MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-USING FLASH - Creating Buttons

86 Using Symbols, Instances, and Library Assets
To create a new instance of a symbol:
1. Select a layer in the Timeline.
Flash can place instances only in keyframes, always on the current layer. If you don’t select
a keyframe, Flash adds the instance to the first keyframe to the left of the current frame.
2. Select Window > Library to open the library.
3. Drag the symbol from the library to the Stage.
4. If you created an instance of a graphic symbol, select Insert > Timeline > Frame to add the
number of frames that will contain the graphic symbol.
To apply a custom name to an instance:
1. Select the instance on the Stage.
2. Select Window > Properties if the Property inspector is not visible.
3. Enter a name in the Instance Name text box on the left side of the Property inspector
(below the Symbol Behavior pop-up list).
After creating an instance of a symbol, you can use the Property inspector to specify color
effects, assign actions, set the graphic display mode, or change the behavior of the instance.
The behavior of the instance is the same as the symbol behavior, unless you specify otherwise.
Any changes you make affect only the instance and not the symbol. See “Changing instance
properties” on page 91.
Creating buttons
Buttons are actually four-frame interactive movie clips. When you select the button behavior
for a symbol, Flash creates a Timeline with four frames. The first three frames display the
button’s three possible states; the fourth frame defines the active area of the button. The
Timeline doesn’t actually play; it simply reacts to pointer movement and actions by jumping
to the appropriate frame.
To make a button interactive, you place an instance of the button symbol on the Stage and
assign actions to the instance. You must assign the actions to the instance of the button in the
document, not to frames in the button’s Timeline.
NOTE
A keyframe is a frame in which you define a change in the animation. For more
information, see “Working with frames in the Timeline” in Getting Started with Flash.