Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
to all grey. The visual feed back conveyed by the mouseOver lets the user know
that this is an active button and that it should be clicked. Graphic rollovers
provide feedback just as text links with color rollovers alert the user that there
is more on if the link is clicked. The mouseDown state occurs when the user
clicks the mouse. Here is another case where visual feedback can be used to
guide or entertain the user. In the down state a new graphic or even a sound
effect can be place. The first three button states can hold text, images, movieclip
symbol animations, and sound files. All of these multimedia elements can be
exist in the button in any state. To summarize; you can create interactive
multimedia buttons in the button symbol editor. Now we have to discuss the
most important function state, the hit state.
The
hit state
in the button symbol editor is an important part of Flash. This state
is the hotspot that makes the button programmable and interactive. A button
can be made with the hit state missing. When the button is on the stage, it will
only execute the first three stages of the button symbol. If there was an
ActionScript attached to it, it will not execute because the hit state is missing.
Making the hit state is easy. We will do it shortly. Here is a quick fact about the
hit state. By using only the hit state, you can make
invisible buttons
that are
programmable. Invisible buttons do not contain an up, over, or down state, thus
making them invisible. Invisible buttons can be used to quickly and easily
program movieclip symbols. Programming invisible buttons are easier in simple
ActionScript cases because they allow the novice to attach the script to the
invisible button, instead of the movieclip symbol. The ActionScript coding for
the invisible button does not require reference to the movieclip object, which
becomes a more complex task. The only requirement is that the invisible button
is laid on top of the movieclip symbol and then actions are set to the invisible
button symbol instead of the movieclip symbol.
Using the Personal Logo as the Button Symbol
The button that leads the user into the Web portfolio should be something that
has some meaning — not just a red circle. To make our identity visible again,
we will use the personal logo we created in Freehand to be our interactive
button. We can lower the opacity of the logo on the up state and fade the logo
in on the over state. To do this we have to embed a movieclip in the over state.
We also can add some text to the over state, something like “Enjoy the
portfolio”. For the down state, we can leave this state blank. We can always
