Here are the 3 best Flash Tutorials from Sitepoint.com, a very well written web development and design tutorial site with a well informed community. The first one shows you how to create Flex 2 Rich Internet Applications using Flash, The second one teaches how to create the most efficient structure for your Flash site. And the third one demonstrates using Flash on imported vector graphics created in Illustrator, and then using them in Director.


Flex 2: Rich Internet Applications using Flash

Flex 2 is a set of totally free technologies that come together to provide you a great development framework for building cross-platform Rich Internet Applications. Flash is one of the pieces that make up Flex, and the framework runs on the Flash Player. Flex applications, like Ajax applications, feel much more responsive than traditional web pages, because a new page is not loaded each time an action is done by the user. 

This Flex 2 tutorial shows and teaches you how to develop a simple Flash application. It demonstrates the simplicity of building cross-platform web applications using Flex 2. The Flex 2 SDK, used to build and deploy Flex applications, and the Flex Data Services 2 Express edition can both be downloaded for free. The Flex 2 SDK provides a compiler and a command-line debugger.

The Best Structure for your Flash Site

Many Flash developers have issues when trying to structure their web site within Flash. When Flash is opened, a blank canvas appears, and a single layer with multiple blank frames displays, waiting to be used. There's little guidance on how to proceed, and many different directions that be taken. Many users become confused on how to proceed. The author says that over 90% of the Flash sites he's seen are not structured efficiently. 

This Flash tutorial shows you how to structure your Flash enabled web site. It shows you how to set up your Flash site with Keyframes, ActionScript and MovieClips, and controlling the Flash playhead. Using well thought out structure will give you site a faster loading time, and make it simplier to update and manage.

Illustrator for Flash and Director

This tutorial will show you how to use Illustrator to create vector graphics that can be exported as SWFs and then imported into Flash. Then you will see how to use Flash to import the vector graphics into Director. You will draw a cool looking vector graphic in Illustrator, get it into and build it in Flash, and then import and use it in Director.

These Photoshop Tutorials are hosted by The College of Design at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The tutorials teach you how to use Photoshop and are grouped into three areas: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. A page describing Photoshop's tools is also linked here. This site's aim is to provide you the understanding that you need to start or further developing your Photoshop skills.

Photoshop Tutorials from Iowa State University

Photoshop Tools - Explains the basic tools in Photoshop

Basic Level Tutorials

Use these Photoshop tutorials to start learning how to use Photoshop, and to refresh your Photoshop skills.

How to create "Pouring" Letters - Learn how to use Photoshop to create "Liquidy" letters. It will also show you how to use filters and Levels.

Pattern Making - This tutorial teaches how to use blending modes and other filters to create patterns through repetition and variation.

Creating Fabric Textures - Create a texture for a layout or 3D object.

Creating Paper Textures Using Calculations - Learn how to create a paper texture.

Intermediate Level Tutorials

These intermediate Photoshop tutorials show you how to create complex images, cell animations, backgrounds, banners, and buttons.

Creating Complex Images from Simple Images - Helps you understand filters and how to use them to create complex visual interactions.

Creating Cell Animation in Photoshop - This tutorial shows you how to create a cell animation in Photoshop.

Creating the 3 B's (Backgrounds, Banners and Buttons) - Learn how to create web site graphics: backgrounds, banners, and buttons.

Advanced Tutorials 

Once you've used Photoshop for a while, you can move forward to learn more advanced image creation and editing techniques.

Alternate Selection Methods in Photoshop - This tutorial shows you a different technique from using the lasso and pen tool, for making complex selections to isolate objects 

Distressed Type & Fire using Calculations - Here is a different method to create font technique.

This new software tutorial web site, In Pictures, hosts and offers free online Software Tutorials. This blog post details and links to their free Dreamweaver 8 Tutorials. These Dreamweaver tutorials will help you learn how to use  Microsoft Dreamweaver 8. The tutorials on this site are based on pictures, or illustrations and screen shots demonstrating the tasks and features being taught. These software tutorials were developed as part of a research study performed for the U.S. Department of Education. Every user who completed  these illustrated Dreamweaver tutorials reported that they were able to learn and understand Dreamweaver more quickly and easily compared to using traditional software training methods.

These Dreamweaver tutorials are based on the following learning and training techniques:

• The simpler, the better. Multimedia animations appear cool, but they can be hard to follow. That's why these tutorials use static screenshots that show exactly where to click
  
• Black-and-white is better than color. Color screenshots can create an effect that makes it difficult to focus, while black-and-white screenshots do not.
  
• Tasks are more important than features. Most people care about tasks - the things they want to do. That's why these tutorials focus on common tasks.
  
• Projects aid understanding. When people do mini-projects, they see how things fit together, and learn new things based on what they've learned before.

Dreamweaver 8 Tutorials using Pictures

Dreamweaver Basics

• Set up a Web site
• Employ style sheets
• Format text
• Create links
• Insert graphics
• Link multiple pages
• Change colors

Navigation & Layout

• Lay out pages using CSS
• Create navigation bars
• Employ multiple levels

Utilities

• Find and replace
• Check spelling
• Check for broken links

Interactivity

• Create forms
• Employ templates
• Upload to a Web server

Advanced Layout

• Employ background graphics
• Employ style classes
• Create rollover effects
• Specify page margins

Here are the curent Support Manuals and Documentation for Macromedia Director MX 2004. Using Director, you can develop high-performance multimedia content and applications for CDs, DVDs, kiosks, and the Internet. Director's product manuals are available in PDF format for download or in HTML for online viewing.

Director Support Manuals


Getting Started with Director (HTML | PDF 1816kb, 84 pages)

This support manual, Getting Started with Director contains the essential information that you need to get started, including information about installing the latest version of Director. This manual also guides you through the workspace and offers a tutorial, designed for those who are new to Director.

This free Director book contains the following chapters:

• Introduction
• Configuring Director
• Getting to Know the Workspace
• Building Your First Basic Movie

Using Director (HTML | PDF 5901kb, 500 pages)

Using Director explains how to use all of the features and functionality offered in Director. This is a printed version of the electronic documentation included with the product. This support manual includes comprehensive descriptions and detailed step-by-step instructions that explain how to use all of the features in Director.

This free Director book contains the following chapters:

• Score, Stage, and Cast
• Sprites
• Animation
• Bitmaps
• Vector Shapes
• Color, Tempo, and Transitions
• Text
• Using Flash, Flash Components, and Other Interactive Media Types
• Sound and Synchronization
• Using Digital Video
• Behaviors
• Navigation and User Interaction
• 3D Basics
• The 3D Cast Member, 3D Text, and 3D Behaviors
• Working with Models and Model Resources
• Controlling the 3D World
• Movies in a Window
• Using the XML Parser Xtra
• Making Director Movies Accessible
• Managing Memory
• Managing and Testing Director Projects
• Packaging Movies for Distribution
• Using Shockwave Player

Director Scripting Reference (HTML | PDF )

Director Scripting Reference provides a complete reference of the Director application programming interfaces (APIs), including both Lingo and JavaScript syntax. This is a printed version of the electronic documentation included with the product. This reference manual provides conceptual and how-to information about scripting in Director, and also provides reference descriptions and examples for the scripting application programming interfaces (APIs) that you use to write scripts.

This free Director book contains the following chapters:

• Introduction
• Director Scripting Essentials
• Writing Scripts in Director
• Debugging Scripts in Director
• Director Core Objects
• Media Types
• Scripting Objects
• 3D Objects
• Constants
• Events and Messages
• Keywords
• Methods
• Operators
• Properties

Using Director MX 2004 Behaviors

Behaviors are prewritten Lingo scripts that allow you to quickly add interactivity to your movies. This Director tutorial will teach you about the behaviors included in Director MX 2004.
Building Your First 3D Movie in Director

Learn the skills you need to build 3D effects in a Director movie, including creating 3D text, using behaviors to rotate a model, changing camera angles, and enabling navigation. 
Download a printable version of Building Your First 3D Movie in Director, including the tutorial's collateral material. (.zip, 1.6MB)

Here is a freely available Flash ebook in pdf format that goes into a good deal of depth and understanding on how to use this important graphics, animation, and multimedia web application. It teaches and describes, in easy to follow language, how to use Flash to its fullest extent, and how to make compelling web page animations and graphics. This ebook is 10.1mb in size and contains 409 pages.

Macromedia Flash 8 Ebook

The following Flash features are described and explained:

• Understanding and handling the Flash screen, toolbars, and menus
• Developing text and graphics in Flash
• Sound and video
• Using layers to help manage your animation
• Creating symbols, saved objects for repeated use
• Animating graphics, the core of using Flash
• Maing your Web sites interactive
• Publishing Flash movies to your Web site