Macromedia Flash 8 for Windows & Macintosh

2017-07-07 02:10:07

Flash imports vector art and bitmapped graphics either through the Clipboard or via the Import command. When you import graphics from FreeHand versions 7 through 10, and MX, you can also drag and drop elements directly between files.

If you use a program other than Flash to create a series of images that will be keyframes in a movie (a set of FreeHand files, for example), Flash can expedite the import process if the filenames end in a series of sequential numbers. (To learn more about keyframe animation, see Chapter 9.)

To import a FreeHand file to the Stage

Open a Flash document.

Choose File > Import > Import to Stage.

The Import dialog appears (Figure 14.1).

Figure 14.1. Bring graphics created in other applications into your Flash document through the Import dialog: Mac (top), Windows (bottom).

From the Enable (Mac) or Files of Type (Windows) menu, choose the format of the file you want to import: FreeHand.

Navigate to the file on your system.

Select the file.

Click Import (Mac) or Open (Windows). The Importing External File dialog appears, with a Stop button for canceling the operation. Then, the FreeHand Import dialog appears (Figure 14.2).

Figure 14.2. When you import files from FreeHand versions 7 through MX, you have control over how the elements appear in the Flash document.

In the Mapping section, to convert the FreeHand file's pages and layers to Flash format, do any of the following:

To create a new scene from each FreeHand page, in the Pages subsection, choose Scenes.

To create a new keyframe from each FreeHand page, in the Pages subsection, choose Keyframes.

To create a new layer from each FreeHand layer, in the Layers subsection, choose Layers.

To create a new keyframe from each FreeHand layer, in the Layers subsection, choose Keyframes.

To combine multiple FreeHand layers into one layer, in the Layers subsection, choose Flatten.

In the Pages section, to select the pages to import, do either of the following:

To import the entire FreeHand file, choose All.

To import a range of pages from the FreeHand file, choose From/To and then enter the first and last page number.

The Flash/FreeHand Partnership

Although not all features of other vector programs translate directly into Flash, there are strong ties between Flash and Macromedia FreeHand versions 7 through MX. You can import the full FreeHand file, you can copy selected FreeHand content via the Clipboard then paste it on the Stage in Flash, and you can drag content from an open FreeHand file directly onto the Stage in Flash.

When you choose File > Import > Import to Stage, the FreeHand Import dialog appears, giving you a chance to control the way that content appears in the Flash document. In addition, if you're importing FreeHand 9, 10, or MX files that contain symbols, Flash automatically adds those symbols to the Flash document's library.

In the Options section, do any of the following:

To import any hidden layers from the FreeHand file, choose Include Invisible Layers.

To import the background layer of the FreeHand file, choose Include Background Layers.

To have Flash create editable text blocks from any FreeHand text blocks, choose Maintain Text Blocks. Otherwise, Flash imports the text characters as grouped shapes.

10.

Click OK.

The Importing External File dialog appears, with a Stop button for canceling the operation. Flash imports the FreeHand graphics and places them on the Stage creating layers and/or keyframes in the main Timeline of your document according to the import options you selected (Figure 14.3). Flash opens the Output panel and adds notes to it about how many objects it just imported or created from the import (Figure 14.4).

Figure 14.3. Flash imports FreeHand files according to the settings in the FreeHand Import dialog. Here, the import options were set to include the background layer.

Figure 14.4. When you import FreeHand files, Flash gives you information about how many FreeHand objects the file contained and how many objects Flash had to create in the import process. Flash adds the information for each FreeHand file import to the Flash Output panel.

Tips

In previous versions of Flash, if you imported a FreeHand file containing overlapping shapes on a single layer, those shapes segmented one another in Flash. Flash 8 imports the FreeHand shapes as drawing-objects; there's no problem with inadvertent segmenting.

If you import a FreeHand file containing objects that have transparent lens fills, Flash sets the imported objects' transparency to re-create the transparent effect.

To import Adobe Illustrator (.AI, version 8 or earlier) files to the Stage

1.	With your Flash document open, choose File > Import > Import to Stage. The Import dialog appears.
2.	From the Enable (Mac) or Files of Type (Windows) menu, choose Adobe Illustrator. This setting displays files with the extensions .ai and .eps.
3.	Navigate to the file, select it, and Click Import (Mac) or Open (Windows). The Illustrator Import dialog appears (Figure 14.5). Figure 14.5. The Illustrator Import dialog offers options for dealing with the layers of an original AI file created in Illustrator 8 or earlier.
4.	In the Convert Layers To section, do one of the following: To re-create the layers in the original file, choose Layers. To convert the layers to keyframes, choose Key Frames. To place all the graphics on one layer, choose Flatten.
5.	To import any invisible layers, select the Include Invisible Layers check box.
6.	Click OK.

To import Adobe Illustrator (AI, version 9 or later), Portable Document Format (PDF) or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files to the Stage

1.	Follow steps 13 in the preceding exercise. The Import Options dialog appears (Figure 14.6). Note that to view PDF files, you should select All PostScript in step 3. Figure 14.6. When you import an AI (created in Illustrator 9 or later), EPS or PDF file, you have more control over the import than with earlier AI files, choosing how to handle pages, layers, invisible layers, and text blocks. You can also rasterize the imported text and graphic elements and set the resolution of the resulting images.
2.	In the Convert Pages To section, do either of the following: To make each page a new scene, choose Scenes. To make each page a new keyframe, choose Keyframes.
3.	In the Convert Layers To section, do one of the following: To re-create the layers in the original file, choose Layers. To convert the layers to keyframes, choose Keyframes. To place all the graphics on one layer, choose Flatten.
4.	In the Which Pages to Import section, do either of the following: To import all pages, choose All. To import a selected page range, choose From/To, and enter the first and last page number.
5.	In the Options section, do the following: To import any invisible layers, choose Include Invisible Layers. To import text into editable, static text boxes, choose Maintain Text Blocks. To convert all graphic and text elements into a bitmap, choose Rasterize Everything and enter the Rasterization Resolution, either by selecting a value from the pop-up menu or by typing the value into the field.
6.	Click OK.

Tip

You can have Flash import a file directly to the library instead of placing the graphic elements on the Stage. Choose File > Import > Import to Library. The import options for each file type are the same whether you import to the Stage or to the library. When you import a vector graphic to the library, Flash places the vector elements within a symbol. Any layers and keyframes that you request in the Import Options dialog appear in the symbol's Timeline.

What Graphics Formats Does Flash Import?

Flash imports a variety of bitmapped and vector-graphic file formats. For bitmaps, Flash accepts files in GIF, and animated GIF, PNG, JPEG, and BMP (Windows) formats. For vector graphics, Flash accepts files from FreeHand versions 7 through MX, Illustrator version 10.0 and earlier; EPS and PDF files in version 1.4 or earlier (Adobe Acrobat 5.0 for example, creates version 1.4 PDF files). Flash accepts files in PICT (Mac) and in WMF and EMF (Windows) formats. Flash also accepts files from Flash Player 6 through 8 (SWF), as well as from Future Splash Player (SPL files).

When Flash imports graphics in a format that includes transparency, Flash preserves the transparency. Transparent areas of a GIF image, for example, have an alpha value of 0 when imported into Flash. When importing PICTs or PNGs with alpha channels, Flash correctly reads the transparency values of the alpha channel.

Flash can also import AutoCAD DXF files from version 10.

Flash works with Apple's QuickTime 4 (or a later version) to import additional file formats. Both Mac and Windows users who have the Flash 8/QuickTime 4 combination can import files in Photoshop, QuickTime Image, QuickTime Movie, Silicon Graphics Image, TGA, TIFF, and MacPaint formats. In addition, Windows users can import PICT files as bitmaps, and Mac users can import BMP files.

To import bitmapped graphics to the Stage

Follow steps 16 of the first exercise in this section, choosing the bitmap format of your choice in step 3.
There are no special import options for bitmaps. Flash imports the file you selected into your document, storing a master bitmap asset in the library and placing an instance of the bitmap on the Stage in the active layer (Figure 14.7).

Figure 14.7. When you import a bitmap to the Stage, Flash also stores a master copy of the bitmap in the library.

Tip

You can edit an imported bitmap in its creator program, if that program is installed on your system; or you can use any installed bitmap-editing program. Select the bitmap in the Library panel, Control-click (Mac) or right-click (Windows) the bitmap icon, and choose Edit With from the contextual menu. (If the creator program is present, it appears as a separate menu choice.) In the window that opens, navigate to an editing program and click Open to launch it. The selected bitmap opens in the external program. When you save the bitmap file, Flash updates the imported image in your library.

To import a series of graphics files to the Stage

Follow steps 16 of the first exercise in this section. In step 3, choose the appropriate format, and navigate to the first file in the series.

A dialog appears, asking whether you want to import what looks like a series of sequential images (Figure 14.8). Flash recognizes files that form a sequence if they're all within a single folder and have filenames that differ only in the number at the end of the filenamefor example, bounce1, bounce2, and bounce3.

Figure 14.8. When you import one file in a series of numbered files (top), Flash asks whether you want to import the whole series (bottom).

In the dialog, click Yes.

Flash places each image in a separate keyframe in the active layer (Figure 14.9).

Figure 14.9. When Flash imports a numbered series of files, it places each one in a separate keyframe in the Timeline of the current document.