Conclusion

Components free you from concern with how you are going to implement the advanced functionality for a project. Furthermore, using components allows you to keep your projects from getting out of hand. These in turn free you up to do things like focus more on generating effective designs, creating compelling content, and maybe even meeting your deadlines with time to spare (cue laugh track).

While we will be looking at how to create components later, in Chapters 10 and 11, the majority of this book is about how to use components. We go step-by-step through the process of using many different types of components. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced Flash user, learning how to grab the power of components can be very worthwhile. If there is a component available that performs the functionality you need, then-as the saying goes- there's usually no point in reinventing the wheel.

In the next chapter, we will look at the basics of using components. While components have some similarities to plug-ins or macros, components have their own set of characteristics-some of them are even a bit on the quirky side. However, a little hands-on experience with components will help you to see their incredible potential.