Distributing Objects To Layers For Tweened Animation - MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-USING FLASH Use Manual

To use a shortcut to extend still images:
1. Create an image in the first keyframe.
2.
Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the keyframe to the right. This creates a
span of new frames, but without a new keyframe at the end point.
Distributing objects to layers for tweened
animation
You can quickly distribute selected objects in a frame to separate layers to apply tweened
animation to the objects. The objects can be on one or more layers initially. Flash distributes
each object to a new, separate layer. Any objects that you don't select (including objects in
other frames) are preserved in their original positions.
You can apply the Distribute to Layers command to any type of element on the Stage,
including graphic objects, instances, bitmaps, video clips, and broken-apart text blocks.
Applying the Distribute to Layers command to broken-apart text makes it easy to create
animated text. The characters in the text are placed in separate text blocks during the Break
Apart operation, and each text block is placed on a separate layer during the Distribute to
Layers process. For information on breaking text apart, see
New layers
New layers created during the Distribute to Layers operation are named according to the
name of the element that each contains:
A new layer containing a library asset (such as a symbol, bitmap, or video clip) is given the
same name as the asset.
A new layer containing a named instance is given the name of the instance.
A new layer containing a character from a broken-apart text block is named with the
character.
A new layer containing a graphic object (which has no name) is named Layer1 (or Layer2,
and so on), because graphic objects do not have names.
Flash inserts new layers below any selected layers in the Timeline. The new layers are arranged
top to bottom, in the order in which the selected elements were originally created. For
broken-apart text, the layers are arranged in the order of the characters, whether left-to-right,
right-to-left, or top-to-bottom. For example, if you break apart the text FLASH and distribute
it to layers, the new layers, named F, L, A, S, and H, are arranged top to bottom, immediately
below the layer initially containing the text.
252 Creating Motion
"Breaking text apart" on page 177.