Flash allows for animation and interaction, and includes all media types. You can create:
With Flash, "programming" is facilitated through an "actors on stage" metaphor and with a timeline.
Some sample flash movies from creative commons: http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/
Basic steps in creating an applicaton:
Very carefully perform the following actions...one wrong move can lead to the animation not working.
1. Draw a shape on the screen. The left-hand palette has text, ovals, rectangles, etc., so choose one, then click and drag on the stage to create it. You can also import an image if you want by choosing File | Import | Image to Stage and selecting an image file.
2. Click on frame 20 in the timeline, and select Insert | Timeline | Keyframe.
3. With frame 20 selected, select the arrow tool from the palette then drag your shape some place else on the stage.
4. Select frame 1 in the timeline, then right-click and choose "Create Motion Tween". An arrow should appear between frame 1 and frame 20.
5. Select Control | Play to view the animation.
6. Select Control | Test Movie to see how the animation will look in a browser.
7. Choose File | Save and save the program in a subdirectory of your home web directory, e.g.,
W:\username\simple.fla
8. Choose File | Publish. This will create a web page containing your animation as a component. The web page will be named the same as the flash file, except with a .html extension.
9. Open a browser and run the web page that Flash has created. If you saved your flash file as animation.fla in your home directory, you should enter the url 'cs.usfca.edu/~username/animation.html'
10. You can set the title and add other components around the animation that Flash has created. Open the .html file (e.g., animation.html) in DreamWeaver. You should see a blank screen with the flash icon in the middle. Select the 'code' tab and modify the title of your page in the html code. Add some text around the Flash component. Save, and refresh your browser to see the changes.
11. Right-click on 'Layer 1' within the timeline, and choose Insert Layer. 'Layer 2' should appear in the timeline.
12. Select Frame 1 and draw another shape on the stage.
13. Select Frame 25 in Layer 2 and insert a keyframe (Insert | Timeline | Keyframe). Move the shape somewhere else on the screen.
14. Select Frame 1 in Layer 2 and right-click to 'Create motion tween'. An arrow should appear in Layer 2 between frames 1 and 25.
15. Test by selecting Control | Test Movie, or by refreshing your browser.
16. Add a 'Layer 3' by right clicking on 'Layer 1' and selecting Insert Layer.
17. Select frame 1 and draw a text object on the screen with the text "start over". The icon for the text operation is labeled with an 'A'.
18. Right-click on the new text object and select "Convert to Symbol". Name the symbol 'Button' and specify it as a button type.
19. Select Window | Behaviors, and click on the "+" in the dialog that appears. Select Movie Clip-> "Goto and play at frame or label" as the operation that should occur when the button is clicked. If you specify "1" as the frame, clicking the button will cause the movie to revert to frame 1.
20. Test by selecting controls | Test Movie. What happens when you (the end-user) clicks on the button?
Add some animation to the home page you've built with Dreamweaver. One way to add animation to an existing web page is to choose Insert | Media | Flash, and choose a flash file you've created.
The macromedia software provides some decent tutorials in its help section. You can access a getting started tutorial within flash:
Select Help | Getting Started with Flash, then choosing "Making a Simple Flash Document." Its part of the Introduction.