Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training from the Source: Amazon.ca: Jen deHaan: Books

Product Description

If you¿re ready to begin integrating video, text, audio, and graphics into dynamic, interactive Web sites using Macromedia¿s Flash MX 2004, this is the place to start. As the official Macromedia guide to its motion-graphics and animation powerhouse, this volume uses a series of hands-on projects to provide a firm foundation in every aspect of Flash MX 2004 use: from graphics, animation, video, and text to ActionScript fundamentals and dynamic data integration. Simple step-by-step instructions peppered with plenty of visuals and a CD that includes lesson files and a trial version of Flash MX 2004 leave you with a solid understanding of basic Flash development and design. In the process you¿ll learn about all that¿s new in Flash MX 2004¿from its redesigned interface to its improved scripting language, better text tools, native support for PDF and EPS formats, first-ever third-party extensions, and more. You¿ll even learn how to build movies that integrate with dynamic data, stream video, and include forms that ask for user input.

About the Author

Jen deHaan is a freelance web designer/developer based in Calgary, Alberta. She has been involved in writing, contributing to or editing many computer books on Macromedia Flash, ActionScript, digital video, and ColdFusion. She has co-authored three books on ActionScript, is coauthor of the ColdFusion Developer's Handbook (Sybex), and the soon to be published Dreamweaver MX: ColdFusion Web Development.

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars horribly tedious..., Jan 27 2004

By

Mike Lanza "xlanza" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training from the Source (Paperback)

Boy, was this book a pain! I had to slog through numerous detailed examples of creating user interface graphics and buttons before ever getting to animate anything. That book is wayyyy too detailed and focused on one application - creating a UI for a "rich application" web site. Also, the book is often inaccurate, especially for Mac users. I was ready to forget about Flash forever.

Instead, I bought "Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Hands On Training" by Rosanna Cheung, and it turned me totally around. I can't believe how much difference a book can make in revealing the beauty of a piece of software. It starts right out with animation, and it is aimed at the right level of detail (at least for me). Also, it has very effective sidebars to thoroughly explain concepts as they come up, so it can be used as a reference (unlike the other book). Thanks, Rosanna!

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2.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive but confusing, Jun 1 2004

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"ccenzon" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training from the Source (Paperback)

As I expected from most "training from the source" books, it covers most of the basic ingredients in flash; hence, it is comprehensive for beginners and intermediate users. However, as mentioned in some other reviews, the instructions are not consistent. The numbered sentences in bold often give the reader an overview of what one is about to do, even if they sound like they are giving the reader the actual instructions (correcting this redundancy may shorten the book, and lower the price!). The succeeding sentences then give step-by-step instructions on what to actually do. In some instances, however, the sentences in bold were the instructions themselves. Consistency would have made everything clearer. Moreover, some explanations and instructions were a little vague--which file, layer, or frame was I supposed to be working on? At other times, library or stage items were missing after being asked to open a particular file. It was quite confusing. I honestly think the book needs a 2nd edition.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good - but inconsistent on format, Jun 1 2004

By

Howard Allen (Lenexa, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training from the Source (Paperback)

The book made for easy reading, and I was able to knock it out in just a few days. The biggest problem I had was the inconsistent way of how the step by step instructions work. At the beginning of each step, they have a "summary" of what you are going to do in bold, then it proceeds to give detailed instructions on how to do it. For the most part, this holds true, but sometimes, the instructions picked up from the bold part, having expected you to have performed that already??? Also found several invalid references to variables.. and other mistakes, such as telling you to add labels to specific frames, before telling you to add keyframes at those positions. It had the feel of a step by step book, that nobody bothered taking the time to test before publishing. Other than that, it was an okay book, and had a realistic in depth example to work with and build upon.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to follow but hard to understand
If you are used to Adobe CLASS IN A BOOK series, you will like the way this book walks you through examples. Read more

Published on April 16 2004 by Y Park

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written training for Flash MX 2004 authoring
This is one of the best training books I have ever used. The book is targeted at someone with no Flash authoring experience, who wants to learn the most current version of Flash,... Read more

Published on Feb 19 2004 by chrisinbellingham