- Set Your Toolbars Free
- An Easy Dupe
- Exploit the Creative Potential of Masks
EXPLOIT THE CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF MASKS Remember that the layers linked to the mask layer are the ones whose contents show through the mask itself. By placing a bitmap or animation on one of these layers, you can create many interesting effects.
By using multiple masks in a scene, you can create some amazing effects (including kaleidoscope effects). But be careful: Using multiple masks can also be extremely processor intensive.
HERE'S A HINT Even though it may seem like more work, you should add a shape hint to the beginning shape in a tween, set its corresponding point on the end shape and add another shape hint, set its corresponding point on the end shape, and so on (up to 26 hints). You'll get unpredictable results if you add several hints to the beginning shape before setting corresponding points on the ending shape.
Place your shape hints in a logical order. Illogical placement will produce unpredictable results, defeating their purpose.
The location of shape hints on the beginning and ending keyframes of a tween.
TESTING 1, 2, 3 You cannot see or test the effect of most actions within the Flash authoring environment. To test interactivity, choose Control > Test Movie from the menu bar.
EMPTY NEST If you choose to delete a command that includes nested actions, such as an On Mouse Event, Tell Target, or If statement, all nested actions are removed as well.
Deleting the top-level action in a nest removes all actions nested below it.
QUICKTIME AND FLASH You can combine Flash and QuickTime content only when exporting to the QuickTime 4 format but not when creating a Flash movie. The Flash 4 plug-in cannot read or play back QuickTime movies or content. Also, be aware that only Flash 3-specific functionality is available when using Flash in a QuickTime movie. When exporting to QuickTime, make sure you have selected Version 3 from the Version pop-up menu on the Flash tab of the Publish Settings dialog box.