Archive for August, 2007

Using Components explains how to use components (Web site domain)

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

Using Components explains how to use components (did you guess?), which we explain in Chapter 10. Components are basic Web interface elements, such as check boxes and forms that you can drop into your movie. Components Language Reference contains a components dictionary. Extending Flash offers help for Flash programmers who want to extend its capabilities. Flash Lite Developer Guide explains how to use Flash Professional 8 to develop Flash movies for mobile phones. Flash Lite is a version of the Flash Player for mobile phones. Learning Flash Lite ActionScript is about the special version of ActionScript for Flash Lite movies. Flash Lite 1.x ActionScript Language Reference is a programming reference for Flash Lite ActionScript. To search for a term, click the Search button. Then enter the term and click Search. You can choose one of the Help sections from the drop-down list to focus your search more narrowly. You can then choose from the list of topics. Finding more help on the Web Macromedia offers support on its Web site. To access it, choose Help.Flash Support Center, which takes you to www.macromedia.com/support/flash. There you can search the knowledge base and tutorials for answers to your questions. Try It; You ll Like It Perhaps by now you re getting impatient to try out Flash. Getting started is easy. You collect a few ideas, put together some art, add animation, save your movie, and publish it. Then you view it in a browser either online or offline. That s the gratifying part. In the following sections, you get to try out Flash by working through a basic animation. The rest of the book explains the basic concepts in more detail. Conceiving your first animation Suppose that you want to add an animated logo to a home page that you ve already set up. You want the animation to run when the page loads and then stop. Figure 1-4 shows the Rainbow Resources company logo unanimated, of course that you can find on this book s Web site, at www.dummies.com/ go/flash8. Chapter 1: Getting Aquainted with Flash 8 21
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Getting Help in a Flash This book (Best web design) is

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007

Getting Help in a Flash This book is all that you need to start creating great animations, but we would be remiss if we didn t tell you about the Flash Help system. To use Flash Help, choose Help.Flash Help. You see a window like the one shown in Figure 1-3. Multiple Help manuals Flash Help contains several sections: Getting Started with Flash contains a basic overview of Flash and creating a Flash movie. Flash Tutorials is an extensive set of tutorials. Using Flash is the main Help manual. Flash Samples contains some specific examples of Flash files, mostly of advanced techniques. Learning ActionScript 2.0 in Flash is a user s guide for ActionScript, Flash s programming language. (See Chapter 10 to find out more.) ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference describes the components of the ActionScript programming language. Figure 1-3: The Using Flash Help window. 20 Part I: A Blast of Flash
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Web hosting control panel - Following a timeline The Timeline window divides your

Tuesday, August 21st, 2007

Following a timeline The Timeline window divides your movie into frames. Each frame represents a tiny stretch of time, such as 1/12 of a second. Creating a movie is simply a matter of assembling frames, which are then quickly played in order. Chapter 9 explains in detail how to make using the Timeline completely painless. For now, you should just understand the basics. See Figure 1-2 for the basic Timeline. On the left side of the Timeline is the layer list. When you open a new movie, you see only one layer, unimaginatively named Layer 1. A layer is like a sheet of transparent acetate on which you draw objects. Layers help you keep objects from running into each other, causing unfortunate, messy results. You organize your entire movie by using layers. For example, if you want to keep some text constant throughout the movie but animate a bouncing dot, you would give the dot its own layer and animate it on that layer. The layer list has room for more layers, and you can add as many layers as you want. (Chapter 6 gives you the lowdown on layers.) You can lower the bottom edge of the Timeline to make room for more layers. Hover the mouse cursor over the bottom line until you see the two-headed arrow and drag downward. To the right of Layer 1, you see a bunch of rectangles, each representing a frame. (Actually, before you start using the Timeline, they re just potential frames, like unexposed frames on a roll of film.) By default, each frame lasts 1/12 of a second. Each layer has its own row of frames because you can have different animations or objects on each layer. A keyframe is a frame that defines some change in your animation. In some animations, every frame is a keyframe. Other animations need keyframes for only the first and last frames. You don t use the Timeline until you re ready to animate. While you work, however, you should organize your objects on separate layers. Don t worry you can always move an object from one layer to another. Figure 1-2: The Timeline is your key to managing animation. Chapter 1: Getting Aquainted with Flash 8 19
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Ctrl+X (Windows) or +X (Mac): Cut to (Web hosting resellers)

Monday, August 20th, 2007

Ctrl+X (Windows) or +X (Mac): Cut to the Clipboard. Chapter 4 explains more about using the Clipboard. Ctrl+C (Windows) or +C (Mac): Copy to the Clipboard. Ctrl+V (Windows) or +V (Mac): Paste from the Clipboard. Ctrl+Z (Windows) or +Z (Mac): Undo. Would you believe that by default Flash remembers your last 100 actions and can undo them? What a relief! And if you choose Window.Other Panels.History, the History panel lists each action, so you know what the next Undo will undo. Think of it as a journey into the long-forgotten past. (See Chapter 4 for more on the History panel, and see Appendix A for details on customizing the number of Undos that Flash remembers.) Ctrl+Y (Windows) or +Y (Mac): Redo. This redoes actions that you undid by using the Undo button. (Got that?) This button remembers just as many actions as the Undo button. If you undo more actions than you want, click Redo (or press Ctrl+Y/ +Y) until you re back where you want to be. Using the Undo and Redo buttons is like traveling through Flash time and it gives you lots of slack while you re working. Ctrl+Q (Windows) or +Q (Mac): Exit Flash. We mention other keyboard shortcuts throughout this book when we discuss their corresponding commands. You should note, although it s not a shortcut, that you can find the Zoom Control box in the upper-right corner of your screen if you open the Edit bar (choose Window.Toolbars.Edit Bar). Click the arrow and choose a zoom factor to zoom in and out. Zooming doesn t change the actual size of objects it just makes them look bigger or smaller. You aren t limited to the choices on the Zoom drop-down list. Type a number in the Zoom Control box and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) to set your own zoom factor. For example, type 85 to set the zoom factor to 85 percent. Staging your movies The white box in the center of your screen is the Stage. Think of the Stage as a movie screen where you place objects. You can place graphics and text there and then animate them. Flash also plays back movies on the Stage. Around the edge of the Stage is a gray area called the Pasteboard. You can use the Pasteboard to store graphics that you plan to use soon but don t want on the Stage just yet. (For more permanent storage, use the Library, as we explain in Chapter 2.) You can also store data and other nongraphical content on the Pasteboard. Content that you put on the Pasteboard doesn t appear in your Flash movie. 18 Part I: A Blast of Flash
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Menu What It Does View Helps you get

Monday, August 20th, 2007

Menu What It Does View Helps you get a better view by letting you zoom in and out; show or hide various parts of the screen; and view a grid for easy layout. Insert Enables you to insert symbols (Chapter 7 explains this topic); insert and delete Timeline features, such as frames and keyframes (see Chapter 9 for more); insert layers (check out Chapter 6); add Timeline effects (see Chapter 9); and add scenes (also in Chapter 9). Modify Helps you modify symbols, shapes, frames, Timeline effects, scenes, or the entire movie. Offers tools for transforming, aligning, grouping, and ungrouping objects, and breaking objects apart. Text Enables you to format text and check spelling. Commands Enables you to reuse and manage saved commands. A command is any action that you take in Flash, such as drawing or editing objects. You can save commands from the History panel. (See Chapter 4.) Control Provides options that let you control the playing of movies; test movies and scenes; engage certain interactive functions; and mute sounds. Window Enables you to open lots of things, including a new window; panels that help you control objects; the Library (more on the Library in Chapter 2); windows for creating interactive controls (which we explain in Chapter 10); and the Movie Explorer (to help manage your movie see Chapter 12). Help Comes to the rescue when you need help. Many menu commands offer keyboard shortcuts. You can also create your own keyboard shortcuts. (See Appendix A for instructions.) The shortcuts are displayed on the menus, next to the command name. Here are some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts (for more shortcuts, see the tear-out Cheat Sheet at the front of this book): Ctrl+N (Windows) or +N (Mac): Open the New Document dialog box so you can start a new movie. Ctrl+O (Windows) or +O (Mac): Open an existing movie. Ctrl+S (Windows) or +S (Mac): Save your movie. Use this shortcut often! Chapter 1: Getting Aquainted with Flash 8 17
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In Windows only, the Flash interface has new (Web hosting ratings)

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

In Windows only, the Flash interface has new arrow buttons above panels that are docked at the bottom of your screen and to the left of panels docked at the right. Click an arrow to collapse the panels to just the tiny arrow button. Click the arrow again to expand the panels to their previous display. The Tools panel contains all the tools that you need to draw and edit objects. At the bottom of the Tools panel are options that modify how the tools function. (See Chapters 3 and 4 for a complete description of the Tools panel.) The Property inspector is another important panel. This panel displays information about selected objects, such as size, name, and location. You can modify objects in the Property inspector as well. It is context-sensitive, which means that its contents change according to what you re doing. For example, if you select a graphic object, the Property inspector provides settings relating to that object, and you can use the Property inspector to edit that object. For the best in customization, you can save any layout of panels you like. Set up the panels and choose Window.Workspace Layout.Save Current. In the Save Workspace Layout dialog box that opens, give the layout a name and click OK. To restore that layout at any time, choose Window.Workspace Layout and choose your very own layout. Discovering the Flash menus Most drawing functions are available only in the Tools panel. Similarly, you often use the Timeline, as we discuss in the section Following a timeline, later in this chapter, for creating animation. Almost every other function in Flash is on a menu somewhere. You just need to find it. In general, we discuss the specific menu functions where appropriate throughout this book. Table 1-1 offers a brief overview of the menus. Table 1-1 Flash Menus Menu What It Does Flash (Mac only) Enables you to set preferences, create keyboard shortcuts, and quit Flash. File Enables you to open and close files; save files; import and export files; print; publish movies for the Web; send a movie as an e-mail attachment (Windows only); and quit Flash. Edit Provides commands that let you undo and redo actions; cut, copy, and paste to and from the Clipboard; delete, duplicate, select, and deselect objects; find and replace; copy and paste entire frames on the Timeline; edit symbols (see Chapter 7 for the whole story on symbols); set preferences (Windows only); and create keyboard shortcuts for commands (Windows only). 16 Part I: A Blast of Flash
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Tooling around the toolbars Flash contains two toolbars (Web host 4 life)

Sunday, August 19th, 2007

Tooling around the toolbars Flash contains two toolbars in the Mac version: the Edit bar and the Controller. In Windows, Flash also offers the Main toolbar. To display or hide these toolbars, choose Window.Toolbars and click the toolbar that you want to display or hide. Here is a description of the toolbars: Main toolbar (Windows only): Contains commonly used commands. Many of these are familiar from the Standard toolbar in other Windows programs. By default, Flash does not display the Main toolbar. Controller: Lets you control the playback of movies. For more information, see Chapter 9. Edit bar: Helps you work with the Timeline and appears at the top of the Timeline. It includes a toggle to display and hide the Timeline, a button for editing scenes, and a zoom control. We discuss the Timeline briefly later in the chapter. For more information about the Timeline and scenes, see Chapter 9. Using panels Panels give you access to the many Flash settings. You access the panels from the Window menu. We discuss the specific panels throughout this book. In this section, we explain how to keep control over your panels. Most panels are dockable, which means that they can sit at the side or bottom of your Flash window without covering up your work. You can also stack them on top of each other. You control panels by doing the following: To dock a panel: Drag it to the side or bottom of your screen. To undock a panel: Drag it from its grabber, which is at the left edge of its title bar. To open or close a panel: Choose it from the Window menu. To close an undocked panel: Click its Close button. To close a docked panel: Right-click (Windows)/Control+click (Mac) its title bar and choose Close Panel. You can stack panels just like you stack plastic containers in your refrigerator. Drag a panel (by its grabber) beneath another panel to stack it. You can also collapse or expand panels: A collapsed panel displays only its title bar, so it doesn t take up much space. Use the arrow on the left side of the title bar to collapse or expand a panel or click its title bar. Chapter 1: Getting Aquainted with Flash 8 15
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Web hosting account - When you open more than one movie, you

Saturday, August 18th, 2007

When you open more than one movie, you see a tab at the top for each movie. You can click the tabs to move from movie to movie. The tabs appear in the order you created or opened the movies. Taking a Look Around If you ve never created animation, the Flash screen is different from the screens in other programs that you might be used to, so take the time to get to know it. You can also customize the Flash screen. Figure 1-1 shows one possible display. If your screen opens with several rectangular panels strewn about the screen or docked on various sides, don t worry about them now. We explain how to open and use these panels throughout this book, but you don t need them for this chapter. If they drive you crazy, right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac) each panel s title bar and choose Close Panel Group from the menu that appears. See Appendix B for a full layout of each panel and toolbar. Tools panel Timeline Menu bar More panels Property inspector Stage Figure 1-1: The Flash screen. 14 Part I: A Blast of Flash
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Starting Flash (Web hosting domain) on a PC Whether you installed

Saturday, August 18th, 2007

Starting Flash on a PC Whether you installed Flash from the CD or by downloading it from the Macromedia Web site onto your PC, you might or might not have a shortcut on your desktop. To create one, choose Start.Programs.Macromedia. Macromedia Flash 8. Right-click the Macromedia Flash 8 item and choose Create Shortcut from the pop-up menu that appears. The new shortcut appears on the menu. Drag that shortcut to your desktop. To rename the shortcut, click the shortcut on your desktop. Then click the text beneath the icon. Type Flash 8 (or whatever you want) and press Enter. Just double-click the icon to open Flash. Starting Flash on a Mac You might find it handy to add the Flash 8 icon to your Dock for easy launching. To do this, click the Finder icon on the extreme left of the Dock to bring up a new Finder window. Navigate in the Finder window to the Applications folder, and in the Applications folder, double-click the Macromedia Flash 8 folder to open it. Click and drag the Flash 8 application icon to the Dock. A copy of the Flash 8 application icon appears on the Dock. Creating a new movie Files that you create by using Flash are commonly called movies. When you start Flash, the startup screen appears (by default). In the Create New section, click Flash Document. If you have already opened a movie and have the menus available, choose File.New. In the New Document dialog box, select Flash Document on the General tab and then click OK. You usually start by creating or importing some graphics. (To find out more about working with graphics, see Chapter 3.) Opening an existing movie If you want to work on a movie you ve already created, when you first open Flash, choose the movie from the Open a Recent Item section or choose Open to find the file. If you ve already opened a movie and have the menus available, press Ctrl+O (Windows) or +O (Mac) or choose File.Open; then double-click the movie to open it. The first frame appears on your screen, and you can edit the movie any way that you want. Chapter 1: Getting Aquainted with Flash 8 13
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Determining When Not to Use (Sex offenders web site) Flash 8 If

Friday, August 17th, 2007

Determining When Not to Use Flash 8 If Flash 8 is so wonderful, why doesn t every Web site designer use it? Why aren t most Web sites created completely with Flash? Here s the other side of the story. Although the vector graphics and animation of Flash load quickly, they don t load as quickly as plain text and simple graphics. Adding a movie to your Web page creates some overhead. There s no point in using Flash if you want simple pages consisting of mostly text and a few graphics that you want to stay put and not move. You can create certain graphic effects more easily by using bitmap graphics. Painted brushstroke and textured effects are examples. Artists create these types of graphics by using graphics editing software, and the results are bitmaps. Similarly, to add photographs to your Web page, you need to scan the photographs as bitmaps. Flash creates vector graphics (defined mathematically), which are different from bitmap graphics (defined by lots of dots). You can find out more about bitmap and vector graphics in Chapter 2. If you want simple animation, such as a few blinking dots or a marquee effect, animated GIFs (the animated bitmap graphics that you often see on the Web) might be smaller than Flash movies, so they load faster. You can create animated GIFs by using animated GIF editing software. Some sites don t lend themselves to animation. Animation can distract from your content, and overdoing animation can make a serious site seem silly. Animation is great, but it has its place. Also, although Flash has some features that allow accessibility for people with disabilities, it still isn t as accessible as plain HTML. You need to determine whether animation is right for your Web site. Flash provides little in the way of 3-D graphics or animation. For those, you need to go to more sophisticated software, such as Poser or 3D Studio Max. (See Chapter 14 for more 3-D possibilities in Flash.) Getting the Right Start Well begun is half done, as the saying goes. The easiest way to begin using Flash 8 is with a shortcut or alias right on your desktop. Double-click the Flash icon, and you re on your way. (See Appendix A for information on installing Flash.) 12 Part I: A Blast of Flash
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