Viewing Graphics at Various Magnifications

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Flash offers several ways to adjust the magnification of elements on the Stage.

To view objects at actual size :

• From the View menu, choose Magnification > 100% (Figure 1.37), or press -1 (Mac) or Ctrl-1 (Windows).

  Figure 1.37. Choose 100% magnification to display graphics at the size they will be in the final movie.

  

  or

• In the Zoom Control field at the right end of the Stage's info bar, enter 100% . Press Enter.

  At 100%, Flash displays objects as close as possible to the size they will be in the final movie. (Some monitors and video cards may display slightly different sizes.)

To zoom in or out on the Stage:

1. In the Zoom Control field, enter the desired percentage of magnification.

   To zoom in, enter a percentage larger than 100. To zoom out, enter a percentage smaller than 100 (Figure 1.38).

   Figure 1.38. Enter a percentage greater than 100 in the Zoom Control field to magnify objects on the Stage. The pop-up menu to the right of the field offers several common magnification levels.

   

2. Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows).

Tip

• Click the triangle next to the Zoom Control field to open a menu that duplicates the View > Magnification submenu. Choose a percentage from this menu to change magnification immediately. This menu also lets you choose Show Frame and Show All modes. Choose Show Frame to display the full Stage area in the current window; choose Show All to display just the elements on the Stage.

To zoom in on specific areas of the Stage:

1. In the Toolbox, select the magnifier tool (or press M or Z on the keyboard).

   The pointer changes to a magnifying glass.

2. Choose the Enlarge modifier.

3. Move the pointer over the Stage, and select the area to magnify in one of two ways:

   • Click the area or element you want to enlarge.

     Flash doubles the percentage of magnification in the Zoom Control field and places the spot you clicked at the center of the viewing window.

   • Click and drag to create a selection rectangle that encloses the element you want to view.

     Flash fills the window with your selected area (Figure 1.39).

     Figure 1.39. Use the magnifier tool (top) to draw a selection rectangle around an element (middle). Flash places the element at the center of the enlarged view (bottom).

     

To zoom out:

1. In the Toolbox, select the magnifier tool.

2. Choose the Reduce modifier.

3. Move the pointer over the Stage, and click the element or the area you want to see more of (or view at a smaller size).

   Flash halves the percentage of magnification specified in the Zoom Control field.

Tips

• To switch the magnifier tool temporarily from Enlarge to Reduce, and vice versa, hold down the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key.

• In Reduce mode, dragging a selection rectangle creates a magnified view.

• To access the magnifier tool in Enlarge mode temporarily, press -spacebar (Mac) or Ctrl-spacebar (Windows). To access the tool in Reduce mode, press -Shift-spacebar (Mac) or Ctrl-Shift-spacebar (Windows).

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