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Flash 5.0
by Jayme S. Jenkins— May 2001 Tucson Computer Society Journal, www.AZTCS.ORG, , JJenkins@zephyrpress.com - June 02, 2001 at 14:55:50:
Overview of Flash Technology—Macromedia, creator of Flash Technology, has been a leader in Internet graphics for some time now. Flash technology gives Internet and Web developers the ability to create interactive movies for the Internet; users can actually become players or characters in the movies they find on the Internet.Flash 5 has new features that allow the developer to add more interactivity to the movies that they create. The advantage of Flash for developers include:
1..Flash has an easy to use development environment.
2.This program is widely supported by multiple browsers and OS.
3.Flash gives you the ability to create large applications and still have a small file size.
Flash 5 is also widely supported on the Internet with “flash players,” which are available for almost any browser. In this program you can create from as simple as the motion of objects, to “Tell Target” commands that will help your “Flash Program” to interact with your users.
By using Flash 5, you can create complex Web applications and still maintain a small file size when downloading. Small file sizes are accomplished by Flash using vector graphics, a graphics format that has been released for Internet use.
Flash has a program environment that makes development of interactive movies a simple process. With the use of timelines, the development process is simplified so that any user can create movies with little or no training.
Flash Review—Flash 5 is a definite upgrade from the former versions of flash with new features for the developer to use.
Panels—Features are contained in “Panels” that resemble the windows in a program called “Photoshop,” by Adobe, which makes them very easy to use. With everything displayed in windows, I don’t have to go looking for anything from the menus that are at the top of the screen. All of ot is right there in front of me, ready for use.
Users that have little or no experience can utilize the features of this software with very little instruction from a manual. Books are available at almost any bookstore location for instruction on the more advanced topics and features of the software . Some of the features that where added in this version are, the “Mixer” and the “Swatches” pallets.
Mixer and Swatches—The Mixer and Swatches features, allow you to mix two colors or choose from a specified set of colors. This feature is especially helpful when building “color safe” applications for the Internet, by limiting the color choices to those colors that are widely supported by most operating systems.
Text Controls—With many text controls, you are able to make dynamic effects using only text. The panel used to control text allows you to control the size, font choice, paragraph, alignment, tabs, and text options. The text features that are available in the new version give the developer more control over how the text is displayed and “handled.”
Libraries—Flash 5 comes with a default library of buttons, graphics, learning interactions, movie clips, smart clips, and sounds. These libraries can be used to create movies and scenes or you can create and provide your own libraries. By using libraries in your projects, you have the ability to give effects to text, or a movie clip, and then take that movie clip to another movie when needed.
In conclusion, this software offers Internet and Web developers the opportunity to create high-end movies that are interactive with user choices. The development environment for this software seems to be simple and functional. All the menus are self explanatory, and the help section is very useful.
Recommendation—The tools and options in this version of the software seem to be closely integrated with other popular graphics software in the market today. These tools are very easy to work with and help aid in the adaptation of using this software in a production environment. This in itself is a helpful feature for designers like myself, and benefits new users that are moving into the industry. This feature enables them to use a new piece of software that resembles a program that they may have already learned. My opinion on this software is that with the addition of the new features it is a more complete and “well rounded” application that is highly integrated with other popular pieces of software. I would recommend this software for any developer that wants to create “High-end” user-interactive applications for the Internet, CD, or Intranet.
Product Information—Vendor: Macromedia 600 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94103
System Requirements—For Windows -An Intel Pentium 133mhz or higher processor; Windows 95 or higher; 32mb of RAM (64 Recommended); 40mb of available disk space; a color monitor capable of 800x600 resolution; and a CD-ROM drive
For Macintosh -A Power Mac (G3 or higher) Running OS 8.5 or later, 32mb of RAM free application memory, 40mb of available disk space, a color monitor capable of 800x600 resolution and a CD-ROM drive.
Pricing—Flash 5.0 Full List Price $399.00
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