Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash MX 2004 in 24 Hours

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I started to get interested in Flash, not because of its vector art angle for the web, but for its ability to produce high quality web presentations for any platform: think Java as art. I'm very comfortable with CorelDraw and Illustrator, so picking up the drawing tools of Flash was second nature. However, it's the programming side of Flash that has me beat. I admit it, I'm a visual/word guy, not a logical programming nerd. But, to do Flash right you have to learn the nuts and bolts as well as the Action Scripting (Flash's programming language). I'm hear to say that one Phillip Kerman has done himself proud. He's produced the best Flash MX intro tutorial I've found. I tried lots of books from the library before I actually bought this one, thank goodness. This book will guide you through the introductory steps as well the later Action Scripting with a gentle hand. The only complaint I have is that he doesn't quite explain in sufficient detail why you're performing a certain task. For example, I stumbled over why you had to create a symbol within a symbol to achieve a rotating wheel until I pondered on it for a while. It's not obvious why, but eventually you'll find it is accessible. So, do yourself a favor if you're a Flash wannabe, get this book.

Mr. Kerman has done a wonderful job with this book. I recently bought the Flash MX software and first tried learning it using Macromedia's dismal user's manual and useless tutorials. After countless wasted hours I decided to look on Amazon for a book that would teach me the fundamentals of Flash MX.

I made the mistake of ordering another book first, Bonnie Blake's "How to Do Everything with FLash MX". That book turned out to be the biggest waste of money and time. It was so poorly written, most of the practice samples were filled with stupid errors and impossible to complete. I was so frustrated I didn't even bother returning it, I tore the pages out and used it to start my fireplace during cold nights.

I then went to a local book store to checked out the other Flash books on the market and came upon this book. I started reading it in the store and couldn't put it down. So I ran home and ordered a copy from Amazon. I can tell you, this is the only book that you should get to get acclimated with FLash MX. Mr. Kerman is an amazing teacher with tremendous knowledge in this subject matter. The book is fun to read, the examples are easy to follow along and a joy to practice with. This book provides such clarity to a complex software, it is beyond amazing. Trust me, buy this book and you will be up and running with Flash in no time. Take my advice and AVOID THE BONNIE BLAKE BOOK LIKE A PLAGUE!

I just finished reading this book and I definitely recommend it. This book gives you an intro to using Flash MX. If you don't have a lot of time (or patience) to read one of the thick books, this one will do the job to get you up and running in Flash MX.

In the next edition (which is apparently coming up), I hope the author goes into a bit more detail on components. I was hoping that he would have the reader create an application utilizing ALL of the installed components (Microsoft calls them controls). But only a couple of the components are covered. I know this is an intro book, but if you're 40% there, why not go all the way?

One thing about the book that NEEDS to be fixed is errors. It looks like some of the errors are simply text carried over from the previous edition of the book where Flash 5 is the topic, but doesn't apply to Flash MX. Luckily, most of the errors are self-evident.

Now that I finished this book and being interested in Flash MX DEVELOPMENT rather than DESIGN, I have "Flash MX ActionScript Bible" (thick book) waiting to read next which I'm pretty excited about. If you want to focus on Flash MX development, the path is clear after reading this book: you need to buy an ActionScript book. If you're interested in DESIGN however, you have to determine if this book is all you need or if you need to buy another (advanced) Flash MX book (not ActionScript).

Take one step at a time though and buy this book first and worry about further reading later. At least when you finish this book, you will have a good grounding in Flash MX so when you're ready for the advanced Flash MX book(s), you will be able to make an informed decision on which book is best for you. Meanwhile, browse in the bookstores for your next book while reading this one and buy at Amazon (of course) when ready.

Good luck,
George

I love books that contain a series of lessons that the student must type in and execute, taking them from zero understanding to fairly knowledgable about a product. Flash is too difficult to learn by just "poking around", and you can't learn by reading a reference manual and then confronting the daunting user interface. THIS BOOK gently forces you to use almost every part of flash with those simple lessons. The book has been well proof-read, so I was always able to trust the instructions and get the desired results. Now that I'm done I can try all sorts of exotic things that I see in other books and on the web. Well worth the money!!! (But buy it used, of course...)

The best basic Flash book I found! I tried Flash MX Savvy but kept getting annoyed at how author tried to scare you about the complexities of animation and didn't get to animating until Chapter 9! Then I tried Flash MX Training From the Source (I love all other books in the series) but I felt this one was so geared towards developing this one project website that my questions were not being answered and I was still unsure how to start my own projects or get what I wanted from Flash.

Finally I found this book! It easily cleared some of the things in Flash that have always confused me! I appreciated the lessons they provided and the entire layout of the book. It slowly builds your knowledge and confidence. I still had trouble with almost every actionscript the book covered but it gave me a solid foundation in Flash. I now know most of the features and how to use them, and have experienced success in adding Flash elements into my existing sites - I still need more training before trying to design an entire site in Flash. Therefore, I just went back to finish the Training From the Source Book. I have looked at every Flash MX book out there and am convinced that if you are just starting out in Flash - this is the best place to start!

I just finished reading this book and I definitely recommend it. This book gives you an intro to using Flash MX. If you don't have a lot of time (or patience) to read one of the thick books, this one will do the job to get you up and running in Flash MX.

In the next edition (which is apparently coming up), I hope the author goes into a bit more detail on components. I was hoping that he would have the reader create an application utilizing ALL of the installed components (Microsoft calls them controls). But only a couple of the components are covered. I know this is an intro book, but if you're 40% there, why not go all the way?

One thing about the book that NEEDS to be fixed is errors. It looks like some of the errors are simply text carried over from the previous edition of the book where Flash 5 is the topic, but doesn't apply to Flash MX. Luckily, most of the errors are self-evident.

Now that I finished this book and being interested in Flash MX DEVELOPMENT rather than DESIGN, I have "Flash MX ActionScript Bible" (thick book) waiting to read next which I'm pretty excited about. If you want to focus on Flash MX development, the path is clear after reading this book: you need to buy an ActionScript book. If you're interested in DESIGN however, you have to determine if this book is all you need or if you need to buy another (advanced) Flash MX book (not ActionScript).

Take one step at a time though and buy this book first and worry about further reading later. At least when you finish this book, you will have a good grounding in Flash MX so when you're ready for the advanced Flash MX book(s), you will be able to make an informed decision on which book is best for you. Meanwhile, browse in the bookstores for your next book while reading this one and buy at Amazon.com (of course) when ready...

Flash MX is a program where one cannot just poke around and expect results. If you have never come in contact with layers or symbols in other graphics or vector programs, Flash is perhaps very a diffucult program to get used to.

This book guides you from a person who knows nothing about flash to a beginner. Trust me, this book only touches the surface in Flash simply becuase it offers almost nothing in the subject of ActionScripting. And that is why I would only recommend this book to absolute beginners.

For instance the actionscripting chapters only detail on gotoAndPlay(), startDrag() and onClipEvent(enterFrame) handlers (or whatever you call them) If you want to learn about dynamic event handlers or functions or prototypes, look elsewhere.

Putting that aside, this book is written and structured very well. The first few chapters offer an introduction to drawing while the middle of the book is devoted to animating. The last few chapters are about actionscripting and optimizing. Philip Kerman is offering a book that allows a serious Flash programmer to start a wonderful career/hobby.

When I bought my copy, I checked the book's printing number. It says 04 03 02 4 3. I believe it means this book is already on its third printing. No wonder. Sam's Teach Yourself Flash MX in 24 Hours is written by an author who seems to know what it means to be a teacher, apart from being a Flash expert. The lessons are methodical but efficient, short but well-thought out. They were the kind that sparks one's creativity and sustain one's interest to learn. The author, Mr Kerman, teaches not just fundamental Flash lessons that should never be forgetten but also good habits to follow while working with Flash. He didn't try to be funny nor distant. His approach is business-like but personal. As a result, you feel at home with the software, while at the same time, you build confidence knowing that you are learning from a source who knows the subject and actually knows how to teach it! The book material and type itself are of very good quality, yet it only costs about half of any other book on this subject and level. (Kudos to Sam's Publishing.) It made learning Flash MX much fun and very interesting. Highly recommended!

I just finished reading this book cover-to-cover. Philip Kerman is the rare tech author who not only knows his subject inside-and-out, has genuine deep real-world experience in the subject, but also is a talented teacher, and writer. A rare combination indeed. He does an excellent job of teaching the program, and covering the tidbits that only someone with a great deal of experience would know. Like why although you can import eps's from illustrator, its better not to. (I was at a dead end on a flash project of my own, and this turned out to be the problem.)

The chapter summaries (sorry, but I think summmaries are one of the most important parts of a book like this) are... EXCELLENT. Succinct, yet absolutely NOT just a table-of-contents in sentence form.

The examples are realistic. The writing is personal and at times clever. None of the long winded nonsense either. (You know how some tech books go so far as to say "the little arrow is called the pointer. Move the pointer over the word 'File' at the top of the screen, then slide down to 'Print' Aaaaaargh!) Well, Teach Yourself Flash MX does NOT do this.

If only Mr. Kerman also had written a book about C++ (the next subject I have to tackle).

I was always intrested in animation, I realy wanted to make some but unfortunatly I had no programs to make some. Until I saw a program in shop named 'Flash MX', I bought it (the program isnt very expensive for what its worth). But when I runned Flash on my pc I didnt know how to make an animation with it (I had no expierience with working with programs like Flash).
But I bought the book 'Flash MX', and the next 15 minutes I maked already nice animations.
But Flash got some more then only 'animations' it got also a programming language and these language gives you the whole control over the 'movie'.

you can realy learn Flash MX in minutes with the book from Phillip Kerman (he is the author from this fantastic book).