Macromedia Flash MX 2004 – Design Professional and Interactivity WORKING WITH SYMBOLS

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C2Working with Symbols and Interactivity Work with symbols and instances Work with Libraries Create buttons Assign actions to buttons Chapter Lessons

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C3Working with Symbols and Interactivity An important aspect of Flash is its ability to create small file sizes Symbols are graphics that can be re-used without adding file size –Symbols are the original (Parent)object –Instances are the copied (Child) object Flash stores only symbol information(size, shape, color) thus creating a smaller file size Using Flash Symbols

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C4Working 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C5Working with Symbols and Interactivity 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C6Working with Symbols and Interactivity 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 Insert > 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C7Working with Symbols and Interactivity Naming a Symbol

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C8Working with Symbols and Interactivity Editing a Symbol Select from the Library and double-click, or use Edit > Edit Symbol Changes made to Symbols are reflected in all their associated Instances Remember: changes made to Instances does not affect their (parent) Symbol

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C9Working with Symbols and Interactivity Working with Instances Instances can be altered in many ways –Rotated, skewed, resized, re-colored, alpha changes 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 –Changes are made to the entire instance –Use “Break Apart” for more edibility, but note that the link will be broken

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C10Working with Symbols and Interactivity Applying Effects to Instances

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C11Working 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C12Working with Symbols and Interactivity The Library Title Bar - names the movie with which the Library is associated –Sample and external libraries Options Menu - provides access to additional features of the library Item Preview - displays the selected symbol Toggle Sorting Order Icon

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C13Working with Symbols and Interactivity The Library Wide and Narrow View Name Text Box - lists the folder and Symbol Names New Symbol Icon - displays the Create New Symbol dialog box New Folder Icon Properties Icon Delete Item Icon

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C14Working with Symbols and Interactivity The Library Name Text Box New Symbol Icon New Folder Icon Properties Icon Options Menu

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C15Working with Symbols and Interactivity 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C16Working 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 Down-how the button appears after the user clicks the mouse Hit-Defines the area of the screen that will respond to the click

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C17Working with Symbols and Interactivity The Four Button States The button timeline

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C18Working with Symbols and Interactivity 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C19Working with Symbols and Interactivity 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

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C20Working with Symbols and Interactivity Assigning actions to a button Select the desired button on the stage Display the Actions Panel Select the appropriate category Select the desired action

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C21Working with Symbols and Interactivity Button Action Events Buttons respond to one or more of the following events –Press: With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses the mouse button –Release: With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses and releases the mouse button

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C22Working with Symbols and Interactivity Button Action Events –Release Outside: With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses and holds down the mouse button, moves the pointer outside the Hit area, and releases the mouse button –Key Press: With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user presses a predetermined key on the keyboard –Roll Over: The user moves the pointer into the button Hit area

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C23Working with Symbols and Interactivity Button Action Events –Roll Out: The user moves the pointer out of 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 area –Drag Out: With the pointer inside the button Hit area, the user holds down the mouse button and moves the pointer outside the Hit area

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C24Working with Symbols and Interactivity Basic Actions Can be applied to a Button (to create interactivity) Can be applied to a Frame (causes the playhead to stop) More advanced actions, discussed in later chapters, can be applied to many different types of objects

Web Collection: Flash MX 2004 Chapter C25Working with Symbols and Interactivity Chapter C Tasks Work with symbols and instances Work with Libraries Create buttons Assign actions to buttons