Flash CS5: Introduction to Actionscript 3

Web Design Courses

This course focuses on developing practical ActionScript skills to enable you to build rich media applications using Flash and has been designed to enable designers and budding developers to exploit the vast potential of Flash using ActionScript 3. This Introduction to ActionScript course is designed for people who already have some experience using Flash to create animations and non-dynamic Flash content who want to create dynamic content and learn the fundamentals of ActionScript 3. This Adobe authorised course assumes no previous programming or ActionScript experience and will provide you with the core skills needed for developing Flash websites, dynamic content, interactive presentations, games and more. This course is suitable for those using Flash CS5, CS4 or CS3. For those who wish to learn Class based developments, you will also need to attend our two day Adobe Flash: Advanced ActionScript 3 course.

Course Description

Introduction
• Object Orientated programming concepts

Essential building blocks
• Syntax and terminology
• Declaring, datatyping and initialising variables
• Testing with trace()
• Understanding compiler errors
• Reading and writing MovieClip and Button properties

Functions
• Global functions and object methods
• Creating and calling user defined functions
• Setting function parameters

Conditional logic
• Boolean values
• The ‘if’ statement
• Using ‘else if’ and ‘else’
• Nested conditionals

Events
• Understanding Events and handlers
• Adding listeners for Events
• Removing Event listeners
• Handling MovieClip and Button MouseEvents
• Using the Handler parameter
• Working with the Event target

The Display List
• MovieClip
• TextField
• Sprite

Using the Math Class
• Number, int and uint datatypes
• Creating random values
• Creating random values within a range
• Conversion methods

Application architecture
• Navigating between nested timelines
• Loading external content
• Preloading

Dynamic display
• Export MovieClip for ActionScript
• Using AddChild()
• Creating MovieClips and TextFields with code
• Transforming MovieClip colour

Arrays and Loops
• Understanding Arrays
• Accessing Array elements
• Array methods
• For Loop syntax
• Looping through an Array
• Creating multiple objects with Loops

Adding dates
• Creating a Data object
• Date methods
• Creating a digital clock
• Creating an analogue clock

Working with text
• Working with dynamic TextFields
• Formatting dynamic text
• String conversion methods
• HTML text
• Embedding fonts
• Validating input fields

Working with sound
• Importing sound
• Compressing sounds
• Streaming sounds
• Event sounds

Animating with ActionScript
• Animating with EnterFrame
• Animating with the Tween Class
• Creating screen-wraps
• Regenerating objects
• Collision detection
• Removing objects

Applied interactivity
• Keyboard controls
• Drag and drop

External data sources
• About XML
• Loading XML
• Testing for successful load

Questions and answers