Flash Books - Page 12

Flash XML Applications: Use AS2 and AS3 to Create Photo Galleries, Menus, and Databases

Joachim Bernhard Schnier

Amazon Price: $30.36 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Focal Press Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $23.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Languages & Tools -> XML

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Add seamless, interactive, user-controlled delivery to your Flash applications. This book builds upon your understanding of basic ActionScript (AS) syntax with the foundational skills that you need to use XML in Flash applications and AS2 or AS3 to migrate your existing applications.

Beginning with an introduction to XML, XML parsing methods, and a short introduction to AS2 you learn how to create a universal XML load/onload Class as well as a universal XHTML parser. Then you learn how to use Components using XML as the data source, including the menu, menubar, datagrid and tree component. Finally, a tutorial project-the design and development of a Real Estate Web site that contains an XML search engine-pulls it all together with hands-on experience.

All the applications use XML as the data source and are written as class files. Select parts of the Real Estate Web site are redeveloped in AS3 for purposes of illustration. The new XML class is presented and specific code examples demonstrate techniques to apply methods and use properties. Particular attention is paid to the differences between AS2 and AS3 and how to effectively transition from one AS version to the other.

The companion CD contains code for all of the properties and methods of the AS2, AS3, and XML class examples. Components for the Real Estate Web site project are also provided.

* Build on basic ActionScript syntax skills
* Add seamless, interactive, user-controlled delivery

Advergaming Developer's Guide: Using Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Macromedia Director MX (Game Development Series)

Rod Afshar, Cliff Jones, Duke Banerjee

Amazon Price: $32.97 List Price: $49.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Charles River Media Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $7.42

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Job Hunting & Careers -> Guides
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Marketing & Sales -> Advertising

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Learn what Advergames are, how to use them, and how to create your own! Welcome to the world of Advergaming! Interactive games are one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment and theyíre on track to exceed movie ticket sales. Using them as an advertising tool, however, is a relatively new idea that is catching on fast. Advergames are created not only to entertain, but to sell a product, brand, or company. More and more companies are using these free, brand-centric games to supplement, and even replace, traditional branding methods. If you are a Web designer, graphic designer, or game developer, youíll want to learn more about Advergames. They're showing up everywhere, on the Web, cell phones, CD-ROMs, even embedded in email. The Advergaming Developer's Guide teaches designers and game developers the ins-and-outs of this innovative new form of advertising. It shows you how to create a variety of Advergames from the ground up, even if you have no prior game development experience. The book begins with a detailed overview of Advergaming, branding, gameplay, and the two main creation tools, Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Director MX. From there youíll learn how to conceptualize, develop, launch, and track the success of your Advergame. In the last part of the book, you'll create your own games, including a linking, matching, puzzle, memory, pinball, makeover, arcade, and whack-the-mole type game. And finally, youíll learn about the business realities of Advergames through case studies with leading companies, including Blackdot, YaYa Media, Inc., and AGENCY.COM. This is the one resource you'll need to get started with Advergames, whether youíre a Flash/Director developer already involved in advertising and game creation, a game developer looking to expand your development channels, or a Web designer looking for an innovative new tool.

The Hidden Power of Flash Components

J. Scott Hamlin, Jared Tarbell, Brandon Williams

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sybex Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $3.89

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Home Computing -> Internet -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

Flash Components: The Key to Faster Development and Sophisticated Functionality

You don't have to be a programmer to achieve amazing effects with the hundreds of Flash components available from Macromedia and various third parties. Step by step, The Hidden Power of Flash Components shows you how--and the enclosed CD provides a library of powerful components ready for you to practice with, build upon, and use in your own projects.

For those of you with just a little programming experience, this book also demonstrates how to build your own components to use and share with other developers. Whatever your aims, and regardless of your experience, soon all the power of this incredible Flash feature will be within your reach. Coverage includes:

• Determining the most effective ways to leverage components
• Avoiding component pitfalls
• Customizing external resources for use with components
• Building your own components
• Building a custom UI, Live Preview, and MXP file for a component
• Customizing component artwork
• Using components to build games
• Understanding the difference between components and SmartClips
• Troubleshooting component construction and application
• Using multiple components to create more complex effects

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Adobe Flash CS3 Professional: Video Training Book

Rich Shupe

Amazon Price: $36.49 List Price: $49.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $23.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Software -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Benefit from the best of both mediums--video-based training and a printed guide! Each Lynda.com Video Training Book offers hours of instructor-led video instruction, complete with a step-by-step, printed book to guide readers through each tutorial. The video tutorials let readers learn at their own pace, while the book offers a complete reference, helping readers identify the video tutorials they want to watch (timecodes are printed in the book), giving them the exercise files they need, and highlighting important keyboard shortcuts, tips, notes, and practical advice.

In Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Training Book, readers learn how to use the full set of drawing, animation, and interactive tools in Flash CS3. They’ll learn to integrate type, graphics, audio, and video, as well to use slide shows, pop-up menus, and scrolling text. Finally, readers will learn how to use the new powerful integration features with Photoshop and Illustrator and discover new Shape Primitives (expanding your ability to use and manipulate shapes), a new Pen tool that functions like that found in Illustrator, a new ability to convert animations to ActionScript 3, a brand new unified interface matching that of others in the Creative Suite, and much more.

This new series offers creative professionals the tools they need to get up to speed quickly and affordably—a Video Training Book is a great alternative to a weekend crash course! The Video Training Book series features the proven teaching methods of lynda.com and of authors and industry experts, such as Deke McClelland, Chris Orwig, Garrick Chow, and David Blatner, who make learning an engaging experience, bringing clarity to new or difficult concepts and software programs.

Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Training from the Source

Jen deHaan

Amazon Price: $44.99 List Price: $44.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Macromedia Press Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $0.72

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Software -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you¿re ready to begin integrating video, text, audio, and graphics into dynamic, interactive Web sites using Macromedia¿s Flash MX 2004, this is the place to start. As the official Macromedia guide to its motion-graphics and animation powerhouse, this volume uses a series of hands-on projects to provide a firm foundation in every aspect of Flash MX 2004 use: from graphics, animation, video, and text to ActionScript fundamentals and dynamic data integration. Simple step-by-step instructions peppered with plenty of visuals and a CD that includes lesson files and a trial version of Flash MX 2004 leave you with a solid understanding of basic Flash development and design. In the process you¿ll learn about all that¿s new in Flash MX 2004¿from its redesigned interface to its improved scripting language, better text tools, native support for PDF and EPS formats, first-ever third-party extensions, and more. You¿ll even learn how to build movies that integrate with dynamic data, stream video, and include forms that ask for user input.

Search Engine Optimization for Flash: Best practices for using Flash on the web

Todd Perkins

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Not yet published By: Adobe Dev Library

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Languages & Tools -> General

Editorial Review:

Some people think that Flash-based websites and Rich Internet Applications won't show up in a web search, simply because search engines can't index SWF files. Search Engine Optimization for Flash dispels that myth by demonstrating precisely what you can do to make your site fully searchable. This breakthrough book offers you a series of best practices for using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, for building sites with Flash that will stand tall in search rankings.

You'll learn how search engines work, what constitutes a search-engine-optimized (SEO) site, and what to watch out for in the way of SEO pitfalls. With this concise book, you will:

• Learn about searchable content, and understand the importance of metadata, keywords, and links
• Place HTML content in your Flash applications
• Create an SEO website by connecting Flash to JavaScript and CSS
• Work effectively with SWFObject by understanding its capabilities and limitations
• Realize the advantages of using the Adobe Flex framework for SEO

The first -- and only -- book that explains how to optimize Flash content for search engines, Search Engine Optimization for Flash is an invaluable resource if you develop with Flash and want to be sure your audience can easily find your site.

Creative Suite 3 Integration: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash Pro, Acrobat, Bridge and Version Cue

Keith Martin

Amazon Price: $33.75 List Price: $44.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Focal Press Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $21.82

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Equipment
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Learn how to integrate the new versions and features of all design programs within Creative Suite 3 with this definitive guide. Improve your productively by achieving professional results faster and more collaboratively. Simplify both your creative and production tasks as you move your creative elements freely between applications while maintaining editing capability - all in one unified design environment.

With this book, you get a unique combination with...

* Focus on integration so that you can work most efficiently with the Suite's packages together as part of your overall design workflow, saving valuable time
* Colorful, practical tutorials that use multiple programs for real-life projects
* Look-up reference and troubleshooting organization for cross-program issues - even if you use just 2 or 3 of the CS programs
* Coverage from basics for readers who are just beginning with the Suite through in-depth, comprehensive info for cross program mastery

From print, Web, or multimedia projects to PDFs, you get the most hands-on approach to cross-Suite issues. Exciting real-world projects include building entire websites and multi-chapter books. Produce effective and efficient PDFs for approval and print or screen using Acrobat with content from Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Whether you work with design, editorial, advertising, or production, you will not find this information anywhere else!

Praise from Ginna Baldassarre, Sr. Product Manager, Creative Suite, Adobe Systems Inc.

"After reading this book, I was so happy to see that we have a great resource/tool that really highlights the strides Adobe has taken to really integrate these products. Keith's book is so easy to follow and really targets the benefits and efficiencies gained by having all the creative tools work seamlessly. Keith really makes you feel like you are in his studio with him, watching him work, and learning about all the different products. It's almost a magical experience.

After reading this book, I know that you will continue to fall in love with all the new features the CS3 applications have to offer..and perhaps learn some new things that you didn't know! I know I did."

* A unique guide showing you how to use the 7 packages within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 together and efficiently as part of your overall workflow, saving you valuable time
* Produce professional results with highly illustrated, practical how-to tutorials
* Ideal to use as a look-up reference and trouble shooting manual for cross-program issues - even if you own just 2 or 3 of the CS programs
* Bonus CD packed with project files so you can work right alongside the examples in the book; sample images, partially completed layouts and graphics from the projects; and links to useful online resources

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Advanced for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide

Russell Chun, Joe Garraffo

Amazon Price: $29.99 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $0.04

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> Desktop Publishing
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> Graphics, Animation & Illustration
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Apple -> Web Publishing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As a professional Flash developer, nobody knows more about Flash MX 2004 than you or at least they better not! To make sure they don't, you need this task-based guide. By applying the popular Visual QuickStart format--easy, step-by-step instructions and loads of visual aids--to more complex topics, this guide offers the quickest, easiest way to get up to speed on the advanced Flash features that can make or break a project. You'll find straight-ahead, concise explanations of all the animation, navigation, and interactivity techniques you'll need to master to create dynamic Web sites with Flash. You'll also find complete coverage of all that's new in Flash MX 2004: essential ActionScript 2.0 commands and standards, expanded support for rich media, a streamlined user interface, and more. By emphasizing methodology and problem solving over features inventories and long, techie discussions, this guide teaches Flash the way you use it--dynamically, interactively, and to get a job done!

ActionScript : The Definitive Guide

Colin Moock

List Price: $39.95 By: O'Reilly Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $0.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Home Computing -> Internet -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Given its ability to deliver high-impact experiences even over low-bandwidth connections, Flash has become the de facto standard for hundreds of thousands of multimedia web developers worldwide.

Flash 5 now includes a new full-fledged programming language called "ActionScript" for controlling animation and multimedia. It's a quantum leap from the bare-bones "Actions" supported in Flash 4, andActionScript: The Definitive Guide is the first book dedicated entirely to documenting and demonstrating this new language.

ActionScript includes all fundamental programming constructs (variables, loops, conditionals, functions, etc.), and is inextricably fused with Flash's authoring behaviors and animation timelines. Because ActionScript is based heavily on the ECMAScript Language Specification (ECMA-262) and is syntactically nearly identical to JavaScript, Macromedia expects thousands of existing JavaScript programmers to migrate to ActionScript.

This book is divided into three sections.

• "ActionScript Fundamentals" introduces both programmers and non-programmers to the new language by first describing fundamental programming concepts and then delineating in detail the components, syntax, and usage of ActionScript.
• "Applied ActionScript Code Depot" shows you how to use common applications, such as processing online forms.
• "Language Reference" is a concise and detailed reference that makes all ActionScript globals, properties, and objects, including extensive implementation samples, easy to find quickly.

Code samples are also available from the "Code Depot" on theauthor's web site devoted to Flash developers.

Topics covered in this book include:

• Step-by-step tutorials of the most common ActionScript behaviors
• Object-oriented programming in Flash
• Intelligent interface development
• Server communication
• Dynamic content generation
• Password protection
• String handling
• Message boards
• Basic physics
• Games

ActionScript: The Definitive Guide is structured so both programmers and non-programmers can learn how to use ActionScript. This book will take you well beyond simple Flash animations so you can create your own enhanced Flash-driven sites.

Flash Web Design

Hillman Curtis

List Price: $45.00 By: New Riders Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Animation
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Graphic Design -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 112 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Best Flash Book To Date 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

What I believe we're witnessing here in Hillman Curtis is the creativity of the new age artist. This is the new Picasso or new Monet. Well, that's my opinion. :)

What I enjoyed most about this book was not only the step-by-step "how-tos" but also the philosophies, the reasons behind placing an image here or making something move in this way as opposed to that. Hillman Curtis describes making an impact, making someone stop typing that message on AOL IM and sitting up to watch the spot you create (hard to explain without giving too much away - get the book!).

I also enjoyed the step-by-step process of creating storyboards for clients, of business tactics and "getting a client."

Overall a great read and highly recommended.

Slightly overrated. 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Don't fall for the hype on this one. I love Hillman, and find him to be inspirational, but the book is less than it has been made to seem.

Editorial Review:

Presents deconstructions of successful, real-world Flash animations and interfaces, chosen because they reveal most clearly the techniques crucial to being a successful motion graphics designer. Softcover.