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USING FLASH CS4 PROFESSIONAL
Symbols, instances, and library assets
See also
“
Editing instance properties
” on page 153
“
Sharing library assets
” on page 162
“
Embed and share fonts
” on page 251
Convert selected elements to a symbol
1
Select an element or several elements on the Stage. Do one of the following:
•
Select Modify > Convert To Symbol.
•
Drag the selection to the Library panel.
•
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) and select Convert To Symbol from the context menu.
2
In the Convert To Symbol dialog box, type the name of the symbol and select the behavior.
3
Click in the registration grid to position the registration point for the symbol.
4
Click OK.
Flash adds the symbol to the library. The selection on the Stage becomes an instance of the symbol. Once you have
created a symbol, you can edit it in symbol edit mode by choosing Edit > Edit Symbols, or you can edit it in the context
of the Stage by choosing Edit > Edit In Place. You can also change the registration point of a symbol.
Create an empty symbol
1
Do one of the following:
•
Select Insert > New Symbol.
•
Click the New Symbol button at the lower left of the Library panel.
•
Select New Symbol from the Library Panel menu in the upper-right corner of the Library panel.
2
In the Create New Symbol dialog box, type the name of the symbol and select the behavior.
3
Click OK.
Flash adds the symbol to the library and switches to symbol-editing mode. In symbol-editing mode, the name of the
symbol appears above the upper-left corner of the Stage, and a cross hair indicates the symbol’s registration point.
4
To create the symbol content, use the Timeline, draw with the drawing tools, import media, or create instances of
other symbols.
5
To return to document-editing mode, do one of the following:
•
Click the Back button.
•
Select Edit > Edit Document.
•
Click the scene name in the Edit bar.
When you create a symbol, the registration point is placed at the center of the window in symbol-editing mode. You
can place the symbol contents in the window in relation to the registration point. To change the registration point,
when you edit a symbol, move the symbol contents in relation to the registration point.
Updated 5 March 2009
