Customer Reviews

Flash 4 Bible

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Reading through these reviews, you can clearly see a pattern of complaints. Having used the Flash 4 Bible for 6 weeks now in developing a multimedia online training course (in concert with several other Macromedia programs), I would like to respond to some of these complaints.

Complaint #1. There is not enough material on ActionScript. This is the great weakness of the book, and it is indeed crippling. If you want to learn about ActionScript, you will have to go to online tutorials at flashlite.com, webmonkey.com, flashplanet.com, flashaddict.com, or flashkit.com. This is especially frustrating because Macromedia's Flash User Guide is weak in this area, so there is considerable demand for some good documentation on ActionScript. Since the Bible series claims to "do it all," this volume definitely gets heat for this one.

Complaint #2: There is virtually no documentation on FS scripts. FS scripts were the predecessor of Flash ActionScript, and my understanding is that Macromedia implemented ActionScript in Flash 4 to make scripting interactivity easier than the complex FS Scripts. We could thus forgive the authors for not including much documentation on FS Script--but only if they had at least covered ActionScript with any credibility. Nonetheless, for most new Flash users, the lack of FS Script documentation probably doesn't matter as much as the lack of ActionScript documentation.

Complaint #3: The authors spend too much time discussing using Flash with other programs. This complaint I would have to disagree with. Flash, like PageMaker, Quark Xpress, Acrobat PDF, and any web authoring program (e.g., Dreamweaver), is a package that assembles content developed in other applications for final publication. That is, you will pull in drawings and storyboards from vector drawing programs (FreeHand, Illustrator), image editing programs (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro), and word processors. I think it is both helpful and totally appropriate to have extensive documentation on working with these kinds of programs. And I think most people wouldn't mind this coverage so much were the book not lacking in precisely the area that we all hoped for the most: coverage of ActionScript.

I have spent time with perhaps 6 Flash 4 books, and sadly, this one is the most comprehensive and the most useful overall. All of them cover basic illustration and animation in great detail--but so does Macromedia's Flash User Guide. My Flash Bible has seen a lot of use--but so has my printer, as I have printed out several tutorials from the Flash sites listed above. Go ahead and buy it--but don't be surprised at the great hole in the middle.

I have got to admit that I learned more from J. Scott Hamlin's Flash 4 Magic, but this is a great book. Like Flash 4 Magic, this tomb doesn't spend lots of time telling how to make rectangles, but it does tell you how to active script and other things that you won't find in the Flash 4 manual.

If you're new to Flash, I suggest reading the Macromedia Flash manual that comes with the program to learn the basics and then read this book. And if you're already an advanced Flasher, I would buy Flash 4 Magic and if you want to buy another book, I would get this one. I have both books and use them constantly. You can't go wrong if you buy both.

Frankly, as someone who does nothing but Flash work and is now teaching it, I would not recommend this book. It's basically a more expensive and slightly better organized version of the manual that comes with Flash. In a few cases where I tried to apply the information given (using forms), the info was actually faulty or incomplete and led to frustration rather than enlightenment. And this is from someone who knows action script very very well! Essentially, there are two books that stand out for me. For folks who want to learn Flash design and animation basics - Hillman Curtis' Flash Web Design is the best. For those who wish to learn action script, nothing can beat Flash 4 Magic. Both have real world examples and source files to back them up.

I have been looking for a book to supplement the Flash4 documentation available on the actual program.

I am new to computer graphics, although, I have done much website editing and graphics editing-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I was looking for a reference work that would pull it altogether.

I came to Amazon.com to see what was available and went to my bookstore to look at the actual book and was very pleased.

I was suprised at the tone of the negative reviews of this book.

This book is very good for beginners to the animation world as well as to the world of Flash4. We all have to start somewhere and this book is a great place to start. And it "grows" well with you. This book, for me will become a great reference guide.

If you are considering purchasing this book and are new to Flash, I wouldn't pay much mind to the negative reviews posted here recently. If you're like me you will appreciate this book because it does not assume that you landed on the

planet a full-blown graphics-computer expert. And does it in a HUMANE way.

This book is thorough and deep and will prove to be a useful reference over the long term.

I should have looked it over at Borders first before ordering it on the advice of the first reviews. 200 of it's 600 pages are devoted to using Flash with other applications - some good that is if you don't own them - yet only 22 pages to cover ActionScript, the thing that makes Flash so, uh...flashy. A big disappointment. I've learned more on my own than I did from this book.

Pass this one by!

I have come to expect a certain level of professionalism from the 'Bible' series from IDG Books. However, this latest attempt falls far short, and I will more carefully consider my purchases from here forward. I received the book a few days ago, and have determined that it was written in no more than three weeks. The majority of content is straight from the Flash Users Guide - most of it covering interface and tool descriptions. There is little in the way of in-depth discussions that relate to real-world applications or the finer points of architecture and workflow that should be considered when undertaking a serious project with Flash. I wouldn't recommend this purchase to anybody who already has the Flash users manual and an internet connection - more can be learned online in two hours than by reading this entire book.

I finally got my hands on this book. It does an excellent job of presenting all the in's and out's of Flash 4. The book is logically organized and easily usable by beginners and advanced users alike. The knowledge in this book and on the CD makes it a MUST HAVE for any serious flash developers. I would also recommend "Flash 4 Magic", for higher end developers.

As a new Flash user, I figured I'd go the whole route, and get the big Flash 4 Bible by Rob Reinhardt and Jon Lentz. There is such a world of information in this book, that when I e-mailed Rob Reinhardt to see what he new about the possiblity of the release of Flash 5, I mentioned to him that owning this book is like getting a part-time job. Big book? Try 600+ pages, plus CD...

I blocked off 1-1/2 hours per night, sometimes 2, and dedicated it to working with the information these two authors provided. From file sizes to adding Quicktime movies and sound, to Flash's own Actionscript, there's just a world of knowledge here.

First, we've all gotten halfway through a project on our computer, and had a question. I've never set this book down and said, "Now what do I do?". I found the answers every single time. As a training guide and reference book, I couldn't have hoped for a more complete book.

Second, in addition to the fact that having this book was like having a 24-hour a day expert in the house, yes, I did e-mail the authors with a question that couldn't have been covered in the Flash 4 book--the release date of Flash 5. One of the authors responded quickly, to give me what was his best guess.

While you shouldn't try to get away with telling your co-workers or fellow students that you'll be "reading the Bible" into the night, I guarantee that's what you'll be doing.

These authors will, I'm sure, write another book for the new, even more outrageous Flash 5, now that it's been announced. I'll be one of the first in line for both the application and the book (book first).

Oh, and I gladly paid the full price ... for the Flash 4 Bible, and envy those of you who can pick it up for ... less. You don't need to be a novice, and you'll want to read more, and more, and faster.

The easily addicted amongst you should avoid this book. I took it on my train commute, read it at lunch, and read it outside on perfectly sunny days (when I should have been reveling in the weather).

Read. The. Bible. Period.

I've just got this book too!" I was pretty excited when it finally came into my front porch. This book is totally awesome, I do have to admit they do go into detail about everything, even the dang stroke pen hehe. This does lack some tutorials but I'm just thinking it just gives you an idea what Macromedia Flash 4 is and what it can handle. I do plan to buy "Flash 4 Magic" because of their tutorials. A book with tutorials and a book with inside details is a great combination! Having both books will lead you to a great flash site! Promise!

This book is great for a reference. However, if you are looking for tutorials with real examples and step by step help some books you may want to look at are Flash 4 Magic or Flash 4 - Creative Web Animation. These books offer more in the way of real examples and inspiration.