Macromedia Flash 5 Foundation Level Course. What is Flash? Flash 5 is the latest version of...

Macromedia Flash 5

Foundation Level Course

What is Flash?

Flash 5 is the latest version of Macromedia’s graphics and animation package

Flash File Types

• In the Flash you can use many file types.

• We will cover the most important ones:

• FLA Files• SWF Files• HTML Files• PROJECTOR Files

Movie Properties

Setting up Movie Properties:

• Frame Rate• Dimensions• Background Color• Ruler Units

The Authoring Environment

Panels

The Toolbox

The Timeline

The Stage

The Work Area

The Launcher Bar

Toolbars

• Flash has five Toolbars: Toolbox, Main, Status Bar, Controller, and the Launcher Bar

Toolbox

Main

Launcher Bar

Status Bar

Controller

The Timeline

• The Timeline is an object on the Flash interface that contains the sequence of frames, layouts and scenes composing an animation.

Panels

• You can control Panels by choosing Window, then…

• Panels > Panels Menu• Panel Sets• Save Panel Layout…• Close All Panels

Frames

• Any content you want to display in the Flash movie needs to be placed within one or more Frames

Frames

Playhead Frame Numbers

Layers

• The Timeline can have one or more Layers• Layers allow us to separate out pieces of content

and action One Layer

Many Layers

Scenes

• The Flash movie can have one or more Scenes• Each new Flash movie comes with one default

scene, named “Scene 1”

Default Scene “Scene 1”

The Movie Explorer

• The Movie Explorer gives you the ability to browse through the whole movie at different levels of detail

• The Movie Explorer displays the contents of the movie: scenes, layers and keyframes

Toolbox

• The Toolbox is a toolbar where you can quickly access all the drawing, painting and editing tools

• The Toolbox window is divided into four sections

Tools OptionsView Colors

Arrow Tool

• The Arrow tool is used to select, move, place and modify objects on stage

• The Arrow tool has five modifiers in the Options section: Snap to Objects, Smooth, Straighten, Rotate and Scale Snap to Objects

Smooth Straighten

ScaleRotate

Lasso Tool

• The Lasso tool is used to select objects on the stage

• The Lasso tool has three modifiers in the Options section: Magic Wand, Magic Wand Properties and Polygon Mode

Magic Wand Magic Wand Properties

Polygon Mode

Oval Tool

• The Oval tool is used to draw oval shapes on the stage

Rectangle Tool

• The Rectangle tool is used to draw rectangle shapes on the stage

• The Rectangle tool has one modifier in the Options section: Round Rectangle Radius

Round Rectangle Radius

Line Tool

• The Line tool is used to draw lines on the stage

Pencil Tool

• The Pencil tool is used to draw freeform lines on the stage

• The Pencil tool has one modifier in the Options section: Pencil Mode

Pencil Mode

Brush Tool

• The Brush tool is used to paint on the stage

• The Brush tool has four modifiers in the Options section: Brush Mode, Brush Size, Brush Shape and Lock Fill

Brush Mode

Brush Size

Brush Shape

Lock Fill

Pen Tool

• The Pen tool is used to draw curves on the stage

• The curves created by Pen tool are called Bezier Curves

Text Tool

• The Text tool is used to create and edit text elements on the stage

• The Text tool is used in conjunction with the Character Panel

Ink Bottle Tool

• The Ink Bottle tool is used to change the fill color of existing lines

• The Ink Bottle tool is used in conjunction with the color palette on the Toolbox

Paint Bucket Tool

• The Paint Bucket tool is used to fill in empty shapes or to change the fill color of existing shapes

• The Paint Bucket tool is used in conjunction with the color palette on the Toolbox

• The Paint Bucket tool has three modifiers in the Options section: Gap Size, Lock Fill and Transform Fill

Gap Size

Transform FillLock Fill

Subselect Tool

• The Subselect tool is used to select and modify existing points on the curves

Dropper Tool

• The Dropper tool is used to pick-up the colors and styles of fills or lines from existing objects

Eraser Tool

• The Eraser tool is used to erase shapes on the stage

• The Eraser tool has three modifiers in the Options section: Eraser Mode, Faucet and Eraser Shape

Eraser Mode Faucet

Eraser Shape

Hand Tool

• The Hand tool is used to move around the segment of the stage that is displayed on your screen

Zoom Tool

• The Zoom tool allows you to enlarge or reduce screen view

• The Zoom tool has two modifiers in the Options section: Enlarge and Reduce

Enlarge Reduce

Colors

Colors have five modifiers:

• Stroke Color • Fill Color• Default Colors • No Color • Swap Colors

Fill Color

Stroke Color

Swap ColorDefault Colors

No Color

Lines

• Lines can be drawn using the Line tool, the Pencil tool and the Pen tool

Using the Line Tool

Using the Pencil Tool

Using the Pen Tool

Fills

• Fills can be painted using the Brush tool, the Paint Bucket tool and the Pen tool

Using the Brush Tool

Using the Paint Bucket Tool

Using the Pen Tool

Shapes

• Shapes can be easily drawn using the Oval tool and the Rectangle tool

Selecting Shapes

• The Arrow tool and the Lasso tool are used for selecting shapes

Using the Arrow Tool

Using the Lasso Tool

Modifying Shapes

• Shapes can be modified using the Arrow tool, the Dropper tool, the Paint Bucket tool and the Ink Bottle tool

Using the Arrow Tool

Using the Ink Bottle Tool

Custom Colors

• To create custom colors, you will use the Mixer panel, the Swatch panel and the Color picker

Gradient Color

In Flash, you can create:• Solid colors - called Color Swatches• Multicolored color - called Color Gradient

Creating Text

• The Text tool is used to create text

• There are three Panels that are used to modify text: Character Panel, Paragraph Panel and Text Options Panel

Font Types

Flash can use the following font types:

• True Type Fonts• Postscript Type 1 Fonts• Bitmap Fonts• Device Fonts

Vector Graphics

• A Vector graphic file stores image data in the form of mathematical expressions

• Vector graphics can scale to any size without loosing the image quality

• Vector graphics are not good for representing a detailed graphic

500% increase

Raster Graphics

• A Raster graphic file stores image data for each individual pixel

• Raster graphics can become very “pixelated” when scaled up from their original size

• Raster graphics appear onscreen very quickly

500% increase

Importing Vector Graphics

• Choose File > Import… • Select a vector graphic file:

– WMF

– FH

– AI

– SWF

Importing Raster Graphics

• Choose File > Import… • Select a raster graphic file:

– JPG– BMP– GIF– TIF– PCT– PNG

Grouping Objects

Grouping objects has two main benefits:

• It isolates objects from the other shapes so that they do not merge into one shape when overlapped

• It allows stacking of the shapes

Transforming Objects

• The Transform Menu is used to change an object by scaling it, rotating it or flipping it

Arranging Objects

• The Arrange Menu is used to change the stacking order of the objects on the same layer

Aligning Objects

• The Align Panel is used to control alignment, size and spacing of the objects on the stage

Rulers

• Rulers are used to help you align and organize your objects

Grid

• Grid is used as a guide for the placement and alignment of objects on the stage

Guides

• Guides are also used to help you align and organize your objects.

• They can be customized to suit your work style and needs

Symbol Types

• Symbols are self-contained content stored in the Library

• There are three symbol types:– Graphics Symbol

– Button Symbol

– Movie Clip Symbol

Creating Symbols

There are two ways to create a symbol:

• Converting an existing object• Creating new symbol from scratch

Library

• The Library is a storage facility for various media elements used in a Flash movie, such as graphics, sounds and movies

• Libraries can be shared between many Flash movies

Publishing Options

Formats Options

Flash Options

HTML Options

Projector