Get Help in Flash

Sometimes even experienced Flash users forget how to perform certain tasks. Beginners and
seasoned Flash users alike often need to refer to the Flash Help system. The Help panel is
thorough and provides several different browsing options, including a Search function and a list
of common topics as shown in Figure 2-11. In addition, the Help panel also includes tutorials,
a component reference, an ActionScript reference, features information, and a compilation of
the Flash reference manual that you can navigate in a nonlinear fashion. You can even update
the panel as new help information becomes available by clicking the Update button on the top
right of the panel. To update the Help contents you must be connected to the Internet because the
information is downloaded remotely.

Access a Tutorial

If you are new to Flash you may find some of the concepts confusing. You may also want to be
walked step-by-step through a technique. There are tutorials right within the Flash program. To
keep your screen neat and uncluttered, the tutorial selections are tucked neatly away in the Help
panel. The following explains how to access them.
1. To review the list of tutorials available in Flash, fi rst display the Help panel.

2. In the Topics pop-up menu (the default topic is All Books), select Tutorials & Samples. The tutorial topics appear in the column below the topic head, as shown here.

3. The tutorials are stored in folders. To view the contents of the folder, click the arrow to the left of the folder to expand its contents, as shown here.

4. Click a topic and the tutorial will appear in the right column.

Use the Scene Panel

If your Flash movie is lengthy and contains a lot of animation, you can break your movie into scenes. A movie with scenes is like a three-act play; after the finale of one scene, another starts. Use the Scene panel to create, delete, and arrange the order of scenes in your movie. To open the Scene panel, shown next, choose Window | Other Panels | Scene or press shift-f2. The Scene
panel is essentially a window that lists the scenes in your movie. The buttons at the bottom of the panel are used to duplicate, add, and delete scenes from your movie.

In this panel, you can manage scenes in the document. Management includes creating new scenes, duplicating existing scenes, changing the order of scenes, and deleting scenes you don’t need. You perform these functions by using the icons at the bottom of the Scene panel. You also use this panel to navigate between scenes. When you become an experienced Flash user, you’ll be better able to determine what kind of Flash movies best lend themselves to multiple scenes.

Set the Preferences

Like most graphics applications, Flash has preferences that can be set. Preferences offer you yet another way to customize your workspace so it works more efficiently for you. You can change the way you select elements or the way the drawing tools work, among other things.

To display the Preferences dialog box, select Edit | Preferences in Windows and Flash Professional | Preferences on the Mac. The Preferences dialog box consists of seven tabs: General,
ActionScript, Auto Format, Clipboard, Drawing, Text, and Warnings, as shown in Figure 2-12. You can change dozens of settings in these tabs. For example, in the General tab, you can
change the number of undo levels in Flash. The default number is 100. The Undo Levels setting indicates the number of times you can undo the last move to get back to a particular point in time. Preferences can be reset at any point in your Flash production to affect any task you perform after resetting it.

Although as you begin to work with Flash you may not have cause to change the Preferences dialog box in a document now, it would be well worth your time to browse through this window and at least become familiar with the settings. You never know when you might need to select one in the future.

Conclusion

In this chapter you gained a familiarity with the Flash workspace. This included learning how to start a new document as well as how to save one. Several windows important to the interface were explored, including the Toolbar, timeline, Library, and a myriad of small windows, known as panels in Flash. In addition, you learned how to set properties of a document which included characteristics of the Flash stage.

Flash is a rich and complex program, and there are many other features that are essential in your Flash journey. This chapter has provided you with a foundation on which to base your future studies. In the next chapter, you will use some of the tools discussed in this chapter.