Macromedia Flash MX Design Professional And Interactivity WORKING WITH SYMBOLS

Unit C2Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Work with symbols and instances Work with Libraries Create buttons Assign actions to buttons Unit Lessons

Unit C3Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Attributes, such as color and shape can be freely changed for each instance Symbols reside in the Library –Dragging a Symbol from the Library to the stage creates an Instance Using Flash Symbols

Unit C4Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX There are 3 types of Symbols; Graphics, Buttons, and Movie Clips Graphics are effective for single, re- usable images Buttons are for interactivity, such as starting or stopping a movie A Movie Clip is a “movie within a movie” Flash Symbol Types

Unit C5Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Creating a Graphic Symbol There are 2 primary ways to create a symbol –Insert > New Symbol command, and then draw a symbol –Or draw an object and then use Modify > Convert to Symbol Use the “Convert to Symbol” dialog box to name the symbol effectively The Symbol gets placed in the library, an instance remains on the stage

Unit C6Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Naming a Symbol

Unit C7Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Editing a Symbol Select from the Library and double-click, or use Edit > Edit Symbol Changes made to Symbols is reflected in all their associated Instances Remember: changes made to Instances does not affect their (parent) Symbol

Unit C8Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Working with Instances Some limitations to editing an Instance –An instance is a single object with no segments, therefore you cannot select just part of the instance to change –Use “Break Apart” for more edibility, but note that the link will be broken

Unit C9Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Understanding the Library The Library provides a way to view and organize symbols Change Symbol names and properties Add or delete Symbols

Unit C10Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX The Library Name Text Box New Symbol Icon New Folder Icon Properties Icon Options Menu

Unit C11Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Understanding Buttons Button Symbols provide interactivity Any Flash object can be turned into a Button Symbol Unlike Graphic Symbols, Button Symbols have four States which correspond to the use of the mouse and recognize the user requires feedback

Unit C12Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX The Four Button States Up-represents how the button appears when the mouse pointer is not over it Over-represents how the button appears when the mouse pointer is over it Down-how the button appears after the user clicks the mouse Hit-Defines the area of the screen that will respond to the click

Unit C13Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX The Four Button States The button timeline

Unit C14Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Understanding Actions In a basic movie, Flash plays frames sequentially To gain greater control, ActionScripting provides interactivity –Button presses can stop a Movie –Jump to a frame or scene –Play a sound

Unit C15Getting Started with Macromedia Flash MX Analyzing ActionScript Basic ActionScript involves an event (such as a mouse click) that causes some action to occur by triggering the script ActionScript Panel Event Action