Customer Reviews

Flash MX [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Since this is a upgrade version let me talk for experienced flash users - Macromedia seems to have taken a few right steps in integrating Flash MX with its other products like Dreamweaver Ultradev and Cold Fusion Server MX (acquired from Allaire). Even though Cold Fusion MX is at a beta 3 stage right now, its easy to see some of the powerful multimedia features being integrated into the Macromedia products based on that.

Some of the best new changes in Flash MX that warrant an upgrade are:

1. ActionScript, the scripting language that powers Flash interactivity, is now easier to write and analyze. Flash MX has a fully functional script editor with features similar to those found in its other programs like Dreamweaver, Cold Fusion Studio, and HomeSite. The editor helps both experienced and beginning programmers write valid ActionScript by providing code-hinting, auto-formatting, and search-and-replace functions. Flash MX also contains a complete debugger.

2. For the first time Flash is offering a collection of templates to simplify the production of standard Web documents such as ads, slide shows, and tutorials. In addition, the templates are smart; for example, a photo album template includes all the programming necessary for a photo slideshow.

3. A lot of UI components, like scroll bars, check boxes, and list boxes, that previously had to be laboriously created, are now included in Flash MX. The appropriate behaviors are built into these objects, so adding functional interface elements to an application is a simple drag-and-drop operation.

3. One of the biggest changes in Flash MX is the integration of video. The integrated video support, provided by the Sorenson Spark codec, can import standard video formats, such as AVI, MPEG, or QuickTime, and convert them to a streaming format that is displayed natively by the Flash MX player. The import filter can also resize the video or sync the frame rate to the Flash movie when converting a file.

4. Flash MX also provides a powerful tool to modify vector shapes. Flash's Free Transform tool is similar to the Free Transform tools found in standard illustration programs like FreeHand and Illustrator. The program lets you rotate, size, skew, and distort objects. A special bounding box-called an envelope-lets you manipulate an object's shape using control points and tangent handles. This kind of makes me wonder what it'll do to the already overpriced Macromedia Freehand software.

5. A lot of changes have been made to animation processes to make it more efficient. The import filter for Fireworks PNG files now intelligently preserves text and vector shapes which will make life a lot easier! Headline animations are easier to update, because Flash now maintains individual characters as editable text rather than as nontext vector shapes.

6. Some changes have changed the visual appearance of Flash MX workspace. Now you can dock and collapse palettes, and you have the ability to define and switch between different palette configurations like developer, designer etc. to optimize the workspace for design or coding. Layers can be organized into folders. The new Properties Inspector offers an easy way to change an object's basic attributes quickly.

7. The Library function has also been improved by allowing sharing of symbols between documents. Flash automatically tracks the original location of each symbol and auto-updates all instances in all documents if the original is modified!

As I mentioned, Macromedia seems to be moving towards integrating their other products. As a result, some powerful new features in Flash MX await the development of other products in the MX line. Macromedia has already announced Flash Server Solutions, which will consist of a gateway and a communications server. The latter will allow developers to add real-time messaging as well as two-way audio and video to Flash applications.

I think upgrading to the new version is not even a question!

Flash MX is a big improvement over previous versions by adding predesigned components for scrollbars, check box, and radio buttons. Macromedia took out the headache out of learning actionscript code to do these basic functions. Plus the way the interface looks with its docked panels and acts more like other Macromedia programs (the properties panel in particular) make it much more comfortable and easier to use.

Flash MX is a definte winner!

I used Flash 5, and loved it! I heard about Flash MX, read several reviews (all positive), and decided to try it out. I don't regret my decision for a second.

Flash MX is a great improvement over Flash 5 in many categories: design, usability, and power. Flash MX has been made much easier for the beginner to use, automating such things as scroll bar creation and button making. It retains incredible power, however, for the more advanced user. The interface has been made to look more like other Macromedia (and coincidentally Adobe) products, and navigation around the program is incredible! The product has the power to animate beyond your wildest dreams.

Complicated animation becomes a breeze with Flash MX. You can cause your objects to morph into other objects, create motion trails, and much more with as few as two frames (Flash creates the rest). This is useful for rapidly creating animations, as well as enabling beginners to create animation.

The learning curve for Flash can be steep, so I recommend you purchase a book for learning this program, but once you have learned a few basics you can easily animate.

The other program, which does essentially the same thing, is Adobe LiveMotion. This program is a bit cheaper, but lacks the power of Flash MX. If you are looking to create webpages, animation, or web applications, Flash MX is the tool of choice. Try it, you will love it!

I agree, the price tag is a little big if you are not an expert commercial buisness animator person, but it is a great product. It is not as hard to learn as everybody says, the interface is great. IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE ANY STUDENT/TEACHER/MEMBER OF A ELM., MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, OR COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY, YOU CAN BUY THIS PRODUCT FOR ONLY 100$. This is a lot less, 300$. Good Luck.

If you have used previous versions to Flash MX 2004 and are not an actionscript programmer- DO NOT BUY MX 2004. MX 2004 has done away with the "Normal Mode" in the actionscript editor and has replaced it with another screen hogging panel called behaviors. Instead of having a wizard like interface to aid in fast prototyping of sites and such, you will be forced to learn Actionscript. Unless you understand the code structure and syntax of either Java or Actionscript 2.0, prepare to not accomplish much. If you are a programmer, Flash MX2004 should suit you fine. If on the other hand you are a designer that uses MX or even Flash 5 and do not have the time to learn how to program- STAY PUT! Flash MX 2004 is not the designers tool any longer. Because of Flash's prominence, MX 2004 is now a programing interface for creating advanced appliances more than it is a creative tool.

I feel like Santa Claus visited me out of season. This is a great goodie!

I'm an amateur multimedia producer who makes CD-ROMs with video for computer illiterate clients. If I wanted to include video, I'd have to create projects in Director, then include directions for playing the file and video together. Sometimes they'd have to download a media player...and they don't know what the heck that is! Also, if the video wasn't in the location with the projector, it wouldn't play, so I had to include instructions for that - complications and headaches. With Flash MX's video integration, a client need only click on the projecter exe file and wammo! Easy for them, easy for me :)

Another problem was playing video on mny web site. I'm between a novice and an intermediate producer, so I'm not good at embedding video on the web. I had to provide links for people to download, and the success or failure of that varied. Well now, I replaced that link with a video created in flash! Wah-la! With a flash 6 plug-in, the user no longer has to download the video, just press play and watch.

I'm not as good as the pros, but Flash MX's new features greatly increases the amateur-level business that I can generate!

For those of you do not know, Flash is the standard tool for creating multi-media presentations for the Internet (using motion, graphics, music, sound and vectors). I was not pleased at all with Flash 5.0, but I love Flash MX for its upgraded features, new and useful functions that will make Flash production efficient. The most noticeable and efficient new feature is the template feature, so that way, you make a Flash template, then reuse it constantly having to only fill in different text, images and sound. Then if you decide to change your Flash animation, you only have to adjust the template and everything that uses the template would be adjusted (there are even pre made templates). The second noticeable thing is that this is a duel purpose tool: to design and to develop web-based applications. Flash works with layers, each layer should have a different object on it (you can click and drag layers easily), so it can move, with Flash MX, there are now layer directories! You can also transform objects with skew, rotate, wave and distortion. There is a nice new break text feature, you type text then use the break function to make each letter of text a different layer (extremely useful)! Something else useful are click and drag HTML functions which before only experts could use, such as forms, submit buttons, scrollbars and so on. The workspace looks very cramped, however the workspace is customizable to every degree.

For huge designers this may be a program for you. Otherwise I'd suggest Macromedia Flash 5. Cheaper, more user friendly, easier options, and easier to do actual animations. I am a flash specialist and I can work with Flash MX well. Though overall if I am doing long animations or splash pages I'd well vote for Flash 5 to do my dirty work. They are both great programs that will completely help you with your animating career!

Developers: Get this software.
This is probably far and away the best and biggest advance in web development out there today. The jump from Flash 5 to MX is enormous. Flash MX has broad capabilities. From static movie based websites to Forms and data entry, to full applciations created with backend Java/ASP/JSP integration.

If you have flash 5, you'll never look back when you see this software package. If you're new to Flash all together this is the place to start.

Create web applications using templates and 'pre-written' code allowing you to move through your development in half the time.

I may also add that although the price tag is hefty, the program is more than worth it. The future of the web is in my opinion focused in and around flash. Macromedia just purchased Jrun (some months ago) and that alone shows that they're serious about creating and making real world applications.
Support for the product is great too. Lots of forums for help.

Gave it 1 star out of disgust for the hype. It does do the job, but it's not easy to learn by far, and the price is ridiculous considering there's other software that will add impact to your site without gouging you. There's a product named "Swish" which creates Flash files, and does it much easier and for about $. Me, I like using Adobe LiveMotion and Swish to spruce up a site. You're probably wondering why does Swish cost so little while claming to be such a good software. Better question to ask is why does Macromedia charge so much.

I'm at the point where I woke up to Macromedia. All the money I put in, only to spend countless hours reading more than one book just to get decent results on a site. And along comes Swish for the same $, and gives me the results I want with less reading and more money for me to spend. Then I read some negative reviews on Adobe LiveMotion and fell for it. But I took a chance one day and picked up LiveMotion...and was I happy. You still have some reading to do to get you going, but not to the extent of Flash. And no matter how you cut it, if you want a good Flash site, it's going to be a slow page for people on 56k modems to view. And most people do not want to wait minutes for a page to download, so they're off to another site and you've either lost a customer or the spreading of your information. At least with LiveMotion you can add interest to your site and have the Web page open quickly.

Livemotion 2 costs a little less than Flash, not much, though; but if you already own an Adobe title you'll find they give discounts. Macromedia, on the other hand, doesn't care if you own all their other titles: you're going to pay. And even though Livemotion is close to pricing with Flash, Adobe doesn't come out with as many versions of their software as Macromedia does, so you'll definitely save money in the long run.

One final point, what good is software if you don't know how to use it? A few years ago Macromedia let an outside publisher, Peachpit, write the guides foe their software. And Peachpit was doing some fine work by producing books that were unlike the books Macromedia was producing: you cold understand them. Well when I got Flash MX, I opened the book and was puzzled: it looked like one of Macromedia's old books. Sure enough, I looked at the copyright and found out Macromedia wrote it. Ughhh. Macromedia doesn't know how to write books. There books look like they're printed from the help files of the software: few graphics, lots of code and dull reading. Most of my friends who've bought software from Macromedia usually throw the books to the side, and order a third-party book from Amazon. Unfortunately, instead of putting Peachpit's "Macromedia Flash MX" in with the software, you have to purchase it separately. And believe me, you don't know what dull is until you've read a Macromedia book. Makes you wonder about a company who could've made the learning of the software easier by adding an interesting book, but instead chooses to have you go into your pocket for a few more dollars. At this pace one day you'll have to pay for tech support, and trust me, you'll wind up calling like I did.