XP Tutorial 1 Introduction to Macromedia Flash MX 2004

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Types of Web Media Macromedia Flash MX 2004 is a program that was initially designed for creating small, fast loading animations that could be used in Web pages. A bitmap graphic is a row-by-row list of every pixel in the graphic, along with each pixel’s color. A vector graphic is a set of mathematical instructions that describe the color, outline, and position of all the shapes in the image.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Bitmap vs. Vector Graphics

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Bitmap and Vector Animation Animation is accomplished when a series of still images is displayed in sequence giving the illusion of motion. Bitmap animation consists of pitting bitmap still images into motion for Web viewing. Vector animation consists of a listing of shapes and their transformations.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Web Media in Flash Web media created in Flash are called documents and include static images as well as animations. You work with a Flash authoring document (FLA file) while developing content in Flash. A SWF file is a Flash document meant for viewing by end users. –The SWF file plays in an HTML file in a Web browser using the Flash Player plug-in. –Controls for the Flash Player plug-in can be found in the context menu, which is accessed by right-clicking the animation.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Flash Player Plug-in Context Menu

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Starting Flash Click the Start button on the taskbar, and then point to All Programs to display all the programs installed on your computer. Point to Macromedia and then click Macromedia Flash MX The Flash program window opens and displays the Start page. Click Flash Document under the Create New section of the Start page, and then, if necessary, click the Maximize button on the title bar to maximize the Flash program window. Click Window on the menu bar, point to Panel Sets, and then click Default Layout. Click Window on the menu bar, and then point to Toolbars. Make sure that the options Main and Controller do not have check marks next to them. If one of these menu options has a check mark, then click it to deselect it. Make sure that the option Edit Bar is selected.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Flash Program Window Default Layout

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Previewing Documents Click File on the menu bar, and then click Open. Navigate to the location where your Data Files are stored, and then click the Open button. To see the entire document, click View on the menu bar, point to Magnification, and then click Show All.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Previewing Documents

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Previewing the Published File in a Separate Flash Player Window Click Control on the menu bar, and then click Test Movie. Flash creates a file in the SWF format, opens it in a separate window, and then plays it with the Flash player.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Flash Program Window Elements The Stage is where you create, import, and assemble all of the graphic objects for your document. Surrounding the Stage is a gray area called the Work Area. The Timeline is used to control and coordinate the frames and layers that make up a Flash document. Layers are used to organize the images, animations, and other objects that are part of a document. A frame represents a unit of time. The playhead is a marker that indicates which frame is currently selected on the Timeline.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX The Toolbar

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX The Toolbar See Figure 1-12 in the text for a listing of the Toolbar tools and their functions

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Panels Flash panels contain controls for viewing and changing the properties of objects. You can group several panels together to make a panel set.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Panels

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX The Property Inspector The Property inspector is a panel located at the bottom of the Flash program window that provides easy access to the most common attributes of the currently selected tool or object.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Changing the View of the Stage Click the Zoom tool on the toolbar. In the options area of the toolbar, click the Enlarge or Reduce modifiers. Click a part of the Stage to enlarge or reduce it, or click and drag the pointer to draw a rectangular selection marquee around the part of the Stage you want to enlarge or reduce.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX The Grid, Rulers, and Guides The Grid appears as a set of lines on the Stage behind all of the objects you place or draw on the Stage. The grid lines do not become part of your document. Rulers are vertically displayed on the left edge of the Stage window and horizontally displayed on the top edge. A guide is a line used to align objects that can be moved to a specific part of the Stage using the rulers for reference.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX The Grid, Rulers, and Guides

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Changing the Document Properties Click Modify on the menu bar, and then click Document.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Working with Objects in Flash Strokes and Fills Strokes are the lines that you draw. Fills are the areas you paint with color. Circle with fill and stroke Circle with fill only Circle with stroke only

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX How Objects Interact with Each Other

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Color Controls and the Color Mixer All strokes and fills can be drawn with different colors –Web-safe colors –Gradient Linear gradient Radial gradient Color Mixer

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Color Mixer

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Selecting Objects Selection Tool The Selection tool is used to select strokes or fills and can also be used to select groups of objects. The Selection tool includes the Snap to Objects, Smooth, and Straighten modifiers.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Subselection Tool The Subselection tool is used to display points, referred to as anchor points, on strokes and on the outlines of fills that have no stroke. If you click an anchor point on a curved line, tangent handles are displayed next to the selected point.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Subselection Tool

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Using the Subselection Tool Click the Subselection tool on the toolbar. Click an object’s stroke or its fill outline to display its anchor points. Drag the anchor points or tangent handles to modify the stroke or fill outline.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Lasso Tool The Lasso tool is used to select several objects at one time or to select an irregularly shaped area of an object by drawing a free-form selection marquee around the area. Once you have made the selection you can move the selection or apply other effects to it such as changing the color of all the selected fills at one time.

XP New Perspectives on Macromedia Flash MX Getting Help in Flash