What Is Flash?


Flash is a powerful tool for creating anything from simple animations to interactive applications and simulations. It is also well suited for creating user interfaces for external data and streaming media. Its support for creative expression and practical programming, with a strong developer base, makes Flash an appealing tool to work with. The Flash authoring environment is the program in which you work to create Flash projects. You can use it to create several file types. The first is an editable document that contains your graphics and code for Flash. You create a Flash document by choosing File, Save from the menu bar. When you first save the file, giving it a name avoids the default filename of untitled-#. The .fla suffix is automatically added to the filename of the new document. You should keep this document in case you need it at a later time, as you most assuredly will. It's known as a source file, and is pronounced "eff el ay" or sometimes as "flah."

The published, compressed, ready-for-the-Web document that you produce from your .fla document is called a .swf file (pronounced "swiff"). This document wraps the contents of your Flash document into a single package that can be played either by a standalone Flash player or by any browser that has the Flash Player plug-in installed. Create it from the saved .fla file by choosing File, Publish Settings to open the Publish Settings dialog box, choosing .swf from the Format tab, and then clicking the Publish button. The .swf is automatically published to the same directory as the .fla file.

For a more advanced project, you might use an ActionScript document (.as), which is an external (to the .fla document) text file that holds a set of ActionScript code that can be included for use in the final published product. An .as document is also known as a source file. Both .fla and .as files are known as source files because they can be edited and are not part of the published result.

Before you dive into the details of everything Flash has to offer, you need to know a few more common terms that you will see throughout this section of the book. When a Flash file is being used in the authoring environment, it's called author-time. When the published .swf file is running in a player, it is called run-time. Whenever I discuss file size or the importance of creating small files, I'm always discussing the .swf file and not the .fla document. The .swf is the final compressed file that will actually be downloaded and processed on the end user's computer.

Now that you understand the basic areas of the program, it's time to start exploring the many ways Flash can help you turn out a powerful and dazzling product.



Special Edition Using Macromedia Studio 8
Special Edition Using Macromedia Studio 8
ISBN: 0789733854
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 337

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net