define folder structure

Before beginning work on our Flash movie, you need to set up a hierarchy of folders and files on your computer's desktop. Within this structure we'll have two discreet folder sets: one for files that we'll use during the development of the site and one for files that will be uploaded to the Web.

Copy the asset files that you downloaded from this book's companion site into the development_files folder.

create your site file

There are two types of Flash files that we'll be working with. A FLA file is the working file you create in Flash and do all of your design and development in. FLA files are opened only with Flash. At the other end of the process, a SWF file is the file you export from Flash and post on the Web. The SWF file is your Flash movie and can be opened by browsers, the Flash Player, and some other applications.

set canvas properties

Flash defaults to a canvas size of 550 x 400 pixels with a white background. Let's change those settings to fit the needs of our project.

If the Property Inspector is not visible, choose Window > Properties to open it.

In the Hex Edit text field, select the text #FFFFFF, replace it with #CBE6B2 , and press . Click OK to exit the Document Properties dialog.

save your file

I'll remind you to save your work at the end of each chapter, but you should keep in mind the old edict "Save early and often."

save your color scheme

To make applying our color scheme easier and to speed development, we'll first add the colors for our site to the Color Swatches panel , where they can be easily accessed from any of Flash's color pop-up windows . (See extra bits on Page 8.)

Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add the other colors to the swatches.

Medium Green : #99CC66

Light Green : #CBE6B2

Dark Rose : #94214F

Medium Rose : #CC2C66

Light Rose : #DA7EA1

Dark Yellow : #F1DC95

Light Yellow : #FFE89E

extra bits

Chapter 2. design the layout of your stage

Our first task in Web site development is to design the visual framework within which all of our content will be presented. Think of it as dressing the set of your movie: providing the backdrop, defining different regions , and making it visually attractive. Along the way we'll learn how to use many of Flash's most basic functions. The following are some of the tasks we'll cover:

Save reusable objects, called symbols , for easy modification and smaller movie file size .