Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity (OReilly Digital Studio)

2.2. Customizing Movie Properties

Now that you have a version of the interface that suits your current needs (they may change over time, particularly when you start writing more ActionScript), it's time to talk about customizing your files.

The Stage's size determines the dimensions of your published Flash movie. The default Stage size is 550 x 400 pixels, but sometimes you'll want to work in other sizes. To learn how to change the dimensions, you'll set up a new file for the animation you'll create in the next chapter. It's usually a good idea to set the Stage properties before starting the animation, to avoid having to redo a lot of work later if you decide to change the document settings.

If you do need to change the Stage dimensions after you create a movie, keep in mind that the content doesn't scale or move during the process. Increasing the Stage's height adds pixels to the bottom edge of the Stage, and increasing its width adds pixels to the right edge. However, the content remains in its prior configuration, relative to the Stage's top-left corner.

Start by setting the Flash movie's properties:

1. Create a new, blank Flash document and save it as animation.fla in the 02 folder.

2. To set the Stage properties, first click on the Stage's background to make sure nothing else is selected. Then click the Size button in the Properties panel to open the Document Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 2-5.

   Figure 2-5. The Document Properties dialog box

3. Set the Stage dimensions in the dialog box by entering 500 for the Width and 100 for the Height.

4. Click on the Background Color swatch in the dialog box, and set the background color of the movie to black. If you'd like new Flash documents to always open with a black background, you can click the Make Default button in the dialog box to change the default color as well.

5. New to Flash 8, you can optionally enter a title and description for your movie. This metadata feature will be searchable by popular web search engines, making it easier for your audience to find your Flash work.

6. Click OK to close the dialog box. This sets the Stage dimensions to 500 x 100 and the background color to black.

7. Save your work.