Flash Catalyst 101: Rookie

Please contact us to discuss this.

Please see the course outline.

Exploring the Design workspace

• Moving around the workspace
• Adjusting panels
• Zooming and Panning the artboard
• Previewing a project in a browser
• Getting Flash Catalyst Help

Preparing, Importing and Placing Artwork

• Preparing a design document
• Choose your design application
• Plan the structure of your application
• Grouping complex objects
• Flattening artwork with filters and effects
• Naming conventions
• Embedding images in the design document
• Managing fonts when sharing files
• Identifying duplicate component assets
• Setting component properties
• Creating sample artwork for a list of images or text
• Hiding, showing, and locking layers
• Exporting an FXG file from Adobe Fireworks
• Importing artwork
• Import a design document
• Import additional images
• Positioning images in the artboard
• Optimising artwork

Managing the Library

• Viewing the library panel
• Previewing files in the Library panel
• Deleting assets from the project
• Compressing images in the Library panel
• Renaming project assets
• Using assets in the Library panel
• Sharing project libraries
• Exporting and importing a library package

Managing Layers

• Exploring the Layers panel
• Expand and collapse layers
• Show, hide, lock and unlock layers
• Grouping objects
• Renaming objects in the Layers panel
• Optimizing complex groups
• Adding and deleting layers
• Stacking artwork using layers

Working with Pages and States

• Page and component states
• Duplicating and modifying page states
• Descriptive names for page states
• Show and hide artwork in each page state
• Adding and deleting states
• Add a blank page state
• Add objects to blank page states
• Delete objects from specific states

Creating Interactive Components

• The building blocks of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)
• Components and Interactions
• Using wireframe components
• Add and modify wireframe buttons and text input fields
• Add wireframe scroll bars
• Converting artwork to built-in components and buttons
• Create a reusable navigation button
• Enable and disable buttons
• Create next and previous buttons
• Create a custom toggle button
• Convert artwork to scroll bars
• Working with text
• Create a scroll panel from artwork
• Creating custom components
• Adding interactivity and page navigation
• Create conditional interactions
• Link to external content

Creating Transitions and Action Sequences

• Understanding transitions and action sequences
• Inspecting default transition effects
• Adding smooth transitions
• Fine-tuning transitions
• Change transition timing
• Ease transitions
• Adding and changing effects
• Swap one effect for another
• Add multiple effects to the same object
• Add an action sequence interaction
• Edit an action sequence in the Timeline
• Flash Catalyst helper effects

Adding and Controlling Video and Sound

• Preparing video for the web
• Understanding encoding and video codes
• How to encode video
• Importing and previewing video and sound
• Adding video to an application
• Add video to the artboard
• Set video player properties
• Controlling video playback
• Attach controls to the video
• Reset the video after playing
• Adding sound effects

Integrating SWF Content from other Creative Suite Tools

• Understanding SWF files
• Creating and using SWF files for Flash Catalyst
• Import a SWF file to the artboard
• Preview a SWF animation
• Controlling the playback of SWF files
• Play the SWF movie from a specific frame
• Adding a SWF file to a component
• Position a SWF file
• Add effects to play the animation

Designing with Data

• Flash Catalyst data lists
• Understanding design-time data
• Preview a data list
• Creating a Data List component
• Design a sample data record
• Convert the sample record into a Data List component