Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 605

Each mask is exported as a separate SWF object, the name of which is the layer name followed by the mask name. If
all masks use Difference mode, all masks are exported as one SWF object, and the name is the layer name. Each text
character is exported as a separate SWF object.
Flatten Illustrator Artwork
you don't need to convert Illustrator text to outlines before exporting. (This option supports source files from
Illustrator 9.0 or later.)
There are advantages and disadvantages to flattening Illustrator artwork. When you flatten Illustrator artwork, text
is exported to SWF properly, so you don't need to convert text to outlines. Overlapping objects are removed, so
composited layers appear the same in both After Effects and the SWF file. End caps, joins, and transparency groups
are exported properly, and artwork outside crop marks, which is not visible in the SWF file, is not included. However,
SWF files don't necessarily become smaller. In addition, the flattening process may introduce unsupported objects
that are then ignored or rasterized, and white fringes may appear around some objects. The process can be slow,
memory-intensive, and possibly ineffective for complex Illustrator artwork.
Include Layer Marker Web Links
Links option adds web links and a Get URL action to the SWF file by using information from layer-time markers.
This option also adds a frame label to each SWF frame that has a layer-time marker. You can specify how the browser
opens the web link with standard target commands (for example, _blank). (See "Create a web link, chapter link, or
cue point from a marker" on page 122.)
Target commands for web links in a SWF file
Loads the web link into a new browser window.
_blank
Loads the web link into the parent frame of the frame in which the current file is playing.
_parent
Loads the web link into the current frame.
_self
Loads the web link into the top frame in the current window.
_top
Loads another SWF file into level 0. The current file typically plays at level 0; another file loaded into level 0
_level0
usually replaces the current file. Note that the URL must refer to another SWF file.
Loads another SWF file into level 1 if the URL refers to another SWF file.
_level1
Supported features for SWF export
After Effects text layers are exported to SWF as vector graphics. The following layer types and layer switches
Layers
aren't supported: track mattes, 3D layers, 3D cameras, 3D lights, adjustment layers, shape layers, Preserve Trans-
parency, Collapse Transformations, and motion blur. The Fill Over Stroke character option and the Blur animator
property aren't supported, and only Normal blending mode is supported. Nested compositions aren't supported and
are rasterized.
Only masks with Add mask mode or Difference mask mode are supported; multiple masks in a layer must
Masks
use the same mask mode. If Add mode is specified, partial opacity and the Inverted option are also supported. Mask
feather is not supported. The result of overlapping masks with Add mode and partial opacity may appear differently
in the SWF file than in After Effects. (See "Mask modes" on page 260.)
Path Text, Audio Waveform, and Audio Spectrum are supported for output to SWF.
Effects
All Path Text options are supported, except the following: Composite On Original, Fill Over Stroke, and Difference mode.
Lines drawn by the Audio Spectrum and Audio Waveform effects are converted to vectors. The following unsup-
ported features are ignored: Outside Color (only Inside Color is used), Softness, and Composite On Original. In
addition, only uniformly thick lines are included in the SWF file. For example, if you select the Use Polar Path option
Splits all overlapping objects into non-overlapping pieces. When you select this option,
Makes layer-time markers behave as web links. The Include Layer Marker Web
AFTER EFFECTS CS3 599
User Guide