i would love to find a drop down flash menu like this

[wolverinejoe80]

Hi guys, I'm a noob web designer with absolutely zero knowledge on flash. i would like to make a website with this kind of menu. i think it's pretty cool

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/10/19/style/t/index.html#pageName=19turnpagefew questions

1. where can i get a source for drop down menus? the only place i know is flash den, but they charge money, and i couldn't find similar one like this..

2. is it possible to just drop the flash file into my html website? here is my website

LINK (http://www.jc-dc.net/)

I just want the drop down menu on top of the white box. eventually my website will have more links and i love the simplicity of the drop down. i know how to make a drop down menu with css, but i just like that simple motion. it's pretty to me.

3. what would be the best place to start learning flash? i'll be taking flash class in a local community college, but class won't start till May. i would like to learn step by step. I bought a book, but it's harder than i thought..


thanks in advance.

cheers,
Joe

[riveroaks]

I don't know about pre-made Flash widgets like that, but if you're looking to create something like that then I would suggest googling:

- Exporting transparent flash movies
- Animating with Tweener (this is a really easy way to get that very natural "roll-out" effect in the menus, and also an easy way to get those links to fade in)
- Mouse events in AS3
- DisplayList in AS3, how to display MovieClips with AS3 (the point is you need to learn how to show those menus, then get rid of them)

If you can manage to understand those few concepts then you've got enough Flash "know-how" to create those menus. However, as anyone will probably tell you, Flash has an extremely steep learning curve. I've been working in Flash for some 8 years now just as kind of a hobbie and for a part time job, but I probably don't know 80% of the system.

Books and online tutorials are definitely the way to go if you want to get started before your class. One thing I also find to be very important is that you actually sit down and try to create Flash apps using the stuff you read about. I don't care if its as simple as getting the words "Hello World" to fade in and out on the screen, or as complex as a virtual music studio, you've got to actually DO things in Flash to learn them. Otherwise you just won't remember where the buttons are, or what that line of Actionscript was supposed to be.

Also, don't be afraid to use this forum. If you get to a specific problem and you just can't figure it out, then post a question. I find its better to know the good answer to a question than to ignore the issue and keep working. I have found this forum to be extremely useful over the past 5 or so years.

I hope that helps.