1. Flash from the Get-Go: Jhomar I. Lopez Instructor Bulacan State University

2. What is Flash? Flash is an authoring environment capable of producing everything from simple animations to fully interactive experiences such as games or quizzes Primarily designed to produce media for the Web, but Flash animations can be added to PowerPoint, digital videos, and even merged into other Flash animations

3. Why use Flash? Flash allows even the beginner to create high- impact visuals to enhance a presentation or Web page with illustration or decoration (or both) and even develop games! Slide shows, quizzes, and other kinds of interactive experiences can be designed to your exact specifications, giving you greater control over your presentation needs.

4. Things to Consider Entire websites should never be designed in Flash; they are not able to be accessed by users with disabilities Too many “flashy” animations can be distracting for some users – exercise caution when using a great deal of movement on a single page or slide Flash is not an “easy” program to get the hang of, and for many the learning curve can be daunting; take it slow as you learn and remember that no one becomes an expert overnight!

5. Some Flash Terms Timeline: The line along the bottom or top (for older versions) of the Flash workspace which holds each Frame, from 1 to infinity; allows Flash to display animations frame- by-frame, much like a filmstrip or a child’s “animated” flip book. Frame: An individual moment in time within the animation; click on any frame in the timeline to see what is happening or displayed on that frame Keyframe: A special frame where something can be designated to change or happen; i.e., a ball moving left can be told to start moving to the right at a keyframe

6. More Flash Terms Layer: Individual “tracks” of the timeline; allows different elements to do different things at the same time by adding each element to its own layer Stage: Just like in theater, this is where the action happens, or where the graphical and content elements of your work are put together and displayed Scene: Allows you to organize your animation more easily; however, they are best used in longer animations

7. Stage Scenes List of layers Timeline – Keyframes will have a dot inside them The first frame is always a keyframe

8. More Flash Terms ActionScript: The programming language of Flash; version 2.0 uses more natural language and is best suited for beginners and work involving basic kinds of tasks, while version 3.0 is designed for higher mathematical functions Interaction: Term for any time ActionScript is used to allow the user to do something within the Flash animation, such as stop or start the animation, select a button, or move an object

9. Publishing Flash Documents Adobe Flash allows you to create, edit, and test animations in the FLA format ONLY However, in order to use and share those animations with others, you need to Publish your work as an SWF document Do this from the File menu; once you publish, you will have a final product that can be inserted into a web page, added to a PowerPoint, and more

10. Resources Books: The Web Collection Revealed: Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks (Thomson-Delmar Learning) Flash CS3/CS4 Professional Visual QuickStart Guide (Peachpit Press) Adobe Flash How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques (Adobe Press) Flash CS3/CS4: The Missing Manual (O’Reilly Press)