Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Choosing a Drawing Mode

If you're new to Flash, here's a tip that will save you hours of frustration. Write these words on a sticky note on your monitor: Flash has two drawing modes—merge mode and object mode. When drawings don't behave as expected, I'm suffering from mode confusion.

Lines and shapes drawn in merge mode behave differently from those drawn in object mode. This phenomenon becomes apparent when you try to move drawings around the screen or arrange them in front of or behind other graphics. You use a simple toggle button or shortcut key to change from one mode to the other. Keep in mind that you can use both drawing modes in a single Flash document, and there's a good chance you'll want to work that way. You can even have graphics drawn in merge mode in the same layer and frame as graphics drawn in object mode. Both types of graphics retain their native characteristics and eccentricities unless you purposely convert them to the other format.

Note

Want to check out the differences between the two modes? The Missing CD (www.missingmanuals.com/cds) has two example files. 02-1_Merge_Drawing_Mode.fla shows an oval and a rectangle drawn in merge drawing mode. 02-2_Object_Drawing_Mode.fla shows a similar oval and rectangle drawn in object mode.

Merge Drawing Mode

Originally, Flash offered only merge mode. It's unlike drawing tools you find in most programs, but merge mode works great for web animations because it keeps file sizes small and animations fast. Flash assumes you want ...