If you are brand new to Flash CS3 and need the most basic help, this is probably a good first book to get. It has plenty of application screen shots, tips, and step-by-step instructions on the basic tasks involved in working with Flash CS3. It is very detailed, but only covers getting started with Flash CS3. To cover more complex tasks you should probably have “Flash CS3: The Missing Manual” for reference and instruction. For more advanced instruction look at “Flash CS3 Professional Advanced for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide”. ActionScript isn’t even mentioned in this book, since it is aimed more at designers and therefore is centered more on the topic of design. It does spend a good deal of time explaining the details of InDesign to QuarkXPress and PageMaker users. The following is the detailed table of contents:

Introduction.
Part I: Before You Begin.
Chapter 1: Understanding InDesign Ingredients.
Chapter 2: Making It Work Your Way.

Part II: Document Essentials.
Chapter 3: Opening and Saving Your Work.
Chapter 4: Discovering How Pages Work.
Chapter 5: Layers and Layers.
Chapter 6: The Joys of Reuse.
Chapter 7: Working with Color.

Part III: Object Essentials.
Chapter 8: Creating Essential Elements.
Chapter 9: Manipulating Objects.
Chapter 10: Organizing Objects.
Chapter 11: Aligning and Arranging Objects.

Part IV: Text Essentials.
Chapter 12: Putting Words on the Page.
Chapter 13: The Ins and Outs of Text Editing.
Chapter 14: The Styles of Text.
Chapter 15: Fine-Tuning Paragraph Details.
Chapter 16: Finessing Character Details.
Chapter 17: Tricks with Text.

Part V: Graphics Essentials.
Chapter 18: Importing Graphics.
Chapter 19: Fitting Graphics and Setting Paths.

Part VI: Getting Down to Business.
Chapter 20: Working with Tabs and Tables.
Chapter 21: Working with Footnotes, Indexes, and TOCs.
Chapter 22: Working with Automated Text.
Chapter 23: Publishing Books.

Part VII: Printing and Output Essentials.
Chapter 24: Setting Up for Output.
Chapter 25: Printing and Other Output Techniques.

Part VIII: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 26: Top Ten New Features in InDesign CS3.
Chapter 27: Top Ten (Or So) Resources for InDesign Users.
Chapter 28: Top Ten Must-Knows for QuarkXPress Refugees.
Chapter 29: Top Ten Must-Knows for PageMaker Orphans.
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