10 Introduction:Learning Macromedia Flash MX 2004
Where to start
If you are new to Flash,start with the “Getting Started with Flash ” chapter in Help (Help >
Help >Using Flash >Getting Started with Flash)to help you become familiar with Flash before
proceeding to the Flash lessons.
To complete the Flash lessons,you can follow the lessons in this book or open the lessons in the
How Do I panel in Flash Help (Help >How Do I).Although the lessons can be completed in any
order,the best way to build your understanding of Flash is to take the lessons in the order they
appear in the How Do I panel.
Typographical conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this book:
•Menu items are shown in this format:menu name >menu item name.Items in submenus are
shown in this format:menu name >submenu name >menu item name.
•Code font indicates HTML tag and attribute names as well as literal text used in examples.
•Italic code font indicates replaceable items (sometimes called metasymbols )in code.
•Bold roman text indicates text that you should enter verbatim.
Additional resources for learning Flash
Flash contains a variety of media to help you learn the program quickly and become proficient in
creating your own Flash applications.
About the electronic manuals and lessons
The following electronic manuals are available through the Help panel (Help >Help):
•Getting Started with Flash provides a hands-on introduction to Flash.
•Using Flash contains complete information on working in the Flash authoring tool,including
all commands,features,and user interface elements.
•Using Components contains information on adding and configuring components in a Flash
document,as well as information on creating components.
•The ActionScript Reference Guide provides a conceptual introduction to the ActionScript
language and documents all actions,methods,and properties in the ActionScript API.
•The lessons contained in this book are also available on the How Do I tab in the Help panel,in
the Quick Tasks section (Help >How Do I >Quick Tasks).
Using the Help panel
The updatable Help panel provides access to information on how to use Flash.
Accessing help
The tabs in the Help panel —Help and How Do I —contain the full set of user assistance
information provided with the Flash application.
•You can select the Help tab to display general help information.
•You can select the How Do I tab to display a list of 10-to 20-minute lessons that guide you
through many of the features in Flash.