Symbols - More:

Here are a couple of screenshots showing symbols being worked on while they are in position on the timeline. Working on a symbol while you can see its position is always a good idea, then you know where it is, how big it ought to be, or other relevant factors, depending on what it is.

Image 4

Image 4 shows the 'inside' of the GRAPHIC SYMBOL of the sun, and also shows the properties of the orange line surrounding the yellow middle of the graphic. The pull down menu shows you can choose lots of different line styles. You can also alter the width of the line. Of course, if you don't want the line at all, just select it, and delete it!

Image 5

Image 5 shows the 'inside' of the BUTTON SYMBOL, that includes the graphic symbol of the sun. The image shows the way the layers in a button look, and the different properties of each keyframe:

UP
UP is when the mouse isn't near the button, as in, it is before the mouse has had any effect on it.

OVER
OVER is when a user rolls their mouse over the button. This can result in any behaviour or change you put on the second keyframe, for example a sound, or a colour change, or a shape change, or something else on the stage moving.

DOWN
DOWN is when the user clicks on the button. Again, anything you've put on the third keyframe will happen when the user clicks on the button. In this example, I've included the 'hello' text on another layer.

HIT
HIT can be confusing. HIT is the area that the mouse will effect the button. It is the 'hotspot'. It is invisible, so you can make it bigger than the size of the actual button if you wish. Or, you can just have something in the HIT keyframe (and nothing in any of the other frames) in order to make an invisible button to place over something else in the main timeline. Flash gaming uses this technique quite alot.

Other Information

SYMBOL behaviours or actions can be attached in the main stage timeline, not just inside each symbol. This means symbols can fade in or out, change size, or move around without having to keep changing the inside of the symbol or make new ones. In other words, you can reuse a symbol many times in different contexts in the main Flash movie, by giving it its behaviour or action on the main timeline.

A MOVIE CLIP SYMBOL, by its nature, looks the same as the main timeline, so I haven't included a screenshot of that.
TERMS: (slight repeat)
EMAIL penworks@gmail.com for any information or enquiries, or recommended Flash websites.