Course Description

• 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 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
• Optimizing artwork

• Viewing the Library panel
• Adding assets to 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 radio buttons and check boxes
• 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

• 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

• Preparing video for the web
• Understanding encoding and video codecs
• 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

• 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

• 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
• Define repeated items in sample data
• Setting Data List properties
• Edit the repeated item layout and states
• Using design-time data
• Replace design-time images
• Edit design-time text
• Add and delete design-time data
• Add and remove elements in the repeated item
• Using a wireframe data list

• Flash Catalyst drawing tools
• Using the rulers, guides, and grid
• Edit grid and guide settings
• Set guides for precise drawing
• Drawing basic shapes and lines
• Draw rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses and basic lines
• Changing stroke and fill
• Change the fill colour
• Change stroke colour and weight
• Add and modify gradient fills
• Grouping and transforming objects
• Size and position objects
• Applying and removing filters
• Add and modify a bevel and a drop shadow
• Round-trip editing with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
• Launch and edit in Adobe Illustrator
• Download and install the Adobe FXG extensions for Photoshop
• Launch and edit in Adobe Photoshop

• Final output delivery options
• Publishing your application
• Accessibility
• Embedding fonts
• Publish to SWF
• Viewing the published files
• Publishing to the web with Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
• Create a local root folder and site structure
• Connect to a remote site
• Upload files

• Extending the application
• Binding components to a data source
• Create, Read, Update, and Delete data
• Provide a keyword search
• Collect user input
• Use sliders to set values
• Create printer controls
• Exploring designer-developer workflows
• Preparing files for a developer
• Use data lists and design-time data
• The importance of instance names for everything
• Deleting unused assets
• Opening a Flash Catalyst project in Flash Builder
• Reviewing the final Flash Catalyst project file (FXP)
• Import the FXP into Flash Builder
• Compare and integrate code between projects
• Importing a Flash Catalyst library file (FXPL)
• Associate an FXPL library with your application