Editing graphic symbols in Java

Maker Code39 in Java Editing graphic symbols

If you change the original symbol, every instance of the symbol that you ve inserted also changes This feature can save you a lot of time if you need to change the shape of all your buttons, for example To edit a symbol, follow these steps: 1 Select any instance of the symbol on the Stage Although you start by selecting an instance of the symbol, when you edit it on the Stage, as Step 2 describes, you re editing the symbol, not the instance

2 Right-click the symbol instance and choose one of the following: Edit in Place: This option lets you edit a symbol while still viewing other objects on the Stage The other objects are dimmed so that you can distinguish them from the symbol Edit: If you select this option, you perform your edits in symbolediting mode, which lets you edit a symbol separately from the main Stage and Timeline You see only the symbol Edit in New Window: This option opens a new window, where you edit the symbol You see only the symbol 3 Edit the symbol by changing its color, shape, or effects 4 Choose Edit Edit Document to return to the main Timeline, or if you chose Edit in New Window, click the window s Close button You see all the instances of the symbol change to reflect the edits To return to individual objects, you can break apart any instance of a symbol Select the instance and choose Modify Break Apart

You can use movie clips for a number of reasons and in a number of different ways: Use a movie clip to create animation that you want to insert or load onto the main Timeline Use a movie clip whenever you need to control its functioning with ActionScript (For more information on ActionScript, see Book IV, 8) For example, you can use ActionScript to control the size or color of a movie clip You can also put ActionScript inside a movie clip to tell the movie to stop at a certain frame You can t control a graphic symbol with ActionScript You can use movie clips to create interface elements, such as check boxes, radio buttons, and scroll bars This type of movie clip is called a component (you can read more about components in Book IV, 8) You can also use movie clip symbols whenever you want to insert animation into the main Timeline but keep the original movie in the Library for reuse Figure 3-2 shows a movie clip in symbol-editing mode that will be an animation of a bouncing ball If you want several bouncing balls on your Web site, you can drag the movie clip onto the Stage as many times as you want

You can create a movie clip symbol from scratch or convert animation that you ve created on the main Timeline to a movie clip To create a movie clip symbol from scratch, follow these steps: 1 Choose Insert New Symbol to open the Create New Symbol dialog box Make sure that no objects are selected when you perform this step 2 In the Name text field, enter a name for the symbol 3 Select Movie Clip from the Behavior list of symbol types 4 Click OK You now find yourself in symbol-editing mode and are no longer on the main Timeline In Figure 3-2, you can see the movie clip icon and the name of the movie clip, Bouncing Ball, just below the layer list 5 Create the objects or animation for your movie clip symbol 6 Choose Edit Edit Document to exit symbol-editing mode and return to the main Timeline The symbol is now in the Library and disappears from the screen