- Designing the Obvious, Part 3: Understanding Real Users to Solve Real Problems
- Mar 24, 2006
- If you're writing software or building web sites without a user in mind, you're just throwing away your effort. Robert Hoekman, Jr. explains the urgent need to understand exactly who the target user is, what she hopes to accomplish, and what you can do for her - long before you start committing keystrokes to code.
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- External Communications with Flash 8: How to Use the ExternalInterface
- Mar 24, 2006
- Kris Hadlock explores the use of the ExternalInterface class in Flash 8. With ExternalInterface, you can build robust object-oriented Flash applications that can be connected to the outside world and tied to databases and other server-side processes.
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- Free Audio Tools that Work with Flash
- Mar 24, 2006
- One of Flash's many strengths is its capability to consistently and reliably play back sound across a wide variety of computer platforms and environments. Flash has a comprehensive set of utilities and tools to work with audio, but there are several free, dedicated audio tools that can do an even better job. James Gonzalez reviews several free audio tools that he has used professionally and with his students to streamline audio work with Flash.
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- C++ Command Pattern for Network Operations
- Mar 17, 2006
- It's all too easy to place operations code inside class definitions (that is, code that does create/delete/modify). In many cases, such an approach is not necessarily a reflection of real world objects. But there are other reasons for abstracting operation code: simplifying objects and better maintainability. Stephen Morris spells out these and other advantages of using the command pattern; including changing the operations code and providing do-undo facilities with a very modest design/coding investment.
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- How to Style Forms in CSS
- Mar 17, 2006
- Forms give you an easy way to get information back from visitors to your Web site. Although they might be the most common way to get feedback from your Web page, forms shouldn't be a hassle for your users. Jason Teague shows you how to use a bit of simple CSS to create attractive and interactive HTML forms.
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- Designing the Obvious, Part 2: Knowing What to Build and Why
- Mar 10, 2006
- Why do software projects fail? In most cases, says Robert Hoekman, Jr., it's simply a matter of poor planning. If you don't have a firm grasp of who is going to use your product or site, and why, you'll succeed only by accident. He explains where you need to focus attention and effort to help your product or site live up to the organization's expectations.
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- How to Design Flash Pages for Google
- Mar 10, 2006
- Google is now indexing Flash content! James Gonzalez tells you how to determine which Flash content Google is actually indexing and how to optimize this content to achieve better rankings in Google's search results.
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- Let Visio Map Your Web Site for You
- Mar 10, 2006
- Do you need a visual map of the pages on your Web site? Laurie Rowell explains how you can use Visio 2003 to create it in minutes.
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- What Are CSS Sprites?
- Mar 3, 2006
- If you're familiar with Web design concepts, you already know the basics of using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS sprites allow you to create a single file that contains all the images laid out in a grid, requiring only a single image and only a single server call. Jason Cranford Teague shows you how to tame your Web site graphics using CSS sprites to consolidate images into a single file.
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- Designing the Obvious, Part 1: The Key to Great Web and Software Design
- Feb 24, 2006
- Unless you have endless free time to waste, at some point you'll get fed up with a site or application that seems intent on frustrating the user. Robert Hoekman, Jr. posits that it's not the designer's intention to aggravate your life; it's just a failure to define and then design "the obvious": what the user will need, presented in the way the user will need it. In this series, he explains how to design sites and software that work well for the user precisely because they're designed to be obvious.
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- RapidWeaver: Rapid Web Site Design for Everyone from Preteens to Pros
- Feb 24, 2006
- Need a site for your business or a blog for your rants? Bryan Hoff shows you how RapidWeaver makes Web site creation fast, painless, and fun! It's powerful enough for professionals, yet easy enough for kids to use, too.
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- How To Handle AJAX Responses
- Feb 10, 2006
- User interaction drives Web sites. It's essential to understand how to handle the responses, especially with new forms of interaction such as AJAX. Kris Hadlock covers the essentials of the AJAX request-and-response process that you need to know to be ready for user interaction.
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- Microsoft TrueSkill and the Art of Gaming Statistics
- Feb 10, 2006
- Microsoft's new TrueSkill system attempts to bring some order to the chaos of proprietary online game ranking systems. Tim Stevens takes a look at its offering to see just how it ranks against the competition.
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- New Web Tools for Writers
- Feb 10, 2006
- New web-based processors are popping up everywhere. Do they work as well as Microsoft Word? What do you get? What's missing? Laurie Rowell takes a look.
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- JavaScript Usage in the GoLive Environment
- Feb 3, 2006
- This chapter discusses JavaScript and ECMAScript/ExtendScript concepts and usage in GoLive. Topics covered include JavaScript objects in the GoLive environment, the scope of variables and functions, and delays and timeouts.
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- How To Use AJAX Patterns
- Jan 27, 2006
- Kris Hadlock explains how to use design patterns for AJAX development to keep your applications scalable, reusable, and efficient.
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- How to Build Applications in Dreamweaver
- Jan 20, 2006
- Whether you're totally new to Dreamweaver or just creating dynamic Web applications with the program, this chapter will help you find your bearings. The first part explores the Dreamweaver workspace with an emphasis on its application-building capabilities. The rest of the chapter deals specifically with the basics of Web application tools that are standard in Dreamweaver. Everything from applying server behaviors to working in Live Data view is described.
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- Real World Tips For Using Illustrator's Objects, Groups, and Layers
- Jan 20, 2006
- Just as there are benefits to keeping an orderly desk, there are advantages to using groups and layers for adding structure to your files. In Adobe Illustrator CS2, groups and layers not only offer a convenient way to manage objects in a file (as they did in earlier versions of Illustrator), but now they can also control the appearance of your file. Find out more in this informative chapter by Mordy Golding.
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- How to Use Text in Flash 8
- Jan 13, 2006
- Text is an important part of most Web sites, particularly informational or commercial sites. In this lesson, you'll add and format the properties of many text fields in Flash. You'll learn how to add a Filter effect to a static text field. You'll also spell check the entire document before you finish the lesson. This lesson gives you a foundation in the way text and fonts work and a good basis for using increasingly complex methods of working with text and components.
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- Customize Dreamweaver Using Extensions
- Jan 6, 2006
- As a Web developer, you might want to write an extension for Dreamweaver to handle a commonly used, and therefore repetitive, task. Or, you might have a unique requirement that you can satisfy only by writing an extension for the specific situation. In both cases, Dreamweaver provides an extensive set of tools that you can use to add to or to customize its functionality. This sample chapter discusses a number of ways you can extend Dreamweaver to suit your Web development needs.
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