How to Use This Book

This book is designed to be used in two ways:

To prepare for your exam, you should start at the beginning of the book and systematically work your way through it. The book flow, layout, and form-factor have all been designed to make reviewing content as pleasant an experience as possible. The content has been designed to be highly readable and digestible in small, bite- size chunks so that it will feel more like reading than studying .
After you have reviewed all the content, reread the topics that you feel you need extra help brushing up on. Topics are all covered in highly focused and very manageable chapters so that you can easily drill down to the exact content you need. Extensive cross-referencing lets you read up on related topics as needed.

After the exam, you'll find that the style and design of this study guide make it an invaluable desktop reference tool as well.

The book is divided into four parts , each containing a set of highly focused chapters. Each chapter concludes with a summary and sample questions (the answers are in Appendix A).

Part I: Flash MX Basic Requirements: Project Architecture, Page and Interface Layout

This part covers the basics of using the Flash environment, page and interface layout, and Flash architecture. It includes chapters on the following topics:

Page and interface layout
Flash architecture

Part II: Effective Visual Design and Scripting

This part covers the tasks and technologies involved in building Flash documents, including type, color , and the tools used to create effective Flash documents. Chapters look at the following topics:

Flash building blocks
Using type
Using color
Tools

Part III: Effective Motion Design and ActionScripting

This part covers the features built into Flash to create animation and interactivity. It includes chapters on the following topics:

Buttons
Motion Design
Introduction to ActionScript
Events
Variables
Functions
Objects
Methods

Part IV: Effective Optimization and Output Design

This part covers sound and the testing, deployment, and maintenance of Flash documents. The section includes chapters on the following topics:

Sound
File size optimization
Profiling

Conventions Used in This Book

The people at Peachpit Press have spent many years developing and publishing computer books designed for ease of use and containing the most up-to-date information available. With that experience, we've learned what features help you the most. Look for these features throughout the book to help enhance your learning experience and get the most out of Flash MX:

Screen messages, code listings, and command samples appear in monospace type.
URLs used to identify pages on the Web and values for Flash attributes also appear in monospace type.
Terms that are defined in the text appear in italics . Italics are sometimes used for emphasis, too.

TIP

Tips give you advice on quick or overlooked procedures, including shortcuts.

NOTE

Notes present useful or interesting information that isn't necessarily essential to the current discussion, but that might augment your understanding with background material or advice relating to the topic.

CAUTION

Cautions warn you about potential problems that a procedure might cause, unexpected results, or mistakes that could prove costly.

Cross-references are designed to point you to other locations in this book that will provide supplemental or supporting information.

The Web Site

To further assist you in preparing for the exam, this book has an accompanying Web site. The site contains the following:

Any updated exam information
Links to other exam-related sites
Any book corrections or errata
A sample interactive test that you can use to help gauge your own exam readiness

The Web site can be found at www.forta.com/books/0321126955.

Top