Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips

If you've mastered the simple button and would like to move on to something more advanced, check this out. Draw a square on your Stage and convert it to a button symbol (F8). Now, double-click the instance to edit the symbol. Move the first and only keyframe from the Up to the Hit frame. Go back to the Timeline where the button instance was and notice that your button is light blue now. You've created what's known as an "invisible button." Basically, the button itself is invisible when published, but it can still be interacted with. When you roll over it, you see your cursor change, and you can add actions to it just like a normal button. It's useful to place these buttons over another symbol to give them the appearance of being buttons themselves, but without actually having to convert them. Think of it as a hotspot that you can reuse anywhere.