PDF Download: Flash CS4 for Dummies by Ellen Finkelstein and Gurdy Leete

Start learning Adobe Flash CS4 by reading this book: Flash CS4 for Dummies!

With Adobe Flash CS4 For Dummies as your guide, you can unleash your creativity and contribute to the “Flash”-iest showcase of dynamic content: the Web! You’ll become acquainted with Flash CS4 and learn when to use this popular Web development tool. Plus, you’ll discover what you can create, from animation to games to presentations

1. Find out how to:
2. Draw and edit images, create effects, and use layers
3. Building layers, manipulate objects, and add buttons
4. Animate figures and add interactive features
5. Understand the basics of colors, frame rates, and graphics
6. Incorporate video and sound files
7. Publish your files to the Web

  Free E-Book: Flash CS4 for Dummies (unknown, 470 hits)

A Rough List of Contents (Flash CS4 for Dummies)

Introduction…………………………………………………………1
About This Book…………………………………………………………………………………..1
How to Use This Book ………………………………………………………………………….1
Foolish Assumptions ……………………………………………………………………………2
Conventions Used in This Book ……………………………………………………………2
How This Book Is Organized…………………………………………………………………3
Part I: A Blast of Flash………………………………………………………………….3
Part II: 1,000 Pictures and 1,000 Words…………………………………………3
Part III: Getting Symbolic……………………………………………………………..3
Part IV: Total Flash-o-Rama ………………………………………………………….4
Part V: The Movie and the Web ……………………………………………………4
Part VI: The Part of Tens ……………………………………………………………..4
Icons Used in This Book……………………………………………………………………….4
Where to Go from Here…………………………………………………………………………5
Your Own Personal Library of Vector Graphics…………………………………….5
Flash Movies Galore……………………………………………………………………………..6
Part I: A Blast of Flash…………………………………………..7
Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Flash CS4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Discovering Flash……………………………………………………………………………….10
Understanding What You Can Create with Flash CS4…………………………..11
Determining When Not to Use Flash CS4 …………………………………………….12
Getting the Right Start………………………………………………………………………..13
Starting Flash on a PC ………………………………………………………………..13
Starting Flash on a Mac ……………………………………………………………..13
Creating a new movie…………………………………………………………………13
Opening an existing movie…………………………………………………………14
Taking a Look Around…………………………………………………………………………15
Tooling around the toolbars ………………………………………………………16
Using panels………………………………………………………………………………16
Discovering the Flash menus……………………………………………………..18
Customizing the workspace……………………………………………………….20
Staging your movies…………………………………………………………………..21
Following a timeline …………………………………………………………………..21
Getting Help in a Flash………………………………………………………………………..22
Help’s multiple manuals …………………………………………………………….22
Finding more help on the Web……………………………………………………23
Try It; You’ll Like It……………………………………………………………………………..23
Conceiving your first animation …………………………………………………23
Creating flashy drawings ……………………………………………………………23
Making graphics move……………………………………………………………….27
Publishing your first animation for posterity ……………………………..30
Exiting Flash ………………………………………………………………………………31
Chapter 2: Your Basic Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Looking at the Big Picture…………………………………………………………………..33
Setting the Stage…………………………………………………………………………………35
Choosing the Stage color……………………………………………………………35
Specifying the frame rate …………………………………………………………..36
Setting the Stage size …………………………………………………………………36
Adding Metadata ………………………………………………………………………………..37
Grabbing a Graphic…………………………………………………………………………….37
Understanding vectors and bitmaps ………………………………………….37
Finding graphics ………………………………………………………………………..39
Going to the Library…………………………………………………………………..39
Using a Template………………………………………………………………………………..43
Printing Your Movie ……………………………………………………………………………44
Part II: 1,000 Pictures and 1,000 Words………………….47
Chapter 3: Getting Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Sharpening Your Pencil ………………………………………………………………………49
Setting the Pencil modifier …………………………………………………………50
Setting the stroke type……………………………………………………………….51
Setting the color ………………………………………………………………………..53
Creating Shapely Shapes …………………………………………………………………….54
Line up ………………………………………………………………………………………54
Be square…………………………………………………………………………………..54
Be an egg……………………………………………………………………………………56
Go for the stars ………………………………………………………………………….56
Mixing and Matching Shapes………………………………………………………………57
Cutting up shapes………………………………………………………………………57
Placing objects on top of each other ………………………………………….58
Keeping Objects Safe and Secure………………………………………………………..59
Using the object-drawing model…………………………………………………59
Getting primitive………………………………………………………………………..60
Creating Curves with the Pen……………………………………………………………..62
Drawing straight lines………………………………………………………………..62
Drawing curves………………………………………………………………………….60
Getting Artistic with the Brush …………………………………………………………..63
Brush Mode modifier …………………………………………………………………64
Brush Size drop-down list ………………………………………………………….65
Brush Shape drop-down list……………………………………………………….65
Pressure and Tilt modifiers………………………………………………………..66
Brush smoothing ……………………………………………………………………….66
Creating Graffiti with the Spray Brush ………………………………………………..67
Setting symbol properties ………………………………………………………….67
Setting brush properties ……………………………………………………………68
Working with Spray Brush dots………………………………………………….69
Pouring on the Paint …………………………………………………………………………..69
Strokes, Ink…………………………………………………………………………………………70
A Rainbow of Colors …………………………………………………………………………..70
Solid citizens ……………………………………………………………………………..70
Gradient colors ………………………………………………………………………….75
Bitmap fills ………………………………………………………………………………..77
Locking a fill ………………………………………………………………………………77
Pattern fills ………………………………………………………………………………..78
Drawing Precisely……………………………………………………………………………….81
The ruler rules …………………………………………………………………………..81
Using guides………………………………………………………………………………82
Working with the grid ………………………………………………………………..83
Snapping turtle ………………………………………………………………………….83
Pixel, pixel on the wall ……………………………………………………………….84
The Import Business — Using Outside Graphics…………………………………84
Importing graphics…………………………………………………………………….84
Using imported graphics ……………………………………………………………86
Chapter 4: You Are the Object Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Selecting Objects………………………………………………………………………………..89
Selecting with the Selection tool ………………………………………………..90
Lassoing your objects………………………………………………………………..91
Selecting everything in one fell swoop……………………………………….92
Moving, Copying, Deleting, and Erasing………………………………………………92
Movin’ on down the road …………………………………………………………..92
Aligning objects with the Align panel …………………………………………95
Copying objects…………………………………………………………………………96
Makin’ objects go away ……………………………………………………………..97
Erasing objects ………………………………………………………………………….97
Making Shapes More Shapely ……………………………………………………………..98
Reshaping shapes and outlines ………………………………………………….98
Using the Subselect tool …………………………………………………………….98
Adjusting curves with the Pen tool…………………………………………….99
Freely transforming and distorting shapes……………………………….100
Straightening lines and curving curves…………………………………….102
Modifying line endings……………………………………………………………..104
Optimizing curves ……………………………………………………………………104
Expanding and contracting fills………………………………………………..105
Softening edges………………………………………………………………………..105
Converting lines to fills…………………………………………………………….106
Transforming Fills …………………………………………………………………………….107
Transferring Properties…………………………………………………………………….109
Finding and Replacing Objects………………………………………………………….110
Transforming Objects……………………………………………………………………….111
Scaling, scaling . . …………………………………………………………………….111
’Round and ’round and ’round we rotate ………………………………….112
Getting skewy…………………………………………………………………………..113
Flippety, floppety……………………………………………………………………..114
Combining Objects……………………………………………………………………………115
Getting Grouped……………………………………………………………………………….116
Changing the Transformation Point ………………………………………………….117
Breaking Apart Objects …………………………………………………………………….118
Establishing Order on the Stage………………………………………………………..119
Undoing, Redoing, and Reusing…………………………………………………………120
Undoing actions……………………………………………………………………….120
Redoing actions ……………………………………………………………………….121
Using object-level undo and redo……………………………………………..121
Reusing actions with the History panel ……………………………………122
Chapter 5: What’s Your Type? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Presenting Your Text…………………………………………………………………………125
Creating text…………………………………………………………………………….126
Editing text ………………………………………………………………………………127
Setting character attributes ……………………………………………………..130
Hyperlinking text ……………………………………………………………………..133
Getting the best text appearance ……………………………………………..134
Setting up paragraph formats…………………………………………………..135
Creating input and dynamic text ………………………………………………136
Creating Cool Text Effects…………………………………………………………………137
Chapter 6: Layering It On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Creating Layers…………………………………………………………………………………140
Using layers……………………………………………………………………………..140
Changing layer states……………………………………………………………….141
Getting Those Layers Right ………………………………………………………………143
Deleting layers …………………………………………………………………………143
Copying layers …………………………………………………………………………143
Renaming layers ………………………………………………………………………144
Reordering layers …………………………………………………………………….144
Organizing layers……………………………………………………………………..144
Modifying layer properties……………………………………………………….146
Opening Windows with Mask Layers…………………………………………………148
Creating a mask layer……………………………………………………………….148
Editing mask layers ………………………………………………………………….149
Animating mask layers……………………………………………………………..150
Part III: Getting Symbolic……………………………………151
Chapter 7: Heavy Symbolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Understanding Symbol Types……………………………………………………………153
Using graphic symbols …………………………………………………………….154
Using movie clip symbols…………………………………………………………154
Using button symbols………………………………………………………………154
Creating Symbols ……………………………………………………………………………..155
Creating symbols from existing objects ……………………………………155
Creating empty symbols…………………………………………………………..156
Converting an animation to a movie clip symbol ……………………..157
Creating a symbol by duplicating a symbol………………………………158
Modifying Symbols……………………………………………………………………………158
Changing the properties of a symbol………………………………………..159
Editing symbols ……………………………………………………………………….159
Using Symbols from Other Movies ……………………………………………………160
Using the Flash Library…………………………………………………………….162
Using the Flash For Dummies Library ………………………………………162
Working with Instances, for Instance ………………………………………………..163
Inserting instances …………………………………………………………………..163
Editing instances ……………………………………………………………………..164
Changing 3D position and rotation …………………………………………..169
Chapter 8: Pushing Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Creating Simple Buttons……………………………………………………………………173
Understanding button states ……………………………………………………174
Making a basic button………………………………………………………………174
Putting Buttons to the Test……………………………………………………………….176
Creating Complex Buttons ………………………………………………………………..177
Adding a sound to a button ……………………………………………………..178
Adding a movie clip to a button ……………………………………………….179
Adding an action for a button…………………………………………………..182
Part IV: Total Flash-o-Rama…………………………………185
Chapter 9: Getting Animated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Who Framed the Animation? …………………………………………………………….187
Preparing to Animate………………………………………………………………………..188
Master of the Timeline……………………………………………………………..190
Turtle or hare? …………………………………………………………………………191
Animating with Keyframes………………………………………………………………..191
Frame After Frame After Frame…………………………………………………………192
The Animation Tween……………………………………………………………………….194
From here to there — motion tweening ……………………………………195
Using Motion Presets ……………………………………………………………….204
Using the Motion Editor …………………………………………………………..205
Tweening shapes ……………………………………………………………………..206
Editing Animation……………………………………………………………………………..210
Adding labels and comments……………………………………………………210
Selecting frames ………………………………………………………………………211
Copying and pasting frames …………………………………………………….211
Copying and pasting motion…………………………………………………….212
Moving frames …………………………………………………………………………213
Reversing your animation ………………………………………………………..213
Changing speed ……………………………………………………………………….214
Using onion skins …………………………………………………………………….214
Moving everything around the Stage at once……………………………216
Connecting the Hip Bone to the Thigh Bone ……………………………………..217
Putting bones into your symbols ……………………………………………..218
Binding bones to shapes ………………………………………………………….220
Working with constraints …………………………………………………………222
Animating your bones………………………………………………………………224
Making the Scene ……………………………………………………………………………..227
Breaking your movie into scenes ……………………………………………..227
Manipulating that scene …………………………………………………………..227
Chapter 10: Getting Interactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
Understanding ActionScript ……………………………………………………………..230
Making objects work for you ……………………………………………………230
Method acting………………………………………………………………………….230
Adding ActionScript to Frames …………………………………………………………232
Using ActionScript with Buttons……………………………………………………….234
Using ActionScript with Movie Clips …………………………………………………238
Creating animated masks with movie clips ………………………………238
Dragging movie clips………………………………………………………………..240
Exploring ActionScript Further …………………………………………………………242
Programming constructs………………………………………………………….242
Making comments ……………………………………………………………………242
External scripting …………………………………………………………………….243
Discovering more about ActionScript ………………………………………244
Chapter 11: Extravagant Audio, High-Velocity Video . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Acquiring Amazing Audio …………………………………………………………………246
Importing sounds …………………………………………………………………….246
Placing sounds into a movie …………………………………………………….247
Editing Sounds………………………………………………………………………………….249
Deleting parts of a sound …………………………………………………………250
Changing the volume ……………………………………………………………….251
Managing Sound ……………………………………………………………………………….251
Video Magic ……………………………………………………………………………………..253
Four ways to use video in Flash ……………………………………………….254
Preparing to embed video in Flash …………………………………………..254
Embedding a video…………………………………………………………………..256
Streaming a video…………………………………………………………………….258
Part V: The Movie and the Web …………………………….263
Chapter 12: Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Adding the Power of Components …………………………………………………….265
Getting ready to work with components…………………………………..266
Using RadioButtons in a Flash movie ……………………………………….267
Using CheckBoxes in a Flash movie………………………………………….271
Using ComboBoxes in a Flash movie ………………………………………..273
Using Lists in a Flash movie……………………………………………………..275
Creating a Preloader …………………………………………………………………………277
Creating an Entire Web Site with Flash………………………………………………278
Creating navigation with navigateToURL………………………………….280
Using the Timeline to store Web content………………………………….280
Testing for the Flash Player ………………………………………………………………283
Detecting the Flash Player version …………………………………………..283
Creating alternative sites………………………………………………………….284
Using the Movie Explorer………………………………………………………………….284
Making Your Site More Accessible…………………………………………………….286
Chapter 13: Publishing Your Flash Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Optimizing Movies for Fast Download ………………………………………………290
Simplifying artwork………………………………………………………………….290
Optimizing text ………………………………………………………………………..291
Compressing sound………………………………………………………………….292
Animating efficiently ………………………………………………………………..293
Testing Movies………………………………………………………………………………….293
Using the Test Movie command ……………………………………………….294
Testing a movie in a Web browser ……………………………………………296
Saving Your Work in Flash CS3 Format………………………………………………297
Publishing Flash Movies……………………………………………………………………297
Publishing to SWF …………………………………………………………………………….299
Flash Player and ActionScript version ……………………………………..299
Image and sound settings…………………………………………………………300
SWF settings…………………………………………………………………………….301
Advanced settings……………………………………………………………………302
Publishing to HTML ………………………………………………………………………….304
Understanding the HTML code for a movie………………………………305
Specifying Flash Player detection and other HTML settings……..307
Publishing to Other Formats …………………………………………………………….313
Creating PNG graphic files ……………………………………………………….313
Creating self-playing movies …………………………………………………….316
Using Publish Profiles……………………………………………………………………….316
Creating a publish profile …………………………………………………………317
Duplicating or renaming a publish profile…………………………………318
Modifying a publish profile ………………………………………………………318
Deleting a publish profile …………………………………………………………319
Exporting and importing publish profiles…………………………………319
Using Publish Preview ………………………………………………………………………320
Posting Your Movie to Your Web Site ………………………………………………..320
Exporting Movies and Images …………………………………………………………..321
Creating Printable Movies…………………………………………………………………323
Preparing your movie for printing ……………………………………………323
Specifying printable frames ……………………………………………………..324
Specifying the print area ………………………………………………………….324
Printing movies from the Flash Player ……………………………………..325
Part VI: The Part of Tens……………………………………..327
Chapter 14: Ten Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329
How Do I Combine Two Flash Movies?………………………………………………329
How Can I Sync Sound with Motion? …………………………………………………331
What’s the Best Way to Import Bitmaps?…………………………………………..332
How Do I Rescale My Movie’s Size? …………………………………………………..333
What Are the Best Tips for Creating Movies?…………………………………….335
Can Flash Do Full 3D? ……………………………………………………………………….336
How Do I Center a Flash Movie in a Web Page?………………………………….338
What Are the Size Limits for a Flash Movie?………………………………………341
What Are the Top Tips for Web Design with Flash?……………………………341
Set your goal ……………………………………………………………………………341
Make thumbnail sketches first………………………………………………….342
Connect the parts to the whole………………………………………………..342
Use fewer than four fonts …………………………………………………………342
Test and test again …………………………………………………………………..342
How Do I Dynamically Load Music from the Web? …………………………….343
Chapter 15: Ten Best Flash Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345
Check Out Award-Winning Movies…………………………………………………….345
Look on the Flash Web Pages ……………………………………………………………346
Visit Our Site …………………………………………………………………………………….347
Take a Course …………………………………………………………………………………..347
Join a Flash Discussion Group…………………………………………………………..348
Check Out Flash Resource Sites………………………………………………………..349
Check Out Sites That Use Flash…………………………………………………………350
Attend a Flash Conference………………………………………………………………..350
Collect Flash Movies…………………………………………………………………………351
Reuse Your Best Stuff………………………………………………………………………..351
Chapter 16: Ten Flash Designers to Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353
Joshua Davis …………………………………………………………………………………….353
Anthony Eden …………………………………………………………………………………..354
Andy Foulds ……………………………………………………………………………………..354
Chris Georgenes ……………………………………………………………………………….355
Ben Hantoot ……………………………………………………………………………………..355
Seb Lee-Delisle and Dominic Minns …………………………………………………..356
Erik Natzke ……………………………………………………………………………………….356
Micaël Reynaud ………………………………………………………………………………..357
Jared Tarbell …………………………………………………………………………………….358
Jeremy Thorp …………………………………………………………………………………..358
Index………………………………………………………………359

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