Is It a Symbol?

[ LiB ]

When you're working fast in Flash, you want to take the guesswork out of any situation. One of the biggest things designers wonder about is whether an object on the Stage is in fact a symbol, group, shape, or just a text field. Because anything can be nested in a symbol, it may be hard to tell. Sure, you can always look at the Property inspector for the information, but if you keep it hidden, that may not be the easiest way. So here's the deal. If you select something and it is outlined in a light-blue rectangle, then you know it's either a group, symbol, or text field. Shapes are highlighted in gray when selected.

If it's a symbol, you'll see a small circle appear in the middle of the object. Yep, it's that easy. There is one thing to remember, thoughyou must have the Arrow Tool active to when selecting the object in question. This may not seem like a ground-breaking tip, but I chose to include this because many people aren't aware of this fact, and it can save you a lot of time and eye movement. And who wants to have to move their eyes? I mean, jeez!

[ LiB ]