Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Getting Help from Flash

In the olden days of computing, software companies provided nice, thick paperback manuals with their programs. They weren't always well-written, and sometimes they were downright wrong, but at least you could read them on the bus or train on the way to work or school. These days companies, including Adobe, provide book-length help files either in the program, online, or both. If you want printed pages, crank up your printer and load up a ream or two of paper. The online descriptions are more up to date and accurate than they were in those old printed volumes, but they're often a bit cryptic, as if they were written by the software engineers who designed the programs. Funny, that.

On the positive side, electronic help documents let you use your computer's search capabilities to hunt down an answer. Flash stores some help files on your computer when you install the program. However, if your computer is connected to the Internet, Flash automatically shows you web-based help files, since they're likely to be the most current.

Flash Documentation: The Help Page

The help page lets you search the Flash and ActionScript documentation.

To use the help page:

1. Select Help→Flash Help or press F1.

   The help page shown in Figure A-3 appears. This first help page provides links to several different help resources:

   • ActionScript 3.0 Reference for the Adobe Flash Platform. This reference includes specific information about ActionScript classes and components.Use it when you're writing ...