book

Flash CS3: The Missing Manual

by E. A. Vander Veer, Chris Grover

May 2007

Beginner

530 pages

16h 16m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Flash CS3: The Missing Manual
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A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
The Missing Credits
About the Authors
About the Creative Team
Acknowledgements
The Missing Manual Series
Introduction
Flash CS3 Professional for Everyone
What's New in Flash CS3
Anatomy of an Animation

Flash in a Nutshell
The Very Basics
Macintosh and Windows
About This Book
About the Outline
About → These → Arrows
Flash Examples
About MissingManuals.com
Safari® Enabled
I. Creating a Flash Animation
1. Getting Around Flash
1.1. Starting Flash
1.2. A Tour of the Flash Desktop
1.2.1. Menu Bar1.2.2. The Stage
1.3. Toolbars
1.4. Panels
1.4.1. Tools Panel1.4.1.1. Selection and Drawing tools1.4.1.2. View tools1.4.1.3. Color tools1.4.1.4. Options tools1.4.2. Accessibility Panel1.4.3. Actions Panel/ActionScript Debugger Panel1.4.4. Align Panel1.4.5. Behaviors Panel1.4.6. Color Mixer Panel/Color Swatches Panel1.4.7. Common Libraries1.4.8. Components Panel/Component Inspector Panel1.4.9. History Panel1.4.10. Info Panel1.4.11. Library Panel1.4.12. Movie Explorer Panel1.4.13. Output Panel1.4.14. Properties Panel/Filters Panel/Parameters Panel1.4.15. Scene Panel1.4.16. Transform Panel
1.5. The Timeline
1.6. The Flash CS3 Test Drive
1.7. Opening a Flash File
1.7.1. Exploring the Property Inspector1.7.2. Resizing the Stage1.7.3. Zooming In and Out1.7.4. Playing an Animation1.7.5. Saving a File
2. Creating Simple Drawings
2.1. Planning Pays Off2.1.1. Creating a Storyboard2.1.2. Five Questions for a Better Result
2.2. Preparing to Draw
2.2.1. Customizing Your Stage2.2.1.1. Change the size of the Stage2.2.1.2. Setting the background color2.2.1.3. Add helpful measurement guides2.2.2. Choosing a Drawing Mode2.2.2.1. When to use merge drawing mode2.2.2.2. When to use object drawing mode2.2.3. Selecting Objects on the Stage2.2.3.1. Selection tool2.2.3.2. Subselection tool2.2.3.3. Lasso tool2.2.4. Essential Drawing Terms
2.3. Creating Original Artwork
2.3.1. Drawing and Painting with Tools2.3.1.1. Line tool2.3.1.2. Pencil tool2.3.1.3. Pen tool2.3.1.4. Brush tool2.3.1.5. Shape tools: Oval, Rectangle, and PolyStar2.3.2. Aligning Objects with the Align Tools2.3.3. Erasing Mistakes with the Erase Tool2.3.3.1. Configuring the Eraser2.3.3.2. Cutting out an Irregular Shape from another Object
2.4. Copying and Pasting Drawn Objects
2.5. Adding Color
2.5.1. Changing the Color of a Stroke (Line)2.5.1.1. Coloring strokes with the Property Inspector2.5.1.2. Coloring strokes with the Ink Bottle tool2.5.2. Changing the Color of a Fill2.5.2.1. Coloring fills with the Property Inspector2.5.2.2. Coloring fills with the Paint Bucket tool
3. Animating Your Drawings
3.1. Frame-by-Frame Animation3.1.1. Frames and Keyframes3.1.2. Creating a Frame-by-Frame Animation3.1.3. Testing Your Frame-by-Frame Animation3.1.4. Editing Your Frame-by-Frame Animation3.1.4.1. Selecting frames and keyframes3.1.4.2. Inserting and deleting keyframes and frames
3.2. Adding Layers to Your Animation
3.2.1. Creating Layers
3.3. Animating Automatically (Tweening)
3.3.1. Shape Tweening (Morphing)3.3.2. Shape Hints3.3.3. Motion Tweening3.3.3.1. Motion guide layers (moving along a nonstraight path)3.3.3.2. Orient to path
II. Advanced Drawing and Animation
4. Organizing Frames and Layers
4.1. Working with Frames4.1.1. Copying and Pasting Frames4.1.2. Moving Frames (Keyframes)4.1.3. Editing Multiple Frames
4.2. Adding Content to Multiple Layers
4.3. Viewing Layers
4.3.1. Showing and Hiding Layers4.3.1.1. To hide a layer4.3.1.2. To show a layer4.3.1.3. To hide (or show) all layers except the one you're currently editing
4.4. Working with Layers
4.4.1. Renaming Layers4.4.2. Copy and Paste a Layer4.4.3. Reordering (Moving) Layers4.4.4. Delete a Layer4.4.5. Locking and Unlocking Layers
4.5. Organizing Layers
4.5.1. Outline View4.5.2. Organizing Your Layers with Layer Folders4.5.2.1. Creating layer folders4.5.2.2. Deleting a layer folder
5. Advanced Drawing and Coloring
5.1. Selecting Graphic Elements5.1.1. The Selection Tool5.1.1.1. Selecting a graphic element5.1.1.2. Selecting part of a graphic element5.1.1.3. Moving and reshaping (transforming) with the Selection tool5.1.2. The Subselection Tool5.1.3. The Lasso Tool5.1.3.1. Freehand selecting with the Lasso5.1.3.2. Pointing and clicking with the Lasso5.1.3.3. Selecting ranges of color in bitmaps with the Magic Wand
5.2. Manipulating Graphic Elements
5.2.1. Modifying Object Properties5.2.2. Moving, Cutting, Pasting, and Copying5.2.2.1. Moving5.2.2.2. Cutting5.2.2.3. Copying5.2.2.4. Pasting5.2.3. Transforming Objects (Scaling, Rotating, Skewing, Distorting)5.2.3.1. Scaling objects5.2.3.2. Rotating objects5.2.3.3. Skewing objects5.2.3.4. Distorting objects5.2.3.5. Applying an envelope transform5.2.4. Stacking Objects5.2.5. Converting Strokes to Fills5.2.6. Aligning Objects5.2.6.1. Snapping5.2.6.2. Guide layers
5.3. Adding Text to Your Drawing
5.4. Advanced Color and Fills
5.4.1. Color Basics5.4.2. RGB and HSB
5.5. Creating Custom Colors
5.6. Saving Color Swatches
5.6.1. Using an Image as a Fill "Color"5.6.2. Applying a Gradient
5.7. Importing a Custom Color Palette
5.8. Copying Color with the Eyedropper
6. Adding Special Effects
6.1. Built-in Timeline Effects6.1.1. Distributed Duplicate (Tumbling)6.1.2. Blur6.1.3. Expand6.1.4. Explode6.1.5. Transform (Shape Tween)6.1.6. Transition (Fade/Wipe)6.1.7. Modifying a Timeline Effect6.1.8. Deleting a Timeline Effect
6.2. Spotlight Effect Using Mask Layers
6.2.1. Adding a Motion Path to a Mask
7. Reusable Flash: Symbols and Templates
7.1. Symbols and Instances7.1.1. Graphic Symbols7.1.1.1. Converting an existing image to a graphic symbol7.1.1.2. Creating a graphic symbol in symbol editing mode7.1.1.3. Using a graphic symbol (creating an instance of a graphic symbol)7.1.1.4. Editing an instance of a graphic symbol7.1.1.5. Editing a graphic symbol7.1.1.6. Deleting a graphic symbol7.1.2. Multiframe Graphic Symbols7.1.2.1. Creating a multiframe graphic symbol7.1.2.2. Creating an instance of a multiframe graphic symbol7.1.2.3. Editing an instance of a multiframe graphic symbol7.1.2.4. Editing a multiframe graphic symbol7.1.2.5. Deleting a multiframe graphic symbol7.1.3. Movie Clip Symbols7.1.3.1. Creating a movie clip symbol7.1.3.2. Creating an instance of a movie clip symbol7.1.3.3. Editing a movie clip symbol7.1.3.4. Editing an instance of a movie clip symbol7.1.4. Button Symbols7.1.4.1. Creating a button symbol7.1.4.2. Using a button symbol (creating an instance of a button symbol)7.1.4.3. Editing an instance of a button symbol7.1.4.4. Editing a button symbol
7.2. Templates
7.2.1. Using a Prebuilt Template7.2.2. Creating and Using Your Own Custom Template
8. Incorporating Non-Flash Media Files
8.1. Incorporating Graphics8.1.1. Importing Illustrator Graphics Files8.1.2. Importing Photoshop Graphic Files8.1.2.1. Import options for bitmaps8.1.2.2. Import options for text8.1.2.3. Other Photoshop import options8.1.3. Editing Bitmaps8.1.3.1. Turning bitmaps into fills8.1.3.2. Turning bitmaps into vectors8.1.3.3. Turning bitmaps into symbols8.1.4. Importing a Series of Graphics Files
8.2. Incorporating Sound
8.2.1. Importing Sound Files8.2.2. Adding an Imported Sound to a Frame (or Series of Frames)8.2.3. Editing Sound Clips in Flash
8.3. Incorporating Video
8.3.1. Preparing to Import Video Files8.3.2. Importing Video Files8.3.2.1. Importing a Flash video file stored on a Web server (progressive download)8.3.2.2. Importing a QuickTime file stored on your computer (embedding)8.3.3. Editing Embedded Video8.3.3.1. Split a video clip8.3.3.2. Customize video and audio encoding8.3.3.3. Adding cue points to video8.3.3.4. Crop video display8.3.3.5. Resizing your video
III. Adding Interactivity
9. Automating Flash with ActionScript
9.1. How ActionScript Works
9.2. Adding an Action
9.3. Adding a Prebuilt Behavior
10. Controlling Animation
10.1. Slowing Down (or Speeding Up) Animation10.1.1. Setting a Frame Rate
10.2. Organizing an Animation
10.2.1. Working with Scenes10.2.1.1. Creating a scene10.2.1.2. Renaming a scene10.2.1.3. Reorganizing scenes10.2.1.4. Scripting (targeting) a scene10.2.2. Working with Labeled Frames10.2.2.1. Labeling a frame10.2.2.2. Targeting a labeled frame
10.3. Looping a Series of Frames
10.4. Reversing a Series of Frames
10.4.1. Using Modify → Timeline → Reverse Frames10.4.2. Using ActionScript
11. Interacting with Your Audience
11.1. Dynamic Text
11.2. Input Text
11.3. Tying Actions to Events
11.3.1. Triggering an Event When Your Audience Clicks a Button11.3.2. Creating Hotspots and Rollovers11.3.3. Tying an Event to a Component
12. Components for Interactivity
12.1. The Built-in Components12.1.1. Data Components12.1.2. Media and Video Components12.1.3. User Interface Components12.1.3.1. Accordion12.1.3.2. Alert12.1.3.3. Button12.1.3.4. Checkbox12.1.3.5. ComboBox12.1.3.6. DataGrid12.1.3.7. DateChooser12.1.3.8. DateField12.1.3.9. Label12.1.3.10. List12.1.3.11. Loader12.1.3.12. Menu12.1.3.13. MenuBar12.1.3.14. NumericStepper12.1.3.15. ProgressBar12.1.3.16. RadioButton12.1.3.17. ScrollPane12.1.3.18. TextArea12.1.3.19. TextInput12.1.3.20. Tree12.1.3.21. UIScrollBar12.1.3.22. Window
12.2. Adding Components
12.3. Customizing Components
12.3.1. Customizing Components Using the Properties and Parameters Panels12.3.2. Customizing Components Using the Component Inspector12.3.2.1. Parameters tab12.3.2.2. Bindings tab12.3.2.3. Schema tab12.3.3. Customizing Components Using the Actions Panel
12.4. Finding Additional Components
IV. Delivering Your Animation to Its Audience
13. Testing and Debugging
13.1. Testing Strategies13.1.1. Planning Ahead13.1.1.1. Separate potentially troublesome elements13.1.1.2. Reuse as much as possible13.1.1.3. Be generous with comments13.1.1.4. Stick with consistent names13.1.2. Techniques for Better Testing
13.2. Testing on the Stage
13.3. Testing in Flash Player
13.4. Testing Inside a Web Page
13.5. Testing Download Time
13.5.1. Simulating Downloads13.5.1.1. Pinpointing bottlenecks with a bandwidth profiler report
13.6. The Art of Debugging
13.6.1. Using the trace( ) Statement13.6.2. Displaying Property Names and Values13.6.3. Setting and Using Breakpoints
14. Publishing and Exporting
14.1. Optimizing Flash Documents14.1.1. Ten Optimization Strategies14.1.1.1. Choose tweens over frame-by-frame animations14.1.1.2. Choose the Pencil tool over the Brush tool14.1.1.3. Choose solid over dashed or dotted lines14.1.1.4. Simplify curves14.1.1.5. Use symbols14.1.1.6. Avoid bitmaps (or optimize them)14.1.1.7. Keep sound clips to a minimum; when you do use them, optimize them.14.1.1.8. Group elements14.1.1.9. Avoid the extraneous14.1.1.10. Tell Flash to keep your file size down
14.2. Publishing Your Animations
14.2.1. Publishing as a Compiled Flash (.swf) File14.2.2. Publishing as a Web Page14.2.3. Publishing a Frame as a Static Image File14.2.3.1. Publishing a static GIF14.2.3.2. Publishing a JPEG14.2.3.3. Publishing a PNG14.2.4. Publishing as an Animated GIF14.2.5. Publishing as a Standalone Projector
14.3. Exporting Flash to Other Formats
14.3.1. Exporting the Contents of a Single Frame14.3.2. Exporting an Entire Animation
V. appendixes
A. Installation and Help
.1. Installing and Activating Flash CS3
.2. Getting Help from Flash
.2.1. Flash Documentation: The Help Window.2.2. Flash Video Workshop Tutorials
.3. Getting Help from Adobe
.3.1. Online Articles, FAQs, and Sample Code.3.2. Forums.3.3. Direct Person-to-Person Help
.4. Finding Flash Gurus
B. Flash CS3, Menu by Menu
B.1. FileB.1.1. NewB.1.2. OpenB.1.3. BrowseB.1.4. Open from SiteB.1.5. Open RecentB.1.6. CloseB.1.7. Close AllB.1.8. SaveB.1.9. Save and CompactB.1.10. Save AsB.1.11. Save as TemplateB.1.12. Check InB.1.13. Save AllB.1.14. RevertB.1.15. ImportB.1.16. ExportB.1.17. Publish SettingsB.1.18. Publish PreviewB.1.19. PublishB.1.20. Page SetupB.1.21. Print Margins (Mac only)B.1.22. PrintB.1.23. Send (Windows only)B.1.24. Edit SitesB.1.25. Exit (Mac: Flash → Quit)
B.2. Edit
B.2.1. UndoB.2.2. Repeat/RedoB.2.3. CutB.2.4. CopyB.2.5. Paste in CenterB.2.6. Paste in PlaceB.2.7. ClearB.2.8. Duplicate (Ctrl+D)B.2.9. Select AllB.2.10. Deselect AllB.2.11. Find and ReplaceB.2.12. Find NextB.2.13. TimelineB.2.13.1. Remove FramesB.2.13.2. Cut FramesB.2.13.3. Copy FramesB.2.13.4. Paste FramesB.2.13.5. Clear FramesB.2.13.6. Select All FramesB.2.13.7. Copy MotionB.2.13.8. Copy Motion as ActionScript 3.0B.2.13.9. Paste MotionB.2.13.10. Paste Motion SpecialB.2.14. Edit Symbols/DocumentB.2.15. Edit SelectedB.2.16. Edit in PlaceB.2.17. Edit AllB.2.18. PreferencesB.2.19. Customize Tools PanelB.2.20. Font Mapping (Mac: Flash → Font Mapping)B.2.21. Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac: Flash → Keyboard Shortcuts)
B.3. View
B.3.1. Go toB.3.2. Zoom InB.3.3. Zoom OutB.3.4. MagnificationB.3.5. Preview ModeB.3.5.1. OutlinesB.3.5.2. FastB.3.5.3. Anti-AliasB.3.5.4. Anti-Alias TextB.3.5.5. FullB.3.6. PasteboardB.3.7. RulersB.3.8. GridB.3.9. GuidesB.3.10. SnappingB.3.10.1. Snap AlignB.3.10.2. Snap to GridB.3.10.3. Snap to GuideB.3.10.4. Snap to PixelsB.3.10.5. Snap to ObjectsB.3.10.6. Edit SnappingB.3.11. Hide EdgesB.3.12. Show Shape HintsB.3.13. Show Tab Order
B.4. Insert
B.4.1. New SymbolB.4.2. TimelineB.4.2.1. LayerB.4.2.2. Layer FolderB.4.2.3. Motion GuideB.4.2.4. FrameB.4.2.5. KeyframeB.4.2.6. Blank KeyframeB.4.2.7. Create Motion TweenB.4.2.8. Create Shape TweenB.4.3. Timeline EffectsB.4.3.1. AssistantsB.4.3.2. EffectsB.4.3.3. Tranform/TransitionB.4.4. Scene
B.5. Modify
B.5.1. DocumentB.5.2. Convert to SymbolB.5.3. Break ApartB.5.4. BitmapB.5.4.1. Swap BitmapB.5.4.2. Trace BitmapB.5.5. SymbolB.5.5.1. Swap SymbolB.5.5.2. Duplicate SymbolB.5.6. ShapeB.5.6.1. SmoothB.5.6.2. StraightenB.5.6.3. OptimizeB.5.6.4. Convert Lines to FillsB.5.6.5. Expand FillB.5.6.6. Soften Fill EdgesB.5.6.7. Add Shape HintB.5.6.8. Remove All HintsB.5.7. Combine ObjectsB.5.7.1. Delete EnvelopeB.5.7.2. UnionB.5.7.3. IntersectB.5.7.4. PunchB.5.7.5. CropB.5.8. TimelineB.5.8.1. Distribute to LayersB.5.8.2. Layer PropertiesB.5.8.3. Reverse FramesB.5.8.4. Synchronize SymbolsB.5.8.5. Convert to KeyframesB.5.8.6. Clear KeyframeB.5.8.7. Convert to Blank KeyframesB.5.9. Timeline EffectsB.5.9.1. Edit EffectB.5.9.2. Remove EffectB.5.10. TransformB.5.10.1. Free TransformB.5.10.2. DistortB.5.10.3. EnvelopeB.5.10.4. ScaleB.5.10.5. Rotate and SkewB.5.10.6. Scale and RotateB.5.10.7. Rotate 90 degrees CWB.5.10.8. Rotate 90 degrees CCWB.5.10.9. Flip VerticalB.5.10.10. Flip HorizontalB.5.10.11. Remove TransformB.5.11. ArrangeB.5.11.1. Bring to FrontB.5.11.2. Bring ForwardB.5.11.3. Send BackwardB.5.11.4. Send to BackB.5.11.5. LockB.5.11.6. Unlock AllB.5.12. AlignB.5.12.1. LeftB.5.12.2. Horizontal CenterB.5.12.3. RightB.5.12.4. TopB.5.12.5. Vertical CenterB.5.12.6. BottomB.5.12.7. Distribute WidthsB.5.12.8. Distribute HeightsB.5.12.9. Make Same WidthB.5.12.10. Make Same HeightB.5.12.11. To StageB.5.13. GroupB.5.14. Ungroup
B.6. Text
B.6.1. FontB.6.2. SizeB.6.3. StyleB.6.4. AlignB.6.5. Letter SpacingB.6.6. ScrollableB.6.7. Check SpellingB.6.8. Spelling Setup
B.7. Commands
B.7.1. Manage Saved CommandsB.7.2. Get More CommandsB.7.3. Run CommandsB.7.4. Copy Motion as XMLB.7.5. Export Motion as XMLB.7.6. Import Motion as XML
B.8. Control
B.8.1. PlayB.8.2. RewindB.8.3. Go To EndB.8.4. Step Forward One FrameB.8.5. Step Backward One FrameB.8.6. Test MovieB.8.7. Test SceneB.8.8. Test ProjectB.8.9. Delete ASO FilesB.8.10. Delete ASO Files and Test MovieB.8.11. Loop PlaybackB.8.12. Play All ScenesB.8.13. Enable Simple Frame ActionsB.8.14. Enable Simple ButtonsB.8.15. Enable Live PreviewB.8.16. Mute Sounds
B.9. Debug
B.9.1. Debug MovieB.9.2. ContinueB.9.3. End Debug SessionB.9.4. Step InB.9.5. Step OverB.9.6. Step OutB.9.7. Remove All BreakpointsB.9.8. Begin Remote Debug Session
B.10. Window
B.10.1. Duplicate WindowB.10.2. ToolbarsB.10.2.1. ControllerB.10.2.2. Edit BarB.10.3. TimelineB.10.4. ToolsB.10.5. PropertiesB.10.6. LibraryB.10.7. Common LibrariesB.10.8. ActionsB.10.9. BehaviorsB.10.10. Compiler ErrorsB.10.11. Debug PanelsB.10.12. Movie ExplorerB.10.13. OutputB.10.14. ProjectB.10.15. AlignB.10.16. ColorB.10.17. InfoB.10.18. SwatchesB.10.19. TransformB.10.20. ComponentsB.10.21. Component InspectorB.10.22. Other PanelsB.10.22.1. AccessibilityB.10.22.2. HistoryB.10.22.3. SceneB.10.22.4. ScreensB.10.22.5. StringsB.10.22.6. Web ServicesB.10.23. WorkspaceB.10.24. Hide PanelsB.10.25. CascadeB.10.26. TileB.10.27. Combine as TabsB.10.28. List of Open FLA files
B.11. Help
B.11.1. Flash HelpB.11.2. What's New in Flash CS3B.11.3. Flash ExchangeB.11.4. Manage ExtensionsB.11.5. Flash Support CenterB.11.6. Flash Developer CenterB.11.7. Adobe Online ForumsB.11.8. Adobe TrainingB.11.9. Register/Activate/DeactivateB.11.9.1. RegistrationB.11.9.2. ActivateB.11.9.3. DeactivateB.11.10. UpdatesB.11.11. About Flash CS3 Professional (Mac: Flash → About)
Index
About the Authors
Colophon
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Overview

Flash CS3 is the premier tool for creating web animations and interactive web sites, can be intimidating to learn. This entertaining reference tutorial provides a reader-friendly animation primer and a guided tour of all the program's tools and capabilities. Beginners will learn to use the software in no time, and experienced users will quickly take their skills to the next level. The book gives Flash users of all levels hands-on instructions to help them master:

Special effects
Morphing
Adding audio and video
Introducing interactivity
And much more

With Flash CS3: The Missing Manual you'll be able to turn an idea into a Flash animation, tutorial, or movie. This book will help you create online tutorials, training materials and full-blown presentations. It also teaches design principles throughout and helps you avoid elements that can distract or annoy an audience.

This is the first new release of Flash since Adobe bought Macromedia, which means that it's the first version that will integrate easily with other Adobe products. It's a whole new ballgame when it comes to Flash, and Flash CS3: The Missing Manual offers you complete and objective coverage. It's the perfect companion to this powerful software.

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