Introduction

Macromedia Flash has progressed far beyond its humble roots. When Flash was initially released, the appeal was based on little more than the advantage of having resolution-independent interfaces and animations download quickly over the Internet. Early users were wowed merely by the ability to implement interactive buttons without the need to program.

In the context of the Web at the time, that was hot stuff, and it started something of a revolution. Now Flash is all but the de facto Internet multimedia standard. As such, people of just about every discipline, from former print graphic designers and HTML programmers to teachers and lawyers , are getting interested in using Flash to bring their visions of Internet paradise to life.

Many of those new to Flash are in for a rude awakening because in order to be competitive on the increasingly sophisticated realm of the Web, Flash files frequently require significant Flash programming (ActionScript). Although ActionScript's genesis was also relatively humble, the scripting language for Flash has evolved into something that is often beyond the means of many beginners to learn in a short amount of time.

Components are the answer to this dilemma. Components allow Flash users to implement functionality that is based on advanced ActionScript without the need to actually work with the ActionScript. While components are not always a comprehensive solution to every conceivable requirement, they can, at the very least, provide significant shortcuts toward the required ends.

Components can also be very useful for advanced Flash users as well as beginners. For advanced programmers, components offer the ability to implement necessary functionality quickly and easily—allowing the programmers to focus on something else.

Who Should Read This Book?

Anyone who is even half serious about working with Flash should learn to utilize components. This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to leverage components to work more effectively and efficiently . The book introduces you to using various types of components. It also shows you how to create components. If you are completely new to components, I recommend that you read the first few chapters before moving to more advanced chapters.

If you are familiar with components and you are interested in some of the specific components featured in this book, there is no reason why you cannot skip ahead to those chapters.

Each chapter features one or more components that you'll find on the accompanying CD. I recommend that you copy these files to your local computer so that you can save any changes and so that you can test any changes that you make.

How Is This Book Organized?

This book begins by assuming that you have little or no experience with components and moves you from relatively basic material through to more advanced topics:

Chapter 1 : What Are Components and Why Should I Care? This chapter explains the incredible value of using components and discusses common misconceptions concerning components. Specifically, you'll see that the components that come with Flash MX are not indicative of the real raw potential that components truly embody.

Chapter 2 : Using Components 101 We jump right into the basics of using components, especially the difference between the default interface for editing component parameters and a custom interface for editing clip parameters.

Chapter 3 : Using Components with Custom User Interfaces Find out how to customize components and how you work with components in general. In particular you will learn the advantages of working with components that utilize a custom user interface.

Chapter 4 : Button Components This chapter leads you through using and customizing various button components that come on the companion CD. You'll learn how to use a single component to create several different animated button effects, and also learn about components that utilize Live Preview and how to install an MXP file.

Chapter 5 : Interface Components See how to utilize components to create popular interface elements using the example of a drop-down menu. You will learn how to implement navigational elements with components that use goto commands, Load Movie, and function calls.

Chapter 6 : Animation Components You will see how to generate an array of animation effects. Explore the value of combining duplicates of components that have slightly different parameter settings—or even completely different art or audio resources—to enrich their effects.

Chapter 7 : Text Effect Components Chapter 7 looks at components that deal with text and text- related issues. In particular, this chapter shows you how to work with shared fonts and embedded fonts.

Chapter 8 : Video and Audio Components This chapter steps you through using and customizing various video and audio components provided on the book's CD. You will learn how to utilize the components to generate controls for video and audio assets, such as volume controls and fast-forward/rewind controls.

Chapter 9 : Game Components You'll learn how to utilize the components to generate Flash-based games such as a concentration game and a quiz game. The components featured in this chapter contain more parameters than those featured in previous chapters; they demonstrate that components can be used to create elements that go well beyond the scope of the components that ship with Flash MX.

Chapter 10 : Creating Components Move beyond just using, or customizing, premade components, and start building your own. We turn our attention to ActionScript, so you can understand all aspects of how a sample component is created.

Chapter 11 : Component Extras Using a component from Chapter 10, I show you how to generate a professional-looking custom user interface for your component. You will also learn how to utilize Live Preview and how to create MXP files.

Chapter 12 : Troubleshooting Components In this chapter you will learn how to deal with common troubleshooting issues related to building and testing components. You'll learn how to embed the user interface in your Flash MX components and how to make components compatible with Flash 5.

The "Hidden Power" Components

Component

One of the most important parts of this book are the Flash components provided free on the CD. Not only does the CD carry two dozen components that are explained in detail in the text, but it includes many more components from several Flash developers—over 75 components in all, any one of which will save you time and make your web pages more interesting and effective.

The components featured in this book are not just simple ones used to create radio buttons . They generate rich Flash content such as dynamic animations, navigational systems, and games. However, even components that would be considered "basic" can prove to be very valuable , so, I recommend that you start with the earlier chapters and read the book from beginning to end.

These components are meant for readers of this book only and should not be shared except as described in the CD README file. They must be installed into Flash to be accessible.

Practice Image Files

On the CD

All images, movies, sound files, or animations used as practice files in the book are provided on the CD so you can work along with the exercises. They are Mac- and Windows-compatible and in common formats supported by Flash. These files are for educational purposes only and should not be used elsewhere except as described in the CD README file.

Compatible with Windows and Macintosh

Just as Macromedia Flash works on both Macintosh and Windows operating systems, the book always gives shortcuts for both so that users on either platform can successfully use the book and techniques. The standard notation for shortcuts gives Mac and Windows keys at the same time: Mac/Windows + (whatever). For example, Command/Ctrl+O will open an image, that is, use Command+O on a Mac, and Ctrl+O on a PC. The following table of keyboard equivalents will cover almost any situation.

MACINTOSH	WINDOWS	EXAMPLE

Shift	Shift	Shift+X
Option	Alt	Option/Alt+X
Command	Ctrl	Command/Ctrl+X
Control+click	right-click	Control/right-click

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Hamlin S. J., Tarbell J., Williams B.

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Who Should Read This Book?

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