MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-USING FLASH Use Manual page 43

Organizing Timelines and the library
Frames and layers on a Timeline are two important parts of the Flash authoring environment.
These areas show you where assets are placed and determine how your document works. How
a Timeline and the library are set up and used affect the entire FLA file and its overall
usability. The following guidelines help you author content efficiently and let other authors
who use your FLA documents have a greater understanding of how the document is
structured:
Give each layer an intuitive layer name, and place related assets together in the same
location. Avoid using the default layer names (such as Layer 1, Layer 2), because it can be
confusing to remember or locate assets when you are working on complex files.
Clearly describe the purpose or content of each layer or folder when you name it in a FLA
file. This helps users to quickly understand where particular assets are found in layers or
folders. It is a good and common practice to name the layer that contains your
ActionScript actions and to use layer folders to organize similar layers.
If applicable, place your layers that include ActionScript and a layer for frame labels at the
top of the layer stack in the Timeline. This makes it easy to locate the layers that include
code and labels.
Add frame labels in a FLA file instead of using frame numbers in your ActionScript to
reference points on the Timeline. This is important and useful if you reference frames in
your ActionScript and those frames change later when you edit the Timeline. If you use
frame labels and move them on the Timeline, you do not have to change any references in
your code.
Lock your ActionScript layer immediately so that symbol instances or media assets are not
placed on that layer. Never put any instances or assets on a layer that includes
ActionScript, which can potentially cause conflicts between assets on the Stage and
ActionScript that references them.
Lock layers that you are not using or do not want to modify.
Use folders in the library to organize similar elements (such as symbols and media assets)
in a FLA file. If you name library folders consistently each time you create a file, it is much
easier to remember where you put assets. Commonly used folder names are Buttons,
MovieClips, Graphics, Assets, Components, and, sometimes, Classes.
Using absolute and relative target paths 43