Changing Layer Options in Java

Creation Code 128 Code Set A in Java Changing Layer Options

You can lock the objects on a layer so that you cannot edit them You may find yourself inadvertently selecting objects that you want to leave alone This can get annoying, but you can easily avoid the situation by locking that layer To lock a layer, click beneath the Lock icon on the layer s row A lock appears in the Lock column Click the lock to unlock the layer To lock all layers except one, right-click the layer and choose Lock Others from the contextual menu that appears

Many of the layer controls that we discuss in this chapter are combined in the Layer Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-4 Most of the time, you just use the controls on the Layer list or the contextual menu that you see when you right-click a layer However, the Layer Properties dialog box does have some unique features

To open the Layer Properties dialog box, select the layer that you want to modify and choose Modify Timeline Layer Properties You can use this dialog box to do the following things: Rename the layer: Type a new name in the Name text field Show/Hide the layer: Select or deselect the Show check box Lock/Unlock the layer: Select or deselect the Lock check box Change the type of layer: You can turn a layer into a guide, guided, mask, masked, or folder layer Change the outline color: Click the Outline Color swatch to choose a new color

Turn outlines on/off: Select or deselect the View Layer as Outlines check box Change layer height: Select a percentage from the Layer Height dropdown list This increases the physical size of the layer to make it more viewable When you finish making changes, click OK to close the Layer Properties dialog box

If you have many layers, you can organize them into folders For example, you may want to put all your layers containing text in one folder To create a folder, click the Insert Layer Folder icon at the bottom of the Layer list A new folder appears above the current layer Double-click the folder name, and enter a name that describes the folder s contents Use the following tips to manage folders: Put layers in a folder: Drag layers onto the folder s row Collapse and expand individual folders: Click the arrow at the left of the folder s icon Expand and collapse all folders: Right-click the Layer list, and choose Expand All Folders or Collapse All Folders from the contextual menu that appears Remove a layer from a folder: Expand the folder, if necessary, and drag the layer above the folder name or to another location where it doesn t darken a folder Hide or lock an entire folder and its layers: Click beneath the Eye or Lock icon on the folder s row Reorder folders: You can change the order of folders, which also changes the order of its layers Just drag any folder up or down Delete folders: Select the folder and click the Delete (trashcan) icon Deleting a folder deletes all the layers in the folder and everything on those layers Macromedia Flash warns you of this if you try to delete a folder

Touring the Timeline Understanding frames and keyframes Creating animation frame-by-frame Creating tweened animation Creating interactive animation Working with scenes

acromedia Flash MX 2004 is basically an animation program, so this chapter on animation is central to the whole purpose of Macromedia Flash In this chapter, we provide the information you need to create motion and shape animation

The Timeline lays out your animation in time In order to animate, you need to be thoroughly familiar with the Timeline (shown in Figure 5-1) and its special coding As you can see in Figure 5-1, every fifth frame on the Timeline is numbered and each layer has its own row in the Timeline (For more information on layers, see Book V, 4)

Scene name Playhead Figure 5-1: The Timeline provides a great deal of information about your animation Current frame number Keyframe Elapsed seconds