Flash movies are interactive vector graphics and animation for web sites. Web designers use Flash to create navigation controls, animated logos, long-form animations with synchronized sound, and even complete, sensory-rich web sites. Flash movies are compact, vector graphics, so they download rapidly and scale to the viewer's screen size.
You've probably watched and interacted with Flash movies on many web sites including Disney®, The Simpsons®, and Pepsi®. Millions of web users have received the Flash Player with their computers, browsers, or system software; others have downloaded it from the Macromedia web site. The Flash Player resides on the local computer, where it plays back movies in browsers or as stand-alone applications.
As you work in Flash, you create a movie by drawing or importing artwork, arranging it on the stage, and animating it with the Timeline. You make the movie interactive by making it respond to events and to change in specified ways. When the movie is complete, you export it as a Flash Player movie, embed it within an HTML page, and transfer it and the HTML page to a web server.
For an interactive introduction to Flash, choose Help > Lessons > 1 Introduction.