Macromedia Flash Work Practices

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<h1>Macromedia Flash Work Practices</h1><p> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> I thought I might put together some of my work practices. These<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> are the steps I put in place to facilitate a good efficient work<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> flow in Flash. These are my tips. I have found they have worked<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> for me. It’s a matter of learning these practices so that you do<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> not think about it. Just like driving a car. Then you can<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> concentrate on being creative and working efficiently and<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> quickly within Flash without having to worry about whether you<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> are on the right layer or you have grabbed the wrong Graphic or<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> you have 2 objects to tween on the same layer and you are<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> scratching your head wondering why the tween won’t work.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Create A Graphic. The first thing you do is to create a graphic<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> in Flash. Say you are going to make a circle. Draw the circle,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> then go to the select arrow tool and drag around the whole<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> circle including the outline. If you click on the circle to<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> select it, 9 times out of 10 you will select only the fill<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> inside and leave out the outline circle. And then wonder why<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> your tween won’t work. Doh! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> So rule number 1 is :<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> USE THE ARROW SELECTION TOOL TO DRAG SELECT THE WHOLE OBJECT. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Then when you have got the drawn item selected by dragging<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> around it. Hit Key F8 (Convert to symbol) and Tick the Graphic<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Radio Button and name it. I usually use the suffix _gr after a<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> graphic, just so I know that it is a graphic. If I am making a<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> button, I use _btn and a Movieclip I use _mc. e.g. Graphic = <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> redcircle_gr Button == stop_btn MovieClip = bigCar_mc<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Now back to where I was before I went off on a tangent. I hit<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> key F8 to convert the drawing to a graphic. Drawings by<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> themselves are useless. You can’t do anything with them , you<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> can’t tween or control with programming (Actionscript in Flash).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> So make sure you create either a Graphic or a Movieclip so that<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> it is usable. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Ok. So now we have created a greenball_gr and it is on its own<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> layer. Make sure that you have one object per layer. If we are<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> going to tween them later, the tweens won’t work unless there is<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> only one Graphic object per layer. If you have two or more it<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> just won’t work. !!111!!! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> So , lets tween our little ball. We want to move it across the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> screen. Click on frame 20 and hit key F6 (Insert -> Keyframe).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Now move the ball on frame 20. You should have a keyframe on<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> frame 1 and frame 20. We are going to tween or move the ball<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> between frame 1 and 20. Right click on a frame , say frame 10,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> between the keyframes and select “Create Motion Tween”. You<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> should have an arrow going from frame 1 to frame 20 on your<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> timeline on layer 1. Now hit enter Key and it will move across<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> the Stage. Flash. That is what is meant by tweening. Now for the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> next step which is very important. Double click on your layer<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> name and rename the layer, Call it Green ball or something that<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> lets you know what you are doing on that frame when you come<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> back later and have forgotten what everything is doing. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> AND, now for the most important work practice in Flash after<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> using the arrow selection tool to select and name your Graphic<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> is … taaa daaah… <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> LOCK YOUR LAYERS<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> That’s right folks, Lock your layers. Click on the dot under the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> lock symbol on your layer and lock it. Why do that ? I hear you<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> say. Well. In flash it gets a bit messy with heaps of layers, so<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> if you lock all the other layers than the one you are currently<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> working on, then you don’t go selecting all the wrong bits of<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> other Graphics. They are all locked so they can’t be selected<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> and you are safe working on that particular object on that<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> particular layer only. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Now for our next layer. Create another layer in Flash and name<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> it before we do anything else. Let’s call it red square. Make<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> sure that your green circle layer is locked before you do<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> anything else !!11!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Draw a red square on our new layer. Drag select the whole object<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> using the SELECTION TOOL, and hit key (which key ?) F8. Tick the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Graphic radio box and name it redSquare_gr. Click on frame 20 ,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> redsquare layer and hit the key to make a keyframe. Which key<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> was that again ? Remember these keys , they are very important.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> F6. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Revision Time F8 – Convert to Symbol F6 – Insert A Keyframe<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> But I digress, again! Now where were we? Oh yeah. We had just<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> clicked on frame 20 and inserted a keyframe. Now move the red<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> square Graphic on frame 20 to where we want it to be. Is the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Green Circle in the way? Well hide it by clicking on the dot<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> under the eye symbol in the layers palette. Doing that in Flash<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> will make the layer invisible so that other object don’t get in<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> the way and you can see what you are doing properly on the layer<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> you are working on. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Right click on somewhere between frames 1 and 20 on the red<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> square layer and select “Create Motion Tween”. Hit Enter key to<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> see it run. They both should move independently. If they don’t,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> start again and make sure you have all the steps correct. Follow<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> the instructions to the letter and practice the steps until you<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> don’t have to think about it. Flash Work Practices must be<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> ingrained so you don’t think about them. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> That can be rule number the next.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> HIDE THE LAYERS THAT YOU ARE NOT WORKING ON.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Summary <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> So to reiterate everything I have said so far. Make sure that<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> you use the drag select tool to select your objects and make<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> them into Graphics or a Movieclips. Use the Keystroke functions<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> such as F6, F8, F5 etc rather than using the mouse and selecting<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> menu items. The key shortcuts are heaps faster and more<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> professional. Lamers only use menu items for common commands.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Make sure that you only have one object per layer. Lock your<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> layers that you are not working on. Hide the layers you are not<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> working on so that you can see what you are doing on the layer<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> you are working on. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> MovieClips<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> That is it for Graphic objects. When it comes to MovieClips in<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> flash it is pretty similar. Let me go through a process of<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> creating a movieclip in flash. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Step the first. Make a separate layer and name it car. Draw a<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> car on that layer. Make sure all your other layers are locked.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> After you have drawn your car, drag select the whole lot and hit<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> key F8 . Tick RadioBox “MovieClip”. And name it car_mc. Click<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> ok. When you are taken back to the timeline, make sure that your<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> movieclip is selected and open your Properties window (I always<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> have my properties window open). In the Instance name textbox,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> give the MovieClip an instance name. Type in “mycar_mc”. This is<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> very important that you give your MovieClips an instance name ,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> otherwise you will not be able to control them with<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Actionscript. They are useless unless they have an instance<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> name, they are in a vacuum, unusable, a waste of space. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> So rule the number the very next..<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> GIVE YOUR MOVIECLIPS AN INSTANCE NAME STRAIGHT AWAY. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> More <a href="http://www.articlesroom.com">free articles</a> from <a href="http://www.articlesroom.com">http://www.articlesroom.com</a>

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