Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified [Paperback]

Shawn Pucknell (Author), Brian Hogg (Author), Craig Swann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735713979 | ISBN-13: 978-0735713970 | Publication Date: January 2, 2004

Written by a trio of interactive design pros and published by the folks behind the software, this guide is the place to turn when you¹re ready to move beyond the manual and leverage all of Flash MX 2004¹s power to solve real-world problems. Through a combination of straightforward explanations and hands-on exercises, you¹ll learn about such key topics as accessing external data sources, publishing in various formats, and creating elegant and effective ActionScripts. Best of all, the authors share their inside knowledge of Flash MX 2004¹s newest features: essential ActionScript 2.0 commands and standards, expanded support for rich media, a streamlined user interface, new Timeline Effects and Behaviors, and more. The companion CD includes all of the files you need to complete the book¹s lessons. So what are you waiting for? Get this book and start getting flashy with your dynamic, interactive Web sites.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Written by a trio of interactive design pros and published by the folks behind the software, this guide is the place to turn when you¹re ready to move beyond the manual and leverage all of Flash MX 2004¹s power to solve real-world problems. Through a combination of straightforward explanations and hands-on exercises, you¹ll learn about such key topics as accessing external data sources, publishing in various formats, and creating elegant and effective ActionScripts. Best of all, the authors share their inside knowledge of Flash MX 2004¹s newest features: essential ActionScript 2.0 commands and standards, expanded support for rich media, a streamlined user interface, new Timeline Effects and Behaviors, and more. The companion CD includes all of the files you need to complete the book¹s lessons. So what are you waiting for? Get this book and start getting flashy with your dynamic, interactive Web sites.

About the Author

Shawn Pucknell is the cofounder of Ten Plus One Communications Inc., serving clients such as CBC, TVO, ATI, Fuji films, Mercedes-Benz, Virgin Records, Four Seasons Hotels, Pfizer, Compaq, and the PC party of Ontario. He is also the founder and president of FlashinTO, the Toronto Flash user group. Brian Hogg is a Flash developer at Ten Plus One. He maintains Mrhogg.com, a flash resource site. Craig Swann is founder of CRASH!MEDIA Corp., an award-winning, Toronto-based interactive design agency which has produced flash work for such notable brands as Intel, Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Calvin Klein/Maverick Records, Bacardi, Alliance Atlantis, CBC and YTV.

Product Details

• Paperback: 888 pages
• Publisher: Macromedia Press (January 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735713979
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713970
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,904,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well rounded guide to MX 2004, February 11, 2004

By 

Rick (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified (Paperback)

If you are new to Flash or you are an intermediate Flash user then this is a great book for you. Rarely do you see a book that manages to touch upon all the aspects of Flash MX 2004 as this book does. The chapters on using the authoring the environment are clear and concise. The chapters on Actionscript give you a good start with practical examples. The specialized chapters on Accessibility, 3D, Math, PocketPC development, etc. don't focus on squeezing in one sample app that may or may not be relevant to you but rather deal with the concepts involved around these topics. All that and the language is easy to read and concepts are quite made quite clear.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone but an advanced Flash developer, giving the reader just enough breadth to see where a concept may be relevant to their needs. Don't expect this to be in depth in any particular topic but rather use this as a starting point to launch into other books with greater depth in the areas you are interested in. You may be surprised what new things you discover about Flash that you hadn't thought of doing before!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great shot from Macromedia Press!!!, September 14, 2005

By 

Barbara Franco "Barbara" (Bauru, Brasil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified (Paperback)

[**this review was made by Roberto Cunha from AIR User Group**]It's not correct to say that it'is a book for beginners. There are, on the first pages, the traditionals lessons about the menus, the stage, how to work with panels. Basic concepts are boarded with the right details levels for the inexperienced.
However, with more than eight hundred pages, this book reaches the most advanced levels, as manipulate applications with audio and video, 3D animation, object-oriented programming and communication with external sources.
The promise of the heading is fulfilled, once that it is possible to find practically all the subjects into the flash MX 2004,since the small ball put into motion (the "hello world" of the flash), even applications for pocket-pcs and options of accessibility.We also find chapters entirely dedicated to the publication techniques (CDs, web sites, relation with search engines), debugging, best programming practices and characteristics of the flash player.
Summarizing: almost nothing was forgotten. Therefore it is an appropriated book as source of information for novices and also for the experienced ones. Moreover, it is a book published in association with Macromedia Press, with the signature of a three authors first class group, five contributors and three technical reviewers.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flash goodness is directly proportional to it's heaviness!, February 26, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Demystified (Paperback)

All readers will appreciate this clearly written, very detailed book on the latest version of flash. Great for those wanting to learn more about Flash's programming and backend capabilities. Especially handy were the sections on external data, skinning components and 3D.

Definitely a resource worth having!