Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
4.4.2 Reusing Symbols
In addition to independent Timelines, symbols have another distinct advantage
over simple element groups. Symbols are stored in the Library panel on the right
side of the Stage and can be placed on the Stage as often as needed.
Figure 4.12
All symbols within the project are listed
in the Library
This procedure is often referred to as inheritance. The symbol is defined in
an initial state, which is inherited by all instances positioned on the Stage. You
can also change a symbol instance on the Stage for whatever properties you
require, such as rescaling. Any changes that you apply directly to the instance on
the Stage only affect that particular instance. However, if you change elements
or properties within a symbol, any modifications will be applied to all existing
instances.
4.4.3 Independent Timelines
If you want to play different animations independently, symbols are the right
choice. As already mentioned, each symbol has its own Timeline that is indepen-
dent from the composition's main Timeline. This makes it easy to create a loop
for individual animations, for example. The following example illustrates how
the Timelines are independent from one another. The red bar should first grow
from left to right, and it needs two seconds to do so. We create this animation
directly on the main Timeline (1). However, for the green bar, we first convert it
to a symbol so that we can create the growth animation symbol's Timeline (2).
When we create the symbol, we check the Autoplay Timeline checkbox so that
both bars start to grow at the beginning of the composition. The green bar ani-
mation should last five seconds. If we start the composition in the browser, both
animations are played completely until the composition stops. However, if we
now pause the main Timeline at one second with a trigger (3), the decoupling of
the two Timelines becomes visible (you will learn about triggers in section 4.4.5).
