Yes, Flash is about motion, but if all your Web site needs is, let's say, a logo turning 360 degrees, an animated GIF would do you just fine. Flash only comes into its own when you exploit its interactive capabilities. One way to add interactivity is with buttons.

If you think Flash can be intimidating, all you need is the right teacher. This excerpt from "Teach Yourself Visually Flash MX 2004" uses an entirely visual approach to learning Flash. Every page is loaded with graphics that explain how to create a button symbol, change button shapes, add animation to a button, and assign button actions, such as playing a movie or going to a particular URL.

To begin downloading control- or right-click the link "Creating Animations in Flash." Please note that this file is 9.4MB

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Excerpted from "Teach Yourself Visually Flash MX 2004" by Sherry Kinkoph. Copyright © 2004 Wiley Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduced here by permission of the publisher.