Clear, step-by-step screen shots arranged in two-page lessons show you how to tackle more than 140 Flash CS3 Professional tasks. No long-winded explanations, just easy, visual directions for performing such necessary operations as creating objects, symbols, and instances; controlling playback with the Timeline; adding interactivity with buttons; organizing project assets with the Library; creating animation with tweens; and adding sound and video . Helpful sidebars offer practical tips and tricks, and it's all presented for the visual learner.
From the Back Cover
Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something - and skip the long-winded explanations? If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and you'll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 140 Flash CS3 Professional tasks. Each task-based spread includes easy, visual directions for performing necessary operations, including:
* Creating objects, symbols, and instances
* Controlling playback with the Timeline
* Adding interactivity with buttons
* Organizing project assets with the Library
* Creating animation with tweens
* Adding sound and video
* Helpful sidebars offer practical tips and tricks
* Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task
* Succinct explanations walk you through step by step
* Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules
Reviews
Summary: Perfect for Beginners
Rating: 5
I found this book to be the perfect tool for starting out trying to learn the Flash program. It's simple, easy to understand, and straight to the point. I needed some help in a hurry, and didn't have time to wade through a bunch of text. If you're visually inclined, then this book may appeal to you. I'm not ready to start writing my own scripts in Flash yet, but that's best suited for another book anyway (gotta crawl before you walk).
Summary: Learn Flash BASICS
Rating: 4
'Teach Yourself VISUALLY Flash CS3 Professional' is a good guide with full color throughout its ~350 pages spread over 15 chapters. If you are looking to do BASIC Flash development this is a great resource to have by your side. If you are looking to do advanced Flash development with ActionScript this book isn't for you. AS is barely discussed and is just glossed over. Good for the beginners, not for people looking to become experts. You have been warned.
Still not a bad book though!!
**** RECOMMENDED
Summary: Another deceptive title...
Rating: 2
Where to start? For openers, this line from the above product description is a lie:
"* Demonstrates what readers need to know about Flash to build animation sequences as well as more advanced features like using ActionScript to create an interactive Web experience"
Why? Allow me to spoil the ending for you by typing in the only reference to Actionscript in the book. Ready?
"Actions and Actionscript
Flash actions are built on a programming language called Actionscript. This scripting language allows you to write instructions that control a movie. If you know how to write scripting programming code, you can certainly write your own actions in Flash. However, you do not need to know a scripting language to create actions. Flash includes hundreds of prewritten scripts, or actions, you can assign."
I kid you not, that is the entire section on Actionscript, taken from the bottom left corner of page 238. To be fair to Amazon and the publisher (who puts out great books), the book itself does not boast Actionscript! It is a fabrication created by the person who put it here on Amazon-a place I trust less and less to describe books here accurately.
Sorry, but its the truth.
This book gets 2 stars because it is a good first glance at flash for someone who has never heard of, or seen, flash before.
