Part II: Mastering the Flash Environment

Chapter List

Chapter 4: Interface Fundamentals

Chapter 5: Drawing in Flash

Chapter 6: Symbols, Instances, and The Library

Chapter 7: Applying Color

Chapter 8: Working with Text

Chapter 9: Modifying Graphics

Part Overview

When you're ready to jump in and get started on the road to efficient and painless production, this section will give you all the information you need to feel comfortable in the Flash authoring environment. Chapter 4 introduces you to the Flash workspace and gives you tips for customizing the UI. You will learn the difference between a window and a panel and discover some of the time-saving features that have been added to Flash 8. Chapter 5 is where you'll find coverage of all the Flash drawing and selection tools, including an explanation of the new Object Drawing mode. You'll also learn how to control snapping behavior and how to create and edit groups. In Chapter 6, you'll find out what makes Flash so much more powerful than simple vector graphics programs. Symbols and symbol instances are the basis for all optimized Flash projects and the Library gives you all the options you'll need to keep your project assets organized. Chapter 7 includes coverage of color issues specific to Web production and explains how to use the Color Swatches and Color Mixer panels to enhance your projects with custom colors, gradients, bitmap fills, and more. Chapter 8 guides you through the various options for creating and editing text in Flash, including Dynamic and Input text and vertical text and the new anti-alias settings. You will also learn how to control font display and find out how to create and use font symbols. Finally, in Chapter 9, you will be introduced to the more advanced tools for editing graphics and text in Flash, including the Free Transform and Gradient Transform tools.