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Flash 5 Tutorial: Part 2, Page 2
by Shawn Ryder
Next we are going to discuss objects. These are items on the stage of a Flash movie. With these objects you can copy, move, delete, align, group and transform them quickly and easily.
To begin we must select the object that we want to manipulate. The most straightforward way is to use the Arrow tool to select. You can also 'Group' individual objects in order to manipulate them as a single object, thereby applying the effect to all of the objects you have selected. You can use the arrow tool to select an object in a number of different ways:
Selecting Connected Lines: Use the Arrow tool and
double-click one of the lines.
Selecting a Stroke, Group, Fill,
Instance or Text Block: Use the Arrow tool and
simply click on the object.
Selecting a 'filled' shape and its stroked outline: Using the
Arrow tool 'Double Click' on the fill.
Selecting Objects in a rectangular area: Using the Arrow tool
drag a 'marquee' around the object or objects that you want to
select. In order for this to work correctly the instance, group
and type blocks must be completely enclosed.
In order to add another object to the selection you have made, hold down the shift key while making the selection. To select everything on every layer of the scene choose [Edit > Select All] from the menu options or [Control]+A (Windows) or [Command]+A (Macintosh). Please note that this won't work with layers that are either 'Locked' or 'Hidden' or layers that are not on the current timeline. In turn if you want to deselect everything on every layer choose [Edit > Deselect All] from them menu, [Control]+Shift+A (Windows), or [Command]+[Shift]+A (Macintosh).
With objects you can do a variety of different things from moving, copying, pasting, deleting, stacking, scaling, rotating, and even flipping them around. When moving the object you can use the Arrow keys, click and 'Drag' it with the mouse, or use the 'Info' panel. To use the mouse, position the pointer over the object and drag it to the new position. To use the keyboard, select the object and press the arrow key for the direction you want to move the object one pixel at a time. To move the selection eight pixels at a time simply use Shift+arrow key. If you want to use the 'Info' panel choose [Window > Panels > Info] from the menu bar. Inside of the resulting panel enter values for the location of the top left corner of the selection. These units are relative to the top left corner of the stage.
You may want to copy objects between layers, scenes, or other Flash files. The best way to do this is with the simple pasting technique. To do this, select the object first. Choose [Edit > Copy] from the menu. Select another layer, frame, file or scene and either select [Edit > Paste] or [Edit > Paste in Place] to paste the selection in the same position relative to the stage. If you make a mistake and want to delete the object, simply choose the object or multiple objects and press the delete key or backspace on the keyboard.
Inside of a layer you may want to 'Stack' objects in a particular order. Flash by default stacks them in the order in which they were created, placing the most recently created object on the top of the stack. The order of stacking determines how they appear when they are overlapping. Drawn lines or shapes always are below groups and symbols on the stack. In order to change them you must group them or make them into symbols. With objects you can change the stacking order at any time. To change the stacking order of an object select the object then select [Modify > Arrange > Bring to Front] or [Send to Back] in order to move the object to the top or bottom of the stacking order. In you want to move the object one position at a time you can choose [Bring Forward] or [Send Backward] to do this.
You can also 'Scale' an object. This allows you to enlarge it or reduce the size of it by horizontal, vertical, or both. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can either do it by dragging with the mouse or entering values in the 'Transformation' panel. To use the dragging method, select the object, and click on the Scale modifier in the Options section of the Toolbox or choose [Modify > Transform > Scale]. You can then scale both horizontally and vertically by dragging one of the corners, which will keep the proportions maintained as you scale. You can also scale the object either horizontally or vertically by clicking on the appropriate handle and dragging. In order to do it using the Transform panel go to [Window > Panels > Transform] to see the options. Enter a value between 1 and 1000 for vertical, horizontal or both. Select 'Constrain' to maintain the proportions.
You can also rotate the object a couple of different ways as well. To rotate by dragging, select the object and choose the Rotate modifier in the Options section of the toolbox. Drag one of the handles and the object will easily rotate. To do this using the Transform panel go to [Window > Panel > Transform] and select Rotate, then enter in a value that you want the object to rotate from the current location. Finally you can Flip an object to give it the mirror image of the original. To do this select the image and choose [Modify > Transform > Flip Vertical] or [Flip Horizontal] from the menu options.
This should give you an overview of some of the sound and objects aspect to the Flash application. Now you can begin to build some wonderful and interactive Web sites.
In order to add another object to the selection you have made, hold down the shift key while making the selection. To select everything on every layer of the scene choose [Edit > Select All] from the menu options or [Control]+A (Windows) or [Command]+A (Macintosh). Please note that this won't work with layers that are either 'Locked' or 'Hidden' or layers that are not on the current timeline. In turn if you want to deselect everything on every layer choose [Edit > Deselect All] from them menu, [Control]+Shift+A (Windows), or [Command]+[Shift]+A (Macintosh).
You can also 'Scale' an object. This allows you to enlarge it or reduce the size of it by horizontal, vertical, or both. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can either do it by dragging with the mouse or entering values in the 'Transformation' panel. To use the dragging method, select the object, and click on the Scale modifier in the Options section of the Toolbox or choose [Modify > Transform > Scale]. You can then scale both horizontally and vertically by dragging one of the corners, which will keep the proportions maintained as you scale. You can also scale the object either horizontally or vertically by clicking on the appropriate handle and dragging. In order to do it using the Transform panel go to [Window > Panels > Transform] to see the options. Enter a value between 1 and 1000 for vertical, horizontal or both. Select 'Constrain' to maintain the proportions.
