Using Sounds in Flash

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To add sound to Flash movies, you must import the sound clips to the library and then at ach instances of the sound clips to keyframes. You access sounds and control synchronization of sounds via the Frame Property Inspector. You can also call up Flash's simple sound-editing tools through the Frame Property Inspector.

To access the Frame Property Inspector:

• If the Frame Property Inspector is not currently active, from the Window menu, choose Properties (Figure 14.1).

  Figure 14.1. To access Flash's sound tools, choose Window > Properties.

  

  The Frame Property Inspector opens or comes to the front if other panels are on top of it (Figure 14.2).

  Figure 14.2. Using the Frame Property Inspector, you can attach sounds to keyframes, set synchronization, and perform simple sound-editing operations. Some sound tools are always visible on the right side of the panel. To view all the sound tools, click the triangle in the bottom-right corner of the Property Inspector to expand the panel.

  

Flash Sound Features

Flash deals only with sampled soundsthose that have been recorded digital y 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 MX and QuickTime 4, users on both platforms can import QuickTime movies containing sounds and Sun AU files. Mac users can also import WAV, Sound Designer II, and System 7 sounds. Any sounds you import or copy into a movie reside in the movie file's library.

Flash offers a limited form of sound editing. You can clip the ends off a sound and adjust its volume, but you must do other kinds of sound editing outside Flash.

When you publish your finished movie, pay at ention to the sampling rate and compression of sounds to balance sound quality with the file size of your finished movie. You learn more about these considerations in Chapter 16.

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