Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

If Flash 4 can do it, you can do it too... Whether you're a Flash beginner or an old hand, this is the one guide you need to unleash the full potential of this state-of-the-art Web animation software. Packed with examples and illustrations -- including eight pages in full color -- as well as expert tutorials from animations pros, the Flash 4 Bible covers everything from creating graphics and building interactive effects to using Flash with other applications and deploying Flash animations on the Web. It's all you need to discover the secrets of great Flash animation -- and take any Web site to the next level! Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Flash 4 Create streaming animation and moving logos for any Web site Build pop-up menus and rollover buttons with ease Explore Flash drawing tools, animation controls, and file format support Use Flash with Dreamweaver, Photoshop, FreeHand, Illustrator, Premiere, and other design software Discover useful techniques such as in-betweening and onion-skinning Take advantage of JavaScript interactivity to make Flash movies Create standalone Flash projectors for floppy-disk distribution Add-one, plug-ins, and more on CD-ROM Trial software, including Director 7, Dreamweaver 2, Fireworks 2, Flash 4, and Freehand 8 Time-saving templates Examples from the book Shareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, register with their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like--free--but they have no technical support. www.idgbooks.com System Requirements: Mac: Power PC at 100MHz or greater, 32MB RAM, System 7.6.1 or later. PC: Pentium PC at 133MHz or greater, 32MB RAM, Windows 95, 98, or NT 4

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. xi)
• Acknowledgments (p. xvii)
• Part I Mastering Flash Tools (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 Defining the Flash Toolbar (p. 3)
• Flash Tool Basics (p. 3)
• The Flash Drawing Toolbar (a.k.a. The Toolbar) (p. 7)
• Flash Selection Tools (p. 11)
• The Arrow Tool (p. 11)
• The Lasso Tool (p. 17)
• The Flash Drawing and Painting Tools (p. 19)
• The Pencil Tool (p. 21)
• New Pencil Tool Functionality (p. 28)
• The Line Tool (p. 29)
• The Oval Tool (p. 29)
• The Rectangle Tool (p. 30)
• Using the (Paint) Brush Tool (p. 31)
• The Dropper Tool (p. 36)
• The Ink Bottle Tool (p. 37)
• The Paint Bucket Tool (p. 40)
• The Eraser Tool (p. 44)
• The Text Tool (p. 46)
• Chapter 2 Flash Color (p. 55)
• Web Safe Color Issues (p. 56)
• Hex Defined (p. 56)
• ColorSafe and Other Solutions (p. 57)
• Toolbar Color (p. 61)
• Using the Flash Color Window (p. 63)
• Chapter 3 Defining the Flash Framework (p. 73)
• What's Flash Capable Of? (p. 73)
• What Can a Flash Movie Be? (p. 76)
• Components of the Flash Environment (p. 77)
• Contrast: Flash Movie File versus a Shockwave File (p. 79)
• Chapter 4 Menus, Palettes, Settings, and Preferences (p. 81)
• Fundamental Flash Palettes (p. 81)
• From the Menu Bar (p. 92)
• The Edit Menu (p. 99)
• The View Menu (p. 101)
• The Insert Menu (p. 103)
• The Modify Menu (p. 104)
• The Control Menu (p. 108)
• The Libraries Menu (p. 110)
• The Window Menu (p. 110)
• The Help Menu (p. 112)
• Chapter 5 Getting Flash Help (p. 113)
• Flash Help Topics (p. 115)
• Online (p. 117)
• Digging into Other Online Resources (p. 120)
• Part II Creating Flash Graphics (p. 129)
• Chapter 6 Drawing in Flash (p. 131)
• Simple Shapes and Objects (p. 131)
• Stacking Order (p. 139)
• Grouping (p. 140)
• Scale, Rotate, Skew, and Flip (p. 141)
• The Inspectors (p. 142)
• Stroke and Fill Effects (p. 144)
• Creating Type and Text Effects (p. 151)
• Chapter 7 Using Media with Flash Artwork (p. 157)
• Vector versus Bitmap Images (p. 157)
• Importing External Media (p. 158)
• Chapter 8 Animating with Flash (p. 167)
• Frame-by-Frame Animation (p. 167)
• Tweening (p. 169)
• Editing Animation (p. 174)
• Guide Layers (p. 177)
• Chapter 9 The Flash Library: Symbols and Instances (p. 181)
• Symbol Types (p. 181)
• Adding Symbols to Movies (p. 187)
• Editing Symbols (p. 188)
• Modifying Instance Properties (p. 189)
• Part III Sound Planning (p. 193)
• Chapter 10 Understanding Sound for Flash (p. 195)
• Basics of Sampling and Quality (p. 195)
• Sound File Import Formats (p. 200)
• Sound Export Formats Used by Flash (p. 200)
• Chapter 11 Controlling Sounds in Flash (p. 203)
• Importing Sounds into Flash (p. 203)
• Assigning a Sound to a Button (p. 204)
• Synchronizing Audio with Animations (p. 206)
• Incorporating Sound in the Timeline (p. 207)
• Editing Audio in Flash (p. 208)
• Chapter 12 Optimizing Flash Sound for Export (p. 213)
• Sound Optimization Overview (p. 213)
• Publish Settings for Audio (p. 213)
• Fine-Tuning Sound Settings in the Library (p. 217)
• Publish Settings for QuickTime (p. 219)
• Part IV Flash Interactivity: Making Things Happen (p. 221)
• Chapter 13 Understanding Basic Interactivity: Actions and Event Handlers (p. 223)
• Actions and Event Handlers (p. 223)
• Your First Six Actions (p. 225)
• Making Actions Happen with Event Handlers (p. 230)
• Chapter 14 Gaining Advanced Control Over Your Movies (p. 237)
• Controlling Movie Clips with Tell Target (p. 237)
• Drag'n'Drop in Flash (p. 251)
• Managing Smooth Movie Download and Display (p. 255)
• Chapter 15 Programming Flash with ActionScript (p. 263)
• The Basic Context for Programming in Flash (p. 263)
• The Parts of Its Sum: ActionScript's Components (p. 264)
• Chapter 16 Revving Up Flash Generator (p. 285)
• How this Chapter was Written (p. 285)
• What is Generator? (p. 286)
• Part V Using Flash with Other Programs (p. 297)
• Chapter 17 Working with Raster Graphics (p. 299)
• Preparing Bitmaps for Flash Movies (p. 299)
• Using Photoshop to Create Images with Alpha Channels (p. 303)
• Using Live Picture to Create Animations (p. 312)
• Exporting Raster Images from Flash (p. 319)
• Chapter 18 Working with Vector Graphics (p. 327)
• Preparing Vector Graphics for Flash Movies (p. 327)
• Converting Rasters to Vectors (p. 345)
• Exporting Vector Graphics from Flash (p. 349)
• Chapter 19 Working with Audio Applications (p. 353)
• Preparing Audio for Use in Flash (p. 353)
• Chapter 20 Working with 3D Graphics (p. 367)
• Introduction to 3D Modeling (p. 367)
• Simulating 3D with Flash (p. 373)
• Using Adobe Dimensions to Create 3D Objects (p. 382)
• Animating Figures with MetaCreations Poser (p. 385)
• Exporting Animations from Kinetix 3D Studio Max (p. 393)
• Chapter 21 Working with QuickTime (p. 399)
• QuickTime versus Video for Windows (p. 399)
• QuickTime Support in Flash (p. 401)
• Importing QuickTime into Flash (p. 402)
• Combining Flash and QT Movies (p. 404)
• Using Digital Video in Shockwave Flash Movies (p. 415)
• Chapter 22 Creating Full-Motion Video with Flash (p. 431)
• High-Quality Video Output from Flash (p. 431)
• A Quick Video Primer (p. 432)
• Adjusting Flash Movies for Video Output (p. 436)
• Creating Sequences from Flash Movies (p. 441)
• Creating .AVI Files on the PC (p. 446)
• Importing Sequences into Video Applications (p. 448)
• Chapter 23 Creating Broadcast-Quality Cartoons (p. 453)
• Caution! Large Files Ahead (p. 453)
• The Storyboard (p. 454)
• Backgrounds and Scenery (p. 456)
• Some Cartoon Animation Basics (p. 459)
• Animator's Keys and Inbetweening (p. 463)
• Coloring the Art (p. 465)
• Flash Tweening (p. 467)
• Lip-Synching (p. 469)
• Finishing Up (p. 472)
• Chapter 24 Working with Authoring Applications (p. 473)
• Integrating SWF Files into Dreamweaver (p. 474)
• Using SWF Files in Macromedia Director (p. 480)
• Part VI Distributing Flash Movies (p. 497)
• Chapter 25 Exporting Shockwave Flash Movies (p. 499)
• Optimizing Flash Movies (p. 499)
• Testing Flash Movies (p. 502)
• Publishing Your Flash Movies (p. 508)
• Publish Settings (p. 509)
• Publish Preview and Publish Commands (p. 527)
• Chapter 26 Structuring Flash Content (p. 529)
• Writing Markup for Flash Movies (p. 529)
• Using Flash Movies with JavaScript and DHTML (p. 538)
• Chapter 27 Using Players and Projectors (p. 547)
• The Flash Standalone Player and Projector (p. 547)
• Standalone Limitations and Solutions (p. 553)
• Using the Flash Player Plug-In for Web Browsers (p. 554)
• Alternative Flash-Content Players (p. 558)
• Appendix A Using the CD-ROM (p. 563)
• Appendix B Author and Contributor Contact Information (p. 565)
• Index (p. 569)
• End-User License Agreement (p. 612)
• CD-ROM Installation Instructions (p. 616)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

About the Authors Robert Reinhardt has developed multimedia courses for educational facilities in Canada and the United States, delivered conference seminars on Web design, and served as technical editor for several Photoshop and Web books. With a degree in photographic arts, Robert takes a holistic approach to computer applications for the creation of provocative multimedia. Recently, he created installation and digital art for the Warner Bros. feature film Gossip. Now based in Los Angeles, he continues his work through "The Makers" (www.theMakers.com) as a multimedia artist, programmer, and instructor with his partner Snow and his creatively inclined dog, Stella. Jon Warren Lentz is a graduate of the Classical Studies program at UCSC, and a freelance artist and author. He is the lead co-author of a popular Web design book, , co-authored with Lynda Weinman. He''s also an associate editor and columnist for EFX Art and Design magazine, formerly known as Mac Art & Design. Prior to entering the photodigital frontier, Lentz achieved notice as a sculptor working with sand-carved glass -- a process that he helped to define as a fine art medium. Jon''s images have been featured in the 1997 Graphis Poster Annual, Mac Art & Design magazine (Sweden), IdN -- the International Designer''s Network magazine (Hong Kong), and other magazines. In July 1998, Shutterbug magazine explored connections between his fine art abstractions and commercial works. His work may be viewed online at www.uncom.com. Jon has lectured on digital art, design, and technology at many venues, including the Maine Photographic Workshops, and the Thunder Lizard Photoshop Conference. In 1998, Jon was the visiting artist at Bradford College in Bradford, Massachusetts. In 1999, he joined the faculty at Palomar College, where he now teaches Photoshop, Flash, and Web design. Jon''s personal interests are board surfing, photography, fine art, and the study of classical Latin and Greek poetry. He lives with his wife and son in Carlsbad, a beach community near San Diego, California. Contributors and Technical Editors Justin Jamieson (justin@mediumLarge.com) started using his first computer when he was eight years old. Years later, after studying design and cinematography, he combined his training with his computing knowledge to co-found mediumLarge (www.mediumLarge.com), a new media design firm in Toronto. In 1997, while developing a Web site for a local Toronto rap group, Justin began his research into the use of sound on the Internet and there''s been no turning back. He recently began an online record company for unsigned Canadian acts that will distribute CDs and MP3s to listeners around the world. One of the first true Flashmasters, Paul Mendigochea has been working with the program since the release of FutureSplash. He''s renowned as the architect of the award-winning FlashPad Web site (www.flasher.net/flashpad.html), which was the first community forum for like-minded Flashers. FlashPad is built entirely in Flash 4, with exemplary use of the new features. According to Paul, "Flash 4''s robust forms and client/server features make Flash 4 a viable alternative to HTML-based Web sites." Paul predicts that these new features will propel "the great Internet facelift era," meaning that clunky HTML interfaces will soon be replaced with easy-to-use Flash front ends. To kick-start this era, he also maintains the Flashcgi Web site (www.flashcgi.com), which delivers support to developers who build Flash-based client/server applications. Having originally studied fine arts (BA, University of Waterloo) and literature, language, and computer-mediated-communication (MA, University of Waterloo), Colin Moock now explores theoretical and practical creativity on the Web. During the mid ''90s, Colin produced SoftQuad Inc''s corporate Web site, when SoftQuad''s HoTMetaL PRO ruled the Web-authoring software world. He''s now a Web designer at Toronto-based new media firm ICE (www.iceinc.com), creating Web sites and interactive experiences for companies such as Levi''s, Sony, The Movie Network, and McClelland & Stewart. Colin''s personal exploration of the Web occurs at www.moock.org, where he maintains online artwork, Web experiments, and collections of essays and tutorials for Web developers.