Flash was created with the advanced Web designer in mind. It provides project management tools that allow for the optimization of the workflow between the members of a Web team. In addition, a Screen-based visual development environment makes designing Flash applications simpler. Add to that the ability to export Flash movies directly into the FLV (Flash Video File) format, advanced video features, application binding components, and sound management, and you have a program suited for the most demanding of Flash designers.
Flash lets you create two different types of screens within the active document: slide screens and form screens. A slide presentation uses the slide screen, and a Flash form application uses the form screen as the default screen type. If you’re creating a Flash document with a combination of slides and forms, you have the ability to mix both screen types within a single Flash document. When you work with screens, you’re creating complex applications without the use of multiple frames and layers on the main Timeline. As a matter of fact, screen applications can be created without ever viewing the main Timeline. When you create a slide or form screen document, Flash opens the document with the main Timeline collapsed, and the addition of slides or form components is accomplished using a control dialog box, located to the left of the document window.
If you want to develop content for mobile devices, you can use Flash templates to help you create the document and Adobe Device Central CS4 to test it. Adobe Device Central allows you to test your content on a variety of mobile devices. Flash uses the right settings from Device Central to create the content you want.
The Slide Screen feature allows you to create a Flash document using sequential content like a slide show. The default behavior of a screen lets the visitor navigate between screens using the arrow keys. This is accomplished by automatically attaching a key object to the visitor’s keyboard. To increase functionality, sequential screens can actually overlay each another so that the previous screen remains visible when the next slide is viewed.
Click the File menu, and then click New.
Click the General tab.
Click Flash Slide Presentation.
Click OK.
Create, or select a backdrop for the slide show, and then place it on the presentation main page (optional).
Select Slide 1.
Drag an image from the Library onto the Slide 1 Stage, or click the File menu, and then click Import to select an image from an external source.
Did You Know?
Graphics aren’t the only items that can be placed on a slide. You can display video clips, Flash movie clips, even audio on a slide. It’s totally up to you. The animation, video, or audio files will begin to play when the visitor clicks to access the slide.
Click the Insert Screen (+) button.
Select Slide 2, and then add another image.
Click the Insert Screen (+) button, and then repeat steps 5 through 7 to add as many slides as required.
Select a slide, and then click the Delete Screen (-) button to remove the slide from the set.
Click and drag a slide up or down to reorder the slide within the stack.
Click the Control menu, and then click Test Movie.
Use the left and right arrow keys to maneuver between slides.
Flash Professional lets you create form screens for documents, such as online registration forms or e-commerce forms. Form screens are containers that add structure and organization to a form-based application. A form screen has functionality designed for a nonlinear, form-based application, with multiple options available in one visual space. Use form screens when you want to manage the visibility of individual screens yourself. For example, you could use forms to create an interactive search engine, or an interactive data collection form.
Click the File menu, and then click New.
Click the General tab.
Click Flash Form Application.
Click OK.
This creates a default application with two nested form screens.
Add a backdrop to the application form by creating it directly in Flash, or by using a graphic image (optional).
Select form1.
Add the required User Interface components to form1.
Important
The application form is the parent of the other forms within the application. Anything you put on that form will also appear on any of its child forms.
See Also
See Chapter 16, “Adding Display Components” on page 389 for more information on adding interactive components to a Flash document.
Click the Insert Screen (+) button.
Add component buttons to the second screen, and then use the Component Inspector panel to link the buttons to the form.
Click the Control menu, and then click Test Movie.
See Also
See Chapter 18, “Adding and Modifying Data Components” on page 431 for more information on binding components.
Flash content deployment is expanding from the Web to other mediums, such as cell phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices. In conjunction with Adobe Device Central CS4, Flash allows you to create and test content for mobile devices. You use the New Document dialog box to create a blank Flash document for mobile devices or one of the available templates. Flash comes equipped with a template library of cell phone and PDA interfaces in the following categories: BREW Handsets, Consumer Devices, and Global Handsets. Each template provides a brief description of device support and screen resolution. Flash uses the right settings from Device Central to create the content you want. To display content on mobile devices, Flash uses Flash Lite, a specialized player for mobile devices. After you create your mobile content, you can test it using Adobe Device Central and Flash Lite.
Click the File menu, and then click New.
Follow the instructions for the type of Flash mobile file you want:
• Blank. Click the General tab, and then click Flash File (Mobile).
• Template. Click the Templates tab, select a mobile templates category, and then select a template.
Click OK.
If you selected a blank Flash File (Mobile), Adobe Device Central CS4 opens, where you can select the device and any options you want.
Select the device you want and check the device profile for support and compatibility issues.
Click Create.
The new document appears in Flash, where you can develop your content.
Every day the world is getting smaller, and mobile devices are getting smaller, and smarter. Using Flash, you can include event sounds when creating documents for playback on mobile devices. Flash does not support sound file formats used for mobile devices (such as MIDI and others); when authoring for mobile devices, you must temporarily place a proxy sound in a supported format such as .mp3, .wav, or .aif in the Flash document. The proxy sound in the document is then mapped to an external mobile device sound, such as a MIDI file. During the document publishing process, the proxy sound is replaced with the linked external sound. The .swf file generated contains the external sound and uses it for playback with Flash Lite on a mobile device. Flash Lite is the Flash Player for mobile devices.
Click the File menu, point to Import, click Import to Library, and then import one or more sounds into the Flash Library.
Press Control+click (Mac) or right-click (Win) the sound you want to work with, and then click Properties.
Enter a path to the location where the mobile device sound is located.
Click OK.
Add a button instance to the Stage.
Important
You can use a pre-made Flash button. Click the Window menu, point to Common Libraries, and then click Buttons.
Open the button in the Library, and then add the linked sound to the Hit frame of the button.
Click the File menu, and then click Publish Settings.
Click the Player popup, click Flash Lite 1.x or Flash Lite 2.x, and then select the ActionScript version you want, if necessary.
The Export device sounds option is automatically selected.
Flash Lite is a player for mobile devices.
Click OK.
The .swf file now contains the linked mobile device sound.
Click the Control menu, and then click Test Movie.
When you execute a Flash document using Flash Lite, Flash opens Adobe Device Central CS4 to emulate the display with the currently selected mobile device.
When Adobe Device Central CS4 opens, its displays an emulator of the currently selected mobile device, or asks you to select one.
If necessary, select the device you want and check the device profile for support and compatibility issues.
Use the Device Central controls to test out your Flash document on the mobile device.
The mobile device sound has been modified to emulate the Flash .swf file sound.
In Flash, you can manage multiple document files within a Flash Project. A Flash Projects lets you group multiple, and related files together to help you keep track of complex applications (New!). Flash lets you apply version-control to ensure that the correct file versions are used during editing and to prevent accidental overwriting. A Flash Project is essentially a collection of any Flash or other file types, including Flash SWF and FLA files and even other Flash projects. When you open an existing project, the Project panel gives you instant access to all the various parts of the project. The Flash Project panel is used to create and manage projects. The Project panel displays the contents of a Flash Project using a collapsible tree structure. Flash limits you to opening or creating one project at a time. Any changes made to the project are automatically saved to the project file, so it’s not necessary to perform a Save operation.
Click the Window menu, point to Other Panels, and then click Project to open the Project panel.
• Quick Project. You can create a quick project. A quick project is based on the currently open FLA file. Click the Projects popup in the Project panel, and then click Quick Project.
Click the Projects popup, and then click New Project.
Name the new project, locate and select a root folder location for the project file, and then click OK.
Any folders in the selected root folder appear in the Project panel.
Click the ActionScript version popup, and then click ActionScript 3.0 or ActionScript 2.0.
Click Create Project.
Did You Know?
You can open a project. Click the Projects popup in the Project panel, and then click Open Project, browse to the project folder, and then click OK.
Manage a project using any of the following options:
• Add Folder. Click the New Folder button, type the folder name, and then click Create Folder.
• Delete Folder. Select the folder, click the Delete button to delete a selected project asset.
• Close Project. Click the Options menu, and then click Close Project.
• Delete Project. Open the project, click the Options menu, and then click Delete Project. Select a delete content option, and then click Yes.
• Rename Project. Click the Options menu, and then click Rename Project, type a name, and then click OK.
• Switch Open Projects. Click the Project popup, and then click the open project name.
• Project Properties. Click the Options menu, click Project Properties, specify options on the different tabs (Classes, Locations, and Paths), and then click OK.
Click the Close button on the Project panel.
Did You Know?
You can convert previous projects to the new project format. In previous versions of Flash, projects used an XML file with a .FLP extension. To convert it, simply open it in Flash CS4. Open the Project panel, click the Project popup, click Open Project, navigate to the folder with the project, and then click OK.
A project is a collection of files that you can manage directly from Flash (New!). The Project panel displays files by filename extension. By default, the Project panel only shows Flash documents type (FLA, SWF, SWC, AS, JSFL, ASC, MXML). If you want to display other types, you can change settings in Panel Preferences. You can also hide files or folder by preceding the file or folder name with a special character, such as an underscore, and enabling the option in Panel Preferences. When you work with the same project, the Project Panel shows all recently opened files in the Recent Files folder for easy access. You can create files, including Flash and ActionScript, from the Project panel.
Click the Window menu, point to Other Panels, and then click Project to open the Project panel.
Manage files using any of the following options:
• Create File. Select the folder where you want the file (no selection is the root), click the New File button, enter a name, select a file type, and then click Create File.
• Open File. Double-click the file in the Project panel.
• Delete File. Select the file, click the Delete button, and then click Yes to delete a selected project asset.
• Publish. Select or clear the file check box on the right to add or remove the file to/from the publishing list.
• Pin a Directory. Select a folder, and then click the Pin Directory button; click again to unpin.
Click the Close button on the Project panel.
In the Project panel, click the Options menu, click Project Properties.
Click any of the following tabs:
• Classes. Specify the ActionScript version, and class file folder locations.
• Locations. Specify additional source folder locations.
• Paths. Specify the location Flex SDK files for use in Flash to create skins and other visual elements in Flex.
Click OK.
In the Project panel, click the Options menu, and then click Panel Preferences.
Click any of the following tabs:
• Classes. Specify the ActionScript version, and class file folder locations.
• Settings. Change defaults filters, hide files or folders based on the name, and show or hide classes folder, hidden files, or recent files.
• Locations. Specify additional source folder locations.
Click OK.
A project is a collection of files that constitute a complex project. For example, you can create a Flash project that contains 5 Flash documents, with interactive buttons on the pages to call the other pages. If all of the FLA files are located within the same project, it’s an easy matter to test the entire project. You must first select one of the files as the main file, and then simply click the Test Project button. Flash will automatically publish all of the Flash documents in the project, display the main file, and then allow you to test its operation. It’s that simple.
Click the Window menu, point to Other Panels, and then click Project to open the Project panel.
If the project you want to test is not open, click the Project popup and click Open Project in the Project panel, and then select the appropriate file.
Click Open.
Important
Since testing a project involves moving among different Flash movies, your published documents will have to have interactive buttons linked to all the other pages within the project, or the test will not work.
Right-click (Win) or Control-click (Mac) one of the FLA or HTML files in the project.
Click Make Default Document from the available options.
Click Test Project.
See Also
See Chapter 15, “Debugging a Movie” on page 373 for more information on how to perform debugging operations on a running Flash movie.
After you finish making changes to a document, you can quickly send it to another person for review using e-mail. Flash allows you to send documents out for review as an attachment using e-mail from within the program so that you do not have to open your e-mail program. An e-mail program needs to be installed on your computer before you begin. When you send your document out for review, reviewers can add comments and then send it back to you.
Click the File menu, and then click Send.
• If prompted, click Yes to save your Flash document.
Important
To complete the following steps, you need to have an e-mail program installed on your computer and an e-mail account set-up.
Your default e-mail program opens with your document attached.
Enter your recipients and subject (appears with document name by default).
Enter a message for your reviewer with instructions.
Click the Send button.
The Share My Screen command (New!) on the File menu allows you to connect to Adobe ConnectNow, which is a secure Web site where you can start an online meeting and collaborate on any design project across platforms and programs. You can share and annotate your computer screen or take control of an attendee’s computer. During the meeting, you can communicate by sending chat messages, using live audio, or broadcasting live video. In addition, you can take meeting notes, and share files.
Click the File menu, and then click Share My Screen.
Enter your Adobe ID and password.
• If you don’t have an Adobe ID and password, click the Create a Free Adobe ID link, and then follow the online instructions.
Click Sign In.
• If prompted, sign in to ConnectNow.
To share your computer screen, click the Share My Computer Screen button.
Use the ConnectNow toolbar to do any of the following:
• Meeting. Use to invite participants, share my computer screen, upload a file, share my webcam, set preferences, and end a meeting, and exit Adobe ConnectNow.
• PODS. Use to show and hide pod panels.
• Help. Use to get help, troubleshoot problems, and set account and Flash Player settings.
Click the participant buttons at the bottom to specify roles, remove a user, or request control of a user’s computer.