Summary

This chapter covered all the basics with regard to symbols and instances. Concepts to take away from this chapter are that instances are copies of the original symbol, and making changes to symbols affects all instances, but changes made directly to instances affect only that one instance.

Other things to take away from this chapter are the fundamental differences in the three main symbols:

• Graphic:

  • Synced Timeline

  • No ActionScript anywhere

• Button:

  • Unique timeline

  • No ActionScript within its timeline, only object actions

• Movie Clip:

  • Independent timeline

  • ActionScript in the timeline and/or in object actions

We also went over some new techniques and options for animating content in Flash, including how to use the tween editor, Motion Guides, and masks.

In the next chapter, you'll learn how to add video and sound to your projects.