Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004 Kick Start

I found about half of this book useful and the other half was whatI already knew. (I've used Flash MX prior to Flash MX 2004 Pro). I skipped the first two chapters, the material on OOP was brief but what I needed, and the examples using OOP in a script, especially using the new external materials was just right to get started. This is not an ActionScript 2.0 book, but it's got a lot of AS in it. (Like the rest of the world, I'll get Collin Moock's book on ActionScript when it comes out.) This book is a good mix of AS 2.0 and new and old Flash features.I liked the materials on using CSS with text fields, PrintJob, ContextMenu and other new elements in Flash. The video and sound chapter is top notch, especially about using FLV files. I didn't care for Chapter 9 on using Screen Slides and Screen Forms. It was clear enough, but I just don't care for the part of the new Flash. Chapter 11 on formattng components was fine, but I wish the author had spent more time on component formatting. (I didn't bother with the materials on string formatting, the date class or math because I laready know it.) Chapter 12 was good as well, but too short for what I want.Obviously, I didn't read the book from cover to cover, but I've found myself picking it up again and again to look up info. I would not recommend this book for a rank beginner, but it's just right as a transition book into Flash MX 2004 Pro from Flash MX and maybe even Flash 5. It is well-written and clear, and the author has some fun in the side-bars but sticks with the facts in the body of the book.

First off, I like this book, but it's not a typical introduction to Flash. I think this book is for people (like me) who have asperations of doing professional level work. The "Kick Start" title gives you a hint of what you'll get. The first two chapters show how to get started in Flash for a novice. Then the "Kick" comes in Chapter 3 where the reader is introduced to ActionScript 2.0. Without ceremony, the author jumps right into OOP -- object oriented programming. I felt like I got pushed off a cliff! (Well, maybe led off a cliff.)After my initial shock, I realized the material on OOP made perfect sense, and the author doesn't get preachy about it. He next shows how to use the new Behaviors panel that does the programming for you. Then there's a good section on using the Actions Panel and a nice introduction to programming in AS 2.0 in general.In the very next chapter (4) then author gets back into more basic materials--namely the core elements of creating animations in Flash. At first this made no sense! How can you go from OOP to animations? As I worked through the chapter I realized that the author would bring in ActionScript 2.0 where needed, but for the most part it covered using tweens, masks, and the other tools Flash uses in creating animations. However, in so doing, the author brings up a number of great animation points, including how animals and humans position limbs in motion using examples from Muybridge's work. Other details for the step up to a professional level pepper this book. He even suggests other people's Flash books! (Mark Clarson's book on cartooning is one example.)The rest of the book is like this. The author looks at the features in Flash Pro (that's short for Flash MX Professional 2004!), discusses them, provides examples, and then combines the appropriate ActionScript 2.0 (or not) to explain and show how to get things done. Its focus is on accomplishing tasks. There are no big programs or applications--just little ones to see how to do stuff.The other topics covered include using movie clips, text fields, buttons, doing calculations, formatting components, video, sound, external data and objects as well as the Flash Pro components. The stuff on sound and video were my favorite. However, I was intrigued by the materials on server-side applications. (It included a PHP file, and I have no clue what that is, but it has something to do with Flash and databases I think.)Finally, this is one book where the asides are not only useful but fun. In one such aside entitled, "The Titanic Had it Coming," the author explains why big lumbering Flash movies should be avoided. Another entitled, "How to Drive Viewers Nuts Using Bad Banners" explains how to create banners that will not upset viewers. In these "Shop Talk" asides, the author does not mince words, but talks straight to the reader as a pro.The source code was both at the Sams site and the author's and I was able to download it so that I wouldn't have to re-type in the Acti