Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not for the absolute beginner
Comment: I have been a graphic designer for over 14 years. I eat, breath and sleep Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark XPress, and have worked with InDesign, DreamWeaver, FireWorks, Acrobat and similar tools of the trade. I've also worked with Flash to an extent, and that's the only real reason I believe I got anything out of this book.
The problem isn't that the lessons don't illustrate real-world applications, but that the author rarely explains WHY he's instructing you to do something. Also, in many of the more advanced lessons too much has already been done for the student, especially with the construction of nested symbols for complex animations.
I had no difficulty completing the lessons successfully, but when I had finished the book and began to design an intro for a photography website, I realized that I didn't have a grasp on the principles of Flash, which should have been exactly what this book covered.
If you've had some experience with the program, I think you'll probably glean something new from it. If you've never worked in Flash before, you should probably seek a different book for your initiation.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I completed the lessons and didn't remember a thing
Comment: I thought there was something wrong with me until I read through the other comments. I agree with those who say the instruction is imitative and not sufficiently explanatory. It is like following breadcrumbs through a forest-
what do you do when the breadcrumbs are gone? Show me how to use a compass and a gps and I will find my own way through the forest. I felt the same way about the Illustrator and Photoshop books, though to a lesser extent. I am a middle aged adult returning to school, and something has changed in instructional philosophy.
I like the program's capabilities and will now have to start over with a book that focuses on explaining how the program works.
Customer Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE!
Comment: This was such a terrible waste of money. It is too confusing and it does not help as much as it was supposed to. I have used a few of the Classroom In A Book series before,and I was relying on these past experiences, but this book is not as good as the other ones were. It looks like it has been written by some lazy writer who doesn't feel like explaining much. I should have listened to you guys who harshly criticized it. I agree with every one of you now. If I could, I would give NO stars at all to rate this thing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Disappointing
Comment: After reading Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book and really finding it to be quite good, I expected this book to be good, as well. Unfortunately, as many other reviews here already share, it has many steps missing in exercises throughout the book. Adobe needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is terrible!
Comment: My graphic art teacher made us get this book for our Flash class. The first 4 chapters were pretty good. BUT, the 6 thru 11 chapters are horrible. The instructions give errors on everything, none of the students could do any of the work correctly. The teacher is scratching his head. This is a college grade course and it cannot be completed. I wish we had gotten the Flash Revealed. If your instructor wants you to use this book, do everything to talk him or her out of it!!!
Summary: Not for the absolute beginner
Comment: I have been a graphic designer for over 14 years. I eat, breath and sleep Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark XPress, and have worked with InDesign, DreamWeaver, FireWorks, Acrobat and similar tools of the trade. I've also worked with Flash to an extent, and that's the only real reason I believe I got anything out of this book.
The problem isn't that the lessons don't illustrate real-world applications, but that the author rarely explains WHY he's instructing you to do something. Also, in many of the more advanced lessons too much has already been done for the student, especially with the construction of nested symbols for complex animations.
I had no difficulty completing the lessons successfully, but when I had finished the book and began to design an intro for a photography website, I realized that I didn't have a grasp on the principles of Flash, which should have been exactly what this book covered.
If you've had some experience with the program, I think you'll probably glean something new from it. If you've never worked in Flash before, you should probably seek a different book for your initiation.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I completed the lessons and didn't remember a thing
Comment: I thought there was something wrong with me until I read through the other comments. I agree with those who say the instruction is imitative and not sufficiently explanatory. It is like following breadcrumbs through a forest-
what do you do when the breadcrumbs are gone? Show me how to use a compass and a gps and I will find my own way through the forest. I felt the same way about the Illustrator and Photoshop books, though to a lesser extent. I am a middle aged adult returning to school, and something has changed in instructional philosophy.
I like the program's capabilities and will now have to start over with a book that focuses on explaining how the program works.
Customer Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE!
Comment: This was such a terrible waste of money. It is too confusing and it does not help as much as it was supposed to. I have used a few of the Classroom In A Book series before,and I was relying on these past experiences, but this book is not as good as the other ones were. It looks like it has been written by some lazy writer who doesn't feel like explaining much. I should have listened to you guys who harshly criticized it. I agree with every one of you now. If I could, I would give NO stars at all to rate this thing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Disappointing
Comment: After reading Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book and really finding it to be quite good, I expected this book to be good, as well. Unfortunately, as many other reviews here already share, it has many steps missing in exercises throughout the book. Adobe needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is terrible!
Comment: My graphic art teacher made us get this book for our Flash class. The first 4 chapters were pretty good. BUT, the 6 thru 11 chapters are horrible. The instructions give errors on everything, none of the students could do any of the work correctly. The teacher is scratching his head. This is a college grade course and it cannot be completed. I wish we had gotten the Flash Revealed. If your instructor wants you to use this book, do everything to talk him or her out of it!!!