Lesson #04 The Flash Interface - Part #2
Written By Daniel Mitchell

In the previous lesson, I briefly outlined the Flash Stage, Timelime and Tools Panel to get you familiar with part the actual Flash Interface. In this lesson, we will take a look at some of the other important components that you will need to get aqauinted with before taking on any actual projects.

Properties Inspector

The Properties Inspector (PI) is a new addition to Flash MX. The panels allow you to view and change properties of objects, and can find dozens of properties from the Windows menu.

Previous versions of Flash had numerous property panels to open and close, this multi-purpose properties panel makes things a lot easier and you can access all the features from just one panel.

In the past if you were using editing panels you would first need to select the object and apply the edit, whether it is a change of Font, Color or Size. With the Property Inspector you just have to edit the text once and the next text you create will show the effects of the recent edit.

Library

Using the library is a great way of keeping your Flash movies small. The library is used to store all your media elements used in your Flash file. Once it is in the library it can repeatedly be used within your file and it does not considerably add to your file size.

The two main ways the library is used if for editing and accessing its contents. Items to edit are referred to as 'Symbols'. You can also drag an 'Instance' of the symbol into your movie.

What's a "Symbol"?
Anything you create and place in your library. This is usually something visual like a graphic shape.

What's an "Instance"?
An Instance is one copy of a symbol used in the movie. Every time you drag a symbol from the library you are creating an instance. Some say it is a copy but it is not really because there is only one master and each instance can be edited into something totally different from the original symbol.

Document Properties

The Document Properties can be accessed from the Modify menu.

There are a couple of things that you should check before starting your project. Firstly make sure that ruler units are set to pixels as this will also affect several other dialog boxes. To change the background color of the stage simply click on the white swatch and select your preferred color.

Frame rate and Dimensions are also an important area to keep an eye on. The frame rate mainly deals with the rate at which your movie will play or how many frames per second it will show. Dimensions affect the aspect ratio of your stage so if you choose to resize your stage after you have commenced work you will have a lot of repositioning to do.

Have FUN!

Now there may seem to be a lot of panels and tools that you will have to get use to and play around with when you first start out but I assure you that you will pick it up in no time. Just keep playing around with it, see how they all work and experiment with all the different aspects that in the end will help make your movie or animation complete.

The most important thing is to feel familiar with the interface and basically what each component does so you know what you are doing before we delve into more advanced material.