Importing Sounds

The procedure for importing sounds is just like the procedure for importing bitmaps or other artwork: You use the File > Import > Import to Stage or File > Import > Import to Library command. Flash brings the sound file into the library for the current document, and you drag a copy of the sound from the Library panel into a specific keyframe.

To import a sound file

1.	Open the file to which you want to add sounds.
2.	Choose File > Import > Import to Stage or press -R (Mac) or Ctrl-R (Windows) (Figure 15.1). Figure 15.1. Choose File > Import > Import to Stage (or Import to Library) to bring sounds into your Flash document. You can also choose File > Import > Import to Library. The standard file-import dialog appears (Figure 15.2). Figure 15.2. The Import dialog lets you import sound files into Flash. Choose a sound-file type that is appropriate for your platform from the pop-up menu of file types. You can also choose to see all sound formats.
3.	From the Enable pop-up menu (Mac) or the Files of Type pop-up menu (Windows), choose the format of the sound file you want to import. Choose All Sound Formats to see files in any sound format.
4.	Navigate to the sound file on your system.
5.	Select the file.
6.	Click Import (Mac) or Open (Windows). Flash imports the sound file you selected, placing it in the library. The waveform of the sound appears in the library's preview window (Figure 15.3). Sound files can be quite large; as sounds import, a dialog named Working appears, showing a progress bar. You can stop the import by clicking the Stop button in the dialog. Figure 15.3. Flash keeps sound files in the library. You can see the waveform for a selected sound in the preview window. Click the Play button to hear the sound.

Tips

• For imported graphics, the File > Import > Import to Stage command places an instance on the Stage in the selected keyframe. For sounds imported to Flash, that's not true. Imported sounds wind up in the library; you must place them in the keyframe yourself.

• You can hear a sound without placing it in a movie. Select the sound in the Library panel. Flash displays the waveform in the preview window. To hear the sound, click the Play button in the preview window.

What Sound Formats Does Flash Import?

Flash deals only with sampled soundsthose that have been recorded digitally or converted to digital format. Flash imports AIFF-format files for the Mac OS, WAV-format files for Windows, and MP3-format files for both platforms. In addition, with the combination of Flash 8 and QuickTime 4 (or later versions), users on both platforms can import QuickTime movies containing just sounds and Sun AU files; Mac users can import WAV, Sound Designer II, and System 7 sounds; and Windows users can import AIFF sounds. Any sounds you import or copy into a Flash document reside in the file's library.