StepByStep Index - page 3
Flash Tip: Action Scripting Basics: Inserting a Simple Stop
The stop command is most likely the most basic of all of Flash's ActionScript commands, and the most essential. It's also a good place to get started with familiarizing yourself with the concepts of working with ActionScripting.
Flash Tip: Making an Invisible "Hotspot" Button
We've covered creating standard Flash buttons, but here's an expansion on that discussing how to make part of your scene clickable as a "hotspot" using invisible buttons.
Creating Transparent Flash Movies with WMode and Div Layers
Ever wondered how they make those Flash ads that can be dynamically positioned anywhere on the screen, but that have a transparent background? In just four steps, I'll show you how.
Flash Animation 5: Creating a Complex Character of Movable Parts
In this lesson, we're going to learn how to "cheat' on making detailed animated characters in Flash without actually drawing every frame.
Flash Frame-By-Frame Animation: 8-Frame Basic Walk Cycle
The walk cycle is one of the most important animation techniques to master, but you can simplify it a bit in Flash even when drawing each individual frame, whether in whole or in part. This basic stick-figure walk-cycle demonstrates the basic ideas and discusses key concepts of figures in motion.
Flash Toolbars: Main, Controller, and Editing Toolbars
Flash lets you add toolbars other than the defaults to simplify many basic menu functions with one-click buttons.
Flash Animation 8: Adding Simple Audio
This will be one of the easiest lessons yet; all we're going to do is add a looping audio background to our Flash character animation to complete it.
Flash Animation 17: Controlling Movie Clips With Buttons and ActionScripting
It's time to take a bit of a leap in your Flash education by learning how to control movie clip timelines from within the main timeline. To do this we're going to use buttons to tell Flash when to play individual movie clip animations.
Top 5 Uses for Flash
Flash has many useful applications; from character animation to programming, it offers a dynamic platform for a multitude of uses. What's your favorite use for Flash?
Creating Beveled Text in Flash CS3
Beveled text is just another of the easy Flash filter effects available in version CS3 and higher.
Using Variables from an External Source with Flash's loadVariables()
Using loadVariables() to pull values from an external file lets you update data in Flash movies quickly and easily without having to edit or republish the movie.
Password-Protecting an SWF
Password-protect your Flash SWFs to prevent anyone stealing your work by converting it to an FLA using a decompiler.
Flash Halloween Costume Dress-Up Doll II: Controls & Scripting pt. 2
Complete your Halloween costume doll with the finishing touch: one of the most difficult "simple" tasks in Flash, making a movie clip play smoothly backwards so that your menu can be moved to both sides, rather than just one.
Hiding and Unhiding Movie Clips on Command Using _visible and !
Learn how to hide and unhide Flash movie clips with the click of a button and a very easy three-line actionscript, using _visible and the logical NOT operator (!) to alter the visibility state.
Flash Tip: Sending Mail Attachments from Within Flash
Send your Flash documents quickly and easily right from inside the Flash program, without having to go through the extra steps required to create a new e-mail and add attachments.
Animated Flash-Only Thumbnail Gallery II
This continuation on the lesson on animated Flash thumbnail galleries shows how to use movie clips to animate your content appearing and disappearing.
Dynamic Animation in Flash: Moving Dynamically Drawn Shapes
You can use random motion animation not only to manipulate objects created on the Flash stage, but also to manipulate dynamically drawn objects.
Quick and Dirty Transparent Flash Videos II: From Flash to the Web
Once your bluescreen/greenscreened images have been prepared in Premiere, it's time to move them into Flash and get them ready to go on the web.
Quick and Dirty Transparent Flash Videos I: Premiere Preparation
You can bring bluescreen/greenscreen video into Flash to create a transparent movie played on top of web page content using wmode, but before you do that you have to do a little work in Premiere to clean the video up and prepare it for work in Flash.
Dynamic Animation in Flash: Controlling the Drawing API with Equations
You can use the Flash drawing API to create dynamic animations controlled entirely by mathematical functions rather than user input.
Using setTransform to Change Color and Opacity
Use setTransform to dynamically change the hue/tint of Flash symbols, as well as adjusting their brightness and opacity.
Deconstructing the Paint Application XI: Gradient Tool Options
The gradient tool options are controlled by user-input values stored in variables and then passed to the transform matrices used by Flash to create a gradient fill.
Deconstructing the Paint Application X: Color Palettes
This lesson on the Flash Oekaki/Paint application finally explains the mystery behind the oft-used currentcolor variable, how it's defined, and how it affects the various tools of the application.
Deconstructing the Paint Application IX: Brush Size and Opacity Sliders
The paint app has two options for setting the brush size for the Flash Oekaki/Paint application's brush tool and the opacity for the selected color: a text input box with an assigned variable, or draggable sliders.
Deconstructing the Paint Application IIX: User Layers, Clear Layer
You can use layers and createEmptyMovieClip to create user layers that duplicate all the functionality that we've covered in past lessons on multiple layers so that users have the option to paint above and below existing work without erasing/painting over.