good tips and or links on how to go about designing my first flash website?

[big_pij]

Hi,

I'm new to coding, and just new to designing designing websites full stop. It all seems to be a little over my head, so i thought i'd come on a forum and ask (more like plead) for someones expertise.
I have macromedia studio 8 (flash dreamweaver fireworks (if that means anything to anyone :-S))
I guess what i'm asking for is if anyone can give me some good tips and or links on how to go about designing my first flash website. And not only that but i haven't got a clue with code. I know its something called actionscript...but thats about everything i know. I really dont have the foggiest? Can anyone send me an ebook with some basic code, or even a big ebook that i can have a skeg though. Or even better, a beginners guide to action script!
I know i'm asking for quite a lot, but i thought i'd ask the people with a clue about this stuff.
my email address is bigpij@hotmail.co.uk if you want to send me anything that might help.

Thanks for your time,

Adam

[big_pij]

oh, and an ebook to learning how to use my flash program well??
sorry!

[big_pij]

Hi,

I'm new to coding, and just new to designing designing websites full stop. It all seems to be a little over my head, so i thought i'd come on a forum and ask (more like plead) for someones expertise.
I have macromedia studio 8 (flash dreamweaver fireworks (if that means anything to anyone :-S))
I guess what i'm asking for is if anyone can give me some good tips and or links on how to go about designing my first flash website. And not only that but i haven't got a clue with code. I know its something called actionscript...but thats about everything i know. I really dont have the foggiest? Can anyone send me an ebook with some basic code, or even a big ebook that i can have a skeg though. Or even better, a beginners guide to action script!
I know i'm asking for quite a lot, but i thought i'd ask the people with a clue about this stuff.
my email address is bigpij@hotmail.co.uk if you want to send me anything that might help.
Oh and something telling me how to use my flash program well. I'm that bad at this lol...sorry

Thanks for your time,

Adam

[evride]

ok, some basics you should know. flash uses instance names a lot in Actionscript. an instance name is the name given to a movieclip so that Actionscript can refer to it. the instance name has to be different for each movieclip. you can set the instance name in the properties panel. instance names can also be made dynamically. but thats more advanced stuff.

movielclips have lots of properties.
heres a list of some:
_x //set or get the x coordinate;
_y //set or get the y coordinate;
_alpha //set or get the transparency;
_width //set or get the width;
_height //set or get the height;
_visible // change whether the movieclip is visible or not
_rotation // set or get the _rotation;

you can apply values to the property like this:

box_mc._x = 45;

//this will set the movielcip with the instance name of box_mc to the x coordinate of 45.

you also use listeners a lot. heres a list of the most commonly used:

.onRelease //mouse is released over movieclip
.onRollOver //mouse rolls on movielcip
.onRollOut //mouse rolls off movielcip
.onPress // left mouse button is pressed over movieclip

these listeners allow you to add actions.
boc_mc.onRelease = function(){
box_mc._alpha = 50;
}

//if you release the mouse button over the movieclip with the instance name of box_mc then it start a function that will change the alpha or transparency property of box_mc to 50;

theres for loops and while loops. they are commonly used with arrays and xml.
for(i=1; i<=9; i++){
trace(i);
}

when you run the movie it will have an output of:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

the trace statement that i just used is helpful to find out what your movie is doing. it will open the output window and add data to it.

you can trace variables like i just did or trace actual statements like dude, this ain't working.
to do that just add quotes:

trace("dude, this ain't working");
//thats different than
trace(var_to_trace);
//since it has no quotes


i definitely suggest you watch Lee Brimelow's video tutorials. don't worry they're free. his main site is down for UI upgrade but you can download the flv's and watch them with an FLV viewer. he explains all in the download section (http://www.gotoandlearn.com/download.php).

[big_pij]

Ahhh brilliant thankyou. You know when you refer to it as a movie, is that what a flash website is? an almost interactive movie?
Do you know any good ebooks for me to be able to get the most out of studio 8, and just some basic actionscript coding ebooks. I mean really basic, but allowing me to progress?
Thanks for your time.

[evride]

i refered to movieclips. movieclips are symbols. so when you create a new symbol either by going Insert>New Symbol or pressing <CTRL>+<F8> you can choose to create either a movieclip, button, or graphic. movieclips are used the most because they have the most functionality. each movieclip is its own movie. the swf movie that you make has a number of movieclips inside of it. it is like an interactive movie though once you dive into actionscript more it will seem more like an application.

i dont know of many eBooks on flash but the flash video tutorials i told you about are a great help.

[Ritika_S]

if you wanna learn more about actionscript you can visit:

http://flash-creations.com/notes/

[big_pij]

ahh thanks you lot for your help...
does anyone have any ebooks or anything (really basic) to get me up to speed with using flash 8?
I really haven't got a clue lol...but those links to learn actionscript will come in helpful!
Cheers guys!

[tg]

go thru the tutorials and articles on this site.
start with the basic ones....
follow along in flash by trying to reproduce them. you will learn fast.

if you get stuck. post a question here on the forums.
in your questions, be specific as possible.

you will learn fast.

[stompwampa]

ahh thanks you lot for your help...
does anyone have any ebooks or anything (really basic) to get me up to speed with using flash 8?
I really haven't got a clue lol...but those links to learn actionscript will come in helpful!
Cheers guys!

check out www.lynda.com and watch the videos there. You have to pay for a membership...but $25 a month isn't bad. Plus, just pay for a couple months, watch the videos you want and then cancel. I've learned a ton so far.

There is a LOT more to making a full flash website than I originally thought there was...at least if you want the interactivity to function with some level of proficiency, and there are a lot of things you need to do to keep your file size down so loading time is a lot less too.
I HIGHLY recommend that site.