How This Book Is Organized
Flash is a versatile authoring tool and consists of a number of
separate areas that usually need to be combined to produce the
finished effect or piece, so don't take the chapter
titles and synopses as anything other than broad headings. For
example, many chapters contain some element of animation, and most
hacks contain ActionScript because it lets you do some really cool
things. Regardless, we have straitjacketed the 100 hacks into
something resembling sensible groupings. So there are chapters on
drawing, sound, optimization, and a whole lot more.
- Chapter 1, Visual Effects
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This chapter looks at ways you can make your graphic content more
interesting by adding various snazzy effects and transitions.
- Chapter 2, Color Effects
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The savvy designer uses color in addition to animation. Color is
often overlooked, but this chapter shows how color changes can
transform the atmosphere of a piece or add video-like effects, such
as fades and wipes.
- Chapter 3, Drawing and Masking
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Combining Flash's graphic animation facilities with
ActionScript increases your creative horizons considerably. This
chapter shows graphic effects created at both authoring time and
runtime. Masking, which underlies many of the graphics tricks and
techniques, is also discussed.
- Chapter 4, Animation
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The hacks in this chapter offer content creation shortcuts for
manually drawn animation, plus ways to optimize animation created
under ActionScript control.
- Chapter 5, 3D and Physics
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This chapter provides a number of hacks that bypass
Flash's performance limitations to add physics
simulations and 3D effects to your repertoire.
- Chapter 6, Text
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This chapter covers ways to store, display, and manipulate text, as
well as create animated text effects.
- Chapter 7, Sound
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Without sound, your carefully crafted content will feel flat and
uninspired. This chapter helps the audio-challenged create and
manipulate sound effects and music.
- Chapter 8, User Interface Elements
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This chapter covers hacks related to user interface issues, such as
buttons, scrollbars, and mouse input.
- Chapter 9, Performance and Optimization
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This chapter includes hacks to keep your filesizes small and your
applications speedy.
- Chapter 10, ActionScript
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Although almost every hack in the book includes some ActionScript,
this chapter covers ways to get the most out of ActionScript,
including undocumented goodies.
- Chapter 11, Browser Integration
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This chapter looks at ways of maximizing browser compatibility so you
can maximize the audience and enhance their enjoyment of your
content.
- Chapter 12, Security
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This chapter provides a few ways to protect your content and designs,
despite the vulnerability of the SWF format.
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