1)
Ellen Pronk
343(1)
Micael Reynaud
343(1)
Craig Swann
343(2)
Part VII: Appendixes
345(2)
Appendix A: Installing Flash and Setting Your Preferences
347(12)
Installing Flash
347(3)
Installing Flash onto a PC from a CD
348(1)
Installing Flash by downloading it to your PC
348(1)
Installing Flash onto a Mac from a CD
349(1)
Installing Flash by downloading it to your Mac
350(1)
Setting Your Preferences
350(5)
General category
351(2)
ActionScript category
353(1)
Auto Format category
354(1)
Clipboard category
354(1)
Drawing category
355(1)
Text category
355(1)
Warnings category
355(1)
Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts
355(4)
Appendix B: The Property Inspector and the Panels
359(12)
The Tools Panel
359(1)
The Property Inspector Gadget
360(2)
Property inspector with no selection
360(1)
Property inspector with a shape selected
361(1)
Property inspector with keyframe selected
361(1)
Property inspector with a symbol instance selected
361(1)
The Align Panel
362(1)
The Color Mixer Panel
362(1)
The Color Swatches Panel
363(1)
The Info Panel
363(1)
The Scene Panel
364(1)
The Transform Panel
364(1)
The Actions Panel
365(1)
The Debugger Panel
366(1)
The Movie Explorer Panel
366(1)
The Output Tab of the Property Inspector
367(1)
The Accessibility Panel
368(1)
The Components Panel
368(1)
The Component Inspector
369(1)
The History Panel
369(1)
The Strings Panel
370(1)
The Behaviors Panel
370(1)
Appendix C: What's on the Companion Web Site
371(2)
Your Own Personal Library of Vector Graphics
371(1)
Flash Movies Galore
372(1)
Bonus Chapter
372(1)
Index 373

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