1. Macromedia Flash 8 Revealed WORKING WITH SYMBOLS AND INTERACTIVITY

2. Chapter 3 2 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Create symbols and instances Work with Libraries Create buttons Assign actions to buttons Chapter Lessons

3. Chapter 3 3 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Create small file sizes Symbols are graphics that can be re- used without adding file size –Symbols are the original object –Instances are the copied object Flash stores only symbol information (size, shape, color) thus creating a smaller file size Using Flash Symbols

4. Chapter 3 4 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Attributes, such as color and shape, can be freely changed for each instance You can have as many altered instances as you like Symbols reside in the Library –Dragging a symbol from the Library to the stage creates an instance Using Flash Symbols

5. Chapter 3 5 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Three types of symbols –Graphics, Buttons, 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

6. Chapter 3 6 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Creating a Graphic Symbol Two ways to create a symbol –New Symbol command –Convert to Symbol command “Convert to Symbol” dialog box allows you to name and specify the type of symbol Symbol gets placed in the Library –To create an instance, drag a symbol from the Library panel to the stage

7. Chapter 3 7 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Naming a Symbol FIGURE 1 Using the Convert to Symbol dialog box to convert a symbol

8. Chapter 3 8 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Editing a Symbol Select from the Library and double- click, or use the Edit Symbol command Changes made to symbols are reflected in all their associated instances Changes made to instances do not affect their symbol

9. Chapter 3 9 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Working with Instances Instances can be altered in many ways –Rotate, skew, resize –Change color, brightness, transparency Some limitations to editing an instance –Changes must be made to entire instance –Use “Break Apart” for more edibility, but note that the link to the symbol will be broken

10. Chapter 3 10 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Understanding the Library The Library provides a way to view and organize symbols –Change symbol names and properties –Add or delete symbols

11. Chapter 3 11 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Library Title Bar –Names the movie with which the Library is associated Options Menu –Provides access to additional features of the library Item Preview window –Displays the selected symbol

12. Chapter 3 12 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Library Toggle Sorting Order Icon –Allows you to reorder the lists of folders and symbols within folders Wide Library View and Narrow Library View icon –Used to expand and collapse the Library window to display more or less of the symbol properties

13. Chapter 3 13 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Library Name Text Box –Lists the folder and symbol names New Symbol Icon –Displays the Create New Symbol dialog box New Folder Icon –Allows you to create a new folder

14. Chapter 3 14 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Library Properties Icon –Displays the Symbol Properties dialog box for the selected symbol Delete Item Icon –Deletes the selected symbol or folder

15. Chapter 3 15 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Library Panel Name Text Box New Symbol Icon New Folder Icon Properties Icon Options Menu Delete Icon Narrow Library View Icon Wide Library View Icon Toggle Sorting Order Icon Item Preview window Click to list Library panel of an open document FIGURE 11 The Library panel

16. Chapter 3 16 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Understanding Buttons Button symbols provide interactivity Any object, including Flash objects, can be turned into a Button symbol Button symbols have four states –Correspond to the use of the mouse –Recognize that the user requires feedback

17. Chapter 3 17 Working With Symbols and Interactivity 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

18. Chapter 3 18 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Four Button States Down –How the button appears after the user clicks the mouse Hit –Defines the area of the screen that will respond to the click

19. Chapter 3 19 Working With Symbols and Interactivity The Four Button States Up Over Down Hit FIGURE 19 The button timeline FIGURE 18 The four button states

20. Chapter 3 20 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Button Development Create a button symbol Edit the button symbol Return to the main timeline Preview the button

21. Chapter 3 21 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Understanding Actions In a basic movie, Flash plays frames sequentially To gain greater control, ActionScripting provides interactivity –Button presses can start/stop a Movie –Jump to a frame or scene

22. Chapter 3 22 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Analyzing ActionScript Basic ActionScript involves an event (such as a mouse click) that causes some action to occur Category panel Event Action FIGURE 26 The Actions panel displaying an ActionScript

23. Chapter 3 23 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Assigning Actions to a Button Select the desired button on the stage Display the Actions panel Select the Script Assist button to display the Script Assist panel within the ActionScript panel

24. Chapter 3 24 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Assigning Actions to a Button Select the appropriate category Select the desired action Specify the event that triggers the action

25. Chapter 3 25 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Button Actions Buttons respond to one or more of the following events –Release With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses and releases the mouse button –Key Press With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses a predetermined key on the keyboard

26. Chapter 3 26 Working With Symbols and Interactivity –Roll Over The user moves the pointer into the button Hit area –Drag Over The user holds down the mouse button, moves the pointer out of the button Hit area and then back into the Hit –Using Frame Actions Actions assigned to frames Executed when the playhead reaches the frame Button Actions

27. Chapter 3 27 Working With Symbols and Interactivity Chapter 3 Tasks Create symbols and instances Work with Libraries Create buttons Assign actions to buttons