Controlling Layers and Folders Layer properties are the parameters that define the look and function of a layer. Remember that layer folders are also a type of layer in Flash. You can name layers and folders. You can hide or show layers and folders, lock them to prevent any editing of their contents, and view them in outline form. Flash generally gives you two ways to control the properties of a selected layer or folder: set the property in the Layer Properties dialog box or set the property via button controls located in the Timeline. To work with the Layer Properties dialog box: -
In the Timeline, select the layer whose properties you want to define or change. -
From the Modify menu, choose Layer. The Layer Properties dialog box appears (Figure 5.9). Figure 5.9. You can define a layer's type in the Layer Properties dialog box.  -
Name the layer or set other layer properties, or both, as described in the following sections. -
Click OK. Flash applies all the selected settings to the current layer. Layer Properties Dialog Box versus Timeline-Based Layer Controls If you just want to set layer visibility, lock layer contents, or view layer elements as outlines, it makes no difference whether you call up the Layer Properties dialog box to do so or click the various layer-property controls in the Timeline. Selecting a property in the dialog box doesn't offer any more permanence than setting that property in the Timeline. The Layer Properties dialog box does offer functions that lack button equivalents: creating plain guide layers, changing the height of a layer in Timeline view, choosing an outline color , and changing an existing layer from one type to another. The Timeline offers the capability to create motion guides, whereas the Layer Properties dialog box does not. | Flash divides layers into six types: normal, guide, guided, mask, masked, and folder. To define the layer type: -
Select a layer, and open the Layer Properties dialog box. -
Select one of the following radio buttons (Figure 5.10): Figure 5.10. There are six types of layers in Flash.  -
Normal. The default layer type is normal; all the items in a normal layer appear in your final movie. -
Guide. Flash creates two types of guide layers: guides and motion guides. Lines or shapes on plain guide layers serve as reference points for placing and aligning objects on the Stage. A line drawn on a motion-guide layer becomes a path that an animated object can follow (see Chapter 9). You cannot define motion-guide layers directly from the Layer Properties dialog box, you set them from the Timeline or from the contextual menu for layers. Items on guide layers do not appear in the final movie. -
Guided. Guided layers contain the objects that will animate by following the path on a guide layer. You must link the guided layer to the motion-guide layer. -
Mask. A mask layer hides and reveals portions of linked layers that lie directly beneath the mask layer. -
Masked. Masked layers contain elements that can be hidden or revealed by a mask layer. -
Folder. Folder layers allow you to organize layers hierarchically. Setting the layer properties of a folder automatically sets the properties for all the layers within that folder. Collapsing (or expanding) folders hides (or reveals) the frames for all the layers within that folder in the Timeline.  Tip -
You can change a layer folder's type to Normal, but because layer folders have no frames in the Timeline, the first frame of the resulting layer winds up without a keyframe. If you try to draw on the layer right away, you'll get an error message. To make the layer usable, you need to add a keyframe to frame 1. (For more information on working with keyframes, see Chapter 8.)
To name a layer or folder: -
In the Name field of the Layer Properties dialog box, type a new name for the layer or folder. When you cal up the dialog box, the Name field is selected; just start typing (Figure 5.11). Figure 5.11. You can rename a layer by typing a new name in the Name field of the Layer Properties dialog box.  Although Flash numbers layers and folders, renaming them is a good idea. A movie may have dozens of layers and folders, and you'll never remember that Layer 12 contains your company's name and Folder 4 contains the elements that make up its logo. Tip
To set the visibility of layer or folder contents: -
In the Layer Properties dialog box, check the Show checkbox (Figure 5.12). Figure 5.12. You can set a layer's visibility by selecting or deselecting Show in the Layer Properties dialog box.  When the checkbox is checked, the contents of the layer, or of all the layers contained in the folder, are visible on the Stage. When the checkbox is empty, the contents of the layer or folder are hidden during authoring; the content will appear in your final published movie. To prevent changes in contents of a layer or folder: -
In the Layer Properties dialog box, check the Lock checkbox (Figure 5.13). Figure 5.13. You can make the contents of a selected layer uneditable by choosing Lock in the Layer Properties dialog box. Locking a layer folder automatically locks all the layers within that folder.  When the checkbox is checked, the layer or folder is locked. Although you can see the elements in that layer, or in all the layers contained in the folder, you can't select or edit those items. When the checkbox is empty, the contents of the layer or folder are available for editing. To view the contents of a layer as outlines: -
In the Layer Properties dialog box, click the View Layer As Outlines checkbox (Figure 5.14). Figure 5.14. Click the View Layer As Outlines box to display the layer's contents on the Stage in outline mode.  When the checkbox is checked, Flash displays the contents of the layer, or of all the layers contained in the folder, as outlines during authoring. Using different colors for outlines on different layers makes it easier to edit graphics when you have many layers. Flash assigns default colors to each layer, but you can choose your own. -
From the Outline Color pop-up swatch set, choose a color for the outlines on the active layer (Figure 5.15). Figure 5.15. Select the color for displaying the outlines of a layer's objects from the pop-up swatch set in the Layer Properties dialog box.  Flash changes the color swatch to your selected color. -
Click OK. Flash displays the graphics on this layer as outlines, using the color you selected. Tip -
When you select the View Layer As Outlines checkbox for a layer folder, Flash displays the contents of all the layers contained in the folder as outlines. Although you can specify an outline color for a layer folder, the color has no effect on what you see on the Stage. When you turn on outline view for the folder, each layer within the folder displays its contents in the outline color set for that layer.
To change the height at which layers or folders display in the Timeline: -
In the Layer Properties dialog box, choose a percentage from the Layer Height pop-up menu (Figure 5.16). Figure 5.16. Choose a larger percentage from the Layer Height pop-up menu in the Layer Properties dialog box to increase the height of a selected layer.  Flash offers two enlarged layer views. The larger layers in the Timeline are especially useful for working with sounds. The waveform of each sound appears in the layer preview in the Timeline, and some sounds are difficult to see at the 100% setting. (You learn more about sounds in Chapter 14.) Tip
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