Macromedia Flash Professional 8: Training from the Source [With CD-ROM]

by Tom Green and Jordan L. Chilcott

Through project-based lessons readers learn how to use Flash Professional 8 for its creative tools, authoring power, flexibility, and rich video capabilities. The CD includes the files to complete the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321384032
• ISBN13: 9780321384034
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Macromedia Press
• Length: 494 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

If you know Flash, this is good for you

One thing I am still not sure of with the whole Adobe - Macromedia merger is the status of Macromedia Press. Their books are essential to any professional. When my Studio 8 came in the mail, the first thing I noticed was that there was no book inside. This book becomes paramount to now helping me through the changes with 8 with respect to Flash and it should for you too - especially if you like to thumb paper rather than scroll PDF's. Ok so lets look at the guts of this book. At over 512 pages there is a lot covered here. As usual the basics are all covered. I suspect that since there was no book that shipped, they anticipate you buying this one and plodding through. Half the book to me was old school stuff with the exception of explainations as to where things are located in this release, or new ways to achieve familiar things, so def peruse and absorb what's there. Chapter 7 and above make this book worth the entry price. The tutorials are straight forward and are great learning tools - especially in the more esoteric topics like actionscripting and video, though i felt the Publishing chapter really could be shorted to just one page.

Great companion to this book is site with errata by its author

The author's online site for this book at http://www.tomontheweb3.ca includes detailed errata for each chapter as well as additional resources. Together they make a much stronger learning tool than the book by itself.

really like the tutorial aspects!!!

All though there are errors, check the errata www.tomontheweb3.com!! Never touched flash before, and I now have a n understanding of the basic concepts plus good example to build off. If you want to learn by doing this is the book for you, just read the errata, and work through the examples. When I couldnt get something to work, it was always MY mistake, not the books.

There is errata

Personally I have found this book to be an excellent attempt to guide newbies through a very complex piece of software. I'm not an expert in flash, but I'm not quite a beginner either, so while I can see where some of the other users in this list are coming from, frankly I think they are being a little harsh. Where the book succeeds brilliantly is in its explanation of complex material in a way that gets people up and running in no time flat. Usually you would have to wade through reams of books and tutorials just to properly get into topics such as video publishing and programmatic animation, but this book does a good job of getting the user learning the material quickly. The book is not intended for advanced users; it is intended to introduce certain topics and give an overview of what flash can do in a very practical way. Where it falls down occasionally is in the details. I emailed the author with my concerns, and he was very open to answering my questions and guiding me to the errata, which I am told is being continuously updated. Errata is currently available at the book companion site at http://www.tomontheweb3.ca Click on the chapters link, pick a chapter and the errata are at the bottom of each chapter page. I've had success at getting some of the more difficult exercises to work after looking over the errata. For the rest, I'm told it's being worked on and will be up shortly. I have had good experiences with other Macromedia Press books, and this book, although it could stand some improvement, does not in any way diminish my respect for the series.