Set Up Your Workspace; Select A Shape Tool - MACROMEDIA FLASH MX 2004-LEARNING FLASH Manual

Set up your workspace

First, you'll open the start file for the lesson and set up your workspace to use an optimal layout
for taking lessons.
To open your start file, in Flash select File > Open and navigate to the file:
1.
On Windows 2000 or XP, browse to boot drive\Documents and Settings\All Users\
Application Data\Macromedia\Flash MX 2004\language\Configuration\HelpPanel\
HowDoI\BasicFlash\start_files and double-click drawing_start.fla.
Note: If the Application Data folder is hidden, you'll need to change your Windows Explorer
settings to see the folder.
On Windows 98, browse to boot drive\Windows\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash MX
2004\language\Configuration\HelpPanel\HowDoI\BasicFlash\start_files and double-click
drawing_start.fla.
On Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Application Support/Macromedia/
Flash MX 2004/language/Configuration/HelpPanel/HowDoI/BasicFlash/start_files and
double-click drawing_start.fla.
Note: The BasicFlash\finished_files folder contains completed versions of lesson FLA files, for
your reference.
Flash opens in the authoring environment.
Select File > Save As and save the document with a new name, in the same folder, to preserve
2.
the original start file.
As you complete this lesson, remember to save your work frequently.
Select Window > Panel Sets > Training Layout to configure your workspace.
3.

Select a shape tool

Shape tools offer an easy way to create figures such as ovals, rectangles, polygons, and stars. You'll
use the PolyStar tool to create a polygon.
In the Timeline, select the Content layer.
1.
In the Tools panel, select the PolyStar tool. You may need to click the lower right control on
2.
the Rectangle tool to see a menu that displays the PolyStar tool.
Click anywhere in the gray work area beside the Stage to display properties for the shape you'll
3.
create. In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), verify that black is selected as the
stroke color, 1 pixel is selected as the stroke height, and Solid is selected as the stroke style.
The stroke is the line that outlines your shape.
Click the Fill Color control and select blue with a hexadecimal value of #0000FF.
4.
The fill color appears within the stroke in a shape.
56 Chapter 7: Draw in Flash