Movie metaphor for interface
Symbols (graphic, button, movie clip)
Libraries (of assets)
Instances (of symbols)
Key frames (ordinary and blank)
Tweening (motion and shape)
Path animation
Morphing (shape tween on a single layer)
Layers (order of visibility; mask layers)
ActionScript (see Resources below)
Using on websites
Publishing formats
Resources:
A Simple Animation (simpleanimation.fla) Scope in Flash ActionScript (scope.fla) Spinning Button (spinningbutton.fla):
Movie clips and buttons have their own timelines. This simple movie uses a movie clip of a spinning square in the second frame of the timeline of
a button to create a button that spins when the cursor hovers over it. Menu Navigation (menunavigation.fla):
This Flash movie demonstrates menu navigation, which is more flexible than the sequential norm of PowerPoint navigation. In this movie, a menu frame contains links to three other key frames each of which displays a movie clip. Those movie clips were made by copying and pasting the timelines of three of the other movies on this page into new symbols in this movie. Flash Examples (ActionScript 3.0 source file + supplemental files: importText.txt, LochNessMonster.flv, yoga.mp3):
This Flash movie offers a more extensive example of menu navigation and of the range of Flash functions. It is comprised of many example movie clips arranged within the larger movie. To explore how the larger movie works, see its timeline and ActionScript; to see how each of the example movie clips works, open them, copy the frames of their timelines and paste them into the timeline of a blank Flash document, and see its timeline and ActionScript. (Alternate Hollywood2 and Hollywood2.fla.)
Jitterless Button PowerPoints (jitterlessbuttonpowerpoints.fla):
This movie explains how to make buttons with shapes and nearby text that do not jitter on cursor hovering and how to use those buttons to navigate a sequence of display frames mimicking PowerPoint.
Flash for PowerPoint:
This self-explanatory example was written in an older version of Flash and is included primarily as a demonstration of the relationship between Flash and PowerPoint. This Flash movie could also be written in current ActionScript, as is demonstrated in the two PowerPoint movie clips in Flash Examples and in the Scroll 2 and Random 2 examples in the Arrays section. In and Out Clip Navigation (inandoutclipnav.fla):
In addition to menu navigation between keyframes on a single timeline, one can navigate between specific keyframes of the main timeline and specific keyframes in the timelines of movie clip instances on the stage. A concise method to accomplishing this is used and explained in inandoutclipnav.fla. A second method is added and explained in inandoutclipnav2.swf (inandoutclipnav2.fla). Button Hover Display (buttonhoverdisplay.fla):
This movie illustrates how a cursor's hovering over a button can display complex content (including an image or even a movie clip) and/or rewrite dynamic text. Both methods are explained in the ActionScript. Arrays (this links to a seperate page about using arrays):
In computing languages, an array is an element like a grocery list, a single container for many different data. Using arrays adds enormous power to programs like Flash, including the ability to use database-like functions. The Array link above leads to a page of Array discussion, demonstration Flash movies, and source code for those movies. The code includes extensive comments about learning and using ActionScript, including its Array object class. Sayings (sayings.fla):
This movie displays one of ten sayings from an array of sayings. It converts an input number character into a true number which is then used as the array index. The movie responds both to a Submit button and to the keyboard Enter key. Load Scroll Text (loadscrolltext.fla + loadscrolltext.txt):
This simple movie demonstrates loading text into a dynamic text field from an external
text file and making the result scrollable using the UIScrollBar component that ships with Flash CS4. Sliding Display (slidingdisplay.fla)
This movie uses the ScrollPane component to set up a sliding set of controls that display several movie clips in the same place on the stage. Among its adaptations would be a clickable, scrollable, historical timeline.
Timeline Tool (timelinetool.fla) offers a drag-only alternative to Sliding Display that does not employ a prepackaged component but does use a frame event to restrict drag. 3Alphabets (3alphabets.fla) offers another drag-only alternative, this one using a rectangle restriction on the draggable elements. 4Alphabets (4alphabets.fla) adds customizability to this design. 4AlphabetsV2 (4alphabetsV2.fla) adds further customizability and random hints generated from a set of arrays. Greetings (Greetings.fla):
This tutorial quickly demonstrates how to use several key Components that ship with Flash. Simple Drag and Drop (simpledraganddrop.fla):
This simple movie demonstrates basic drag and drop functionality, including keeping the dragged object visually on top and seeing objects as their natural shapes rather than as shapes within graphic rectangles. (Drag and Drop tutorials) Flash Resource Sites: Flash Help (online, including video tutorials under Using Flash >>...>> Resources) Adobe - Flash Developer Center (includes tutuorials, articles, sample applications) Adobe Design Center (tips, tutorials, etc. for Flash and related programs) Flashmymind tutorials (many tutorials) Flashkit (tutorials and more)
good-tutorials.com/flash (many tutorials)
PLUS Search the web for specific tutorials