Flash (tm) MX Bible

Contents......Page 3
System requirements for the Flash Player......Page 9
For the designer......Page 10
For the developer......Page 12
Using Flash Help......Page 13
Using Flash lessons and tutorials......Page 14
Launching Flash on a network......Page 15
Animation in Flash......Page 17
The Stage and workspace......Page 18
Moving the view of the Stage......Page 19
Using guides......Page 20
Creating a new document......Page 21
Setting preferences in Flash......Page 22
Using the Property inspector to change document attributes......Page 24
Customizing keyboard shortcuts......Page 25
Using scenes and the Scene panel......Page 27
Using the Timeline......Page 28
Moving the playhead......Page 29
Changing the display of frames in the Timeline......Page 30
Working with frames in the Timeline......Page 31
Creating frame labels and comments......Page 32
Using layers......Page 33
Viewing layers and layer folders......Page 34
Editing layers and layer folders......Page 36
Organizing layers and layer folders......Page 37
Using guide layers......Page 38
Previewing movies with the Test Movie command......Page 39
Using the Movie Explorer......Page 40
Speeding up movie display......Page 42
Saving Flash documents......Page 43
Configuring a server for the Flash Player......Page 44
Printing Flash documents as you edit......Page 45
Symbols and instances......Page 47
Using panels......Page 48
Using panel sets......Page 50
Working with the Actions panel......Page 51
Using the toolbox......Page 52
Using the library......Page 54
Working with folders in the Library panel......Page 56
Deleting library items......Page 57
About components......Page 58
About vector and bitmap graphics......Page 59
Bitmap graphics......Page 60
Flash drawing and painting tools......Page 61
About overlapping shapes in Flash......Page 62
Drawing straight lines, ovals, and rectangles......Page 63
Setting Pen tool preferences......Page 64
Drawing straight lines with the Pen tool......Page 65
Drawing curved paths with the Pen tool......Page 66
Adjusting anchor points on paths......Page 67
Adjusting segments......Page 68
Painting with the Brush tool......Page 69
Reshaping using the Arrow tool......Page 70
Straightening and smoothing lines......Page 71
Erasing......Page 72
Modifying shapes......Page 73
Pixel snapping......Page 74
Choosing drawing settings......Page 75
Using the Stroke Color and Fill Color controls in the toolbox......Page 77
Using the Stroke Color and Fill Color controls in the Property inspector......Page 79
Working with solid colors and gradient fills in theColor Mixer......Page 80
Modifying strokes with the Ink Bottle tool......Page 82
Applying solid, gradient, and bitmap fills with the PaintBuckettool......Page 83
Transforming gradient and bitmap fills......Page 84
Locking a gradient or bitmap to fill the Stage......Page 86
Using the default palette and the Web-safe palette......Page 87
Importing and exporting color palettes......Page 88
Placing artwork into Flash......Page 89
Import file formats for vector or bitmap files......Page 91
Importing Fireworks PNG files......Page 92
Importing FreeHand files......Page 93
AutoCAD DXF files......Page 95
Using the Property inspector to work with bitmaps......Page 96
Applying a bitmap fill......Page 97
Breaking apart a bitmap......Page 98
Converting bitmaps to vector graphics......Page 99
Importing video......Page 100
About the Sorenson Spark codec......Page 101
Tips for creating Flash video with Sorenson Spark......Page 102
Importing video clips as embedded files......Page 103
Importing QuickTime video clips as linked files......Page 105
Working with imported video files......Page 106
About creating a video object for a live stream......Page 107
Importing sounds......Page 109
Adding sounds to a movie......Page 110
Using sounds with Sound objects......Page 112
Using the sound-editing controls......Page 113
About the onSoundComplete event......Page 114
Compressing sounds for export......Page 115
Using the MP3 compression option......Page 116
Using the Speech compression option......Page 117
Guidelines for exporting sound in Flash movies......Page 118
Selecting objects......Page 119
Selecting objects with the Arrow tool......Page 120
Selecting objects with the Lasso tool......Page 121
Grouping objects......Page 122
Moving objects......Page 123
About copying artwork with the Clipboard......Page 124
Stacking objects......Page 125
Transforming objects freely......Page 126
Distorting objects......Page 127
Scaling objects......Page 128
Rotating objects......Page 129
Skewing objects......Page 130
Aligning objects......Page 131
Breaking apart groups and objects......Page 133
Working with Text......Page 135
Creating text......Page 136
Choosing a font, point size, style, and color......Page 139
Setting character spacing, kerning, and character position......Page 140
Setting alignment, margins, indents, and line spacing......Page 141
Setting dynamic and input text options......Page 142
Creating font symbols......Page 143
Breaking text apart......Page 144
Substituting missing fonts......Page 145
Working with substitute fonts......Page 146
Using Symbols, Instances, and Library Assets......Page 149
Types of symbol behavior......Page 150
Creating symbols......Page 151
Duplicating symbols......Page 153
Creating buttons......Page 154
Editing symbols......Page 157
Changing instance properties......Page 159
Changing the color and transparency of an instance......Page 160
Assigning a different symbol to an instance......Page 161
Setting the animation for graphic instances......Page 162
Getting information about instances on the Stage......Page 163
Using shared library assets......Page 165
Linking to runtime shared assets from a destination movie......Page 166
Updating or replacing symbols using author-time sharing......Page 167
Resolving conflicts between library assets......Page 168
About tweened animation......Page 169
Creating keyframes......Page 170
About frame rates......Page 171
About new layers......Page 172
Tweening instances, groups, and type......Page 173
Tweening motion along a path......Page 176
Tweening shapes......Page 178
Using shape hints......Page 179
Creating frame-by-frame animations......Page 180
Editing animation......Page 181
Onion skinning......Page 182
Using mask layers......Page 183
Using the Actions panel......Page 187
Working in normal mode......Page 189
Working in expert mode......Page 192
Switching between editing modes......Page 194
Using an external text editor......Page 195
Setting Actions panel preferences......Page 196
Using code hints......Page 197
Assigning actions to a frame......Page 199
Assigning actions to a button......Page 200
Assigning actions to a movie clip......Page 201
Differences between ActionScript and JavaScript......Page 203
About planning and debugging scripts......Page 204
About object-oriented scripting......Page 205
About the MovieClip object......Page 206
Controlling when ActionScript runs......Page 207
ActionScript terminology......Page 209
Deconstructing a sample script......Page 212
Dot syntax......Page 213
Parentheses......Page 214
Comments......Page 215
String......Page 216
Number......Page 217
Null......Page 218
About variables......Page 219
Scoping a variable......Page 220
Variable declaration......Page 221
Using variables in a script......Page 222
Using operators to manipulate values in expressions......Page 223
Numeric operators......Page 224
String operators......Page 225
Equality operators......Page 226
Assignment operators......Page 227
Dot and array access operators......Page 228
Using actions......Page 229
Checking a condition......Page 230
Repeating an action......Page 231
Using built-in functions......Page 232
Passing parameters to a function......Page 233
Calling a user-defined function......Page 234
Using a built-in object......Page 236
Using the MovieClip object......Page 238
Creating a custom object......Page 239
Assigning methods to a custom object......Page 240
Creating inheritance......Page 241
Using Flash MX to create content for Flash Player 4......Page 242
Using Flash MX to open Flash 4 files......Page 243
About slash syntax......Page 244
Working with Movie Clips and Buttons......Page 245
About multiple Timelines......Page 246
About movie clip hierarchy......Page 247
About absolute and relative target paths......Page 249
Writing target paths......Page 252
Using actions and methods to controlmovie clips......Page 254
Loading and unloading additional movies......Page 255
Changing movie clip position and appearance......Page 256
Dynamically adding a movie clip or sound to the Stage......Page 257
Dynamically creating an empty movie clip......Page 258
Using movie clips as masks......Page 259
Handling events with ActionScript......Page 260
Using button event handler methods to trigger scripts......Page 261
Using button events with movie clips to trigger scripts......Page 262
Defining event handler methods in the prototype object......Page 264
Manipulating buttons with ActionScript......Page 265
Jumping to a frame or scene......Page 267
Playing and stopping movies......Page 268
Jumping to a different URL......Page 270
Creating a custom cursor......Page 271
Getting the mouse position......Page 273
Capturing keypresses......Page 275
Setting color values......Page 279
Creating sound controls......Page 281
Detecting collisions......Page 285
Using Components......Page 289
Components in the Library panel......Page 290
Components in the Property inspector and Component Parameters panel......Page 292
Adding components to Flash documents......Page 293
Adding a component using the Components panel......Page 294
Deleting components from Flash documents......Page 295
CheckBox skins......Page 296
ComboBox parameters......Page 297
The ListBox component......Page 298
The PushButton component......Page 299
RadioButton parameters......Page 300
Adding scroll bars to input and dynamic text fields......Page 301
Sizing ScrollBar components......Page 302
ScrollPane skins......Page 303
Single-selection forms......Page 304
Changing properties of a component instance......Page 305
Changing properties of all Flash UI components......Page 306
Changing the properties of specific components......Page 307
Customizing component skins......Page 309
Editing component skins in the library......Page 310
Restoring default component skins......Page 311
Planning the form......Page 312
Storing form data......Page 314
Managing and monitoring the data......Page 315
Using the data to navigate and display the form pages......Page 317
Sending and loading variables to and from aremote source......Page 319
Loading data securely......Page 320
Using HTTP to connect to server-side scripts......Page 321
Using the LoadVars object......Page 322
Loading an image or sound dynamically......Page 323
Using the XML object......Page 325
Using the XMLSocketobject......Page 328
Using fscommand......Page 329
About Flash Player methods......Page 331
Printing from the Flash Player......Page 333
Designating printable frames......Page 334
Changing the printed background color......Page 335
Adding a Print action......Page 336
Printing from the Flash Player context menu......Page 339
About publishing a movie with printableframes......Page 340
About screen reader technology......Page 341
About accessible objects in Flash movies......Page 342
Specifying basic accessibility......Page 343
Specifying advanced accessibility options......Page 344
About animation and accessibility......Page 346
Suggestions for creating effective accessibility......Page 347
Testing accessible content......Page 348
Optimizing movies......Page 349
Testing movie download performance......Page 350
Using an ActionScript troubleshooting checklist......Page 352
Using the Debugger......Page 353
Debugging a movie from a remote location......Page 354
Displaying and modifying variables......Page 356
Using the Watch list......Page 357
Displaying movie properties and changing editable properties......Page 358
Setting and removing breakpoints......Page 359
Stepping through lines of code......Page 360
Listing a movie’s objects......Page 362
Listing a movie’s variables......Page 363
Updating the Flash Player for testing......Page 364
Playing your Flash movies......Page 365
Selecting an encoding language......Page 366
Publishing Flash documents......Page 367
Choosing publish settings Flash movie format......Page 370
Setting publish settings for HTML documents accompanying Flash movies......Page 371
Choosing publish settings for GIF files......Page 374
Choosing publish settings for JPEG files......Page 377
Choosing publish settings for PNG files......Page 378
Choosing publish settings for QuickTime 4 movies......Page 381
About HTML publishing templates......Page 382
Customizing HTML publishing templates......Page 383
Creating a text report......Page 385
Editing Flash HTML settings......Page 386
Using OBJECT and EMBED tags......Page 387
HEIGHT......Page 388
PLAY......Page 389
BGCOLOR......Page 390
ALIGN......Page 391
MENU......Page 392
Using the stand-alone player......Page 393
Screening traffic to your Web site......Page 394
Exporting movies and images......Page 395
About export file formats......Page 396
Bitmap (BMP)......Page 397
JPEG Sequence and JPEG Image......Page 398
QuickTime......Page 399
Windows AVI (Windows)......Page 400
Updating Flash movies for Dreamweaver UltraDev......Page 401
Navigation keys......Page 403
Menu items......Page 404
Operator Precedence and Associativity......Page 405
Letters A to Z and standard numbers 0 to 9......Page 407
Keys on the numeric keypad......Page 408
Function keys......Page 409
Other keys......Page 410
Error Messages......Page 411
A......Page 415
C......Page 417
D......Page 419
E......Page 420
F......Page 421
H......Page 423
K......Page 424
L......Page 425
M......Page 426
O......Page 428
P......Page 429
R......Page 431
S......Page 432
T......Page 435
W......Page 437
Z......Page 438