Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Insert

Use the Insert menu to add objects to your animation and to make changes to the timeline.

New Symbol

Windows: Ctrl+F8

Mac: ⌘-F8

Opens the Create Symbol dialog box, where you name and select the symbol type (movie clip, button, or graphic).

Motion Tween

Applies a motion tween to an object, which is great for animating movement and changing properties over time—like color, transparency and dimensions. You can use the new Motion Editor to fine-tune every aspect of a motion tween.

Shape Tween

Creates a shape tween between adjacent keyframes. Shape tweens work only on editable shapes (not text or symbols). They're great for morphing objects from one form to another—an acorn to an oak, for example.

Classic Tween

Creates a motion tween between adjacent keyframes (represented by an arrow on a blue background). Use motion tweens to create nonlinear motions. Motion tweens work only on symbols, grouped objects, and text blocks. While Adobe still makes classic tweens available in Flash CS5 for compatibility reasons, it's replaced them with the more versatile and powerful motion tween.

Timeline

The Timeline command leads to a submenu with commands for adding layers and frames to your timeline:

Layer

Inserts a new layer in your timeline. You use layers to organize objects on the stage. For example, layers can hold elements like shapes and text. You can also create keyframes and tweens on individual layers.

Layer Folder

Creates a layer folder. Layer folders are used to organize and group layers. By opening ...