Using Adobe Flash 8

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

A Wikibookian suggests that this book or chapter be merged into Macromedia Flash Basics. Please discuss whether or not this merge should happen on the discussion page.

[edit] Introduction

Adobe Flash 8 (Formerly Macromedia Flash), or simply Flash, is a versatile program used most commonly to create web applications, games, and animations. In the following lessons, you will master using this program. Each lesson is ranked in difficulty, with hard lessons at the bottom, easy lessons at the top.

Go grab some popcorn.

[edit] Getting Flash

Before you can do anything, you will need Flash 8.

If you already own or have access to Flash (e.g. Your school or your company has flash), ignore this section.

You can download a free trial version of Flash here. You will need to register an account. If you use the trial version, you can use Flash free for 30 days after you installed it. After that you must purchase a license key if you wish to continue using it..

[edit] NOTE

Flash is a vector based program. ( Vectors are just a series of coordinates and other values that tell the reader, in this case Adobe Flash Player, how to display the image. For that reason, Flash SWF (small web format) files are very small; they only have to contain the coordinates and values of the drawing, and not the color and or alpha value of every pixel. Usually, what makes flash files so big is not that they have extremely detailed vectors, but contain normal image or audio files, to enhance the movie.

Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Getting Flash 1.2 NOTE 2 Getting to know Flash 2.1 Tools 2.2 View 2.3 Shortcut Keys

[edit] Getting to know Flash

[edit] Tools

In this section, you will learn about all the various tools that you can use in flash.

There are 16 tools in flash, in 2 columns and 8 rows. The letter in brackets next to the name is the shortcut key you can press to use that tool. This is easier than going to ToolBox and clicking your tool.

• Left column
  1. Selection Tool (V)
  2. Free Transform Tool (Q)
  3. Line Tool (N)
  4. Pen Tool (P)
  5. Oval Tool (O)
  6. Pencil Tool (Y)
  7. Ink Bottle Tool (S)
  8. Eyedropper Tool (I)

[edit] View

• 1. Hand Tool (H)
  2. Zoom Tool (M, Z)

[edit] Shortcut Keys

• 1. New Symbol (Crtl+F8)
  2. Frame (F5)
  3. Document Properties (Crtl+J)
  4. Convert to Keyframes (F6)
  5. Convert to Blank Keyframes (F7)
  6. Group (Crtl+G)
  7. Ungroup (Crtl+Shift+G)
  8. Test Movie (Crtl+Enter)