Understanding Grouping

I l @ ve RuBoard

Flash does give you ways to force its paint to "dry." When you turn objects into groups (or symbols), they are no longer immediately editable, and they stop interacting with other objects. (You can still edit the contents of groups and symbols, but you must invoke special editing modes to modify them.) If you put several groups (or symbols) on the same layer, they merely stack up, one on top of another. (To learn more about symbols, see Chapter 6.)

To create a group :

1. Select one or more objects on the Stage, using any of the methods discussed in Chapter 3 (Figure 4.7).

   Figure 4.7. The first step in grouping is selecting the objects you want to use in the group.

   

2. From the Modify menu, choose Group, or press -G (Mac) or Ctrl-G (Windows) (Figure 4.8).

   Figure 4.8. Choose Modify > Group to unite several selected objects as a group.

   

   Flash groups the items, placing them within a bounding box (Figure 4.9). The visible bounding box lets you know that the group is selected. When the group is not selected, the bounding box is hidden.

   Figure 4.9. When you select the group, a highlighted bounding box appears, surrounding the grouped objects.

   

To return objects to ungrouped status:

1. Select the group that you want to return to ungrouped status.

2. From the Modify menu, choose Ungroup, or press Shift- -G (Mac) or Shift-Ctrl-G (Windows).

   Flash removes the bounding box and selects all the items.

Tip

• If you prefer using a two-key shortcut rather than a three-key shortcut, the command for breaking apart symbols also works to ungroup groups. That command is -B (Mac) or Ctrl-B (Windows).

I l @ ve RuBoard