[Note: If you are using Flash 3, you'll probably want to go to our
Flash
3 tutorial. For Flash 4, go to Flash 4 tutorial. This baby is for Flash 5 users only.]
Let me guess — you want to add snappy interactivity and
animations to your Web pages but you don't want to create huge "click
here and go get a sandwich" files? Then Macromedia's Flash 5 may be
for you. It doesn't require the scripting savvy of DHTML,
and if you've ever used Director, you already have a head start.
Even if you haven't, I'm here to help you catch up.
The process of making a Flash movie is easy to learn, but mastering it
takes time and sweat. Here, and in Lesson 2, I'll show you the basics of
making one, and then I'll show you what you need to learn to become a Flash
grandmaster.
The best way to create Flash content is with the Flash application, which
was originally called FutureSplash. In 1997, Macromedia acquired the small
company that developed FutureSplash as a way to complement Director, its
flagship product. Director, which has been around longer than the Web,
is a highly scriptable program built to create interactive presentations and
games. Chances are your favorite CD-ROM game was created with it.
Toward the end of 1995, when Netscape Navigator 2 was the latest,
greatest browser, Macromedia introduced Shockwave as a way to port
Director movies to the Web. Users downloaded and installed a free
plug-in, and the movies played right there in the browser.
That was — and is — pretty great. But since Director didn't
start with the Web in mind, most Director movies tend to be big
bandwidth hogs, and they do much, much more than what's necessary for
the Web. On the other hand, there has been a growing need to create an
alternative to standard GIFs and JPEGs, which lack versatility and can
result in big files.
Vector graphics may be the answer. Vector-graphics programs create
graphics using instructions while bitmap programs map out images pixel
by pixel.
Let's say you want to draw a circle. A vector graphic simply tells
a display program to "draw a perfect circle exactly 100 pixels in
diameter." A bitmap program maps out every pixel in that circle, which
requires more information (and therefore a larger file size) often
resulting in a poorly rendered circle. Also, a vector-based image can
be scaled to virtually any size with no impact on file size or
quality.
Here's a simulation of the differences between bitmap and vector
graphics. The left circle demonstrates how a bitmap image is defined
by a finite set of pixels. Enlarge it, and the circle looks pretty
rough. But if you increase the resolution to lose that "pixely" look,
you'll run into major file-size issues. Meanwhile, the vector graphic on
the right could be enlarged 10 times and still look just as sharp.
Because of bandwidth
concerns on the Web, there has long been an urgent need for vector graphics.
SVG
is emerging as an official standard, but with Flash, the future is
now.
Director is still more powerful and versatile (you can't create complex
CD-ROM experiences with Flash, for example), but Flash 5 is great for most
Web uses. It allows you to create animations, build interactivity, and add
sound to your pages -- and even some simple games. You can make some
dazzling graphics and interfaces for your Web pages that eat up an amazingly
petite 5 to 50 KB. And version 5's new scripting capabilities offer you the
chance to take it much farther, if you want.
Another big advantage of Flash is that it's virtually independent
of browsers. Since Flash files are only viewable with a plug-in,
everyone with a version 3 browser or better can see the movies almost
identically. The downside to this is the plug-in itself: Users need to
download and install it before
they can see anything. But this is becoming less of a hurdle since the
latest browsers come with Flash already included.
So all in all, Flash is looking like quite the solution and is
becoming more popular every day. But enough
talk. Let's get our hands dirty.
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