Macromedia® Flash® MX 2004 Certified Designer Study Guide

Book description

With support for CSS, predefined Behaviors, Timeline effects, and more, Flash MX 2004 is a must-have program for your Web design toolbox. Equally essential is the Macromedia certification that proves to your clients that you have the skills to use it effectively! This comprehensive yet easily digestible study guide represents the surest route to getting that seal of approval! Designed specifically to simplify preparation for Macromedia's certification exam (and organized like the exam itself), this volume offers everything intermediate and advanced Flash designers need to know to prove their Flash chops. You'll learn how to identify requirements as well as how to design, construct, and optimize Flash animations with maximum efficiency. Best of all, this essential information is conveyed in clear, direct language complimented by well-explained code examples, loads of sample questions, and plenty of graphics. Also included are extensive notes, tips, and cautions, and the companion Web site provides tips, reading material, and sample tests to help you gauge your exam readiness.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. Introduction
    1. What Is the Certified Flash Designer Exam?
    2. The Macromedia Certified Professional Program
    3. Reasons to Get Certified
    4. About the Exam
      1. How You'll Take the Exam
      2. What You'll Be Tested On
      3. Preparing for the Exam
      4. Where to Take the Exam
      5. How Much It Costs
    5. How to Use This Book
      1. Contents
        1. Part 1: The Basics of Flash MX 2004
        2. Part 2: Artwork, Text, and Organization
        3. Part 3: Symbols in Depth
        4. Part 4: Animation
        5. Part 5: Sound and Video
        6. Part 6: ActionScript and Behaviors
        7. Part 7: Optimization and Publishing
      2. Conventions Used in This Book
      3. The Web Site
    6. Where to Go From Here
  4. 1. The Basics of Flash MX 2004
    1. 1. Considerations
      1. Flash Design Considerations
      2. Making a Site Map
      3. Determining Site Dimensions
      4. Navigational Conventions
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
    2. 2. Content and Structure
      1. Static Content
      2. Dynamic Content
      3. Structuring Your Application
      4. Summary
      5. Sample Questions
    3. 3. The Interface
      1. The Start Screen
      2. Panels and Menus
      3. The Property Inspector
      4. The Timeline
      5. The Layer Pane
      6. The Stage
      7. The Edit Bar
      8. The Flash Player
      9. Summary
      10. Sample Questions
    4. 4. The Structure of Flash MX 2004
      1. Basic Documents
      2. Slide Presentations
      3. Form Applications
      4. Templates
      5. Your Own Template
      6. Symbols
      7. Components
      8. Scenes
      9. Publish Settings
      10. Summary
      11. Sample Questions
    5. 5. Flash MX 2004 Tools
      1. Selection Tools
      2. Drawing Tools
      3. Transform Tools
      4. Other Tools
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
    6. 6. Panels
      1. Design Panels
        1. The Align Panel
        2. The Color Mixer Panel
        3. The Color Swatches Panel
        4. The Info Panel
        5. The Scene Panel
        6. The Transform Panel
      2. Development Panels
        1. The Actions Panel
        2. The Behaviors Panel
        3. The Components Panel
        4. The Component Inspector Panel
        5. The Debugger Panel
        6. The Output Panel
        7. The Web Services Panel
      3. Other Panels
        1. The Accessibility Panel
        2. The History Panel
        3. The Movie Explorer Panel
        4. The Strings Panel
        5. Common Libraries
      4. Summary
      5. Sample Questions
    7. 7. The Flash Player
      1. Flash Player Settings
      2. Printing
      3. Quality
      4. Magnification and Playback
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
  5. 2. Artwork, Text, and Organization
    1. 8. Laying Out Your Project
      1. Creating a Template
      2. Rulers
      3. Using Guides
      4. Using Guide Layers
      5. Using and Editing the Grid
      6. Summary
      7. Sample Questions
    2. 9. Organizational Tools and Where to Find Them
      1. The Library
      2. Shared Libraries and Symbols
      3. The Layer Pane in Brief
      4. The Timeline in Brief
      5. The Movie Explorer
      6. The Info Panel
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
    3. 10. Layers and the Timeline
      1. Adding and Removing Layers
      2. Organizing Layers
      3. Layer Types
      4. The Timeline
      5. The Playhead
      6. Frames and Keyframes
      7. Nested Timelines
      8. Summary
      9. Sample Questions
    4. 11. Bitmap and Vector Artwork
      1. Bitmap Art
      2. Vector Artwork
      3. Using Trace Bitmap
      4. Roundtrip Editing
      5. Swapping Bitmaps
      6. Runtime JPGs
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
    5. 12. Using Artwork Created Elsewhere
      1. What Can Be Imported?
      2. Import Options
      3. Importing and Editing Bitmap Artwork
      4. Importing and Editing Vector Artwork
      5. Importing Fireworks PNGs
      6. Importing PDF and EPS Files
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
    6. 13. Working with Vector Art
      1. Drawing in Flash
      2. Manipulating Your Graphics
      3. Using the Color Mixer
      4. Using the Fill Transform Tool
      5. Making Your Own Color Swatches
      6. Summary
      7. Sample Questions
    7. 14. Using Text
      1. The Different Types of Text
      2. Adding Static Text
      3. Breaking Text Apart
      4. Using Input Text
      5. Using Dynamic Text
      6. Text Components
        1. TextArea
        2. TextInput
        3. Label
      7. Font Issues
      8. Summary
      9. Sample Questions
    8. 15. Breaking Up a Project
      1. Breaking a Project into Multiple SWFs
      2. Loading an SWF into a Movie Clip
      3. Loading an SWF into Levels
      4. Preloaders
      5. Runtime Sharing
      6. Summary
      7. Sample Questions
  6. 3. Symbols in Depth
    1. 16. Graphic and Font Symbols
      1. Graphic Symbols Explained
      2. Creating a Graphic Symbol
      3. Using a Graphic Symbol
      4. Editing a Graphic Symbol
      5. Graphic Symbol Capabilities and Limitations
      6. The Font Symbol
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
    2. 17. Button Symbols
      1. Button Symbols Explained
      2. Creating Buttons
      3. Creating More Complex Buttons
      4. ActionScript and Buttons
        1. The Behaviors Panel
        2. ActionScript
      5. Button Best Practices
      6. Summary
      7. Sample Questions
    3. 18. The Movie Clip Symbol
      1. Movie Clips Symbols Explained
      2. Creating a Movie Clip
      3. Movie Clip Timelines
      4. Movie Clip Properties
      5. Movie Clip Methods
      6. Movie Clip Events
      7. ActionScript and the Movie Clip
        1. From the Behaviors Panel
        2. Adding Actions from the Actions Panel
      8. Summary
      9. Sample Questions
    4. 19. Components
      1. Component Types
      2. Changing Component Parameters
      3. Adding Data to Components
      4. Changing Component Appearance
      5. Handling Events on Components
      6. Summary
      7. Sample Questions
  7. 4. Animation
    1. 20. Animation Basics
      1. The Three Animation Types
      2. Necessary Items
      3. Onion Skinning
      4. Summary
      5. Sample Questions
    2. 21. Motion Tweening
      1. What Can Be Motion Tweened?
      2. Setting Up
      3. Turning On the Tween
      4. Tween Settings
      5. Motion Guides
      6. Mask Effects
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
    3. 22. Shape Tweening
      1. What Can Be Shape Tweened?
      2. Setting Up
      3. Shape Tween Settings
      4. Shape Hints
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
    4. 23. Animating with ActionScript
      1. What Can Be Animated with ActionScript?
      2. Using the onEnterFrame Event
      3. Using the setInterval Event
      4. Summary
      5. Sample Questions
  8. 5. Sound and Video
    1. 24. Sound
      1. Adding Sound to Your Application
      2. Sound Settings
      3. Sound Events
      4. The Sound Object
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
    2. 25. Video
      1. Importing Video
      2. Adding Video to the Timeline
      3. Using Media Components
      4. Embedded Video Behaviors
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
  9. 6. ActionScript and Behaviors
    1. 26. The Behaviors Panel
      1. Behaviors
      2. Behavior Categories
      3. Adding and Removing Behaviors
      4. Summary
      5. Sample Questions
    2. 27. The Actions Panel
      1. How the Panel is Organized
      2. Using Panel Features
      3. Using the Panel to Get Reference Information
      4. Using the Panel to Set Preferences
      5. Summary
      6. Sample Questions
    3. 28. The Basics of ActionScript
      1. Object-Oriented Programming
      2. Basic ActionScript Syntax
      3. Variables
      4. Functions
      5. Attaching ActionScript to a Timeline
      6. Adding ActionScript to an Object
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
  10. 7. Optimization and Publishing
    1. 29. Optimizing Your Flash Application
      1. The Bandwidth Profiler
      2. Font Considerations
      3. Sound Considerations
      4. Video Considerations
      5. Bitmap Images
      6. Vector Shapes
      7. Using Multiple SWFs
      8. Using Shared Resources
      9. Summary
      10. Sample Questions
    2. 30. Publishing
      1. Publish Settings
      2. Flash Considerations
      3. HTML Considerations
      4. HTML Code
      5. Flash Player Detection
      6. Publish Profiles
      7. Summary
      8. Sample Questions
  11. 8. Appendix
    1. A. Answers
      1. Chapter 1
      2. Chapter 2
      3. Chapter 3
      4. Chapter 4
      5. Chapter 5
      6. Chapter 6
      7. Chapter 7
      8. Chapter 8
      9. Chapter 9
      10. Chapter 10
      11. Chapter 11
      12. Chapter 12
      13. Chapter 13
      14. Chapter 14
      15. Chapter 15
      16. Chapter 16
      17. Chapter 17
      18. Chapter 18
      19. Chapter 19
      20. Chapter 20
      21. Chapter 21
      22. Chapter 22
      23. Chapter 23
      24. Chapter 24
      25. Chapter 25
      26. Chapter 26
      27. Chapter 27
      28. Chapter 28
      29. Chapter 29
      30. Chapter 30

Product information

  • Title: Macromedia® Flash® MX 2004 Certified Designer Study Guide
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: October 2004
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321223661