Flash Editing Help Page

Basics:

When you open up the movie, you will see 3 panels. The panel to the right has various tabs for Shape, Text, Sprites, Movie etc... This is where you can change the look of those various components. The panel in the middle will be your layout screen or the "stage" on which the components are displayed. The screen to the left is your outline panel which lists the individual components. Above the panels is the timeline. This tells the components when they are to appear on the "stage" and how they are to enter and/or exit the stage. When choosing to edit any component in the outline panel you must check the timeline to make sure the component has appeared on the stage. If the image or text is contained inside of a "Sprite" you must click on the small plus sign to view the components within that sprite. A sprite is like a small movie within the movie and has its own timeline. You must make sure the Sprite has appeared in the main timeline and then inside the sprite you must make sure the individual component has appeared in the sprite timeline as well.

How do I change the pictures which are already on the template for my own?

To change a picture you would click on the name of the image in the outline panel which will show you the image as a "shape". The image you choose will also be displayed on the layout panel (stage) inside a highlight box so you can be sure you have the correct image. Once you know you have the right image you go to the panel furthest to your right and click on "Shape". On the shape tab you will see a thumbnail of the image with its dimensions and you will see an option below called "Fit to Shape". If this box is not already checked, do so before proceeding. You will also see small icon of a file folder to the right of the picture. Click on that icon and it will now allow you to choose a picture from your computer which will replace the picture you have highlighted. Because we have chosen "Fit to Shape", the new picture will be resized automatically to the size of the image it is replacing. If the picture you are using is too large or too small, this may cause distortion and you may need to edit your picture in an image editing program first. If you insert a new picture and are not happy with the way it looks you can, Click "undo" at the top in your toolbar and then edit the picture in an image editing program so that it fits more closely to the size of the image you are trying to replace. You can also change the size of the image in the layout screen to make it larger or smaller to attempt to eliminate any distortions.

How do I change the text including the color, size or style of the text?

Click on the text you would like to edit in the outline panel. The text you choose will be displayed in the layout panel (stage) inside a highlight box so you can be sure you are editing the correct text. Once you know you have the right text you go to the panel furthest to your right and click on the "Text" tab. On the text tab you will see all of the formatting options including color, size, font type, style and alignment. You would simply click on whichever component you want to change and select the new option. Below all of the formatting options is the text itself. You simply click within that box and delete the text within and type in your own text.

How do I change the color of the shapes?

Select the shape you wish to change in the outline panel. Make sure the correct shape is highlighted in the layout panel. Then click on the panel furthest to your right and click the "Shape" tab. You will see the button to choose the type of fill for the shape and you will see a selection area to change the thickness and color of the line around the shape. The different types of fill are solid, linear gradient, radial gradient, clipped image, tiled image. If your shape has a solid fill you will see a large color swatch. You simply click on that swatch and choose a new color from the palette that will pop up. If your shape is a gradient you will see small arrows showing the color in each section of the gradient. You simply click on the arrow and choose a new color for that section of the gradient. There are also a limited number of pre-formatted options of gradient from which you can choose. To change the line color or thickness you simply click on "line", which will give you a pop up of the line properties. Simply change the thickness listed or the color by choosing those properties and making the changes as already described.