Learn Basics about FLASH... Make your first flash here!!

[The Tech]

Flash is a tool for for making interactive and animated Web sites.

What you should already know
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

WWW, HTML and the basics of building Web pages
If you want to study these subjects first, go to our Home Page


Here in alsunna.org/forum, you will learn many things. In this post you will learn:

-What flash is and what it does
-How to make your first flash by examples!



What is Flash?

Macromedia Flash is a multimedia graphics program specially for use on the Web
Flash enables you to generate interactive "movies" on the Web
Flash uses vector graphics, which means that the graphics can be scaled to any size without losing clarity/quality

Flash does not require programming skills and is easy to learn

Flash vs. Animated Images and Java Applets
Animated images and Java applets are often used to make dynamic effects on Web pages.

The advantages of Flash are:

Flash loads much faster than animated images
Flash allows interactivity, animated images do not
Flash does not require programming skills, java applets do

[The Tech]

Who can Make Flash Movies?

To make your own Flash movies you need to buy a Flash program.
The latest version from Macromedia is Flash MX 2004 (or Flash MX Professional 2004).

If you do not have a Flash program, you can download a 30 days free trial version of Flash from Macromedia. http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/



Where to Start?
After you have installed Flash, you should go through the lessons that are included in the program. Start Macromedia Flash, click Help in the menu and choose Lessons. These lessons will teach you the basics of Flash.

[The Tech]

Flash Embedded in HTML


After making a Flash movie you choose File > Save As from the top menu to save your movie. Save the file as "Somefilename.fla".

To embed the Flash movie you just made into an HTML page, you should go back to your Flash program and do the following steps:

Step 1
Choose File > Open. Open a Flash movie you have made.

Step 2
Choose File > Export Movie.

Step 3
Name the file "somefilename.swf". Choose the location where the file is to be stored (in your Web folder). Click OK.

Step 4
Open the HTML page where you want to insert your Flash movie. Insert this code:

<object width="550" height="400">
<param name="movie" value="somefilename.swf">
<embed src="somefilename.swf" width="550" height="400">
</embed>
</object>

Note: This is the minimum code you need to embed a Flash movie in a browser. A broken icon will appear on the Web page if the user does not have the Flash plug-in installed.

Note: In the code above there is both an <embed> tag and an <object> tag. This is because the <object> tag is recognized by Internet Explorer, and Netscape recognizes the <embed> tag and ignores the <object> tag.

Step 5
Type in the address of the HTML file in your browser and look at your first Flash movie.

[The Tech]

Making a Flash Movie.. Flash Tweening


Tweening comes from the words "in between".

With Tweening you can go from one keyframe to another and specify changes in the animation and let the Flash program generate the frames in between.

Example
In this example you will learn how to make an object move across the screen.

Example

Step 1
Make a small circle to the left in the Stage area. Do this by selecting the circle tool from the left toolbar. Draw the circle in the Stage area.

Step 2
Select the Arrow tool from the left toolbar. Double-click on the circle to select it.

Step 3
Now we have to convert the circle to a symbol. When the circle is converted to a symbol we can make instances of the circle. From the top menu choose Insert > Convert to Symbol. Name the symbol "Ball", and select OK.

Step 4
Go to Frame 10 in the Timeline. Do this by clicking the gray field below 10. Then right click in this field. Choose Insert Keyframe. Keyframes appear as circles in a frame. This operation duplicates the image.  

Note: A keyframe specifies changes in an animation. You generate keyframes at important points in the Timeline and let Flash make the frames in between.

Step 5
Select the circle and move it to the right a couple of inches.

Step 6
Click on the Timeline any place between Frame 1 and Frame 10. Then right click and choose what they call 'Create Motion Tween'. To generate a motion

Step 7
Choose Control > Test Movie from the top menu to test your Flash movie.

[The Tech]

Flash Guide Tweening

With Motion Guide Tweening you can move an object from one location to another along a specified path.

Example
In this example you will learn how to draw a path an object should follow.


Example

Step 1
Choose Window > Common Libraries > Graphics. Select the image you want to use. In this example we have used a blue mouse.

Step 2
Click on the image and drag it outside the left edge of the Stage.

Step 3
Go to Frame 40 in the Timeline. Do this by clicking the gray field below 40. Then right click in this field. Choose Insert Keyframe. Keyframes appear as circles in a frame. This operation duplicates the image.  

Step 4
Click on the Timeline any place between Frame 1 and Frame 40. Then right click and choose Create Motion Tween.

Step 5
Right click on Layer 1 (Click on the layer name, where it says "Layer 1"). Choose Add Motion Guide in the pop-up menu. The Flash program will now insert a motion guide layer on top of layer 1. Motion guide layers are used to draw lines an animated symbol should follow.

Step 6
Click on the Motion Guide Layer to make sure it is the active layer (Click on the layer name, where it says "Guide: Layer 1").

Step 7
Click on the Pencil tool in the left toolbox. Set the Pencil Mode to Smooth (in the Options section of the left toolbox).

Step 8
Draw a line. Begin on the image and draw a line to the other side of the Stage.

Step 9
Go back to Frame 1 in the Timeline. Click on the Arrow tool in the left toolbox. Select the "Snap to Objects" button in the Options section of the left toolbox.

Step 10
Place the image with its center on the beginning of the motion guide (the black line you have drawn with the Pencil). The center of the image shows as a +. A black circle appears when the image is snapped to the motion guide. Release the mouse button when the image is snapped to the guide.

Step 11
Go to Frame 40. Place the image with its center on the end of the motion guide.

Step 12
Choose Control > Test Movie from the top menu to test your Flash movie.

Is your Flash Movie Playing too Fast?
You can control this by selecting Modify > Movie from the top menu. A Movie Properties box will show. The Frame Rate field sets how many frames to display per second. Adjust the number to a lower number, and test your movie again.

[The Tech]

Flash Tint Tweening
 
With Tint Tweening you can change the color of an object.

Example
In this example you will learn how to change the color of an object.
Example

Step 1
Choose Insert > New Symbol.

Note: To add Tint effects the object must be a symbol.

Step 2
Name the symbol "changecolor" and select the Graphic option in Behavior. Click OK.

Note: You will now be taken to the symbol generator in the Flash program. Here you make symbols. Symbols can be dragged to the stage of your movie after you have made them.

Step 3
Choose the Text tool in the left toolbox. Choose Text > Size > 36 from the top menu to make the text big. Choose Text > Style > Bold to make the text thick.

Step 4
Click in the work area and write "Color Changing Text".

Step 5
Jump back to the movie. Do this by choosing Edit > Edit Movie.

Step 6
Insert the symbol you just made into the movie. Choose Window > Library. Select the "changecolor" symbol and drag it into the middle of the Stage.

Step 7
Insert a keyframe in Frame 15 and in Frame 30.

Step 8
Go to Frame 15. Right click on the text in the Stage. In the pop-up menu, choose Panels > Effect.

Step 9
Choose Tint from the drop down menu. A color map will show. Set the colors to: R=0, G=255, B=0.

Step 10
Click on the Timeline any place between Frame 1 and Frame 15. Then right click and choose Create Motion Tween.

Step 11
Click on the Timeline any place between Frame 15 and Frame 30. Then right click and choose Create Motion Tween.

Step 12
Choose Control > Test Movie from the top menu to test your Flash movie.


* Create is to make or generate something.