- Flash Guide 2006
- Welcome to the New Flash Reference Guide
- Flash Design Guide
- Introduction To Flash
- Working with the Authoring Tool
- Working with Templates
- FreeHand for the Power User
- Creating Animation with Fireworks
- Creating Animation in Flash
- Animating Text
- Working With Layers and Keyframes
- Working With Tweens
- Quickly Add Keyframes to Tweens
- Using Animation Paths
- Using Flash's Onion Skinning Tools
- Publishing Your Animation
- Preloading for Non-Programmers
- Drawing in Flash
- Using the Library
- Organizing Animations With Storyboards
- Working With Masks
- Making 2D Look 3D
- Working With Text
- Working With Input Text Fields
- Working With Dynamic Text
- Working with Text: Advanced Text Treatment With CSS
- Working With Text: Embedding Fonts
- Flash Interactive Developer Guide
- What is an Interactive Developer?
- Creating Flash Projects
- Using Form Applications
- Working with Form Components
- Setting up a Movie for Design and Animation
- Setting up a Movie for Programming
- Working with Components
- ActionScript Fundamentals
- Intro to Working With Arrays
- Understanding The Three Types of Arrays
- Control Data Stored in Arrays
- The Eolas Solution
- Intro to Flash Player 9
- Working with Strings
- Creating ActionScript Transitions
- Working with Boolean Objects in ActionScript
- Optimizing Delivery
- Working with Numbers in ActionScript
- Working with the Number Class
- Flash Professional 9 Preview
- Adobe Takes ActionScript Open Source
- Flash Rich Media Guide
- Pros and Cons of Flash 8 Video
- Using SMIL in Flash Video 8
- Stream an MP3 Audio File to Your Flash Movie
- Flash 8
- Introduction to Flash 8
- Advanced Text Rendering
- Using BitmapData Class in Your ActionScript
- The CacheAsBitmap Property
- Bitmap Rendering Improvements and Blend Modes
- Using The ExternalInterface Class
- Using Filters
- Downloading and Uploading Files with ActionScript
- Runtime Support for GIF and PNG Files
- Garbage Collection in Flash 8
- Using Enhanced Gradients
- Using Scale 9
- Stroke Enhancements in Flash 8
- Video Support in Flash 8
- How to Create a Slideshow
- Creating Dynamic Text in Flash
- Flash 3-D–Taking Flash to the Third Dimension!
- Object Collision Detection with Flash
- Create a Quiz With The Flash Quiz Template
- Working with Flash
- Uses for Flash
- Beyond Flash
- Flash Reference Guide
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books
- Online Resources
- Blogs and Discussion
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Flash MX Interface
- Welcome to Flash: the Designers' and Developers' Tool
- Using the Stage
- Panels, Panels Everywhere
- Using the Tools Pane
- Using the Property Inspector
- Using the Timeline Panel
- Using the Library
- Adding Interaction through the Actions Panel
- Integrating with Studio MX
- Saving and Publishing Flash Movies
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books
- Online Resources
- Summary
- Drawing in Flash
- Shape Tools
- Applying Color
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Flash Bitmaps
- Importing Bitmaps
- Exporting Bitmap Images
- Converting Bitmap Images to Vector Illustrations
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Online Resources
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Flash Text and Text Fields
- Text Types
- Input Text
- Online Resources
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Using the Library
- Library Organization
- Creating Instances
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books
- Online Resources
- Summary
- Flash Animation
- Controlling Time
- Keyframe Animation
- Tweening
- Text Animation with Flash
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books
- Online Resources
- Summary
- Flash Audio
- Using Audio in Flash
- Importing
- Linking to MP3
- Publishing Audio
- Streaming MP3 from the Flash Communication Server
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Online Resources
- Summary
- Video in Flash
- Video
- Flash Video
- Spark Codec
- Exporting Video
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Blog and Discussion
- Summary
- Flash Components
- Attaching Components to Movies
- Creating a Component
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Exporting and Optimization
- Connecting Flash to the Internet
- Loading SWF Movies
- Sharing Fonts Between Movies
- Reusing Your ActionScripts
- Using Third-Party Tools
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Online Resources
- Tools and Downloads
- Summary
- Introduction to Design in Flash
- Introduction to Design
- Fundamental Design Concepts
- Breaking Up the Screen
- Branding
- Adding Forms to Movies
- Developing with ActionScript
- Introduction to Programming within Flash MX 2004
- Using ActionScript to Extend the Functionality of Flash
- ActionScript Fundamentals
- Using the Actions Panel
- Using the Reference Panel
- Rapidly Adding ActionScript with the Behaviors Panel
- Event Handling within ActionScript
- Timeline Events
- Triggering Events through User Interaction
- Flash MX 2004 Pro
- Summary
- Creating Interactive Movies
- Giving Users a Choice
- What it All Comes Down to
- Summary
- Testing your Flash Movies
- Naming Conventions
- Syntax Checker
- Testing your movies
- Summary
- Debugging
- Using the "Debugger"
- Reviewing ActionScript Error Codes
- Summary
- Using ActionScript to Control Your Movies
- Setting Up Your Movies for Interaction
- Making Movie Clips Behave Like Buttons
- Controlling Multiple Movie Clips
- Applying Different Types of Events to a Movie Clip
- Summary
- Using ActionScript to Control Text
- How ActionScript Can Control Text
- Using Cascading Style Sheets within Flash MX 2004 Dynamic Text Boxes
- Applying CSS formatting with ActionScript
- Where Do You Go Now?
- The Differences Between ActionScript 1 and ActionScript 2
- Working with Classes
- Which Version of the Flash Player should you use?
- What’s Next?
- Using Pre-Built Classes In Flash MX 2004
- Using a Class in ActionScript
- The List of Core Classes
- Flash Player-Specific Classes
- Summary
- Creating Your Own Classes
- Creating a Custom Class
- Working with External Data in Flash
- Why Use XML in Flash?
- Integrating Flash and XML
- Visual Elements
- Adding the ActionScript
- Future Shock
- Using Components
- Begin Using Components
- Building an Application with Components
- Gluing Components Together with ActionScript
- Summary
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Online Resources
- Rich Internet Applications
- Introduction to Rich Internet Applications
- Why Use Flash for Building Application Solutions?
- Building Applications with Flash
- Getting Started
- Using Flash Variables
- Working with Parameters in the Object and Embed HTML Tags
- Linking data with Flashvars
- Getting Data Into Flash: Loading External SWF and JPG Files
- Why You Should Separate Your Files
- Loading Movies into Levels and Target Movie Clips
- Summary
- Loading SWF and JPG Images
- Working With XML: What is XML, and How Does it Relate to Flash?
- A Brief History of XML
- Why Structuring Your Data is Always a Good Thing
- How XML Came to Flash
- Summary
- Working with XML: Good XML vs. Bad XML
- Good Places to Start
- Writing Good XML
- XML Tools
- The Next Step - Using XML in your Flash Applications
- Working with XML: Loading XML into Flash
- Integrating Flash and XML
- Visual Elements
- ActionScript
- Future Shock
- Working with XML — Dynamically Building XML with .NET, ColdFusion, Java, and PHP
- ColdFusion
- .NET
- Java
- PHP
- Summary
- Working with XML — Web Services
- SOAP Support in Flash MX 2004
- Using Components to Bind Web Services into your Applications
- Summary
- Working with Data — Working with XML
- XML In Flash
- Writing XML In Flash
- Building Trees of Data with XML
- Working with Data: Pushing Data back to the Server with Load Vars
- Setting up the Database
- Writing the VB.NET Code
- Creating the Flash Movie
- Working with Data: Leveraging Persistent Connections
- Using XMLSocket Connections
- XMLSocket Server
- XMLSocket Security
- XMLSocket Class in Flash
- Creating a Pong Game with an XMLSocket Server
- Summary
- Flash Remoting
- What is Flash Remoting?
- Using Flash Remoting
- The Future of Flash Remoting
- Flash Remoting Links
- Working with Data: Macromedia Flex Presentation Server
- What Problem Does Flex Presentation Server Address?
- How does Flex work?
- Coding and Building Flex Applications
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Connecting Flash to a Database
- Using FlashVars
- Using LoadVars
- Loading XML
- Consuming a Web Service
- Live data connections with XMLSocket Connections
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Planning, Planning, Planning
- A Simple Plan
- Tools You Can Use
- Applying a Discipline
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Design Counts
- Do Not Be Afraid to Ask For Help
- What if You Do Not Have a Ben To Call
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Beyond the Movie Clip
- UI Components
- Data Components
- Media Components
- Manager Components
- Screen Components
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Using Macromedia Central
- What Central is All About
- Who is Using Central?
- Developing for Macromedia Central
- Next Steps You Need to Take
- Building Rich Internet Applications: Using Macromedia Flex
- Authoring with Flex
- Publishing with Flex
- Presenting the Solution: Delivering Flash Applications to the Web
- Flash's own Publishing Tools
- Using Dreamweaver
- Writing your Own HTML
- Presenting the Solution: Delivering Flash Over Non-PC Devices
- Using Macromedia's Flash Lite
- Programming for Flash Lite
- FlashCast
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Flash for Designers: Rich Media Production
- Graphic Control in Flash
- Drawing in Flash
- Importing Vector Art
- Importing Raster
- Scripting Images
- Introduction to the Rich Media Production
- Using Video, Audio and Images in your Flash Movies
- Using SWF Flash Movies
- Using JPEG Images
- MP3 Sound Files
- Flash Video
- Using Components to Build Rich Media Solutions
- Using the Loader Component
- Using the Media Components
- Controlling Components with ActionScript
- Controlling the Loader Component
- Media Components
- Using Audio in Flash
- Linking to MP3
- ActionScript-Controlled Audio
- Volume Control
- Publishing Audio
- Summary
- Video in Flash
- Working with Video
- Controlling Video with Components
- Exporting Video
- Summary
- Choosing Which Version of Flash Communication Server to Use
- Server Requirements
- Installation
- Running Communication Server on Different OS Platforms
- Pitfalls to Watch for
- Summary
- Streaming Video
- Live Video
- Broadcast Video on Demand
- Flash Video Components
- The Communication Server MX Server Code for the VideoPlayBack Component
- Record Video with VideoRecord Communication Component
- Create A Video Conference
- Examining the VideoConferencing Component
- The Communication Server MX Server Code for the VideoConferencing Component
- Summary
- Using the Microphone and Camera Core Classes
- Microphone
- Camera
- Constructing Large Applications That Leverage Video and Audio
- Configuring the Server
- Creating the Movie
- Broadcasting
- Summary
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Matthew's Predictions for 2006
- Matthew's Favorite Flash Books
- Matthew's Favorite Flash Web Resources
- Macromedia as Part of Adobe
- First Look: Flash Player 8
- First, the Facts
- What Macromedia Brings to the Table
- What Adobe Brings to the Table
- What the Two Companies Can Do for Each Other
- A Brief History of Flash
I know I have covered this before, but I am going to cover it again. Creating a movie on the Stage, or dragging a movie from the Library onto the Stage, is not enough when you start to add ActionScript. You must also name you Flash movie clip.
It is easy to name a movie clip. First, you must have a valid movie clip (a graphic or bitmap image will not work). Select the movie clip when you have it on the Stage. In the Properties Panel you will see a field with the name
Once you have selected and named a movie clip, you can start to add ActionScript that can control the movie clip. The following ActionScript is added to frame one of Layer 1 in the Timeline:
myFirstMovie_mc._alpha=50; myFirstMovie_mc._x=120; myFirstMovie_mc._y=120;
These settings reduce the Alpha level, or transparency, of the movie clip to 50% and move the clip to 120 on the "x" axis and 120 on the "y" axis.
When a movie clip is named you can do anything you like.