macromedia studio mx 2004 all-in-one desk reference for dummies

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xii Designing with Fireworks MX 2004 ...25 Illustrating with FreeHand MX ...26 Creating Animation with Macromedia Flash MX

by Damon Dean, Andy Cowitt, Ellen Finkelstein,

Doug Sahlin, and Camille McCue

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies

Published by

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

111 River Street

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or

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About the Authors

Damon Dean has been working in Internet technologies and development for

nearly a decade as an Editor, Producer, and Developer As a DevelopmentEditor for Sybex, Damon was responsible for developing both the multimediaand computer game book lines After developing those properties into prof-itable units, he moved on to Postlinear Entertainment, where he producedand designed online multiplayer computer games for publishers such as Segaand MGM Three years later, Damon took his software development skills andmoved into Web development As a founding member of 415 Productions,Damon worked with several large companies, including Credit Suisse, RobertMondavi, HP, and BART His application design and development resumeincludes architecting and building Content Management Systems, Extranets,corporate Intranets, and enterprise CRMs After four years at 415, Damonmoved on in the summer of 2001 to be the Internet Services Director at a private foundation in Oakland, CA

Damon has written several books dating back to 1996 His first book, A Pocket

Tour of Multimedia on the Internet (Sybex), was eventually translated into five

languages In 1997, Damon began a relationship with Wiley Publishing (formerly

IDG Books), and has written several books for them, including Web Channel

Development For Dummies, FrontPage 2000 For Dummies Quick Reference, Act!

2000 For Dummies Quick Reference (Co-Author), and most recently, Cascading Style Sheets For Dummies.

Andy Cowitt is a freelance Web developer who spent five years learning the

trade at the award-winning firm, 415, Inc While at 415, Andy worked on media presentations and Web sites for Apple, Oracle, Macromedia, the SanFrancisco Symphony, KQED, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars He’s been usingMacromedia’s products since each of them arrived on the scene In his sparetime, Andy plays guitar and ukulele and makes videos He lives in Oaklandwith illustrator Michael Wertz and their dog, Olive

Damon Dean: For Chris, Gatsby, and China

Andy Cowitt: For Michael Wertz and Olive

Acknowledgments

Damon Dean and Andy Cowitt: As with any book, there’s a big cast of

char-acters that help to bring it all together First and foremost, we’d like toacknowledge the patient, thoughtful work of editors: Project Editor PaulLevesque, Copy Editor Jean Rogers, and Technical Editors, Danilo Celic,Jim Kelly, Ron Rockwell and Sheldon Sargent Additionally, we’d like to thankAcquisitions Editor Steve Hayes, who for some reason, keeps asking us tocome back and write books I guess we miss our deadlines better than theother guys

Damon would like to thank Craig Ziegler, Vincent James, Eric Schmidt, andDaniel Hai, all of whom work at the California HealthCare Foundation, fortheir support while writing this book In addition, Damon would like to thankhis friends and family, who consistently put up with his crankiness as thisbook got closer and closer to being completed, specifically Chris Jennings,Ryan Clifford, Matthew Allington, and of course, his parents, John Dean andKathy Dean He’d also like to thank his grandmother just because.Andy wishes to thank his parents, Ben and Adria Cowitt, and his extendedfamily, with special nods to Michael Wertz, Phil Benson, and especiallyDamon Dean, for all their encouragement and support

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and

Media Development

Project Editor: Paul Levesque

(Previous Edition: Kala Schrager)

Acquisitions Editor: Steven Hayes

Copy Editor: Jean Rogers

Technical Editors: Danilo Celic, Jim Kelly,

Ron Rockwell, Sheldon Sargent

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Permissions Editor: Carmen Kirkorian

Media Development Manager:

Laura VanWinkle

Media Development Supervisor:

Richard Graves

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Cartoons: Rich Tennant

Proofreaders: Carl Pierce, Evelyn Still,

Brian H Walls

Indexer: Sherry Massey

Special Help: Teresa Artman; John Edwards

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary C Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a Glance

Introduction 1

Book I: An Introduction to Building Web Sites 7

Chapter 1: Why Build a Web Site? .9

Chapter 2: Developing Web Content .17

Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Tools for the Job .23

Chapter 4: Best Practices for Web Development .31

Book II: Dreamweaver MX 2004 41

Chapter 1: Introduction to Dreamweaver MX 2004 43

Chapter 2: Creating Basic Web Pages .55

Chapter 3: Creating and Using Dreamweaver Sites 75

Chapter 4: Punching Up Your Pages with Forms and Frames .95

Chapter 5: Laying Out Pages with Layers 109

Chapter 6: Using ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition in Dreamweaver MX 2004 .121

Chapter 7: Advanced Web Page Design Techniques 135

Chapter 8: Integrating Dreamweaver MX 2004 with Other Macromedia Products .155

Book III: Fireworks MX 2004 169

Chapter 1: Introduction to Fireworks MX 2004 171

Chapter 2: Fireworks MX 2004 Basics 189

Chapter 3: Working with Text, Shapes, and Images .205

Chapter 4: Transforming Text, Shapes, and Images 233

Chapter 5: The Power of Layers and Frames 261

Chapter 6: Slicing Up Content for the Web .289

Chapter 7: Advanced Fireworks MX 2004 Tools .311

Chapter 8: Integrating Fireworks MX 2004 with Other Macromedia Products 329

Book IV: FreeHand MX 345

Chapter 1: Introduction to FreeHand MX .347

Chapter 2: Understanding FreeHand MX Basics .357

Chapter 3: Using the FreeHand MX Text Tools .381

Chapter 4: Creating Illustrations with FreeHand MX .407

Chapter 5: Transforming Text, Shapes, and Images 425

Chapter 6: Exploring the Color Management Tools .449

Chapter 7: Integrating FreeHand MX with Other Macromedia Products .471

Book V: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 483

Chapter 1: Introduction to Macromedia Flash MX 2004 485

Chapter 2: Using the Graphics Tools .507

Chapter 3: Working with Symbols .531

Chapter 4: Making Your Life Easier with Layers 541

Chapter 5: Creating Animation .551

Chapter 6: Adding Sound and Video .565

Chapter 7: Publishing Movies .573

Chapter 8: Getting Interactive with ActionScript .585

Chapter 9: Creating Interfaces with Components and Forms 595

Chapter 10: Integrating Macromedia Flash MX 2004 with Other Macromedia Products .609

Book VI: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 619

Chapter 1: Introduction to ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 621

Chapter 2: Working with the ColdFusion Administrator .635

Chapter 3: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition Basics .647

Chapter 4: Understanding CFML Basics .659

Chapter 5: Variables, Functions, and Structured Data 673

Chapter 6: Using Databases with ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 695

Chapter 7: Advanced Features in ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition .705

Chapter 8: Integrating ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition with Other Macromedia Products .721

Book VII: Contribute 2 731

Chapter 1: Introduction to Contribute 2 733

Chapter 2: Basics for Contributors .747

Chapter 3: Contribute 2 Administration 773

Chapter 4: Contribute 2 and Other Macromedia Products 803

Index 809

Table of Contents

Introduction .1

About This Book 1

How to Use This Book .1

Three Presumptuous Assumptions .2

Macintosh versus Windows 2

How This Book Is Organized 3

Book I: An Introduction to Building Web Sites 3

Book II: Dreamweaver MX 2004 .3

Book III: Fireworks MX 2004 .3

Book IV: FreeHand MX .3

Book V: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 .4

Book VI: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 4

Book VII: Contribute 2 4

Icons Used in This Book 4

Where to Go from Here 5

Book I: An Introduction to Building Web Sites 7

Chapter 1: Why Build a Web Site? .9

Understanding Why People Build Web Sites .9

Finding Your Place on the Web 10

What Drives People to the Web 12

Choosing the Right Type of Web Site .13

Macromedia Studio MX 2004: Your Ally in Development 14

Before You Start: Things to Know .15

Chapter 2: Developing Web Content .17

Developing Content: A Four-Step Process .17

Choosing and Organizing Content .18

Classifying common types of Web content .19

Categorizing your content 19

Creating Content for the Web .20

Prepping Content for the Web .22

Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Tools for the Job 23

Before You Begin: When Not to Use Macromedia Studio MX 2004 .23

Using Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Web Development .24

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xii

Designing with Fireworks MX 2004 .25

Illustrating with FreeHand MX 26

Creating Animation with Macromedia Flash MX 2004 28

Creating a Dynamic Site with ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 29

Managing Your Site with Contribute 2 29

Chapter 4: Best Practices for Web Development .31

Following the Best Path of Development .32

Step one: Develop a site concept .32

Step two: Define your requirements .32

Step three: Generate content .33

Step four: Design the site .33

Step five: Build the site .34

Step six: Test and deploy your site .36

Getting the Right People at the Right Time .38

Building a team .38

Involving the right people at the right time .40

Book II: Dreamweaver MX 2004 41

Chapter 1: Introduction to Dreamweaver MX 2004 43

Exploring the New Dreamweaver MX 2004 Interface 43

Selecting a workspace on start-up .44

Introducing the new Start page .44

Introducing the Document Window 46

Choosing among Standard, Expanded Table, and Layout Modes 47

Examining Your Site with the Files Panel .48

Exploring Toolbar Buttons 49

Using Panels and Inspectors 51

Understanding the role of panels .51

Working with the Properties panel .52

Getting Help .52

Chapter 2: Creating Basic Web Pages .55

Setting Ruler and Grid Options in the Document Window .55

Creating and Opening Pages 57

Establishing Page Properties 58

Working with Text .60

Adding, editing, and deleting text .60

Inserting a line break .63

Working with Images 63

Inserting an image .64

Deleting or moving an image .65

Modifying an image .65

Table of Contents xiii

Working with Links 67

Inserting a link .68

Deleting a link .68

Using named anchors .68

Working with Tables .70

Inserting a table .70

Deleting a table .72

Using layout tables 72

Storing information in table cells .74

Previewing Your Work .74

Chapter 3: Creating and Using Dreamweaver Sites 75

Defining a Site in Dreamweaver MX 2004 .75

Creating Your First Site 76

Creating a site manually .76

Creating a site using a wizard .78

Setting Up a Remote Connection .82

Using Advanced Site Options .85

Testing your server .86

Cloaking 87

Using Design Notes .87

Setting up a site map 87

Selecting columns for the File view 87

Enabling Contribute compatibility 88

Publishing Your Site 89

Maintaining Your Site 90

Running reports 90

Checking links .92

Using Source Control .92

Chapter 4: Punching Up Your Pages with Forms and Frames .95

Incorporating Forms into Web Pages .95

Adding a form .96

Specifying form properties 97

Labeling form objects .98

Using text fields .99

Setting up buttons .100

Adding other form elements .101

Structuring Pages with Frames 102

Adding frames 102

Modifying frames 103

Deleting frames .105

Saving frames .105

Saving framesets 106

Setting no-frames content .106

Targeting content .107

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xiv

Chapter 5: Laying Out Pages with Layers 109

Adding a Layer 109

Selecting a Layer .110

Deleting a Layer 111

Placing Objects in a Layer 111

Changing Layer Properties .111

Including a background image or color in a layer 112

Naming a layer .112

Aligning layers .113

Changing the visibility of a layer .114

Layering layers: Setting the z-index .115

Moving a layer .117

Resizing a layer .118

Nesting Layers .118

Enabling nesting .119

Creating a new nested layer 119

Nesting an existing layer .120

Collapsing or expanding your view in the Layers tab .120

Chapter 6: Using ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition in Dreamweaver MX 2004 .121

Understanding the Integration of ColdFusion and Dreamweaver .121

Using Features on the Insert Bar 124

Editing a Tag .128

Getting Data from a Database 129

Using the Bindings Tab 131

Introducing Server Behaviors and Components 133

Understanding server behaviors 133

Considering components .134

Chapter 7: Advanced Web Page Design Techniques 135

Creating Clickable Image Maps with Hotspots 135

Creating a hotspot 135

Modifying a hotspot .137

Adding Flash Text Rollovers .137

Adding Flash text 138

Changing Flash text .139

Adding Flash Button Rollovers 139

Adding a Flash button 140

Changing a Flash button .142

Inserting Image Rollovers .142

Setting Up a Navigation Bar .143

Adding Audio and Video to Your Pages .146

Embedding an audio or video clip .146

Embedding background music .147

Table of Contents xv

Linking to an audio or video clip 148

Adding Other Media 149

Using Dreamweaver MX 2004 Templates .150

Validating Your Code .154

Chapter 8: Integrating Dreamweaver MX 2004 with Other Macromedia Products .155

Integrating Dreamweaver with Fireworks .157

Making Fireworks your primary image editor .157

Working with tables .158

Integrating Dreamweaver with Macromedia Flash .161

Inserting a Flash movie into a Dreamweaver document .161

Working with the Property inspector .162

Editing a Flash movie in Dreamweaver 163

Editing a link in an SWF file in Dreamweaver 164

Integrating Dreamweaver with ColdFusion .165

Integrating Dreamweaver with FreeHand .165

Integrating Dreamweaver with Contribute .165

Book III: Fireworks MX 2004 169

Chapter 1: Introduction to Fireworks MX 2004 .171

Understanding the Power of Fireworks 171

Making designing easier with layers .172

Creating slices 172

Taking a Quick Tour of the Fireworks MX 2004 Interface .174

The Tools panel: A bird’s-eye view 175

The Tools panel: A bug’s-eye view .176

Across the aisle: The right-side panels 179

The Property inspector .179

Viewing and Previewing Your Work .179

Customizing Your Work Environment .180

Collapsing and expanding panels 180

Moving, docking, and grouping panels 181

Setting Fireworks Preferences .183

Setting General preferences .184

Setting Editing preferences .185

Setting Launch and Edit preferences .185

Setting Folders preferences .186

Setting Import preferences 186

Getting Help .187

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xvi

Chapter 2: Fireworks MX 2004 Basics .189

Creating a New Document 189

Changing Views of Your Document 191

Saving Documents 193

Modifying Document Size 194

Changing the image size .194

Changing the canvas size .197

An Introduction to Color Management 199

Hexadecimal numbers .200

Web safe colors 201

Chapter 3: Working with Text, Shapes, and Images .205

Working with Text .205

Creating text with the Text tool 207

Selecting a font and changing its size .208

Adding a little color 209

Manipulating text .212

Working with Vector Shapes .215

Making a good old-fashioned line 216

Making simple shapes 217

Making complex shapes .219

Editing, moving, and deleting shapes .221

Splitting shapes .223

Adding a little color to your shapes .224

Working with Bitmap Images .225

Exploring the bitmap drawing tools .226

Inserting a bitmap image .228

Selecting areas in a bitmap image .228

Editing bitmaps: The basics 231

Chapter 4: Transforming Text, Shapes, and Images .233

Scaling Graphics 233

Using the Scale Transformation tool .234

Resizing by entering numerical values .235

Distorting and Skewing Images and Text .236

Distorting an image .237

Skewing an image .238

Distorting and skewing text .239

Rotating and Flipping Graphics and Text 241

Rotating graphics .241

Rotating text 243

Flipping images .243

Flipping text .245

Adding Gradients and Textures to Shape Fills and Bitmap Selections 245

Introducing gradients .245

Adding textures .250

Table of Contents xvii

Adjusting Color Information and More with Filters 251

Fine-tuning your colors 252

Blurring and sharpening 256

Using the other filters: Convert to Alpha and Find Edges 258

Using Extras: Lite Versions Bundled with Fireworks MX 2004 .259

Chapter 5: The Power of Layers and Frames .261

Managing Layers .262

Adding and deleting layers .263

Making a layer active .263

Expanding and collapsing layers 264

Making a layer visible or invisible on the canvas .265

Locking and unlocking a layer .265

Renaming a layer .265

Moving a layer in front of or behind other layers .266

Merging layers .268

Using Layers for Masking .268

Creating a bitmap mask .269

Creating a vector mask .272

Using the Web Layer .273

Using the Slice tool 274

Using the Polygon Slice tool .275

Working with Objects .276

Renaming an object in the Layers panel .276

Moving an object between layers 276

Setting an object’s opacity/transparency .276

Blending 277

Managing Frames .280

Adding frames 281

Deleting and editing frames .282

Renaming frames .282

Using Frames to Create Rollovers and Animated GIFs 282

Creating a rollover 283

Creating an animated GIF .284

Chapter 6: Slicing Up Content for the Web .289

Exploring the Advantages of Using Slices .289

Creating and Editing Slices .291

Naming a slice .291

Moving a slice .292

Resizing a slice 293

Duplicating a slice .295

Optimizing Your Images for the Web .295

Working with the options in the Optimize panel 296

Making a JPEG 298

Making a GIF .301

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xviii

Previewing Slices 304

The Preview pane .305

The 2-Up view .305

The 4-Up view .306

Relating Hotspots and Slices .307

Exporting Images 308

Exporting a single image .308

Exporting multiple image slices .309

Exporting an animated GIF 310

Chapter 7: Advanced Fireworks MX 2004 Tools .311

Using Advanced Export Options .311

Readying your PNG for HTML export .313

Exporting HTML with your images .314

Setting the export HTML file options 315

Setting Up Image Maps and Button Rollovers .317

Creating image maps with hotspots .317

Creating advanced button rollovers .319

Bringing Interactivity to Your Pages with Behaviors 322

The Swap Images behavior .322

Generating pop-up menus .324

Chapter 8: Integrating Fireworks MX 2004 with Other Macromedia Products .329

Integrating Fireworks with Macromedia Flash .331

Exporting files from Fireworks to Macromedia Flash 331

Importing files into Macromedia Flash from Fireworks .333

Integrating Fireworks with Dreamweaver .334

Setting preferences 334

Editing PNGs .335

Working with tables .336

Integrating Fireworks with FreeHand .338

Importing FreeHand files into Fireworks 339

Editing Fireworks objects in FreeHand 341

Integrating Fireworks with Director 342

Book IV: FreeHand MX 345

Chapter 1: Introduction to FreeHand MX .347

Introducing FreeHand MX .347

Using Illustration Tools for the Web .348

Understanding the Role of Vector Graphics .348

Table of Contents xix

Investigating the FreeHand MX Interface 349

Exploring the document window .350

Using the drawing tools 351

Working with toolbars .352

Perusing the panels 353

Modifying groups 355

Chapter 2: Understanding FreeHand MX Basics .357

Creating FreeHand Documents 357

Creating a new document 358

Modifying documents with the Properties panel 359

Editing a Master Page .363

Changing the Document Tab Thumbnail Display .363

Using the Page Tool .364

Opening Existing Documents 365

Using the Document Grid 366

Using Rulers .367

Creating guides .367

Editing guides .368

Adding Text to Your Illustration 369

Creating Predefined Shapes 369

Creating Custom Shapes with the Pen Tool 371

Using the Line Tool .372

Coloring Shapes 372

Using the Fill color box 373

Changing a shape’s fill color .374

Creating Outlines 374

Using the Stroke color box .374

Changing an object’s stroke color 375

Working with Layers .376

Creating layers .376

Editing layers .377

Saving Documents in FreeHand 378

Saving FreeHand files .379

Exporting files in other formats 380

Chapter 3: Using the FreeHand MX Text Tools .381

Creating Text Using the Text Tool .381

Creating auto-expanding text boxes .382

Creating fixed-size text boxes .382

Using Text Rulers .383

Checking the Spelling of a Text Selection .384

Editing Blocks of Text .386

Moving and deleting text .386

Resizing text boxes .386

Changing text box characteristics .387

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xx

Formatting Text .388

Choosing a font type, size, and style .390

Creating text styles 391

Choosing a text color .392

Aligning your text .393

Changing paragraph settings .394

Formatting text in columns and rows .395

Scaling text horizontally .396

Copying attributes between text boxes 398

Adding visual effects to text .398

Adjusting the Spacing and Position of Characters and Lines .399

Adjusting leading 399

Adjusting kerning .400

Adjusting baseline shift .401

Working with Text and Paths 401

Converting text to a path .401

Aligning text to a path 402

Aligning text to both sides of an ellipse .403

Modifying the alignment of text along a path .404

Chapter 4: Creating Illustrations with FreeHand MX 407

Using Predefined Shapes 407

Creating rectangles and squares .408

Creating polygons 409

Creating ellipses .410

Creating spirals 411

Creating Freeform Shapes .412

Using the Pencil tool .413

Using the Variable Stroke Pen tool .414

Using the Calligraphic Pen tool .415

Selecting Objects 416

Using the Pointer tool .416

Using the Subselection tool .417

Using the Lasso tool 417

Editing Objects with the Object Tab 418

Grouping and Ungrouping Objects .419

Arranging Objects .420

Aligning Objects with the Align Panel .421

Slicing Objects with the Knife Tool 423

Chapter 5: Transforming Text, Shapes, and Images .425

Working with Bitmap Images .425

Modifying Objects .426

Scaling graphics 427

Skewing and distorting objects .429

Table of Contents xxi

Rotating objects 431

Flipping objects .433

Using the Move command 435

Giving an object some perspective .436

Extruding an object .438

Scaling, skewing, and rotating with the Pointer tool .438

Using the Trace Tool 440

Creating New Shapes by Combining Shapes .442

Using the Xtra Tools to Change a Shape .443

Using the Arc tool 444

Using the 3D Rotation tool .444

Using the Smudge tool .445

Using the Shadow tool .445

Using Xtra Operations to Modify Shapes .446

Chapter 6: Exploring the Color Management Tools .449

Using the Mixer Tab .450

Mixing a CMYK color .450

Mixing an RGB color 451

Mixing an HLS color .452

Mixing a color from the System Color Picker .453

Working with the Mixer Tab 454

Using the Mixer tab to apply color to an object 454

Using the Mixer tab to change the current fill or stroke color 455

Adding a color to the Swatches tab of the Assets panel .455

Creating Color Tints 456

Using the Swatches Tab of the Assets Panel .457

Adding preset colors to the Swatches tab .459

Renaming a color 459

Exporting a color palette 460

Adding custom colors to the Swatches tab .461

Using the Eyedropper Tool .462

Modifying Strokes .462

Modifying Fills .464

Creating a basic fill .464

Creating a gradient fill 465

Creating a tiled fill .467

Using FreeHand’s other fill types .469

Chapter 7: Integrating FreeHand MX with Other Macromedia Products .471

Integrating FreeHand with Fireworks .471

Integrating FreeHand with Macromedia Flash .472

Creating animations .472

Using ActionScript 474

Exporting Flash movies .475

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xxii

Integrating FreeHand with Dreamweaver .478

Adding navigation links .478

Publishing a document as HTML 479

Book V: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 483

Chapter 1: Introduction to Macromedia Flash MX 2004 .485

Understanding What Macromedia Flash Is and How It Works .485

Recognizing what Macromedia Flash can do 486

Creating content for a Web site in Macromedia Flash .486

Using Macromedia Flash on a Web site .487

Appreciating the Unique Nature of Vector Graphics .487

Exploring Basic Moviemaking Principles .488

The Stage .488

The Timeline and frames 489

Layers 489

Scenes 490

Creating a Flash Document File 490

Taking a Quick Tour of the Macromedia Flash Interface .490

Menus 490

Timeline 492

The Tools panel .494

Panels 495

The Properties panel .496

Library 496

Viewing the Stage .498

Setting Movie and Macromedia Flash Preferences .499

Setting document properties .499

Setting preferences 501

Creating your own keyboard shortcuts 504

Getting Help .506

Tutorial 506

Chapter 2: Using the Graphics Tools .507

Choosing When to Use the Macromedia Flash Tools .507

Creating Shapes and Text 507

Line tool 508

Oval tool .509

Rectangle tool .509

Polystar tool 510

Pencil tool 511

Pen tool 512

Brush tool 513

Paint Bucket tool .514

Table of Contents xxiii

Ink Bottle tool .514

Text tool 515

Modifying Shapes and Text .516

Selection tool .517

Lasso tool .517

Moving and copying objects .517

Eraser tool .518

Reshaping with the Selection tool 518

Subselect tool .519

Free Transform tool .520

Straightening and smoothing with the Selection tool .522

Optimizing curves .522

Softening edges 523

Flipping 524

Transferring properties with the Eyedropper tool .524

Grouping 525

Breaking objects apart 525

Aligning objects .525

Working with Colors .526

Creating solid colors .527

Creating gradients .528

Editing fills 529

Working with bitmap fills .530

Chapter 3: Working with Symbols .531

Appreciating the Importance of Symbols .531

Working with Graphic Symbols .532

Working with instances of symbols .532

Creating graphic symbols .533

Using graphic symbols .534

Editing graphic symbols .534

Creating and Working with Movie Clip Symbols .535

Working with Button Symbols .537

Creating simple button symbols .538

Adding pizzazz to buttons 539

Testing buttons 540

Chapter 4: Making Your Life Easier with Layers 541

Working with the Layer List 542

Working with Layers .543

Creating layers .543

Using layers 543

Editing layers .544

An introduction to guide layers 546

Using mask layers 547

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xxiv

Changing Layer Options 548

Altering the visibility of objects .548

Locking and unlocking layers .549

Setting layer properties .549

Using Folders to Manage Layers .550

Chapter 5: Creating Animation .551

Getting Familiar with the Timeline .551

Understanding the frame rate 552

Working with the Timeline .552

Onion skinning .553

Using Frames and Keyframes .554

Creating Animation Frame-By-Frame 555

Creating Tweened Motion Animation .556

Preparing to tween .556

Creating a simple tween .557

Motion tweening along a path .558

Creating Tweened Shape Animation 560

Creating a simple shape tween .560

Using shape hints for more control .561

Adding Basic Interactivity to Animation .562

Go To .562

Stop 563

Play 563

On (mouse event) 563

Working with Scenes 563

Chapter 6: Adding Sound and Video .565

Exploring Sound and Video Formats .565

Sound file formats .565

Video file formats .566

Working with Sounds .566

Importing sounds .566

Placing a sound in a movie 567

Editing sounds .569

Setting sound properties .570

Working with Video Clips .571

Chapter 7: Publishing Movies .573

Publishing Movies the Simple Way .573

Optimizing Movies for Speed 576

Simplifying graphics 576

Optimizing text .576

Minimizing the size of sound files .577

Testing download time .577

Table of Contents xxv

Generating HTML and Graphics 578Creating HTML code .578Creating graphic files .580Creating QuickTime movies .582Creating self-playing movies .583Exporting movies and images 584

Chapter 8: Getting Interactive with ActionScript .585

Exploring the Role of ActionScript .585Using Actions in Your Movies 586Timeline Control actions .587Browser/Network actions 588Movie Clip Control actions 588Advanced actions .589Creating Frame Actions .589Creating Button Actions .592

Chapter 9: Creating Interfaces with Components and Forms 595

Adding Components .596Check boxes .598Radio buttons .598Push buttons .599Combo boxes .599List boxes .600Scroll panes .600Label 602Loader 602TextArea 602TextInput 603NumericStepper 603Window 603Setting component properties 604Creating Forms with Macromedia Flash 604Collecting data within a Flash movie .604Posting form data .606

Chapter 10: Integrating Macromedia Flash MX 2004 with Other

Macromedia Products .609

Integrating Macromedia Flash with Fireworks .609Importing a Fireworks PNG into Macromedia Flash .610Cutting and pasting between Macromedia Flash

and Fireworks 611Integrating Macromedia Flash with Dreamweaver .612Integrating Macromedia Flash with FreeHand .613Integrating Macromedia Flash with ColdFusion 615

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xxvi

Book VI: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition 619

Chapter 1: Introduction to ColdFusion MX 6.1

Developer Edition .621

Creating Dynamic Web Sites .622Exploring the Components of ColdFusion .624Understanding the Role of the Web Application Server .625Investigating CFML .625The ColdFusion Administrator .626Setting Up the ColdFusion Environment .626Finding an ISP 626Installing the application server .627Configuring the application server .630Introducing Databases 631Taking a Quick Tour of ColdFusion in Dreamweaver 632

Chapter 2: Working with the ColdFusion Administrator .635

Exploring the Functionality of the ColdFusion Administrator .635Logging On to the ColdFusion Administrator .636Working with the ColdFusion Administrator 637Creating Data Sources .638Setting up a data source .639Other data source tasks .641Connecting to a Mail Server 642Controlling Logging on Your Site 645Debugging Options for Building Your Site .646

Chapter 3: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition Basics .647

Understanding the ColdFusion Application Server Model .648Getting Acquainted with CFML 650Introducing CFML tags 650Working with variables .654Using expressions 656

Chapter 4: Understanding CFML Basics 659

Setting Up Your Page Architecture .659Understanding template basics 659Using <CFINCLUDE> .661Using Conditional Processing 662Using <CFIF> and <CFELSE> .663Using <CFELSEIF> .664Using <CFSWITCH> 665

Table of Contents xxvii

Using SQL Queries 666Exploring SQL concepts .666Using <CFQUERY> .668Using SQL commands .668Outputting Content to the Screen 671Using <CFOUTPUT> 671Looping 671

Chapter 5: Variables, Functions, and Structured Data 673

Working with Variables and Parameters .673Creating variables with <CFSET> 674Testing the existence of variables with <CFPARAM> .676Getting access to variables through <CFQUERY> .679Using variables generated by ColdFusion 680Using CFML Functions .680Using the arrayNew function .682Using the isDefined function .683Using the len function .683Using the DateFormat function 683Using the Trim function 684Casting Data into Arrays, Lists, and Structures .684Creating lists .685Creating arrays .687Using structures .692

Chapter 6: Using Databases with ColdFusion MX 6.1

Developer Edition .695

Understanding Relational Databases 695Understanding ODBC and OLE .698Creating Queries in ColdFusion 699Using <CFQUERY> .700Using <CFINSERT> .700Using <CFUPDATE> 702

Chapter 7: Advanced Features in ColdFusion MX 6.1

Developer Edition .705

Using <CFFORM> .705Working with Sessions and Cookies .708Using session variables .709Setting and retrieving cookies .711Sending Mail 713Creating Graphs 715Building Custom Tags .718

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xxviii

Chapter 8: Integrating ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition

with Other Macromedia Products 721

Integrating ColdFusion with Dreamweaver .721Integrating ColdFusion with Fireworks .724Integrating ColdFusion with Macromedia Flash 724Using the Macromedia Flash Remoting service .725Working with CF.query and CF.http 727Understanding the Macromedia Flash

Communication Server .728Charting 729Book VII: Contribute 2 731

Chapter 1: Introduction to Contribute 2 733

Why Contribute? .733Exploring the Contribute Interface .734Panel basics .734Menus 739Setting Preferences .743Setting general preferences 744Setting file editor preferences 745Setting firewall preferences 746Setting invisible element preferences 746Setting security preferences .746

Chapter 2: Basics for Contributors .747

Connecting to a Site .747Connecting to a site with the connection key .748Connecting to a site with the Connection Wizard 749Opening an Existing Page for Editing 752Creating a New Page .753Working with Text .754Adding text .754Formatting text .754Working with Tables .759Inserting a table .759Adding information to a table 761Modifying a table .762Adding Images, Links, and More .766Inserting an image .766Inserting a Flash movie 766Inserting a link .767Inserting a Document as FlashPaper .768

Table of Contents xxix

Previewing Your Work .770Uploading (Publishing) a Page .770Collaborating 770

Chapter 3: Contribute 2 Administration .773

Setting Yourself Up as Site Administrator 773Changing Settings in the Connection Wizard .776Creating Sitewide Settings 777Changing the administrator’s e-mail address .777Changing the Administrator password 778Using the Rollback feature to save file backups 779Setting up index and URL mapping .780Deleting all permissions and settings at once .783Setting Up Groups .784Opening the Administer Website dialog box .784Setting up a new group .784Deleting groups 786Granting Group Permissions .786Making general settings .787Granting access to folders and files 788Extending file deletion privileges .790Customizing editing settings 791Granting styles and fonts permissions .793Granting permission to create new pages 795Customizing options for adding new images 798Creating Connection Keys to Provide Access to Contributors .799

Chapter 4: Contribute 2 and Other Macromedia Products .803

Introducing FlashPaper .803Teaming Contribute with Dreamweaver .805Understanding Dreamweaver Templates .805Working with PayPal .806Index 809

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies xxx

Macromedia has always been known as a leading-edge design company.Since it introduced Director more than a decade ago, Macromediahas shrewdly developed products (like Fireworks and Dreamweaver) andacquired products (such as Flash and FreeHand) geared toward turningartists into developers With its acquisition of Allaire, Macromedia added

a powerful technology platform to its suite of design-oriented products.Macromedia Studio MX 2004 represents the natural evolution and integra-tion of the Macromedia products into a single set of Web development tools.The result? We’ve worked in Web development since its inception, and wecan honestly say that there’s never been a product that is as user friendly,powerful, and complete as Macromedia Studio MX 2004

About This Book

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (we know,

it’s a mouthful) is designed to be a hands-on, easy-to-understand guide to thefeatures in all the Macromedia Studio products The no-nonsense approach isdesigned to help you begin to build Web sites by covering the basics in a clearand concise fashion The way we see it, you’ve got things to do, and reading abook, even a clever one, takes up valuable time The faster we can help you

do something or answer a question, the better

How to Use This Book

You can use this book in a few different ways:

✦ As a reference: If you already have a Web site and use Macromedia

Studio, this book can be a handy refresher for that thing you couldn’tquite remember how to do Whether it’s exporting graphics toMacromedia Flash from FreeHand, or the right syntax for a query

in ColdFusion, use this book to fill in those gaps that we all have especially as we get older

✦ To guide you through building a Web site: Several authors contributed

to the creation of this book All of us have a wealth of experience in theprocess of building Web sites In this book, we’ve tried to impart asmuch of our collective knowledge about the processes and pitfalls ofbuilding Web sites using these tools as we can

Three Presumptuous Assumptions

2

✦ To learn about the tools: In this All-in-One Desk Reference, each

mini-book has at most 150 pages to cover a product or topic, which meansthat we get right to the point and make the topics covered easy tounderstand We believe that this approach makes figuring out theseproducts easier

Three Presumptuous Assumptions

Before you dive in to the book, we thought we should give you some advancewarning of our expectations We know, you’re the audience, so we shouldn’t

be presuming anything! But, just so you know where we’re coming from, hereare our three basic assumptions about you, the reader:

✦ You’re in a hurry Frankly, if you wanted a more in-depth book, you’d

have picked up a regular For Dummies book on one or all of these

prod-ucts Hence the no-nonsense, get it done, and keep on moving approachyou’re gonna see inside this book

✦ You know something about Web development This isn’t a book where

we’re going to spend a lot of time talking about HTML and how it works

So you won’t find a chapter anywhere in this book titled, “What theInternet Is and How It Works.”

✦ You’ll experiment on your own The approach here is to give you

quick, useful examples of how things work across all these products Insome cases, the examples can be fairly sophisticated In most cases,though, it’s the basics Our hope is that you’ll take those basic examplesand build your own, more complex ones on top of that, according to thecomplexity of your site

Macintosh versus Windows

Macromedia Studio is both a Windows and a Macintosh product In this book,you see us use the Windows commands, and the figures are all showingWindows XP The reason we chose to use the Windows version is becausethe ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition is included on the Windows version,but not the Macintosh version of the product If you are using MacromediaStudio on the Mac, you can still do everything in Book VI if you’re usingColdFusion at your place of business or if your Internet Service Provider (ISP)supports ColdFusion

In general, you can convert between Windows (PC) and Macintosh key mands by using the following equivalencies:

com-How This Book Is Organized 3

✦ The Ctrl key on a PC is equivalent to the Cmd (Ô) key on a Mac

✦ The Alt key on a PC is equivalent to the Option key on a Mac

✦ The Enter key on a PC is equivalent to the Return key on a Mac

How This Book Is Organized

Like all the All-in-One Desk References, this book’s chapters are organizedinto minibooks Most of the minibooks revolve around products, but one isgeared toward the Web development process The following sections

describe each minibook in more detail

Book I: An Introduction to Building Web Sites

Before we jump into the products in the Macromedia Studio suite, we want

to frame the conversation around how Web sites get built: things to sider, organizing yourself, and so on This minibook walks you through how

con-to figure out what it is you’re really building, and how you should go aboutpreparing to build it

Book II: Dreamweaver MX 2004

Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the crux of any Web development effort withMacromedia Studio, so naturally, this is a good place to start In this mini-book, you get a hands-on look at how you can use Dreamweaver to createand manage your Web sites, whether they’re more design-oriented (withMacromedia Flash) or technology-driven (with ColdFusion)

Book III: Fireworks MX 2004

Whereas Dreamweaver is the tool that helps you manage your Web site,Fireworks MX 2004 is designed to spur your creative vision This minibookshows you how to use the variety of tools in this impressive program tobring the look and feel of your site to life It also shows you how to useFireworks in conjunction with the other Macromedia Studio products (such

as Macromedia Flash) effectively

Book IV: FreeHand MX

This is the minibook for the true illustrators Whether the final product is aFlash-based or a traditional HTML-based site, FreeHand MX gives designersthe tools they need to create compelling imagery In this minibook, you findout how to turn your ideas into working graphical art to be used in a variety

of Web applications

Icons Used in This Book

4

Book V: Macromedia Flash MX 2004

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 is probably the most exciting of the Macromediaproducts Macromedia Flash delivers animation, sound, and interactivity tothe Web like no other product ever has If you’ve ever wanted to find outhow to use this tool to add some new zeal to your Web site, then this is theminibook for you!

Book VI: ColdFusion MX 6.1 Developer Edition

ColdFusion, once left for dead by many in the industry, now appears wellpoised to lead mainstream Web development into the dynamic contentarena In this minibook, you too can find out just how easy it is to useColdFusion to create dynamic Web sites

Book VII: Contribute 2

In this minibook, we introduce you to the newest member of the Macromediafamily, Contribute 2 Designed as a collaborative tool that turns your harddevelopment work into an easy interface for non-techies to update and pub-lish content to the Web, Contribute puts the power of building Web sites inthe hands of the people you work with In this minibook, you find everythingyou need to know to get you and your collaborators up and running withContribute in no time flat

Icons Used in This Book

Along the way, when there’s something of interest to point out, we toss inone of the icons you see in the left margins When you see one, slow downfor a moment to check it out to see what’s up!

If there’s a way to make something easier, or a more commonly acceptedway of doing something, we tell you about it This is the icon to look for!

When we really want to reinforce something, we throw in a Remember icon

Pitfall ahead! That’s what this icon is all about If something could causetrouble, we let you know

Where to Go from Here 5

Because we love technology, you have to forgive us for geeking out everynow and then When we do, though, we let you know with this icon

This icon highlights new features in the Macromedia Studio MX 2004 suite ofproducts

Where to Go from Here

If you’ve read this far, then you may actually be a candidate for reading thisbook cover to cover! From here, we suggest you dive right in to whateversection you’re most interested in Remember, all these minibooks are self-contained and don’t require you to read the others So have at it It’s buffettime, and your plate needs fillin’ up!

Macromedia Studio MX 2004 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies 6

Book I

An Introduction to Building Web Sites

Contents at a Glance

Chapter 1: Why Build a Web Site? .9 Chapter 2: Developing Web Content .17 Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Tools for the Job .23 Chapter 4: Best Practices for Web Development .31

Chapter 1: Why Build a Web Site?

In This Chapter

Exploring the reasons that Web sites get built

Finding your place on the Web

Understanding what drives people to the Web

Investigating common types of Web sites

Getting ready to build a Web site

So you want to build a Web site? Well, congratulations! If you’re

read-ing this book, then you’ve probably already purchased a copy ofMacromedia Studio MX 2004, and you’re ready to dive right in MacromediaStudio is a fantastic tool that enables you to create a wide array of contentand graphics to deploy on a Web site that is dynamic and easy to maintain.But software isn’t all you need in order to create a wonderful Web site Italso takes creativity, a good eye, a well-thought-out plan, and some serioussoul searching about why you want to undertake this endeavor in the firstplace This chapter offers some insight into how sites get built, why they arecreated, and who they are aimed at So grab your pen and paper and getready to jot down your own ideas about the great site that you want tobuild

Understanding Why People Build Web Sites

In the early days of the Internet, all Web sites generally looked the same andserved similar functions Back then, an average Web site could be described

as a big online book with linked pages In short, in its infancy, the Internetwas not all that interesting graphically and was severely lacking in interac-tive sophistication

All that has changed Today’s Internet is a dynamic amalgam of text, ics, interactive tools, commerce, and communication If you are part of abusiness, an association, the government, or an academic institution,chances are a Web site supports some or all of the mission of the group Butnot every venture requires a Web site, which naturally leads to the question,

graph-“Why build a Web site?” Most organizations and individuals establish a ence on the Internet for one or more of the following reasons:

pres-Finding Your Place on the Web

10

✦ To sell a product or service directly online, as shown in Figure 1-1

✦ To provide information or tools

✦ To provide an extension of — or support for — products and services

✦ To find other organizations or people to work in a particular area ofinterest

✦ To introduce and promote an organization and its mission

✦ To remain competitive with other organizations that are already on theInternet

✦ To promote community development by bringing groups of peopletogether around ideas, people, or causes, either online or in person

✦ To share artwork, writing, or photographs

Finding Your Place on the Web

Before you begin to think about the kind of site you’re going to build (eitherfor yourself or for your organization), you should consider each of the fol-lowing questions carefully Doing so can help you target your site to anappropriate audience and prepare yourself for the work ahead

Book I Chapter 1

✦ Consider your content:

• What is the content going to be on your site? Is it unique?

• How often will you be updating this content?

• Are there any other sites that already do what you want to do? If so,

how will you differentiate your site?

Consider the early explosion of sites during the dot-com boom At one

point, more than five pet sites were all trying to hawk their wares to

users Only one survived, and that was because it was a traditional

retailer first Market saturation is a sure way to spell doom for your

ven-ture, so be sure to check out the competition first!

✦ Select a format and interface:

• In what formats will your content be delivered? Will you just use text

and graphics, or will you also need animation and/or forms that

respond to user input?

• What are the technical requirements needed to view your content?

Will users need a video or audio player or plug-in? For example, to

view a Flash animation, users need the Macromedia Flash Player

plug-in

✦ Know your audience:

• What audience or audiences are you trying to reach with this content?

• Do they need or want it?

• Is there any other place they can get this content already?

• What are the demographics and technical capabilities of this

audience?

• If your site has more than one audience, are there differences

between them and do they need the content delivered differently? If

so, you will want to take advantage of ColdFusion’s dynamic

script-ing language to deliver different content to different audiences

✦ Manage your workload:

• How much time and effort are you willing to give in order to support

this site?

• Are other people working on the site with you?

• Who’s going to create the graphical design for the site? Of course, if

it’s you, you’ve got powerful tools at your disposal with Macromedia

Studio MX 2004

• Are there any deadlines you need to keep in mind when developing

your site?

What Drives People to the Web

12

These questions have no right or wrong answers Instead, they’re designed

to help you formulate an idea of where you’re going when you’re building asite Frankly, if you’re building a personal site, then these questions are moot

to some degree because you can build whatever you want and it may notmatter whether someone else can read it or see it Of course, if you’re think-ing about selling your new products on the Web, then these questions can becritical to your overall business success, not just your Web site’s success.For example, if you find that a number of other sites have similar products or

a similar focus to what you had in mind for your site, you may consider notbuilding a site at all or changing the focus of the products you are selling

What Drives People to the Web

What kinds of services, you may be wondering, are people looking for on theInternet? Six years ago, the Internet was largely a research medium, meaningthat people would hit the Internet to try to find information about somethingfairly academic or obscure This is not surprising, given that universitieswere the first groups to start putting their content online

Today, the number of reasons people head to the Internet has grown matically, and includes the following:

dra-✦ To research, compare, and purchase products

✦ To find and interact with other people (business colleagues, friends,romantic interests)

✦ To get daily news and information delivered in real time

✦ To search for and find information about any topic or organization ofinterest

✦ To deliver and promote their own messages and products to others onthe Web

✦ To watch or listen to events, online and otherwise, delivered in a variety

of audio and video formats

✦ To educate themselves via online classes and enrollment in universities

✦ To play games and entertain themselves

✦ To complete all sorts of personal and professional tasks that can now bedone securely online, such as online banking, personal finance, invest-ing, tax submission, travel, donating, and procurement

These items run the gamut of professional and personal, and they crossdemographic lines What is common among most online users, though, is thatthey begin their online usage with a focused purpose, and that focus thenbleeds over into surfing for things that interest them throughout the Web

Book I Chapter 1

Choosing the Right Type of Web Site

For all its diversity in content, the Internet really doesn’t have that many

dif-ferent types of Web sites Why do so many Web sites look alike? The main

reason is that people want their sites to be easy to use, free (or close to it),

and similar to other sites they’ve seen or experienced This has resulted in

the emergence of some standard types of Web sites A number of

compo-nents for these sites can be found in ColdFusion Where applicable, we’ve

noted it in the following list The most common types of sites include:

✦ The Product Site: The most common type of site Generally, the site

offers some basic information about a company, its products, staff members, perhaps a product demo, and a way to contact the organiza-tion to get more information Examples of this kind of site would bewww.symantec.com, www.amf.com, and www.nadelectronics.com

✦ The Commerce Site: A storefront on the Internet Whether it’s a single

company that carries just their own specialized products or a retailer thatsells a wide array of products, these sites are geared towards purchasingproducts and offering accessories to complement those products Anexample of this kind of site would be www.macys.com ColdFusion offerstools that can help you to add a shopping cart, a search function, andmore to your site easily

✦ The Portal Site: A site that aggregates content from a wide variety of

sources Portal sites tend to be rich in content and links but short ongraphics The idea is to provide users with a launching pad to other destinations on the Internet, though in recent years, many of these portals are adding features to try to keep their users on their own site

An example of this kind of site is www.yahoo.com ColdFusion includesrobust search capabilities that enable you to have more content-richsites that are easily indexed and searched

✦ The News Site: A site that, in general, mirrors an offline counterpart,

such as ABC News These sites provide a lot of the same information

as their offline counterparts through the use of text, video, audio, andgraphics, and also provide services geared towards the online audience,such as chat sessions, newsletters, and personalized content An exam-ple of this kind of site would be www.cnn.com ColdFusion includestools for adding chat to your site as well

✦ The Application Site: A type of site that offers perhaps the greatest

diversity of all the sites Application sites are geared towards a specificpurpose, such as banking, investing, automobile purchasing, travel plan-ning, photo galleries, event planning, or online greetings Some of thecommonalities among these sites include user accounts, password pro-tection, and the widespread use of e-mail campaigns to try to keep userscoming back Examples of this kind of site include www.egreetings.com,www.imotors.com, and www.bankofamerica.com