This book is named 50 Fast Flash MX Techniques—it presents 50 relatively simple, yet
exciting Flash MX techniques that you can do quickly. Some of these techniques may take
15 to 30 minutes, but many take far less time. They are also easy because all of the
components are provided for you. You can copy them or add your own art.
This book is for anyone who wants to add some great techniques to a Web site in Flash
but doesn’t have the time to study Flash in-depth. Although many of the techniques
involve considerable programming in ActionScript, Flash’s programming language,
you do not need to be a programmer to use the techniques. We have provided the
ActionScript for you, and you can easily copy and paste it into your own movies.
WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN
When we were learning Flash, we quickly saw how powerful Flash is. We saw some
amazing Web sites that used Flash.We also realized that some of the techniques were very
involved. Like most people, we read the manual and looked up lots of questions in the
online Help. We also read several books on Flash. All of these resources helped, but few
provided us with the answer to our question, “How do you create the effect I saw on that
Web site?”
When we wrote Flash 5 For Dummies and then updated it to Flash MX For Dummies, we
felt we thoroughly covered the basics of Flash. Our feeling was confirmed by readers who
told us that they started with no knowledge of Flash and were now creating Web sites.
However, after a while, these readers were ready to move on—and the next steps were
daunting — learning ActionScript and a deep, long study of Flash. They often wanted to
know how to create specific techniques without having to get a master’s degree in Flash.
There are numerous Flash Web sites that can help. They offer great tutorials and
downloadable movies. Nevertheless, after a while, you can see so many sites that you can
feel overwhelmed.When Wiley offered us the opportunity to write this book, we decided
it was just what our readers needed.