MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-GETTING STARTED WITH..., Getting Started

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28 Chapter 3: Getting to Know the Workspace
To delete or modify a frame or keyframe, do one of the following:
•
To delete a frame, keyframe, or frame sequence, select the frame, keyframe, or sequence and
select Edit > Timeline > Remove Frame, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click
(Macintosh) the frame, keyframe, or sequence and select Remove Frame from the context
menu. Surrounding frames remain unchanged.
•
To move a keyframe or frame sequence and its contents, drag the keyframe or sequence to the
desired location.
•
To extend the duration of a keyframe, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the
keyframe to the final frame of the new sequence duration.
•
To copy a keyframe or frame sequence by dragging, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click
(Macintosh) and drag the keyframe to the new location.
•
To copy and paste a frame or frame sequence, select the frame or sequence and select
Edit > Timeline > Copy Frames. Select a frame or sequence that you want to replace, and
select Edit > Timeline > Paste Frames.
•
To convert a keyframe to a frame, select the keyframe and select Edit > Timeline > Clear
Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the keyframe and
select Clear Keyframe from the context menu. The cleared keyframe and all frames up
to the subsequent keyframe are replaced with the contents of the frame preceding the
cleared keyframe.
•
To change the length of a tweened sequence, drag the beginning or ending keyframe left or
right. To change the length of a frame-by-frame sequence, see “Frame-by-frame animation” in
Using Flash .
•
To add an item from the library to the current keyframe, drag the item from the Library panel
onto the Stage.
Using layers
Layers are like transparent sheets of acetate stacked on top of each other. Layers help you organize
the artwork in your document. You can draw and edit objects on one layer without affecting
objects on another layer. Where there is nothing on a layer, you can see through it to the layers
below.
To draw, paint, or otherwise modify a layer or folder, you select the layer to make it active.
A pencil icon next to a layer or folder name indicates that the layer or folder is active. Only one
layer can be active at a time (although more than one layer can be selected at a time).
When you create a new Flash document, it contains one layer. You can add more layers to
organize the artwork, animation, and other elements in your document. The number of layers
you can create is limited only by your computer’s memory, and layers do not increase the file size
of your published SWF file. You can hide, lock, or rearrange layers.
You can also organize and manage layers by creating layer folders and placing layers in them. You
can expand or collapse layers in the Timeline without affecting what you see on the Stage. It’s a
good idea to use separate layers or folders for sound files, actions, frame labels, and frame
comments. This helps you find these items quickly when you need to edit them.