Flash 5 Advanced for Windows and Macintosh is organized into five sections covering advanced animation, ActionScript, navigation and timelines, transforming graphics and sound, and information handling. Each chapter builds on what's gone before as the book deals with progressively more complex techniques, though that needn't stop you from dipping in further back if, for example, you're itching to know how to do clever stuff with sound.

The book pulls you in right from the start with strategies for building complex animations from simpler parts. The logical structure of the chapters encourages you to fast-forward if you feel you're ahead of the rest of the class. The numbered tasks (rarely comprising more than six steps), together with frequent tips, make it a simple matter to locate a technique, try it, then apply it to whatever you're working on.