Flash CS3 Menu Bar

File -

• create, open & save Flash movies, illustrations, sounds & bitmap files
• import files: import to stage or to library; open external libraries to reuse symbols, & import videos (which have to be encoded when they are imported)
• save Flash document as a template
• export files: still images or SWF files
• set publishing settings and publish SWF movies, HTML pages, etc.
• Print Flash movie

Edit - alter portions of shapes, objects or scenes in a movie.

• Edit - alter portions of shapes, objects or scenes in a movie.
• The usual cut, copy, paste commands
• Copy objects
• Paste -- can paste objects in same place on screen (paste in place)
• Timeline: cut frames, copy frames, paste frames, clear frames, remove frames, select all frames
• NEW in CS3 -- can copy an animation as ActionScript3
• Edit symbols, selected, in place, all
• Preferences menu for interface, other settings
• Customize tool bar
• font mapping
• keyboard shortcuts --can define your own.

View - controls which scenes display (and how) & which parts of editing environment display.

• GOTO -- lets you hop to a scene in the movie
• zoom in and out
• To help layout, can display
  • rulers
  • a grid to help you do layout
  • snapping objects to grid, guides, align , etc. -- useful when you are trying to line up elements on the stage

Insert -

New symbols -

• elements that are kept in the library (bitmaps, sound files, drawings).
• Only symbols can be motion tweened.
• Only graphics that are not symbols can be shape tween ed (morphed).

Timeline elements -- layers, layer folders, motion guide, frame, keyframe, blank keyframe

• A blank keyframe has an unfilled circle in it (automatically in first frame of layer)
• A filled keyframe has a filled circle, which means there is something in it
• Keyframes provide beginning and ending points for elements such as tweens, sound, actionscript, etc.

Timeline effect settings

Each Timeline effect manipulates a graphic or symbol in a specific way and allows you to change individual parameters for a desired effect. In the preview window, you can quickly see the changes made when you alter settings.

When you add a timeline effect to an object, Flash 8 creates a new layer, and transfers the object to the new layer. The new layer has the same name as the effect with a number appended that signifies the order in which the effect will be applied.

The object is placed inside the effects graphic symbol. The effects symbol is stored in the library in a folder, which contains the elements used to create the effect.

Assistants>Copy to grid

Duplicates a selected object by the number of columns and then multiplies the columns by the number of rows to create a grid of the elements.

• Number of rows
• Number of columns
• Distance between rows, in pixels
• Distance between columns, in pixels

Assistants>Distributed duplication

Duplicates a selected object the number of times entered in the settings. The first element is a copy of the original object. The objects are modified in increments until the final object reflects the parameters entered in the settings.

• Number of copies
• Offset distance, x position, in pixels
• Offset distance, y position, in pixels
• Offset rotation, in degrees
• Offset start frame, in frames across Timeline
• Exponential scaling by x, y scale, in delta percentage
• Linear scaling by x, y scale, in delta percentage
• Final alpha, in percentage
• Change color, select/deselect
• Final color, in RGB hex value (final copy has this color value; intermediate copies gradually transition to it)
• Duplication delay, in frames (results in pause between copies)

Effects>Blur

• Blurs symbol over specified number of frames in horizontal and/or vertical directions, can change scale, resolution.

Effects>Drop Shadow

• Adds drop shadow to symbol, can change alpha transparency, color of shadow, shadow horizontal and vertical offset. Does not take effect over series of frames

Effects>Expand

• applies over specified number of frames, can expand or squeeze symbol, shift group center, fragment offset, change fragment size horizontally and vertically.

Effects>Explode

• set frame duration for effect
• symbol explodes over arc size set in x & y pixels
• rotate fragments
• change fragment size
• change final alpha

Transform/Transition>Transform

• set frame duration,
• change position by x & y pixels
• change scale by percentage
• rotate or spin either direction
• change color & alpha transparency
• set motion ease in or out

Transform/Transition>Transition

• Can set frame duration of effect
• Can fade and/or wipe in or out the symbol
• set motion ease in or out.