Built around four main sections, we start out learning the basics by using the native painting and drawing tools, importing prepared material, and using Flash Libraries for reusing material. During these early chapters, readers are introduced to the tools, palettes, windows and features of Flash 5.

Screenshots appear on every page and each step and description is clear even to the novice. Some pages also feature sidebars offering tips, ideas and explanations of the task at hand. These are generally one paragraph or so, but often shed light on a difficult concept. After focusing on animation and different ways of animating objects, the book opens the doors to interactivity, where you start using interactive features, creating animated buttons and using Actions to create non-linear movies.

Although designed for the beginner, the book touches on some of the more advanced concepts of Flash in the last few chapters. Using Flash in a team environment, optimising a Flash site to get the most out of the medium, and exploring advanced animation concepts like anticipation, exaggeration and simulating depth are introduced, although none of these sections get too involved. It's more of a way to introduce the designer to what is possible, and suggest avenues for further study.

A favourite feature of the "Teach Yourself" books is the summary, Q&A and Workshop sections that are at the end of each hour (chapter). The summary reinforces everything that was covered, the Q&A section addresses about a half-dozen of the most commonly asked questions on the material, and the Workshop is generally a quiz or short assignment designed to make use of the features or techniques that were just learned. These chapter features make this an excellent course book.

Flash 5 offers the Web-based animator a large array of features, and Teach Yourself Flash 5 in 24 Hours is an excellent introduction to most of them. --Mike Caputo

Product Description

Sams Teach Yourself Macromedia Flash 5 in 24 Hours is specifically written for the new Flash user. Not a revision of a previous book, Phillip Kerman's book begins by covering the basics of Flash 5, including the use of the drawing tools, basic animation skills such as tweening, and putting together simple movies.In the second part, the book covers the more advanced techniques of Flash, including interface design, interactivity, collecting data, and delivering movies to the Internet. The final part of the book takes the reader further into the practical uses of the Flash medium, and includes chapters on developing animation skills, further uses of bitmap graphics, advanced delivery to the Web with preloaders, using Flash in the design of CD ROMs, and using Flash in conjunction with other applications.