Using Mask Layers - MACROMEDIA FLASH MX 2004-USING FLASH Use Manual

Moving an entire animation
If you need to move an entire animation on the Stage, you must move the graphics in all frames
and layers at once to avoid realigning everything.
To move the entire animation to another location on the Stage:
Unlock all layers.
1.
To move everything on one or more layers but nothing on other layers, lock or hide all the
layers you don't want to move.
Click the Edit Multiple Frames button in the Timeline.
2.
Drag the onion skin markers so that they enclose all the frames you want to select, or click
3.
Modify Onion Markers and select Onion All.
Select Edit > Select All.
4.
Drag the entire animation to the new location on the Stage.
5.

Using mask layers

For spotlight effects and transitions, you can use a mask layer to create a hole through which
underlying layers are visible. A mask item can be a filled shape, a type object, an instance of a
graphic symbol, or a movie clip. You can group multiple layers together under a single mask layer
to create sophisticated effects.
To create dynamic effects, you can animate a mask layer. For a filled shape used as a mask, you use
shape tweening; for a type object, graphic instance, or movie clip, you use motion tweening.
When using a movie clip instance as a mask, you can animate the mask along a motion path.
To create a mask layer, you place a mask item on the layer that you want to use as a mask. Instead
of having a fill or stroke, the mask item acts as a window that reveals the area of linked layers that
lie beneath it. The rest of the mask layer conceals everything except what shows through the mask
item. A mask layer can contain only one mask item. You cannot have a mask layer inside a button,
and you cannot apply a mask to another mask.
You can also use ActionScript to create a mask layer from a movie clip. A mask layer created with
ActionScript can be applied only to another movie clip. See "Using movie clips as masks" in Using
ActionScript in Flash.
To create a mask layer:
Select or create a layer containing the objects to appear inside the mask.
1.
With the layer selected, select Insert > Timeline > Layer to create a new layer above it.
2.
A mask layer always masks the layer immediately below it, so be sure to create the mask layer in
the proper place.
Place a filled shape, text, or an instance of a symbol on the mask layer.
3.
Flash ignores bitmaps, gradients, transparency, colors, and line styles in a mask layer. Any filled
area is completely transparent in the mask; any nonfilled area is opaque.
174 Chapter 9: Creating Motion