There is so much that you can do with the Adobe^R Flash^R built-in features such as components and tweeing that it is easy to stop there. But Flash can be used to create some very advanced applications. It just takes a little ActionScript. Once you start writing your own code, you can move up to creating more complex animation, dynamic interaction and server-side programming.

This book by Russel Chun will give you the foundation you need to master advance Flash design and development. Like all the Visual QuickPro Guides, it has a task-based format with step-by-step instructions and illustrations. The author starts with a discussion of his approach to building a Flash project as a collection of components. Of course, he begins by discussing programming logic and the many built-in tools Flash has for ActionScript. After these basics are covered, he jumps right into object-oriented programming with ActionScript. Event handling is the back-bone of building an interactive Flash project and Chun teaches you how to code your programs to listen for events and respond to those events. He begins with the SimpleButton class and ENTER_FRAME event. Next, you move on to coding more complex movie control using multiple timelines.

The best way to keep the download time for your Flash movie to a minimum is to build a modular project made up of a main movie that controls several external movies. The author shows you how to do this by coding Flash to communicate with external files and applications such as a browser, printer, email program and other Flash movies. He also covers how to build a stand-alone Flash player which does not need a web browser and can be used for CD, DVD and other mobile projects. Next, you learn how to create, display and animate graphics and to add sound and video to your movie.

Server-side programming is needed when creating Flash movies that collect, display, manipulate and store user input. Chun covers the basics of using variables, expressions and conditional statements in ActionScript. In order to collect user input and display dynamic feedback to your users, you need to control text. You will learn how to code object-oriented classes such as the TextField and TextFormat classes and how to manipulate data with the Math, Point, Array and Date classes. In the final chapter, Chun covers troubleshooting and strategies for programming the most effective Flash.

You can download the supporting FLA and SWF files from the publishers website. Russell Chun is a developer, writer and teacher of Flash and new media. He has taught at Columbia University and City University of New York.

Copyright 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe, Photoshop, Photoshop Album, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat, Cue, Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements, Bridge, After Effects, InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, Fireworks, Contribute, Captivate, Flash Catalyst and Flash Paper is/are either [a] registered trademark[s] or a trademark[s] of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.