To use Adobe Flash to create something, you must have
installed it on your computer. If you don't have it (yet), you can check the
Adobe web site to check the
availability of a trial version.
After installing it, you can launch it. To do this, you can
click Start -> (All) Programs -> Adobe Creative Suite CS4 ... -> Adobe
Adobe Flash primarily uses a classic interface. The top
section displays a menu made of categories such as File, Edit, View, etc. In our
lessons, we will call it the main menu. Of course, to expand a category, you can
click it, which would display its list of options. Alternatively, uou can press Alt to
show an underlined letter on each menu item:
Then press the key of that letter to activate
the menu.
To start a new project, on the menu, you can click File ->
New... The shortcut is Ctrl + N. This would display the New Document dialog box from which you can make a
selection.
There is an empty area on the right side of the row of menu
items. If Adobe Flash is not maximized, you can click the area above the menu
items or the area on the right side of the row of menu and drag in the direction
of your choice.
In the top-right side of Adobe Flash, it display the Windows
system button used to minimize, maximize, restore, or close the application.
Under the main menu, there is one or more tabs. A tab or
each tab represents a project you had started. Every time you start a new
project, a tab is created for it. To access a project, you can click its tab.
Under the Tabs bar, there is another bar that displays an
arrow, a Scene X label, and some buttons on the right side. We will review the
options on that bar when necessary.
The middle-center of Adobe Flash display a (white) rectangle
surrounded by a gray area. This white area is called the Stage. The Stage is
characterized by a size (a with and a height) and a color. There are various
ways you can specify the size of the Stage:
At any time, you can change the size of the Stage. To do
this:
Any of these actions would
display the Document Properties dialog box. To change the size, in the
Dimensions section, change the values of the (width) and/or the (height) text
box:
The click OK.
You can make the Stage appear bigger than normal, or smaller
than normal, without changing its dimensions. This allows you to have both a
larger and taller view, or a smaller view. This is helpful when you want to
focus on a certain part of the Stage to apply a certain detail. Zooming consists
of enlarging or shrinking the view of the Stage. To apply it, you have various
options.
Zooming in consists of enlarging the Stage. You can specify
it exactly using a percentage or relatively. To use a percentage, on the right
side of the Scenes bar, click the arrow of the Zoom combo box and select a value
higher than 100%:
As an alternative, on the main menu, you can click View ->
Magnification, and select a value higher than 100%. To zoom in with at a
relative value, on the main menu, you can click View -> Zoom In. The shortcut is
Ctrl + =. You can continue using any of these techniques until you can the view
you want.
Zooming out is the opposite to enlarging the Stage. Once
again, you can apply a percentage or use a relative value. To use a percentage,
on the right side of the Scenes bar, click the arrow of the Zoom combo box and
select a value lower than the current value. For an alternative, on the main
menu, you can click View -> Magnification, and click a value lower than the
current one. To zoom out with at a relative value, on the main menu, you can
click View -> Zoom out. The shortcut is Ctrl + -.
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Practical
Learning: Introducing Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is both a drawing and an animation application.
To perform the necessary drawings, you use various that the application offers.
These tools are located in the Tools window.
By default, the Tools window is positioned on the right side
of the screen:
If the bar is too tall for you, you can shrink it. To do
this, click its Collapse to Icons button:
By default, the Tools window appears as a vertical bar with
buttons. If you want, you can make it appear either as a shorter rectangle or as
a bar. To do this, drag the left border of the Tools window:
Until you can the
width of your choice:
 
To know what a button is used for, you can position the mouse on it. A
tool tip would appear:
Instead of keeping the Tools window in one position, you can move it. To do
this, click and drag its title bar away from the current position.
For the rest of our lessons, we will learn how to use the
objects in the Tools window. We will learn that, to use a tool, you can click it
from the Tools window. The Properties window is used to show the details or
characteristics of an object that has been selected from the Tools window.
By default, the Tools window appears on the right of the
screen, on the left of the Tools window:
The Properties window displays many labels, buttons, and
text boxes. Because these are relative to a tool or to the current project, we
will review each when necessary.
As mentioned already, the Properties window is usually
positioned to the right of the screen. If you want, you can move it. To do this,
click and drag its title bar away. You can leave it somewhere in the middle of
the screen or you can dock it to the left side of the Stage. You can also reduce
it to a size that accommodates just two buttons. To do this, either click its
Collapse button or double-click its title bar:
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