Excerpt from Dynamic Learning - Flash CS3 Professional
New Illustrator and Photoshop import options
Many designers prefer to develop graphics in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator, and then import them into Flash. Those working with Flash CS3 Professional no longer need to reverse-engineer Photoshop and Illustrator file formats to make them work in Flash. The two programs’ respective engineering teams have clearly collaborated to bridge the gap between the programs; you can now import Photoshop and Illustrator artwork into Flash files faster, more easily, and with a greater number of options, including the ability to work with layers from imported files.
The Illustrator Import Options panel lets you view and select the layers in an Illustrator document. The panel also gives users a great deal of control over the imported images and content; it lays out options to convert layer contents into symbols in your Flash library, distribute to keyframes and layers, and even merge layers in the original document as the file is imported.
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The new Illustrator Import Options panel gives you additional options for importing external files. |
Users can now import Photoshop documents directly into Flash CS3 Professional in the native Photoshop file format. The Photoshop Import Options window includes the same features as the Illustrator Import Options, with full support for layer styles and blending modes. You’ll learn more about importing Illustrator and Photoshop files in Lesson 9, “Working with Imported Files.”
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Photoshop layers can be imported to keyframes and movieclips, and merged on import. |
Improved video import and export options
Flash provides full support for streaming an embedded video from a variety of popular formats. The Flash Video Encoder, which exists as a standalone application, is a significant improvement to Flash CS3 Professional. The scrubber bar, which is the bar above the Timeline that allows you to maneuver between the Timeline’s frames, is bigger, as is the video preview window. If you work with video, you’ll find it easier to encode using encoding profiles that can be saved and reused. You’ll also find that encoding is a smoother experience now that the encoding options are more accessible.
Video export has also improved substantially with the Advanced QuickTime Export option. What you see in Flash is what you get in QuickTime, a program that adds full support for complex nested symbols, ActionScript code, and runtime effects such as Blur and Drop Shadow. You’ll discover more of Flash’s improved video options in Lesson 14, “Working with Video.”
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A wider view screen and slider for better video trims and more accurate frame-by-frame preview. |
ActionScript 3.0 and Flash Player 9
ActionScript is the built-in programming language that extends Flash’s capabilities beyond fancy animation and cool effects. ActionScript is the powerful, behind-the-scenes technology that makes buttons work, controls the playback of movies, captures user information in forms, connects Flash content to databases, and builds controls necessary for games and serious interactivity.
The newest versions of ActionScript and the Flash Player are designed to better work together, speeding up your workflow and improving your movies’ performance.
The all-new ActionScript Virtual Machine 2 (AVM2) is dedicated to running ActionScript 3.0, making performance for demanding animations and scripting up to 10 times faster. If you’ve worked with previous versions of ActionScript, don’t worry—ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0 are still supported through a second ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM1), which runs side-by-side with the existing AVM2 to provide full backwards compatibility for movies built in previous versions of Flash.
Developers will also appreciate improved error reporting and debugging when troubleshooting ActionScript code.
While advanced ActionScript is beyond the scope of this book, you’ll be introduced to the exciting capabilities of ActionScript in Lesson 10, “Introducing ActionScript,” where you’ll learn to control your animation and give life to buttons and navigation components. In Lesson 11, “Creating Button Symbols,” you will then delve a little more deeply into ActionScript.
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The improved debugging panel is designed to make troubleshooting more intuitive. |
Adobe Device Central
Now you can more easily design interactive Flash content for mobile devices with Adobe Device Central, a new component integrated with various editions of Adobe Creative Suite 3. Adobe Device Central includes skins and profiles that emulate most popular mobile devices, so that you can see how your Flash content will actually look and perform. Device Central keeps you in the loop as new devices are released into the market. Adobe plans to release new skins and profiles on a quarterly basis.
Learn more about using Device Central in Lesson 15, “Delivering Your Final Movie.”
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Adobe Device Central allows you to preview your
Flash content on specific mobile devices. |
Common Adobe Creative Suite 3 interface
Flash CS3 Professional features the slick new Adobe Creative Suite 3 interface, an intuitive space designed to give you all the screen space you need. The new Tools panel toggles between single- and double-column views, and you can collapse the panels into Icon view to access them easily and use very little screen space. This new common interface creates a better workflow and helps you transition easily between multiple CS3 applications.
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The new CS3 interface allows you to minimize panels,
maximizing your screen space. |
And, you’re off!
Now that you’ve had a glimpse of the new and improved Flash CS3 features, it’s time to see them in action. Head now to Lesson 2, “Flash CS3 Jumpstart,” where you’ll dive right in and start working in Flash CS3 Professional. You can find more specific information about each of these capabilities throughout the lessons in this book.
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