Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Modifying a Motion Preset

As discussed earlier in this chapter, Adobe gives you a bunch of snazzy motion tweens with Flash. But one designer's perfect tween is another designer's, well…nearly perfect tween. Fortunately, you can customize presets after you apply them. In fact, tweaking a motion preset is great learning ground for designing and perfecting your own tweens. Editing a motion preset is no different from editing a tween you created yourself, so the following sections on Changing the Motion Path (below) and Editing a Tween Span apply to both motion presets and the tweens that you create from scratch.

Changing the Motion Path

Whether you use a motion preset or create your own tween, chances are you'll want to tweak the motion path. Perhaps the ball doesn't bounce in just the right places, or that car looks like it's driving off the road. The motion path looks like a line trailing off from the tweened object. As you drag the playhead in the timeline, you'll notice that the tweened object follows the motion path. If you need a practice file, download 08-2_Motion_Path.fla from the Missing CD (www.missingmanuals.com/cds).

You can change this path on the stage using the same Selection tool that you use to modify any line:

• Move the entire motion path. With the Selection tool, drag a box around any part of the path. Then drag everything to a new spot.

• Move the starting point for the motion path. With the Selection tool, drag the diamond-shaped selection point at the beginning of the ...