Editing Master Symbols

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After you create a symbol, you can refine and modify it in symbol-editing mode. Unlike modifications of a symbol instance, which affect just that instance on the Stage, leaving the master symbol in the library unchanged, modifications made in symbol-editing mode affect the master symbol and all instances of that symbol in your movie.

You can enter symbol-editing mode in several ways.

To enter symbol-editing mode from the Stage:

  1. On the Stage, select the symbol you want to edit.

  2. To open the symbol editor, do one of the following:

    • From the Edit menu, choose Edit Symbols, or press graphics/01icon01.gif -E (Mac) or Ctrl-E (Windows) (Figure 6.30).

      Figure 6.30. Choosing Edit > Edit Symbols takes you from movie-editing mode to symbol-editing mode. If you have selected a symbol on the Stage, choosing Edit > Edit Selected also takes you to symbol-editing mode.

      graphics/06fig30.gif

    • From the Edit menu, choose Edit Selected.

    • From the pop-up list of symbols in the info bar, choose the symbol you want to edit (Figure 6.31).

      Figure 6.31. Choosing a symbol from this pop-up list of symbols in the info bar takes you into symbol-editing mode.

      graphics/06fig31.gif

      Flash opens the symbol editor in the current window.

graphics/01icon02.gif Tip

  • To enter symbol-editing mode quickly, double-click a symbol instance on the Stage.


To enter symbol-editing mode from the Library window:

  1. In the Library window, select the symbol you want to edit.

  2. To bring up the symbol editor, do one of the following:

    • From the Options menu, choose Edit.

    • Double-click the icon next to the selected symbol name .

    • Double-click the symbol in the preview window.

      Flash opens the symbol editor in the main window of the current movie (Figure 6.32).

      Figure 6.32. Double-clicking a symbol in the Library window (top) opens that symbol in symbol-editing mode in the main window of the active movie (bottom).

      graphics/06fig32.gif

graphics/01icon02.gif Tips

  • After you've placed an instance of a symbol on the Stage, you may want to change the master symbol to make it fit with the items around it. The Edit in Place command allows you to edit your master symbol in context on the Stage with all other items grayed out (Figure 6.33). To evoke the Edit in Place command, choose Edit >. Edit in Place. Or Control-click (Mac) or right-click (Windows) the symbol instance you want to edit, and from the contextual menu that appears, choose Edit in Place. Any changes you make affect all instances of that symbol.

    Figure 6.33. The Edit in Place command allows you to see your symbol instance in context with other items on the stage. The symbol instance appears in full color ; the other elements on the Stage are grayed out. In this mode, changes made to the instance affect the master symbol and all the instances in the movie.

    graphics/06fig33.gif

  • You can edit a symbol in a separate window from your movie. Select an instance of the symbol on the Stage; Control-click (Mac) or right-click (Windows) to access the contextual menu; and choose Edit in New Window. To return to movie-editing mode, close the window.


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Macromedia Flash MX for Windows and Macintosh. Visual QuickStart Guide
Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Windows and Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guides)
ISBN: 0582851165
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 243

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