Macromedia Flash 4 Magic
Flash 4 Magic assumes you know at least the basics of Flash already but even if you don't the excellent step-by-step instructions are so clear that you'll be able to work through the projects as long as you keep the Flash manual to hand in case you need to check any basic techniques. There are plenty of relevant screen grabs to show you what you need to do at each stage and you get all the artwork and code on the CD (via an interface built in Flash), as well as a finished version of each project so you can see what they should look like and check settings for anything you don't find in the instructions. You can jump in and start building real Flash applets that look good and are useful straight away, which is the best way to learn what Flash can do and how to make it happen. If you want nifty interactivity on your Web site, this is a great way to learn how to make the most of a powerful tool. --Penny Jannifer
Reader's Review
I was looking for a good book that could teach me Flash 4. Unfortunately, if you are new to Flash, then this isn't the book for you. For a start, it is too complicated, and secondly, its sometimes misleading and confusingly written for beginners. You are better off reading the manual or similar basics guide off the internet from start to finish, and then progressing onto this book.
You will require basics knowledge of Flash to be able to make a few of the projects work fully as their designers intended. Some of the files on the accompanying CD are not stripped down enough to be able to follow along with the text, and i have also noticed some of the script in the book itself is sometimes wrong.
The projects themselves are interesting and could be easily modified to suit your own web-site designs.
Overall, the book looks great, is clearly presented and logically written. But the book is for intermediate users as far as the projects go, and only advanced users will be able to figure out the mistakes and how to fix them!