Customer Reviews

Flash 5 Advanced for Windows and Macintosh Visual QuickPro Guide (With CD-ROM)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Prior to purchasing this book I also bought "Macromedia Flash for Windows and Macintosh Visual Quick start Guide" by Katherine Ulrich. I would give that book a 5 star, and purchased this book feeling it would be of the same mold. But I was wrong.

If I were to be honest I would have to say on the positive side that this book is very good from the standpoint of the topics it covers, its structure, and goals.

However, the reason I would only give this book a 3 star rating is because it is full of errors and is often very unclear. I realize that the writers assume the reader already possesses a clear understanding of Flash and will proceed from there. However that is not the problem, but is rather that in may examples the writers are far from clear on where they are going. And there are many errors. For example, when going through one exercise creating radio buttons one is told to create a "movie-clip" and a short time later told to "select the first button instance", but there is no button, only the movie clip the reader is told to create. The book is full of errors like this.

If the purchaser does not mind spending the necessary time to figure out how the writers have arrived where they end up, and going back to correct numerous directional errors the book does have its merits. In the end it is great in concept, but poorly written.

If you know how to use the very basic tools in flash, like drawing, animating, and tweening, then get this book! This book teaches you more than most other books do about the advanced features in flash. If you are totally new to flash, then i would recommend reading "Macromedia Flash For Windows and Macintosh 5 Visual Quickstart Guide"

The author of this book does leave out some detail while explaining different tutorials, but it's usually very simple things, because he assumes you have a basic knowledge of Flash.

Overall, this is one of the best flash books out there. When you're done reading this book, I would recommend reading "Foundation Actionscript" for an even deeper knowledge of the powerful Actionscript language in Flash.

I bought this book because all other Flash books I saw had been written for beginners. I picked it up and read some chapters and was pleased. It shows you how and where to use those odd actionscripts you dont know about but often does not focus on one subject and jumps to another. Still, it is a very good buty and I still reccomend it to a Flash developer looking for intermediate or advanced skills.

This is an excellent book. It covers several difficult concepts in a very clear and consice manner. The topics I found most useful were: Detemining angles with atan2(), working with Math methods, using external .txt/html files and a host of others. I would (and have) recommend this book to anyway who has completed the standard "here is how you use the tools... this is called the paint bucket" sort of books and wants to get serious about their actionscripting. I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing this book before tackling "Flash 5 Magic - Actionscript".

For anyone with a good grasp of the basics of flash, this book is an indispensable stepping stone. Beginning with the concepts of building complexity and working with video and 3d, it goes on to dive into ActionScripting. From communicating with other programs to manipulating data, this book leads you throught in the clear and insightful methods common to the visual quickstart series. Unlike many flash books, this is not just a display of other artists' work but rather a well organized and structured learning tool.

I bought this book after finishing the Flash 5 Quickstart Guide, (also from Peachpit Press). Like "The Empire Strikes Back", this book demonstrates that a sequel can sometimes be better than the original. The writing is much more concise than its predecessor, and it tackles a great variety of topics. What's more, this one comes with a CD, so if you have trouble following the examples, you can look at finished projects.

Many indispensible topics are covered in this book, including Shape Hints, dynamic text and the using eval function. There's also a useful explanation of how to use the Math functions to create directional movement. My only serious complaint is that the book lacks focus. It would have been nice to see how all the techniques could be combined in a larger project.

The sad truth is, there are few good books available for intermediate and advanced flash users. So, at only 30$, this one is a must-have.

The topics may jump around, but I have not found a better book to explain the ins and outs of Flash actionscript. I may not know it all, but with this book, I feel confident that I can find the answers. I have also purchased "Flash5 Magic" and "Flash ActionScript f/x&Design" but this book blows them away for concise and indepth explainations. Beginners beware. These topics go pretty deep. But that's where the fun is.

I am not a large fan of the Quick Start guides and have been reluctant to try the Quick Pro series. But on a friends recommendation I picked it up. Boy was i surpised. This book is well written, and "not" a beginners book. Too many books promoted as intermediate are more beginner than intermediate but this one is quite helpful.

The writing is concise and easy to understand and follow. I picked up more than enough tips in this book to justify the cost

This book is simply a wonderful inpiration not just because it provides a wealth of information without drawn out-dumbed down diatribe, but because it also literally inspires designers to immediately get to work with the new concepts presented throughout the material.

This book is not for the lighthearted flash beginner who needs their hands held through each step. It provides clear and quick instructions for working web developers that have actual projects to do and deadlines to work with. Keep in mind, the cover says, "Flash 5 ADVANCED." This means that the book is for those who know how to use flash but want to tweak their web site's visual attraction and begin thinking about creating an enviornment for dynamic content and easy data manipulation and maintenance.

Nevertheless, this book is not a comprehensive reference for flash 5 programmers. It is merely a tool to get your site looking and behaving more professionally off the bat...and is more of a catalyst to your professional advancement with flash 5 rather than a complete foundation from which your skill stands. It opens the doors of possibility...but once you get to the other side, it's all up to you!

Buy this book. If you flash, you should own it. I also suggest the "friends of ed" series...ie: "Foundation Actionscript" & "Flash 5 Studio." The new Flash 5 Bible just came out too...although I haven't read it yet, I will buy it because the bible books are usually brilliant reference tools. Speaking of which, if you don't know javascript, you need to, so but the Javascript Bible while you're at it. If you are serious about being a flash programmer for a living...these books are all invaluable and truly rewarding investments into your future.

I bought this book a number of years ago, when I was struggling with creating effective animations, and Actionscript really intimidated me. Right now I'm enjoying a productive career doing professional Flash work, and I wouldn't be as proficient at Flash if it weren't for this book.

I'm the kind of person who likes to develop my own skills and techniques instead of 'formulaically' imposing someone else's techniques into my work. This book is perfect! It doesn't waste any time on 'How to draw a circle!', and gets straight to teaching the critical foundation skills of making good Flash. Don't worry though, it isn't one of those 'Bibles', but at the same time it isn't about creating one big project through the course of the book.
In my opinion, this book is the perfect balance between reference and teaching. It gives you the solid skills and techniques on how to lay down advanced flash, which fully eliminates the mystery of things, so you can then expand on these techniques with your own innovation.

What's best, I keep coming back to -this- one book, even in these days of Studio MX 2004 Pro, for an effective reference manual. At the time of writing this review, I'm working on an interactive skeletal system for my animations, and paged to the section on angles and math to help me create proper rotating limbs.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a Flash master!