Some Flash Tips

Here are some tips on Macromedia Flash, note the version I'm using is Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004, which I used during my course. The one major thing you need to remember about Flash is that it has a timeline, so everything is done over time. The two main components in Flash are the work area, which is known as the Stage, and the Timeline, where all the work is set up. I'm going to start with Keyframing.

Keyframing

Place an object on the stage, go to the Timeline and insert a keyframe (F6 it should be but I just right-click on the desired location in the Timeline and select "Insert Keyframe") -> move the object and then insert another keyframe later on in the Timeline. Keep moving the object and inserting a keyframe each time you move it and your simple animation is complete. Now go to Control and either "Play" or "Test Movie" and you should see your animation. From now on in this article I will just say play or test.

Motion Tweening

Motion Tweening is more complicated and slightly more difficult. There are two ways to dp it: the way I was taught and the way I taught myself.

The way I was taught

Start off by drawing/importing your object onto the Stage (if you're Importing select File -> Import -> Import to Library and then drag it onto the stage), then go to the frame you want the animation to END at and insert a keyframe, (F6 or right-click -> insert Keframe), then right-click on the Timeline just before the last keyframe, and select "Create Motion Tween". You should now see a dotted line on the timeline. Finally move the object and that's it, the dotted line should have become an arrow.

The way I taught myself

Start off by drawing/Importing your object like above. Then highlight from the position on the Timeline where you want your final keyframe -> right-click and insert a keyframe -> right-click again and select "Create Motion Tween", you should now see an arrow in between the keyframes. Now simply move your object and that's it. Doing it this way means you don't have to worry about where the arrow finishes.

Now play or test and you should see an animation that is smoother than Keyframing. You can also add a Guide Layer to help tell Flash where to move the object to by right-clicking on the layer name and selecting "Guide", then you just draw the path of the object making sure the Guide Layer is selected. In Keyframing you do the work yourself, in Motion Tweening Flash does the work for you.

Shape Tweening

Start off by typing some text onto the Stage in the centre, in this example I'm using the figure 1. Then insert a Keyframe at say frame 20 on the Timeline. Select the figure 1, right-click, and then select "Break apart". The 1 should now be covered in white dots. Then highlight from Frame 20 or wherever you inserted the Keyframe, to the start. This is important, find the Property Inspector (the window at the bottom that says "Properties") and click anywhere on the Timeline, with the Timeline selected you should see the following on the Property Inspector: "Tween: Motion", change that to "Shape". The Timeline between the start and your Keyframe should now be coloured green. Delete the 1 and replace it in the same position with a 2. Finally right-click on the 2 and select Break Apart. Now if you play or test your Movie you should see a figure 1 morph into a figure 2. If you've made it right there should be an arrow on the Timeline, like with a Motion Tween.

Those are the 3 big tips. I hope you got them to work.

Masking

Right-click on the Layer Name and select "Mask". This adds a Masking Layer. Now just move an object over some text and off it again, (has to be done with Keyframing I'm afraid), and when you play it the text is revealed letter by letter as if it were being typed. You can use this to do the Matrix-esque typing effects, you can even have a flashing cursor underneath the text, but you need another layer and another set of Keyframing. You can even have the text being covered up letter by letter.

Finally here's something that wasn't part of my course, I figured it out by myself once I had learnt Keyframing.

Flashing Flash

Type some text onto the screen and insert a Keyframe, then simply change the colour of the text to match the background colour, (works best on a black background), insert another Keyframe later on in the Timeline, change the text colour back again and finally insert another Keyframe later on in the Timeline again. There you have it, Flashing Flash! This only works if you select Control -> Test Movie. You can even change the text or change it to a shape, but you'll need more Keyframes.

Just remember, if your working with Keyframes, as you are with most things in Flash, insert your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Keyframes and so on AFTER your first one in the Timeline.

By the way I haven't spelt the words "centre", "colour" and "coloured" wrongly, I'm British and that's how we spell them.

M Moyne has an OCN qualification in Macromedia Flash, equivalent to GCSE grade C. He used Microsoft Front Page 2000 to create M Moyne's Home Page and also My Orlando Guide He also has a blog, which is on M Moyne's Home Page. Both his websites also contain RSS feeds and he may delve into the world of Flash sites some day.

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