2. Symbols are reusable assets that can be used
for animation, interaction or special effects.
You can create multiple instances of a symbol
to create a range of objects on screen at any
one moment.
Remember, that changes made to the
original symbol in your project affect all
instances of that symbol thereafter.
3. Flash uses three types of symbols:
• Graphic
• Button
• Movie clip
4. Graphic: Graphic symbols are the most basic of the three. They
can contain graphics, text, imported art or bitmaps. Use graphic
symbols to store your artwork in the library or to get graphics
ready for animation.
Button: These symbols are designed to be used as controls, and
they contain multiple states that react to a user’s mouse, including
clicks and rollovers.
Movie clip: Movie clips can best be described as ‘super-symbols’.
They can contain anything, from other symbols to sounds and
video. In addition, they have their own independent timelines, so
they are capable of storing elaborate animations that can be
treated as movies themselves!
5. You can convert a drawn item to a symbol by
right-clicking the highlighted object and
choosing ‘Convert to Symbol’.
You can then name the object, set its type and
its central point.
Once converted it’ll appear in your Library, ready
for use.
6. The Library stores all your symbols
and keeps them in order.
From here you can preview, delete
and create new symbols.
You can drag and drop new
instances directly onto the stage.
If you double click on an instance,
it will take you into the master
symbol editing mode; changes
made here will automatically
update on all instances of that
symbol.
7. You can adjust various
display settings for
symbols.
Simply go to the
properties tab and
adjust the necessary
options to suit your
needs.
8. There may be times when you need to swap one
symbol with another.
To do this, highlight the relevant symbol and in the
‘properties’ tab click the button marked ‘swap’.
This will open the ‘Swap Symbol’ dialogue box.
Choose the symbol to swap and click OK
9. Right click on a symbol and
select ‘Create Motion Tween’
Move the symbol to the new
location on the screen; this will
automatically create a new
keyframe for you and add
frames to your animation.
You can extend the length of
the animation by clicking and
dragging the end point.
You can alter the trajectory of
the movement using your
selection and subselection tools.
10. The length of any tween, by default,
will always match the frame rate of
your movie.
All images must be converted to
symbols first. If you attempt to create
a motion tween an image that isn’t a
symbol, Flash will prompt you to
convert the item.
Only one symbol or graphic can be
tweened at a time.
Tween spans can include changes to
position, size/scale, colour and filters.
However, to morph the shape of an
object, you’ll need to use shape
tweens
11. Using the images of the airplane and the
runway, create an animation where the plane
comes in to land.
Upload your completed SWF file to Moodle.
