Flash CS3: The Missing Manual

Preparing to Draw

Even if you're familiar with animation software (but especially if you aren't), you need to know a few quick things before you roll up your sleeves and dive into Flash—sort of like the quick where's-the-turn-signal once-over you do when you jump into a rental car for the first time.

In this section, you'll see how to get around the Stage and how to customize your Flash document's properties. You'll also learn a couple of basic Flash terms you need to understand before you use the drawing tools (which you'll see how to do on Line tool).

But first you need to open a new Flash document page so you can follow along at home. To do so, launch Flash and choose Create New Flash Document on the start screen. You can also create a new file using the Flash main menu. Here's how:

1. From the main menu, choose File → New.

   The New Document window opens. If the window doesn't show the General tab as in Figure 2-2, click that tab to make it active.

2. In the Type list, select the type of new file you want to create and then click OK.

   (If you're not sure what file type you want, choose Flash File (ActionScript 2.0); see Starting Flash for the reason why.) The New Document window disappears and Flash displays a brand-new blank document. You can tell it's a new document by the name Flash gives it: for example, Untitled-1.

DESIGN TIME: Tips from the Trenches

Starting out on a learning curve as steep as Flash's can be daunting. Sometimes, it's helpful to hear what the pros think—to get advice from ...