Chapter 1. Getting Around Flash
As mentioned in this book's introduction, Flash performs several feats of audiovisual magic. You use it to create animations, to display video on a website, to create handheld apps, or to build a complete web-based application. So it's not surprising that the Flash workspace is crammed full of tools, panels, and windows (Figure 1-1). The Flash Pro workspace is more complicated and cluttered than the average program. But don't be intimidated—you don't have to conquer these tools all at once. This chapter introduces you to Flash's main work areas and the toolbars and panels you'll use most often, so you can start creating Flash projects right away. You'll get to experiment with Flash's stage and timeline and see how Flash lets you animate graphics, making them move along a path and change shape.
Tip
To get further acquainted with Flash, you can check out the built-in help text by selecting Help→Flash Help. Once the help panel opens, click Workspace (on the left), and then click "Flash workflow and workspace." You can read more about Flash's help system in Appendix A.
Starting Flash
You start Flash just as you would any other program—which means you can do it in a few different ways, depending on whether you have a PC or a Mac. Installing the program puts Flash CS5 and its related files in the folder with your other programs, and you can start it by clicking its icon. Here's where it's usually installed:
Windows. Go to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS5\Flash.exe ...
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