Timeline Effects
I don't know about you, but I am always looking for a tool that lets me add a quick effect or two. Flash MX 2004 now ships with a feature called Timeline Effects.
Essentially, a Timeline Effect is a visual effect you can apply to a graphic or movie clip on the stage.
You can start by adding a shape or movie clip to the stage. This can be a PolyStar shape, one that you imported from Illustrator, or an object from the Library.
With the object on the Stage selected, choose Insert --> Timeline Effect --> Drop Shadow.
The Drop Shadow window opens. You will see that a default gray drop-shadow effect has been added to the drawing (incidentally, your drawing has now been converted to a movie clip if it was not already a movie clip).
You can change the color, transparency level and offset settings for the drop shadow. Each time you make a change you need to select the Update button, which redraws the page with the modified drawing. If you like what you see, select OK, and the modified drawing will be added to the stage.
There are number of Timeline effects that you can investigate that allow you to control animation, explosions, and blur effects to name just three.