Adobe AIR – PHP Tutorial Videos
AIR – PHP Development Tutorial Video
This powerful Adobe AIR & PHP Development Training Video will introduce you to Adobe’s powerful desktop development framework and show you how you can create functional applications using familiar tools originally designed for use on the web
Adobe AIR & PHP Development Tutorial Video
Here’s an exciting Adobe AIR & PHP Development Tutorial Video that serious designers and coders should give a shot. Over a series of short, engaging videos, users can learn to write several types of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) for the desktop to meet personal and business goals.
Although it began as a simple way for people to share basic information, the internet has blossomed into a wilderness of technologies and ideas that have the power to shape the way people live their lives. As it has increased in complexity, the need for applications that bridge the gaps and take advantage of the web’s diversity has rapidly increased, and the Adobe Flex programming system and AIR deployment environment offers just that.
These videos cover the the design and implementation of applications using Zend AMF, ActionScript 3, and Adobe’s Flex Builder for developers on both PCs and Macs. You’ll learn how to adapt and enhance traditional web technologies for use as native desktop applications, and get the tools and knowledge to write software on the cutting edge of personal interaction with the web. PHP expert Richard Bates lends expert advice at every stage, and hands-on examples with sample files are included so you can follow along. The videos are available online through an unlimited subscription plan or for permanent purchase on CD / DVD.
Adobe Flex: A Versatile Development Solution
Adobe Flex is a widely available developer toolkit for creating Rich Internet Applications for the browser and the desktop alike. When paired with the competitively priced Flex Builder, users can easily write and debug web-friendly solutions on short timelines. There are several impressive features that people may not know about.
Flex makes it easy to adapt existing applications. If developers have an existing Java web application, they can mix and match functionality with the Flex framework. It’s especially helpful for Java developers to write the back-end in Java and have Flex handle UI features. And the Flex AJAX bridge also lets you get the best of two worlds in your app.
Flex is competitively priced. The Flex SDK is free, and the Adobe Flex Builder has a number of tiered discounts and pricing plans. Special rates for students make it a great option for those developing for the future. Pairing Flex with open-source development frameworks has also proven successful, as you can see in the tutorial course.
Flex has a place in the business and enterprise world. Developers have already begun to take Oracle applications and find ways to implement them with Flex. When combined with the versatility of Adobe AIR, this could mean a fast and efficient deployment framework for some pretty advanced stuff.
Flex is not difficult to learn, with a little patience and the right resources. This is perhaps the most important point, because it can be a major barrier for entry. With this Adobe AIR & PHP Tutorial Video, not only will you get a good primer on Flex but a thorough look at how it integrates with AIR on the desktop.
After Effects CS4 Tutorial Video
Adobe After Effects CS4 Tutorial Video
Learn how to create stunning special effects and jaw-dropping animation that bring your video products to life, these high quality After Effects tutorial videos quickly give you the skills to unlock the power and become ultra creative.
Adobe After Effects CS4 Tutorial Video
These example-based After Effects CS4 Tutorial videos will teach you how to get the professional look you’ve always wanted in your animation, video, and motion effects projects. With the included working files and a real-time video stream of the program in action, these video based tutorials make you an active participant in the learning process, teaching you by showing you techniques, and not just describing them to you.
Perfect for even the beginner, the tutorial starts with the basics, introducing you to the new After Effects user interface and walking you through essential elements and functions before moving on to the harder stuff. This step-by-step training approach allows you to learn gradually and at your own pace, providing you with a working understanding of the program’s fundamentals so that you can truly master its powerful feature set. For intermediate users, the unique video format of the training course allows you to easily skip ahead. Each specific lesson is a separate video, and you can start immediately with the tutorials teaching the specific skills you need, without having to sit through needless introductory material.
Because these videos come on CD / DVD or via the unlimited online subscription service, you can learn wherever you need to from the comfort of your own desk.
Impressive New Features in After Effects CS4
After Effects has been a useful tool for video and motion graphics professionals for years, and the new features in CS4 make it the most useful release yet.
Keyword-searchable timelines and a new graphical flowchart-style composition display allow easier access to elements within your projects than ever before. As advances in video and effects processing has provided more freedom to manipulate and enhance your raw sources, compositing projects have become increasingly hard to navigate. But these new features restore control to the user by making it easy for you to single out individual aspects you’re working with and make them just right. New support for XMP metadata gives you another level of organization for your files that will increase efficiency across your workflow.
Adobe After Effects CS4 also offers more in the way of integration. Now that Photoshop has the ability to work with basic 3D objects, the engineers at Adobe have made sure that you can easily import and work with your models into After Effects. Tighter project integration with Flash CS4 allows you to export fully layered projects into the web-standard video and animation program while preserving the integrity of your motion effects settings and allowing you to build on them, encompassing the power of Flash animation directly into you video products is no longer an arduous, complex task.
Other enhancements include better support for authoring projects for mobile devices, independent 3D-style keyframing, and a slew of new effects.
Having the Professional Advantage with excellent training
Adobe After Effects CS4 is a powerful program with a many versatile and complex post-processing tools. It can create dazzling effects and beautiful results, but only if you know how to use it properly. This tutorial video course can give you the understanding and the skills you need to take your projects to the next level.
MCAS Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Tutorial Video
Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Tutorial Video
Learn how to study for and pass the MCAS Exam from one of the world’s leading Microsoft trainers, from the comfort of your own desk using step-by-step instructional videos.
Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Tutorial Video
This MCAS Tutorial Video series is a great resource for business professionals preparing for certification in MS Office 2007 or Windows Vista. With special sections devoted to each of the exams 77-600 to 77-605, the tutorials cover Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint, Outlook and Vista and show you the skills you need to know to successfully pass the required tests.
Developed by professional business consultant and productivity software expert Lauri Matson, the course focuses on the specific demands of each exam and gives hands-on advice and tips on mastering the techniques and knowledge tested for certification. Broken down into several major units for each specific test, it’s easy for students to either skip around or follow the instructional videos in order.
Available online via the Apex Unlimited subscription service or as one package on CD / DVD, these video tutorials can be viewed from the comfort of your own desk or practically anywhere there’s a computer.
MCAS: Microsoft Word 2007
Because the testing is designed around skills required in everyday business environments, becoming a Microsoft Certified Application Specialist can help set your resume apart by assuring potential employers that you can deliver real results. Formerly known as the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) credential, the program is a long-standing accreditation process recognized across multiple industries. Even users who have certified themselves in older versions of Office can benefit from bringing their credentials up to to date and showing that they understand how the latest release of the software works. Microsoft Word is a program that many people consider very basic but in fact is a powerful tool crucial to the way countless companies get their business done.
On the one hand, being able to deliver a message and express yourself is a no-brainer. However, many underestimate the significant impact a properly formatted document that properly utilizes visual elements can have. The Microsoft Word MCAS exam covers several topics, and this fundamental concept encapsulates the first three: Creating and customizing documents, Formatting your content, and Working with visual content.
The other concepts covered in the exam have more to do with what happens after you send your message out, during collaboration and delivery. Organizing content, Reviewing documents, and Sharing and securing content are each crucial when a workflow spans more than one author. By understanding how to use Word in professional collaboration, you find its advantages over other word processors and can start to use it as a true business productivity tool.
These tutorial video lessons offer a real advantage when studying for MCAS texts because of their ease of use. Microsoft offers many free resources on their site for learning how to use Office 2007, but it’s spread among many different pages and it’s up to you to find the ones that help you prepare for testing. Our videos are a powerful training solution with everything in one place, that start at the beginning and walk you through every aspect of the MCAS exams.
Data driven AIR Tutorial Part 2
Data driven AIR Tutorial Part 2: ORM, ActiveRecord-style
Adobe AIR provides a complete SQLite database engine, but no high level API to manage data out of the box. Enter ActiveRecord.js – a Javascript library that brings Rails’ ActiveRecord-style data interfaces to your AIR applications. No more writing SQL queries, worrying about database connections or dealing with persistence – building serious database applications in AIR is a cinch with ActiveRecord.js. In this tutorial, we’re going to build a simple client management system with AIR,
Introducing ActiveJS
ActiveJS is an open source project from Aptana that provides a series of Javascript libraries, notably ActiveRecord.js. ActiveRecord.js supports a number of database backends, including Adobe AIR, Google Gears, and Aptana’s own Jaxer platform.
We’re about to build a simple client management system, to demonstrate using ActiveRecord to handle database connectivity, persistence, model construction, relationships and basic data retrieval.
Getting started
To build our AIR application, we’ll be using Aptana Studio, the official free IDE for Adobe AIR development. If you’ve used Eclipse before, head over to aptana.com and download the release for your platform, then install the Adobe AIR plugin from inside Aptana. If you’re new to Aptana/Eclipse, run through the installation guide in the “A Powerful Tool for Building AIR Apps” section on another AIR article.
Creating the project
Fire up Aptana, make sure you’ve installed the AIR plugin, then open File > New > Project. Select “Adobe AIR Project” from the “Aptana Projects” folder, click Next, and give your project a name – I’ve called mine “ClientProjects”. Click Next, and you’ll be offered two screens to change application properties – the default values should be fine. Click Next twice till you come to “Import AIR Frameworks” – here, make sure you check AIR HTML Introspector and AIR HTML Menu Builder, then click Next. We’ll be using jQuery for some DOM work, so check “jQuery 1.3″ (or similar – 1.1+ will be fine) in the “Import Javascript Library” screen, then click Finish to create your project.
Your “Project” or “Navigator” view will now have a new entry with the AIR logo for your project name. Expanding it should display the above file tree.
Creating our application
We now have a basic AIR application template to work with. Aptana has included some sample code to demonstrate a handful of AIR features – we can safely clear this out to build our application. You can safely delete LocalFile.txt now. Replace the contents of ClientProjects.html with the following:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Client Database</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="sample.css" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/air/AIRAliases.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/air/AIRMenuBuilder.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/air/AIRIntrospector.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/activerecord/active_record.air.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/jquery/jquery-1.3.2.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Clients</h1>
<table id="target_clients" border="1">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Client</th>
<th>Contact</th>
<th>Phone No.</th>
<th>Projects</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<script type="text/javascript" src="application.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Note that we include a laundry list of Javascript libraries in our <head> – let’s make sure these are in place.
You’ll need to change the “lib/jquery/jquery-1.3.2.min.js” line based on the version of jQuery that shipped with your Aptana. Alternatively, replace the src value with http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js – a copy of jQuery hosted on Google’s servers, and the same version I’ve used for this article.
If you aren’t using Aptana, you need to copy AIRAliases.js, AIRMenuBuilder.js and optionally AIRIntrospector.js from the frameworks/ folder inside the AIR SDK – this can be downloaded from the Adobe AIR tools page on Adobe.com. Make sure you reconstruct the file structure we have here, or modify the <head> section of the HTML to suit.
ActiveRecord.js can be downloaded from the Github repository – create a folder called activerecord under your project’s lib folder and save active_record.air.js there. I’m using the latest as of 2009-04-25.
Building the application framework
We’re going to keep our code in a Javascript file called application.js inside the main project folder, so create that now. The easiest way to create files in Aptana is to right click on our project – ClientProjects (or similar) – in the Project pane on the left, then select New > (file type). Aptana will take care of storing the file on the filesystem and keeping track of it within our project. Let’s start off our new application.js some basic structure – copy the following in:
application = {
models: {},
_init_database: function() {
},
_init_menus: function() {
},
events: {},
init: function() {
application._init_database();
application._init_menus();
application.draw_clients();
}
}
This will offer us some basic structure for our application. One global application object will prevent us from filling the mainspace, and we can easily see where our application logic is. In particular, note the models and events objects that are currently empty – we’ll use models to store our ActiveRecord models so that we have a centralised location for any application component to access them; events will simply store functions that respond to events.
Let’s start by configuring ActiveRecord for our database.
Up and running with ActiveRecord
Copy this over the _init_database function we created in application.js a moment ago:
_init_database: function() {
ActiveRecord.connect(ActiveRecord.Adapters.AIR, 'application_db');
var Client = ActiveRecord.define('clients', {
name: '',
contact: '',
contact_phone: '',
}, {
valid: function() {
if (application.models.Client.findByName(this.name)) {
this.addError('Client name already in use.');
}
}
});
Client.hasMany('projects');
var Project = ActiveRecord.define('projects', {
project_name: '',
client_id: 0,
});
Project.belongsTo('client');
application.models.Client = Client;
application.models.Project = Project;
application.models.Client.afterCreate(function (row) { application.draw_clients(); });
application.models.Project.afterCreate(function (row) { application.draw_clients(); });
application.models.Client.afterDestroy(function () { application.draw_clients(); });
},
We first start a connection via ActiveRecord to an AIR database by the name of ‘application_db’. This will be automatically dealt with on the fly – if the database does not exist, it will be created. Next, we define two models, Client and Project. Notice we don’t actually ask for these to be created – if the database tables need to be created, they will be, but ActiveRecord will handle persistence transparently and check to see if they already exist. ActiveRecord allows us to define validation on models, so for now we’ll just enforce unique names on any Client we add to the system. We also relate both these models to each other, using hasMany and belongsTo – we can now use getProjectList() on any client row, and access the client property on any project row. We add a few events to our models – we’ll look at these in just a moment.
We’ll keep these models in application.models for future reference.
Creating our menus
We’ll use the AIR Menu Builder framework, similar to our previous Data Driven AIR article. Create a new file in your main project folder called application_menus.xml, and copy over the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<root>
<menuitem label="Actions">
<menuitem label="New Client" onSelect="newClient" />
</menuitem>
</root>
We can now define our _init_menus() function. Head back to application.js and copy this over _init_menus:
_init_menus: function() {
var windowMenu = air.ui.Menu.createFromXML('application_menus.xml');
air.ui.Menu.setAsMenu(windowMenu);
},
Also, copy this into the very end of application.js:
function newClient() {
application.events.newClient();
}
This allows our AIR Menu Builder to find our application.events.newClient() function, which we’ll define in just a minute.
When we run our application, we’ll have a simple “Actions” menu – either a standard native application menu (OS X), a window menu (Windows). We don’t actually need an exit menu item in our application (system chrome / application menus provide the same functionality), but we can easily add one using the “Menu_exit” function from our last Data Driven AIR article.
Handling events
To create some “New Client/Project” buttons, we’re going to need to handle the events. We’ll point all our button handlers at functions inside the events object we added to application.js‘ application. Copy this code over the events: {}, line:
events: {
newProject: function(client_id) {
var params = {};
params.client_id = client_id;
params.project_name = prompt('Project Name');
application.models.Project.create(params);
},
newClient: function() {
var params = {};
params.name = prompt('Client Name');
params.contact = prompt('Client Contact');
params.contact_phone = prompt('Client Contact Phone');
application.models.Client.create(params);
}
},
Notice we don’t have to worry about any SQL – ActiveRecord will take care of actually validating and creating the database entry. We simply prompt the user for all field values, construct an object with properties matching column names, and hand over to the create method of our model. Models come with a number of methods like this – see this API documentation page for more details.
Constructing our table
We’re nearly finished – our backend is in place, now we just need to pull data out of our database and display it on the screen. This is where jQuery comes in.
In the HTML we started with, we had a table with a thead and tbody explicitly defined. In particular, the tbody was empty – we need to use jQuery to fill it with rows retrieved from our database. We explicitly define a tbody so that we can clear out the table before retrieving a new recordset from the database, without clearing the table header.
Create a new draw_clients function inside the application object definition in application.js – e.g. between events and init:
draw_clients: function() {
$("#target_clients tbody").empty();
var clients = application.models.Client.find({all: true, order: "id ASC"});
for (i=0;i<clients.length;i++) {
var client = clients[i];
var projects = client.getProjectList();
var project_cell = $('<td>');
for (i=0;i<projects.length;i++) {
$(project_cell).append(projects[i].project_name + '<br/>');
}
$(project_cell).append($('<a>').attr('href', '#').data('id', client.id).text('Add').click(function() {
application.events.newProject($(this).data('id'));
}));
$("<tr>").append($('<td>').text(client.name))
.append($('<td>').text(client.contact))
.append($('<td>').text(client.contact_phone))
.append(project_cell)
.appendTo("#target_clients tbody");
}
},
This is quite an intricate block of code, so let’s have a closer look.
var clients = application.models.Client.find({all: true, order: "id ASC"});
This line will simply fetch all clients in our database, and store them in clients, which is now an array of objects. Notice we use an “order” parameter – there are a number of options available for this method, but are not presently documented. A “limit” options is available, and takes an integer number of rows to retrieve, which is generally passed onto the database adapter as an SQL LIMIT clause.
var projects = client.getProjectList();
Given a single client in client, we can call the get(RelatedModelNameInCamelCase)List() method to retrieve related rows. This is one of the methods created by declaring the hasMany relationship earlier.
$(project_cell).append($('<a>').attr('href', '#').data('id', client.id).text('Add').click(function() {
application.events.newProject($(this).data('id'));
}));
Here, we create a link for our users to add projects using the events.newProject function we defined earlier. This function needs to know what client to add a project to, so we take advantage of jQuery’s data system to bind the correct client ID to the row without messy HTML attributes or other markup-based data storage.
The final cog
There’s just one line left – we need to set the wheels in motion for our application, by handing over to the init method that we defined when we first created application.js. Add this to the very end of application.js:
application.init();
And we’re done! Fire up the application using the “Run” (green play icon) button in Aptana:
The application appears, but it’s a little bare – let’s enter some sample data:
Add some projects to clients, and we’re ready to roll.
The best bit is, this is all automatically persisted – close the application, open it up again using the Run button, and all your data is still perfectly intact!
Wrapping up
Here’s our final code for application.js:
application = {
models: {},
_init_database: function(){
ActiveRecord.connect(ActiveRecord.Adapters.AIR, 'application_db');
var Client = ActiveRecord.define('clients', {
name: '',
contact: '',
contact_phone: '',
}, {
valid: function(){
if (application.models.Client.findByName(this.name)) {
this.addError('Client name already in use.');
}
}
});
Client.hasMany('projects');
var Project = ActiveRecord.define('projects', {
project_name: '',
client_id: 0,
});
Project.belongsTo('client');
application.models.Client = Client;
application.models.Project = Project;
application.models.Client.afterCreate(function (row) { application.draw_clients(); });
application.models.Project.afterCreate(function (row) { application.draw_clients(); });
application.models.Client.afterDestroy(function () { application.draw_clients(); });
},
_init_menus: function(){
var windowMenu = air.ui.Menu.createFromXML('application_menus.xml');
air.ui.Menu.setAsMenu(windowMenu);
},
events: {
newProject: function(client_id) {
var params = {};
params.client_id = client_id;
params.project_name = prompt('Project Name');
application.models.Project.create(params);
},
newClient: function() {
var params = {};
params.name = prompt('Client Name');
params.contact = prompt('Client Contact');
params.contact_phone = prompt('Client Contact Phone');
application.models.Client.create(params);
}
},
draw_clients: function() {
var clients = application.models.Client.find({all: true, order: "id ASC"});
$("#target_clients tbody").empty();
for (i=0;i<clients.length;i++) {
var client = clients[i];
var projects = client.getProjectList();
var project_cell = $('<td>');
for (j=0;j<projects.length;j++) {
$(project_cell).append(projects[j].project_name + '<br/>');
}
$(project_cell).append($('<a>').attr('href', '#').data('id', client.id).text('Add').click(function() {
application.events.newProject($(this).data('id'));
}));
$("<tr>").append($('<td>').text(client.name))
.append($('<td>').text(client.contact))
.append($('<td>').text(client.contact_phone))
.append(project_cell)
.appendTo("#target_clients tbody");
}
},
init: function(){
application._init_database();
application._init_menus();
application.draw_clients();
}
}
function newClient() {
application.events.newClient();
}
application.init();
You can download a working copy of the Aptana project here (suitable for import – extract the archive, then see File > Import : General > Import Existing Projects…).
Further reading
You might find these resources useful in exploring AIR databases, ActiveRecord.js, and general data peristence.
Digital Performer Tutorial Video
Digital Performer Tutorial Video
Learn how to use Digital Performer from one of the world’s leading Audio trainers, from the comfort of your own desk using step-by-step instructional videos.
The tutorials are written and narrated by Sam McGuire, a veteran audio engineer with experience creating music and audio for a variety of professional projects. McGuire provides plenty of real world examples throughout the training and throws in expert tips and techniques that even more experienced users will find helpful.
Clocking in at just over 7 hours, the course offers a comprehensive walkthrough of several of the application’s most useful features. Special attention is paid to the program’s redesigned interface and its added support for working with Apple’s Final Cut Pro. At the heart of the tutorial are three sample projects that allow the user to learn practical skills while working along with the video instruction. Files are provided at every point along the way and every step is shown in real time so following along is not a problem.
The tutorial video course is available is available online through the Apex Unlimited service or as one training package on CD / DVD.
Formats, Formats, Formats and Support
In the five first versions of the software, the native audio format for Digital Performer has always been Sound Designer II. While there’s nothing particularly wrong with the quality of the file type itself, it’s now considered a hold-over from the early days of serious digital audio. Industry support for it is limited, and a lot of other audio programs won’t even touch it. AIFF Broadcast WAV are more or less the new standards, but even in DP5, the files had to be imported and converted to SDII to be used.
With Digital Performer 6, change has arrived. Users can now work with both popular formats natively, with support for 32-bit floating-point files for powerful options for dynamic range. Needless to say, this makes DP play nice with other audio software, and that’s just the beginning. OMF and AAF formats often used to transfer projects between different sequencing software also have improved support.
Plug-ins have better compatibility than ever, with support for both MOTU’s MAS files as well as Apple Audio Units (AU). Digital Performer’s engineers have been in close contact with the hardware and software crews at Apple, and AU plug-ins aren’t just ‘compatible’ but actually work as they’re supposed to.
It’s clear that with version 6, serious work has been put not only into the Big Picture but many small details have been shored up, too. Whether you’ve worked with other versions of the program in the past or you’re a beginner wanting to learn one of the best software solutions for producing audio for video and film, this MOTU Digital Performer 6 Tutorial Video has something to offer. Other interesting posts on Digital Performer 6
Adobe Flash CS4 Tutorial Video
Adobe Flash CS4 Tutorial Video
Learn how to use Adobe Flash CS4 from one of the world’s leading trainers, from the comfort of your own desk.
Adobe Flash CS4 Tutorial Video – Training Series
With all of the new features Adobe has added to make Flash CS4 Professional easier to learn and easier to use, there’s never been a better time to pick up the software. The object-based design model gets rid of the complicated keyframe system of previous versions and significantly lowers the learning curve for the beginner.
This powerful Adobe Flash CS4 Tutorial Video series makes mastering the program even easier. With a hands-on teaching approach based on showing and not just telling, this instructional video course covers everything from the bare basics of drawing and handling images within the program to how to use sound, video, and animation to bring your project from the idea phase all the way through publication. The unique video format of the course allows you to learn at your own pace, moving from the one tutorial to the next only when you’re ready. You’ll learn how to use all of the new features as well as the old ones, whether your focus is on animation or video, for in-house presentations or distribution on the web. Both PC and Mac compatible, it’s a convenient and affordable way to truly have the advantage with Flash CS4.
Market Advantage
Despite Microsofts’s continued efforts to develop and spread the use of its Silverlight software, Adobe’s Flash is still the king of video and animation on the web. With the additional support Flash CS4 Professional provides for H.264 video encoding and the new animation features it brings to the table, it’s sure to leverage its immense popularity (which Adobe places at 99 percent of internet users) even further.
History and the Future
Since acquiring Macromedia in 2005, Adobe has sought to make Flash more compatible with the other design tools in its product line. These integration efforts begun with Creative Suite 3 have been taken even further in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. In addition to unifying the appearance of the user interface across the entire productivity suite, Adobe has also made transferring work between programs virtually seamless, perfect for the increasing convergence of print and web design across traditional brick-and-mortar and internet-based industries.
While keeping the core vector graphics functionality that made Flash the market leader, Adobe has added more features to Flash that will ensure its relevance as a future player in premium content markets: a new design model that is object-based and more straightforward for the Flash beginner, additional support for high quality video, more robust tools for editing large amounts of text, and the new creation tools such as the Bones utility for implementing intuitive movement and chain-effects. Brand new 3D Translation and 3D Rotation features allow you manipulate 2D objects and images in three dimensions, and the Deco tool and Spray Brush features allow you to quickly apply decorative fills to give your animations more depth and style.
Adobe Acrobat 9 Tutorial Video
Adobe Acrobat 9 Tutorial Video
Learn how to use Adobe Acrobat 9 from one of the world’s leading trainers, from the comfort of your own desk.
Adobe Acrobat 9 Tutorial Video
Adobe Acrobat 9 Tutorial Video – Training
This multi-part Adobe Acrobat 9 tutorial video is a great resource for new users wanting to learn Acrobat and a solid reference tool for more advanced users looking to refine their knowledge with some expert tips and techniques. Heavy on hands-on examples, these tutorials show you what you need to know, without the confusing descriptions you’d find in a book.
Written by veteran software educator Geoff Blake, the course takes a fundamentals-first approach, introducing users to the program’s interface and settings before building basic pages that get more sophisticated with each video lesson presented. The strength of the training is in its power to show how each technique or effect is done: with a real-time video feed of Acrobat in use, you see first-hand how the program works. The files used in the tutorials are provided with the course, to make following along even easier.
Blake covers several popular points of interest, including adding watermarks, reducing PDF file size, adding security to documents, extracting content from existing PDFs, creating hyperlinks and navigational elements within a document, and using Acrobat’s commenting and collaboration tools, among others.
Adobe Acrobat: Past and The Future.
Adobe Acrobat and the PDF format have always been a convenient way to share one specifically formatted document or form with another person and know that the file can be viewed and printed exactly as it is supposed to look. It’s the core functionality of Acrobat, and it’s just as strong as ever. With the improvements in Web Pages through CSS and better interoperability between different word processors, there are more feasible options to consider, but when you’re putting out a document that incorporates vector images along with text or an official version of a contract or form that must look the same every time, Acrobat is still the way to go.
For the next stage of Acrobat’s development, Adobe has made the program into a powerful business tool. Drawing from the impressive advances that have been made with its Flash video format and the H.264 codec, Adobe has made it extremely easy to imbed and play video within PDF files, either using native FLV videos or files of nearly any format that simply use Flash as a container. As the prices in HD technology continue to go down, video is the future, and it’s nice of Adobe to take note of this in their entire product line.
Another big step forward in Adobe Acrobat 9 is its collaboration tools. Drawing from the success of cloud computing platforms, Adobe has launched Acrobat.com, which has special services for data gathering for user-submitted forms, basic web conferencing for real-time collaboration, and inventive sharing features that allow working with colleagues and clients with ease. Within Acrobat itself, a tandem viewing feature allows two people to work on one document at the same time while keeping everything up to date so you don’t have to.
Though often slow to adopt new and useful features, Adobe has made some bold moves in Acrobat 9. To learn how you can take advantage of some of the program’s more powerful features, give these tutorial video lessons a look.
JavaScript Libraries Tutorial Video
JavaScript Libraries Tutorial Video
Learn how to choose and deploy JavaScript Libraries from one of the world’s leading trainers, from the comfort of your own desk.
JavaScript Libraries Tutorial Video – Training Series
This JavaScript Libraries Tutorial Video course is meant to help beginners learn what JS Libraries are and how they work and then offer hands-on training that will leave users with a solid working knowledge of six of the most popular libraries being used by web developers today.
Narrated and written by expert developer James Street, these video lessons are presented in a unique visual format that is heavy on examples, providing a course of study that gets quite in-depth but never difficult to understand. Because JavaScript Libraries give developers and designers control over the graphical content of web-based elements and applications, it’s extremely helpful that you can see real-time visual results onscreen as the tutorials progress.
Learning from a book in this case would be a nightmare, and while it’s easy to find individual tips and tricks online for free, it’s simply not possible to find a guide that matches the range of this tutorial video course in one place. Available online through the Apex subscription service or as one convenient training solution on CD / DVD, the instructional videos are Mac and Windows compatible.
JS Library: Script.aculo.us
A JavaScript Library is a collection of JavaScript code commonly used to create functions, shortcuts, animation effects and interface elements within today’s web applications and dynamic web pages. The idea is that by offering developers a predefined set of tools, they can more easily create robust functionality and visual effects while maintaining standards compliant code. Script.aculo.us is a particularly powerful JavaScript Library. Developed as an add-on to the popuplar Prototype JS framework, Script.aculo.us is used by companies like Apple Computer, NASA, CNN, Gucci and Feedburner to develop the highest level of interaction and style in web content.
Script.aculo.us enhances the Prototype library by adding user interface controls, utilities and visual effects. The impressive part about the additions are the efficiency with which they have been implemented. Take the visual effects engine. Script.aculo.us comes with just five core visual effects: Opacity, MoveBy, Highlight, Scale, and Parallel. There are then over 16 more out-of-the-box effects that can be implemented by combining these core visual effects with one another, giving you a wide range of capabilities from one basic toolset. And since programmers are free to create add-ons and new effects of their own, the possibilities are endless.
In a way, this modular philosophy is what JS Libraries are all about: extending the functionality and interactivity of web content without the client or server-site glut of code that was more common in the early days of web applications. Javascript Libraries have become a de facto part of Web 2.0 by offering AJAX controls and all-around versatility.
These JavaScript Library tutorial video lessons not only show users how to use Prototype and Scriptaculous but also give a detailed treatment of the popular Dojo, YUI and jQuery frameworks. Users will get a good working knowledge of the libraries and, more importantly, learn which libraries are best suited for different needs. See the free video demos to get a feel of the training for yourself.
Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tutorial Video
Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tutorial Video
Learn how to use Adobe Illustrator CS4 from one of the world’s leading trainers, from the comfort of your own desk.
Adobe Illustrator CS4 Training
This unique Adobe Illustrator CS4 Tutorial Video series teaches you how to use the latest version of Adobe’s vector graphics editing software in an expert-designed, intuitive video course. Whether you’re a true beginner or someone who has worked with vector graphics before, these lessons start by introducing you to the enhanced user interface and basic functions and gradually move up to more advanced features, so that you gain a working knowledge that you can build upon as you get further in the course. And the convenient way the videos are split up allows users already familiar with the basics to easily skip ahead and pick up right where they need the most help without having to sit through needless review.
The tutorials train you by directly showing you how Illustrator CS4 works, with a full real-time view of the application that appears on screen just as it does on our own computer. And the included working files make it easy for you to follow along with the lessons, providing a degree of interactivity that not only makes things more interesting but also increases your retention of the skills.
Illustrator CS4: Designed for the Future
As the convergence of traditional and web-based media continues, Adobe has been actively working to meet the changing needs of content professionals in their Creative Suites. Offering immense versatility with their ability to seamlessly scale without compromising their integrity, vector designs have a major role in traditional companies wishing to cross-pollinate their logos and presentations across multiple formats as well as design and creative professionals wanting to simultaneously release their work onto the web and today’s mobile devices.
CS4 marks the best-integrated set of tools across its product line, and this holds particularly true for Illustrator CS4. Adding to to the excellent support for Photoshop and the video production tools centered around Adobe Premiere Pro, the software engineers at Adobe have increased integration with Flash CS4, InDesign CS4, and Adobe’s Flex 3 format. It’s now easier than ever to bring Illustrator art into InDesign layouts, even files using the new multiple page option, and edit with InDesign tools. Or perform simple copy-and-pastes between Illustrator and Flash while preserving the full properties of Illustrator files.
Aside from beefing up its integration, Illustrator CS4 also boasts many updates that simply make the program more powerful and easy to use. The new artboards feature allows you to finally work with multiple pages within one file. New tools for working with gradients and the ability to layer brush paths for more smoothly filled drafting lines are new assets in the designer’s arsenal. And the ability to use Smart Guides and work with more effects directly through the Appearance Panel increases the efficiency with which you’ll be able to get your projects done.
Adobe Illustrator CS4’s new and improved features are only as useful as you know how to use them. These unique video tutorials will make sure you can use them to their full advantage.
Apple Motion 3 Tutorial Video
Apple Motion 3 Tutorial Training Video
Learn how to use Apple Motion 3 from one of the world’s leading trainers, from the comfort of your own desk.
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Apple Motion 3 Tutorial Video
This multi-part Apple Motion 3 Tutorial Video shows how this powerful application can change the way you work. By highlighting each major feature and tool one at a time, expert Brian Culp gives users an understanding of the program that is both in-depth and broad in scope. Motion is the perfect solution for users wanting to incorporate cutting edge text, graphics, filters and effects into their digital video and animation projects, which is why it’s now a featured part of Final Cut Studio. In this example-based training series, users get a full tour of the application, starting with the very basics of configuration and an introduction to filters, layers, behaviors. As the lessons progress, users learn more sophisticated skills, such as working directly with Final Cut and advanced keyframing techniques.
But because the training is divided into subject-specific videos, it’s easy for more advanced users to skip around and utilize the tutorials as a reference. And each video features a suite of controls that allow you to pause, rewind, fast-forward or repeat the lesson so that you can learn at your own pace.
All About Integration
Version 3 of Apple Motion marks the program’s full integration into Final Cut Studio 2, an increasingly popular editing and production solution for video professionals around the world. Although Motion has always played nice with other Apple products, this version also features robust support for common 3rd party file formats working creative professionals use.
It almost goes without saying that integration with Final Cut Pro is strong, but there are specific benefits of using the two programs together that you must see to believe. Drag and drop projects from one program to another without any exporting or rendering, and once a change is made and saved in either program, the update is automatically recognized across the board. This functionality also extends to other programs in the Final Cut Studio suite, including DVD Studio Pro and Soundtrack Pro.
This interoperability is especially handy when using Motion for effects that Final Cut Pro just doesn’t handle as well on its own. Motion’s Stabilize feature, for example, beats FC Pro’s SmoothCam hands-down because allows you to make adjustments on the fly without having to stop, render, check, adjust and render again each time. And when you’ve used Stabilize on a file that you take back into Final Cut Pro, the adjustments take the place of any prior SmoothCam settings so there is no conflict.
Third-party format support includes files from the Adobe Creative Suite, including layered Photoshop files and vector-graphics Illustrator content, and users can now use Motion projects as nested compositions within Adobe After Effects.
Once you understand how these professional level tools complement each other, your workflow will never be the same. The software has the ability to make you more efficient and productive, but only if you know how to use it. These tutorial video lessons available online or on CD / DVD ensure that you have the knowledge and skills you need to get the best results.
