Macromedia Flash Professional 8: Training from the Source (Paperback)

~ Tom Green (Author), Jordan L. Chilcott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Offering breakthrough video capabilities and powerful run-time effects, Macromedia Flash Professional 8 is poised to upend the Web video market, posing a serious challenge to Microsoft, RealNetworks, and Apple’s efforts in the process. Here to make sure you’re ready for it–and can start taking advantage of its creative tools, authoring power, flexibility, and rich video capabilities immediately–is the official Macromedia training for the program. Through 20-plus hours of project-based instruction, you’ll learn how to program for the enhanced Flash Player; use ActionScript to create dynamic interactivity; take advantage of new Flash 8 features like the improved script editor (which includes a visual interface), revamped library interface, and new Undo feature; and more. Simple step-by-step instructions peppered with plenty of visual aids and a CD that includes lesson files and a trial version of Flash Professional 8 leave you with a solid understanding of Flash development and the techniques required to tap your creative potential by producing dynamic, interactive content.

About the Author

Tom Green is a professor of interactive media at Humber College in Canada, the author of Macromedia Captivate for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide (Peachpit Press/Macromedia Press) and the co-author of Building Dynamic Web Sites with Macromedia Studio MX 2004 (New Riders).

Jordan L. Chilcott develops eCommerce, Multimedia and Intra/Extranet solutions for various corporations. He's the co-author of Building Dynamic Web Sites with Macromedia Studio MX 2004 (New Riders). As well, he moderates the Dreamweaver Talk List, sharing his knowledge, tips/tricks and experiences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Macromedia Press (November 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321384032
• ISBN-13: 978-0321384034
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #204,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, Terrible, Terrible!!!, December 25, 2005

By	Solo Goodspeed (Granada Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

It's because of too many books like this one that it's been taking me years to learn this already complex program. Apparently I'm not the only person who feels this way.

I was going to wait until at least halfway through the book, to be fair, before panning it, but the effort of trying to learn Flash combined with the effort of trying to determine what these authors meant to write has gotten me quite angry at this point. I'm no Flash expert (again, thanks to Macromedia Press), but I've retained enough to know that you don't use the F5 key to create a keyframe, as the author claims on page 109. And this is a mere paragraph after you were told to use that very key to create a blank frame.

The bad news began in Chapter One, page 17, step 1, where it tells you to open a file that you already created. Never happened. You are instructed to add files to the library; unfortunately all the files (which were provided on the accompanying CD) are grayed out and you can't do diddly with them. You are asked several times to reference files located in the chapter folder you are working on; these files are in fact located in a totally separate folder called "Media". Page 105; you are shown a screen shot of the grid editing window ..... author describes how to open the guide editor, but oops, there's another (the same) screen shot of the grid editor! Oh my, how did THAT get there?

These guys are gonna teach me Actionscript?? I don't think so.

It's pretty sad when you're trying to learn from a book, and by the fourth chapter you can't believe half of what you're reading. I had a Training from the Source book on Studio 8 pre-ordered, but now I have canceled it, and will surely never buy another title in this series in the future.

A lesson hard-learned.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Training would be effective if it weren't for the errors...., December 25, 2005

By	Joe M. Stevens Jr. "Joey" (Englewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is full of errors, errors that an editing team should have caught. Errors include directing you to use files that its claims you have created but have not and refering to file paths that are completely wrong. I am only through half of the book and luckily the first half has been mostly review of things I learned with previous versions of Flash, if I was a total beginner I think the errors in the book would have really impeaped my progress. That said I am scared of doing the next half of the book because it is stuff that I am not too familiar with and the errors will probaly screw me. Macromedia needs to reedit this and offer all of us who already brought the book a exchange program. Where as before I really trusted books from the Training From the Source series, I feel a little wary about buying more, and I really want to get the Actionscript 2.0 book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ghastly book..., April 29, 2006

By	R. Smith (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Never have I used, or tried to use, a book that has so many errors in it. Did they cut and paste an older version of the book, or Frankenstein a few books together to make this thing?

There are three pages of errata at the publishers web site. The entire book has one screw-up through out! Spelling errors, missing words, odd jumps of skill. Even with the errata, I am still finding errors!

I hope the guys didn't get paid much to 'write' this thing. It makes me wonder if this book was translated from some other language into English...

For those stuck with this book, here is the URL for the errata: http://www.peachpit.com/content/images/0321384032/errata/errata.pdf

And you have to rate this book to post a comment. Hence one star...