Customer Reviews

Flash MX 2004 Savvy(tm)

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Getting started with Flash MX 2004? Get this book!

As a new Flash user but an experienced programmer / Web developer, I had been looking for a good reference to get up and running quickly with Flash MX 2004 Pro. I started with one book that had tedious step-by-step examples and little background into why things are done a certain way. I then bought this book and on almost every page I found myself saying "Oh, THAT'S why!". I gave the other book away.

This book is very well written. It gets to the point quickly and doesn't linger too long on any one subject. The writing style is clear, easy to follow. and even fun to read. The exmaples are practical in that the authors don't assume that you need to see every mouse click and keypress listed as a "step". Each chapter ends with an online site that exemplifies the subject of that chapter - good for inspiration.

This is not an expert book and only covers ActionScript in passing (fine for most beginners). The CD-ROM includes bonus chapters (useful) and "essential" ActionScript examples and references. Since it is not a complete ActionScript reference it's unlikely to make my collection of essential CD-ROMs, however.

If you are getting started with Flash MX 2004 / Pro I highly recommend buying this book first.

I bought the last edition of this book and was incredibly pleased. It was everything a beginner Flash user needed to get up to speed on the program. Now, being a far more expereinced Flash user, I still went out and bought this new eiditon as soon as it hit the shelves. It is still the most useful Flash book that I own.

I think the thing that I like the most about the book is not so much the actual core Flash coverage (and there is a lot of that - everything from basic animation to fairly sophisticated ActionScript), but the non-traditional Flash topics: like Flash & Director, 3D Flash, Flash & Freehand (which is a bonus chapter on the book's CD), Flash & Audio Applicaitons, Flash & Pocket PC, etc. There is a lot in the this book that you'll have to search through a lot of other Flash books to find.

On top of all of the great topics, the authors have a wonderful bablance between instruction and hands on tutorials. At the end of each section, there is a legnth project tutorial (called Hands On) that lets you take what you've learned and apply it to a real project. This is an incredible balance that you aren't going to find in many Flash books.

Finally, and this is something that not a lot of people think about when they are buying a computer book is the quality. The book is printed on really high quality paper. I know this sounds silly, but a top of the other really big Flash books (Flash Bible, etc.) are printed on paper which is one step above newsprint).

Flash MX Savvy 2004 is easily one of the best (if not *the* best) Flash book on the market today.

I actually bought the previous edition (Flash MX Savvy), and was eager to pick up this newest edition as soon as it came out. Not only is it written extremely well & organized amazingly, but it features significant changes from the previous edition. This is a huge deal to me when many new computer books are simply pathetic revisions of the previous edition in which the authors simply when through and updated the software name! This book definitely doesn't fall pray to this problem. Not only does it keep the best of the previous edition, but it also has a great deal of new content dedicated to the new features in Flash MX 2004 & Flash MX 2004 Pro. And, we're not talking about a paragrah here or a paragraph there kind of new content, there are a number of completely new chapters dedicated to new Flash features. On top of that, the authors have added some other really great new chapters - such as one on creating Flash content for the Pocket PC (my personal favorite) and one on working with Flash and Dreamweaver MX 2004.

So, here is the skinny, Flash MX Savvy 2004 is an excellent book, hands down.

I learned some good stuff and the bonus chapters are good resources. However the teaching style is not a step by step proceedure. The author explains without demonstation then after 4 chapters of explaining, you do a hands on tutorial in which you do what you were supposed to learn. If you know Flash and are familiar with its processes this may be your book, if you want to see the steps in action, forget it. Over and over the author instructs you to create a file without letting you know what to create. Terms like "open a flash document and create an animation" appear far to often. The book is great for a reference but I thought there was to much explanation without demonstation. One further note, there were missing files on my CD, in trying to get the files downloaded i ran into a lot of hassle. Proof of purchase, broken links, and redirection to downloads that were not there. I believe a great teaching book on something like flash requires a support site that is equally great. I learned some neat things, and I use the book for reference, but for those first learning flash, buy the Macromedia Design Profesional series Flash.

Yup, Flash MX 2004 Savvy is a great book for all levels of Flash users - from the most raw newbie to the moderately experienced flasher...and everyone in between. It covers a wealth of Flash topics ranging from the most simple to the complex. It also covers to "out of the box" kinds of topics like Flash and Pocket PC, Flash and Director, and Flash and Dreamweaver. Its also got an incredible comprehensive section on Flash and audio...which, in my opinion, is one of the strongest reasons to buy the book (there are so few books about Flash and audio out there). The bottom line is that I can't say enough good things about this book. I hope that whenever the next version of Flash comes out (knock on wood that it will be awhile away), these authors write another book...because I'll be first in line to buy it.

I'll admit it, I've been burned in the past. Computer books are so expensive these days, and there are so many bad ones out there that its hard not to get burned. I purchased a copy of a Flash book for the previous version of the program, and was completely disapointed. I had almost given up when I ran across this book in Borders, and got a chance to sit down with it before buying it online. Wow! Is this book ever great. Its really well written and covers more than you could expect. Its a great tool for beginners or intermediate Flash users.

My primary reason for buying the book was a little wierd. As I was reading through the intro/forward, the authors actually made me laugh. You know how rare that is - computer books don't make you chuckle (in a good way). So, I bought the book.

You should too.

I own many books about flash and this one is the most complete. Maybe you'll have to go more into certain topicson other books but this is the best end more comprehensive guide I ever read. Very simple and direct, never confusing, good tutorials, covers pocket pc, sound edting and sound design, and is good also if ,like me you want to focus on new features of the 2000 editions. Perfect !

Flash MX 2004 Savvy is an all-inclusive book that will satisfy everyone from the beginner to expert. Flash is a complex program, but Watrall and Herber do and excellent job of breaking things down to their elemental level to bring you up to speed without overwhelming you. Immediately following the introduction, there is a concise explanation of what is new in the latest version of Flash. This is very important to those of us who have worked with Flash before, and want to know right away what new productivity features there are, and what we need to learn to keep current. In fact, the entire book is well organized, with attention-grabbing icons that let the user know if the current feature is new to MX or MX pro.

This book leaves no stone uncovered. It covers all of the basics, from simple interface orientation to animation and simple interactivity. From there it goes into intermediate and advanced interactivity, actionscript coding, components, and working with dynamic data. Not only does this book concentrate on the features and functions of Flash, but it takes into account how users actually use Flash. It is interlaced with real world inspirational design models, and task-based tutorials. It has chapters on using Flash to create content for CD-ROM and mobile devices, and how to work with Video in Flash as well. The book also details how to work with other programs like Director and Dreamweaver. They do an excellent job of showing the user how to use Flash in a way that increases efficiency and productivity, allowing us more time to be creative!

If you're new to Flash or you are already quite familiar with it, this book is a great learning tool as well as a great reference. If you're looking for a book that covers it all, this is it. It is an excellent book and a great value.

This is one of the best Flash study books I have ever used and I have bought many. I have to echo all the praise previous reviewers have written. I have tried to grasp ActionScript by diligently studying several tedious Flash books and never quite "got it" until I bought this one. This book is very well written and it intelligently guides you through Flash. I agree that it is written so that you can jump from topic to topic, but if you work though the chapters in a linear way, the book helps you build skills & knowledge of Flash from start to finish. Good for beginners or more experienced Flash users. The hands-on lessons after each chapter help you apply what you have learned and the inspiration design modules make it FUN! I LOVE this book and recommend it to anyone!

That's what I had to ask myself after reading all the great reviews here and then reading the book. The book seems to be a series of short examples of all the features of the program without getting into the real nuts and bolts. If you want a printout of the help menu, then this book is for you. If you are looking for some help with actually pulling an application or site together, keep looking.