Intermediate Macromedia Flash MX: Introduction to ActionScript

Macromedia Flash's scripting language, ActionScript, is quite powerful; it is also quite complicated. In this course you will learn how to manipulate the timeline with ActionScript. You will learn how to embed movie clips inside other movie clips and control any movie in the heirarchy.

Course Outline

• Introduction to Flash MX 2004
  • Goals of Course
  • Course Project
  • Course Files
  • Definitions and Conventions
  • Movie Structure: Keyframes, Labels and Callback Functions
  • Movie Structure
  • Demo: Movie Structure
  • Deeper Examination: demo-structure.fla
  • Synchronous Actions (Timeline Actions)
  • Asynchronous Actions (Event-driven Actions)
  • Review of Library Items: Buttons, Movie Clips and Graphic Symbols
  • Basic Actions – Adding callback functions to buttons
  • Using Movie Clips to Store Content
  • The one-frame movie
  • Exercise 1: Set-up Structure of Movie and add Callback Functions
    
• Movie Clip Hierarchy: Using ActionScript for Navigation
  • Relative vs. Absolute Paths
  • Paths in Flash
  • Movie Clip Hierarchy of demo-hierarchy.fla
  • “Path Notation” in Action
  • Demo: Passing information from one movie to another
  • Demo: a more complex example of Path Notation
  • Exercise 2: Make the buttons on the Menu functional using Path Notation
    Possible Solution to Exercise 2
    
• Using “with() notation”
  • Demo: Using “with() notation”
  • Benefits of using the with notation
  • Demo: A More Complicated Example
  • Demo: Movies calling Movies
  • Exercise 3: Using “with() Notation” for One Movie Clip to Call Another
    Possible Solution to Exercise 3
    
• Movie Clip Properties
  • Demo: Make a Movie Clip Invisible
  • Demo: Changing “_x” Property
  • Exercise 4: Change Visibility of Map
    
• Variables and Conditionals
  • What is a Variable?
  • Demo: Using Variables
  • Global Variables
  • Conditional Statements
  • Demo: Use a Conditional to Limit Movement
  • Comparison Operators
  • Demo: Creating a Toggle Button
  • Exercise 5: Create a Toggle Button to hide the Main Content
    
• Add Sound 65
  • Demo: Simple Background Sound
  • Demo: Adding Background Sound
  • Demo: Add Sounds to Buttons
  • Exercise 6: Adding Sound to Buttons and Background
    
• Appendix A: Resources

See also

Adobe Flash CS4 Training Courses

• Flash CS4 Training (3-5 days)
• ActionScript 3.0 Training with Flash CS4 (3-4 days)

Adobe Flash CS3 Training Courses

• Introduction to Flash CS3 (3-4 days)
• Intermediate Flash MX 2004: Introduction to ActionScript (1 day)
• Advanced Flash MX 2004: ActionScript (2 days)