Set Up Your Workspace; Create A Motion Tween - 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 animation_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
animation_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 animation_start.fla.
Note: The BasicFlash\finished_files folder contains completed versions of lesson FLA files, for
your reference.
Select File > Save As and save the document with a new name, in the same folder, to preserve
2.
the original start file.
Select Window > Panel Sets > Training Layout to modify your workspace for taking lessons.
3.
In the Stage View pop-up menu, in the upper right side of the Timeline, select Show Frame to
4.
view both the Stage and the work area.
If necessary, drag the lower edge of the Timeline (Window > Timeline) down to enlarge the
5.
Timeline view.
You can also use the scroll bar to scroll through the layers.

Create a motion tween

You create a motion tween by defining properties for an instance, a grouped object, or text in a
starting keyframe, and then changing the object's properties in a subsequent keyframe. Flash
creates the animation from one keyframe to the next in the frames between the keyframes.
To create a motion tween, you'll take an instance of a tire symbol and make it appear to bounce.
In the Timeline (Window > Timeline), double-click the Layer 1 title and type TireAnim. Then
1.
press Enter or Return to rename the layer.
With the TireAnim layer still selected, drag the Tire movie clip from the Library window
2.
(Window > Library) to the Stage, positioning it above the tire shadow.
86 Chapter 11: Create a Timeline Animation