Flash MX 2004 Basic Study Guide

0-619-20422-2 © 2004 Publish date: May 20, 2004 186 pages

Buy Now: $25.99

Course ID: flash-mx2004-basic-sg

If you want to learn how to use Macromedia's Flash, the Flash MX 2004 Basic study guide is an excellent choice to get a basic overview of how to create Flash movies for the Internet. This course is designed as an entry-level course to get you started. After you have the basics down, you can choose another one of our computer training books with an emphasis on more advanced skills.

The Flash MX 2004 Basic courseware introduces you to the Flash environment and its interface and teaches you how to work with shapes, colors, text, layers, buttons, and animations. You will be able to follow each concept from the series of units that are dedicated to each topic. Section reviews and exercises highlight important concepts and serve to reinforce your knowledge.

If you are the type of student who prefers to work on your own this training book is a great choice. You can use it to teach yourself the basics of Flash according to your own schedule. This Flash MX 2004 Basic courseware is complete enough to stand on its own as a training tool. You can also use the manual as further study material when taking other courses in Macromedia technologies.

Course Objectives

By the end of the courseware, you will know how to start Flash MX 2004, be comfortable in its environment, and be able to create new Flash files. You'll be able to import and manipulate images, know how to convert bitmaps to vector graphics, how to use the Pencil and Pen tools for creating shapes, and how to use the Line tool for drawing lines.

You'll learn about using the Rectangle, Oval, Pen, and Pencil tools, creating freeform shapes, selecting and editing shapes, copying, moving, and deleting shapes, and grouping objects.

Other topics include using the various tools for applying stroke and fill colors and creating custom colors, swatches, and gradients. You will learn how to create extending and fixed text blocks and how to modify text blocks and apply basic styles. You'll work with aliasing, spacing, kerning, margins, and indentations as well as use Find and Replace and the Spell Checker.

Course Contents

Unit 1 introduces Flash basics

• The Flash interface
• Using images
• Basic drawing

Unit 2 discusses shapes

• Basic shapes
• Selecting and editing shapes

Unit 3 covers color

• How to apply color
• Custom colors and gradients

Unit 4 goes over text

• The Text tool
• Formatting text
• Text utilities

Unit 5 covers layers

• Layer basics
• Modifying layers
• Guide layers

Unit 6 goes over animation

• Animation basics
• Creating and manipulating animations
• "Tweening" and hinting

Unit 7 covers button symbols

• Button symbols