MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-FLASH, Use Manual

Page: 83 / 678

Creating symbols 83
To convert selected elements to a symbol:
1.
Select an element or several elements on the Stage. Then 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—Graphic, Button, or Movie Clip. See
“Types of symbols” on page 79 .
3.
Click in the registration grid to position the registration point for the symbol.
4.
(Optional) If you are creating a button or other component using movie clips, you can
select the Enable Guides for 9-slice Scaling check box.
Specifying 9-slice scaling lets you create movie clip symbols that scale appropriately for use
as user interface components, as opposed to the type of scaling typically applied to
graphics and design elements. For more information, see
“About 9-slice scaling and movie
clip symbols” on page 79 .
5. Click OK.
Flash adds the symbol to the library. The selection on the Stage becomes an instance of
the symbol. You cannot edit an instance directly on the Stage—you must open it in
symbol-editing mode. You can also change the registration point for a symbol. See
“Editing symbols” on page 89 .
To create a new empty symbol:
1.
Make sure that nothing is selected on the Stage, and then do one of the following:
■
Select Modify > New Symbol.
■
Click the New Symbol button at the lower left of the Library panel.
■
Select New Symbol from the Library options 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—Graphic, Button, or Movie Clip. See
“Types of symbols” on page 79 .
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.