Adobe Flash is a multimedia-development software system. Since its introduction in 1996, Flash has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages; Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, and various web page components, to integrate video into web pages, and more recently, to develop rich Internet applications. Focus_Groups A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people is asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. It is one of a series of usability and user-centered design research methods.
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This article is an examination of the discourse surrounding a new media tool, Macromedia's Flash, and a discussion of a qualitative study of Flash's use by students as part of an electronic portfolio assignment in a first-year composition course. My article explores how the software industry constructs Flash as a discursive object for the regulation of information flow, while also examining how the present generation of students interacts with these new media environments, making meaning within them through the use of simulacra tools.
Ellertson, Anthony. Kairos (2003). Articles>Education>Multimedia>Flash
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Stephen Hawking and Me - Flash MX Accessibility
An article that features tips on building accessible sites in Flash MX.
evolt (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
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The Structure of FlashHelp Skins
The real magic of FlashHelp, however, lies in its Flash-based presentation layer, or 'skin.' You can completely customize FlashHelp skins to match the look and feel of any application, no matter how unique.
Joseph, Amar 'AJ'. Adobe (2004). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia>Flash
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Suggerimenti per un Flash Accessibile
Realizzare siti usabili in Flash è una questione di mentalità e non di prodotto. L'autore ci indica 10 suggerimenti per rendere le animazioni Flash più usabili ed accessibili.
Volpon, Antonio. FucinaWeb (2002). (Italian) Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
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If Flash is indeed a cancer on the Web, how come so many artists (and viewers) adore it? The much-maligned multimedia plug-in bites back, with help from Flash artist Peter Balogh.
Balogh, Peter. List Apart, A (2000). Articles>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash
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A way of avoiding the problem with embedding Flash on a web page (which you cannot tab out of).
Norgaard, John. Sonokids (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
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Taking Flash Animation to DVD Video
This article is meant to inspire creators much more talented than ourselves to take the risk and dive in head-first with the idea of bringing their Flash animation work to industry-quality DVD. The efforts and obstacles involved in bringing Broken Saints out as a four-disc collectors' edition were overwhelming, and if we can give you some insights, save you some steps, keep you from making the same mistakes we did, or even inspire you to experience Broken Saints on your spiffy new home theatre, then it all will have been worth it.
Burgess, Brooke. Adobe (2005). Design>Multimedia>Flash>DVD
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Wie zich onder de eerste lichting world wide web-surfers bevond rond 1994, toen de eerste NetScape-browser de Mosaic-browser vervangen had, kan zich waarschijnlijk herinneren dat webpagina's uit niet veel meer bestonden dan tekst met hyperlinks en een lullig patroontje als achtergrond. Er werd nauwlijks gebruik gemaakt van visuele elementen. Helaas kwam daar snel een eind aan.
Massee, Door Laurens. de Lijst (2002). (Dutch) Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Flash
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Text in Motion With the Wiggler
When you start using After Effects, there will come a time when you look at the presets and think, 'Gosh, I am bored with these.' That will be the point where you discover Adobe has a wonderful sense of humor and you start using the Wiggler. In the text options, on the timeline, the Wiggly selector can be added to a chunk of text to randomize the values of any of the properties associated with that group. That description may sound rather formal, but when it comes to adding effects, randomness can lead to some happy surprises. Essentially you can have text bend, move, blur, spin, and so on by simply giving it some parameters for the effect.
Green, Tom. Community MX (2006). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Flash
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Tips For Optimizing Flash Movies
When you're ready to deliver your Flash movie to your audience, use the Publish Settings or Export Movie option to export the Flash FLA file to a format for the Web.
Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2001). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash
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To Flash or Not To Flash? - Usability and User Engagement of HTML vs. Flash
Of the many challenges facing developers of museum Web sites, usability and engagement rank high. Many developers have adopted Macromedia Flash as a useful tool that allows greater interactivity and multimedia compared to HTML pages. This paper reports on a comparative evaluation of Flash and HTML versions of a single site, focusing on user information-seeking goals, behavior, and responses to each version of the site. We then compare the two versions based on holding power, time on task, user satisfaction, and qualitative interviews. Testing found notable differences between the two versions of the site, and between youth and adult tester groups. The results provide valuable insights into the relative strengths and weaknesses of Flash and HTML. While we cannot draw broad conclusions from a single case study, these data can help us begin the discussion around developing preliminary standards and basic frameworks for suggesting rationales for choosing Flash or HTML in a number of typical situations facing museum Web developers.
Schaller, David T., Steven Allison-Bunnell, Anthony Chow, Paul Marty and Misook Heo. uiGarden (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability>Flash
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Una Perspectiva Global de Flash
Salta a la vista que Flash en la web tiene muchos problemas de usabilidad y accesibilidad pero hay que juzgarlo por lo que es, y no por el buen o mal uso que se hace de él. Antes de poner mala cara ante todo lo que huele a Flash, como hacen muchos desarrolladores, hay que ver la herramienta desde un punto de vista global, con más perspectiva.
Garcia, Joaquin Marti. 7bytes (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>Software>Flash
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Usability Heuristics for Rich Internet Applications
Over the coming months and years, RIAs will move from cutting edge to mainstream. That transformation will accelerate with the Flash and user experience communities working together to understand and develop best practices and shared knowledge.
McMullin, Jess and Grant Skinner. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Interactive>Flash
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Usability SIG Web Site Tests Macromedia FlashPaper
The Usability SIG is always interested in new ways to put publish our newsletter on the Web. When an upgrade to Macromedia’s Contribute 2.0 included a new program called FlashPaper, we decided to give it a try.
Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Document Design>Software>Flash
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Use Gradients to Give Objects a 3- Dimensional Appearance
Flash is a two-dimensional program. Using a gradient in Flash can give a two-dimensional object a third dimension. In this example, let's create a series of circular outlines, then add one of Flash's preset gradients to give the outlines a three-dimensional appearance.
Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2002). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash
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Using ActionScript in Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Best Practices
Code it right: Use these best practices as you write your ActionScript.
deHaan, Jen. Adobe (2004). Design>Web Design>Programming>Flash
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Using Flash for the First Time, Part 1: Building a Banner
This is part one of a three-part article on how to build a simple animated banner in Flash and add it to a web page using Macromedia Dreamweaver. You'll learn how to create a file and modify its settings, import and add graphics to the Stage from the library, and create layers in part one. In parts two and three you'll add an animation and create a button that opens a browser window. Then you'll specify publish settings, and add the banner to a web page.
deHaan, Jen. Adobe (2005). Design>Web Design>Interactive>Flash
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Using Flash for the First Time, Part 2: Adding Symbols, Animation, and ActionScript
How to create symbols, animation, and even write some simple ActionScript to make a banner function.
deHaan, Jen. Adobe (2005). Design>Web Design>Interactive>Flash
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Using Flash for the First Time, Part 3: Publishing and Adding the Flash File to a Web Page
This is part three of a three-part article on how to build a simple animated banner in Macromedia Flash and add it to a web page using Macromedia Dreamweaver. In this final part, you learn about file size, banner standards, how to set publish settings, how to add the banner to a Dreamweaver web page, and how to add Macromedia Flash Player detection.
deHaan, Jen. Adobe (2005). Design>Web Design>Interactive>Flash
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Using Macromedia Flash MX as a Multilingual Authoring Tool
This tutorial offers procedures and strategies that allow you to adapt a Macromedia Flash MX movie to the language and culture of a target audience. Macromedia Flash MX supports localization through Unicode and the various ways in which you can include different languages in a movie.
Adobe (2004). Design>Web Design>Localization>Flash
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Want to know what’s RED HOT? Adobe Flex
I am not going to insult your intellence and try to teach you how to use Adobe Flex because frankly, I am just learning. Over the past few months, every major project and intitiative I’ve heard about has components built using Adobe Flex. With the emergence of Flash as a usable technology and ActionScript as a top notch coding language, Adobe Flex has quickly become the hottest new tool in ubertrendy web development circles.
Robbins, Kyle. ReEncoded (2008). Articles>Web Design>Flash>Interaction Design
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Web Clients Fatten Up with OpenLaszlo
OpenLaszlo is a rich client application architecture that uses Macromedia Flash as a deployment vehicle. Declarative in design, OpenLaszlo relies upon JavaScript for logic and offers advantages over traditional Flash development, including an advanced UI constraints system, an object-oriented design methodology, and built-in support for Web services and a variety of flavors of Remote Procedure Call (RPC). This article details the basic concepts of OpenLaszlo, and gives examples of situations in which an OpenLaszlo solution might be beneficial.
Woods, Joshua M. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Flash
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In this article we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of one of the most controversial products in the web development world, Macromedia Flash. We will take a close look at what Flash can do and what Flash can't or shouldn't do. And while in the process we will be comparing Flash to its counterparts HTML and CSS.
Angeletti, Mark. Search-This (2003). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash
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Will Macromedia's Flash Plans Cripple the Web?
Macromedia's Flash-everywhere approach brings new innovations to Web design but carries hidden potential liabilities that could negate its benefits.
Becker, David. ZDNet (1997). Articles>Web Design>Software>Flash
