Adobe ActionScript 3

Adobe ActionScript 3
$1,195 / 3 days
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time)



A live Instructor-Led Online Learning class
with Greg Smith

To take advantage of Flash CS4 and Flex 3 fully, you need a comprehensive understanding of ActionScript 3.0. Learn the vital skills necessary to master ActionScript 3.0. from manipulating movie clips and responding to user actions, to creating variables, writing functions and conditional operators.

Numerous practical hands-on exercises allow you to use the powerful features you’re learning about. The hands-on approach plus practice after class will expand your understanding and improve your execution.

Goals
Learn the ActionScript concepts and tools you need to develop interactive interfaces and animations.

Audience
People who know and use Flash or Flex and have not tackled ActionScript. Even if you work on a team with a dedicated developer, you'll be a much stronger player when you know how to activate your own art work, making it respond to moves your user makes or react to the events you've added to enrich the user's experience.

Prerequisites
Interested participants should have completed Adobe Flash Fundamentals, taken Adobe Flex 3 Developing Rich Client Applications or have equivalent experience. They must also want to learn how to program Flash or Flex content using ActionScript.

Next Steps
Adobe Flex 3 Developing Rich Client Applications

Adobe AIR Building Desktop Applications with Flex 3

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Fundamentals

Illustrator works especially well with Flash because, like Flash, Illustrator creates vector images.

Outline
1. Introduction to ActionScript 3.0
Why you should learn ActionScript 3.0
Differences from ActionScript 2.0
Moving beyond Script Assist

2. Communicating to MovieClips, Variables, and People
- Communicating to MovieClips
- Modifying MovieClips properties
- Understanding variables
- Setting variable data types
- Using trace statements
- Using comments

3. Using and Writing Functions
- Understanding functions
- Using functions
- Writing custom functions
- Making a function modular
- Making a function return a value

4. Responding to Events
- Understanding event types
- Using a listener to catch an event
- Writing event handlers
- Responding to mouse events
- Responding to keyboard events
- Creating a link to a website
- Using the enterframe to create animation
- Using the timer event to control animation

5. Understanding Classes
- Understanding classes
- Writing a custom class
- Extending an existing class
- Understanding methods
- Public vs. private properties and methods
- Bringing a class object to the timeline
- Defining a document class
- Setting up a classpath
- Creating useful classes
- Decision-Making and Repetition

6. Understanding conditional statements
- Writing a conditional statement
- Understanding conditional operators
- Using conditional operators
- Setting up alternate conditions
- Writing compound conditions
- Using a loop to generate instances of a class
- Placing loop-created instances

7. Using Math...and Loving It!
- Understanding the math class
- Using basic math operators
- Generating random numbers
- Using different techniques to round numbers

8. Using Text and Arrays
- Creating a text field
- Styling a text field
- Capturing data from a text field
- Loading external text
- Scrolling a text field
- Understanding arrays
- Using text and arrays to create a game
- Finishing the text game

9. Creating a Memory Game with What You Already Know
- Storyboarding your application Effectively
- Writing a memory card class
- Writing a memory game class
- Adding graphics to cards
- Placing cards
- Deleting matches
- Resetting cards
- Handling incorrect matches
- Determining a win
- Adding additional cards
- Randomizing cards

10. Using Advanced Graphic and Animation Tools
- Drawing with code
- Creating a color change
- Generating a random color change
- Animating a color change
- Using filters
- Modifying filter properties
- Animating filters