Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
tantly this section should help clear up some of the confusion that exists when
Flash newcomers get into the symbol editor.
Make a Linked Button for the Splash Page
Buttons are symbols. We learned before that symbols reside in the library after
they are created and then are placed on the stage when they are called into
action. Bitmaps, shapes, and type can be arranged on the stage and then
selected and converted to a grouped symbol or separate symbols. Making
symbols by conversion on the stage is not a very good strategy for develop-
ment. The best method for creating symbols is to make a new symbol —
Insert>New Symbol.
Make a Button Symbol
The button symbol must be created in the symbol editor. When we Insert>New
Symbol>Button, the Flash interface takes us to the button symbol editor. The
button symbol editor does not look the same as the symbol editor that shows
up for movieclip and graphic symbols. Inside the button symbol editor you will
see four states. Buttons maintain an up state, an over state, a down state, and
a hit state. The first three states can be animated (DiMarco, 2004, p. 183).
Let's examine the states to understand what a state is and what each state does.
Insert > Figure > button symbol editor
A button state is literally the position the button is in at a given point in time. The
up state of the button is when the button is up or on top. This means there is no
mouse over the button or there is no mouse pressing down on the button. The
other states are responsible for those situations. Over and down are based on
the user's mouse control. Is the user rolling the mouseOver or is the user
pressing the mouseDown? The individual states occupy one frame each. There
is no need for extra frames because the event (over or down) triggers the state.
Each state of the button can be unique. For example, we make a button that is
a red circle with a grey border (stroke) when the button is static (up) it is exactly
the same as when we made it, red with grey border. When the user rolls over
the button the over state is triggered and in that state you change the red button
Search WWH ::




Custom Search