Flash
Work Environment
Stage and Work Area
The Flash application consists of four main areas:
- The Stage
- The Timeline
- The Toolbox
- Panels
- The Property Inspector
When you open Flash 5 on a Macintosh, your screen will look something like
this:
(This image was taken from the Macintosh platform so you may notice some small differences.)
The default layout for Flash MX 2004 (and Flash MX) is quite a bit different.
Click the thumbnail for a larger view
The Stage
Like in a theatre, the Stage is where the action takes place. In your role as creative director, you place images and text on the Stage area to create your movie. Whatever is visible within the boundaries of the Stage is what your viewers will see.
Work Area
The Work Area is the grey section surrounding the Stage. Objects can be placed in the Work Area but won't be visible until they move onto the Stage. For example, if you wanted a bird to fly in from the left and fly off stage right, you'd place it in the Work Area to the left of the Stage as its starting position and its final location would be in the Work Area to the right of the Stage. Any objects placed in the Work Area that never appear on the Stage will not be visible in the final movie.
Stage and Work Area Summary
The four main areas of the Flash authoring environment are: Stage, Timeline, Toolbox and Panels. The Stage is where artwork is placed to create the movie. Objects on the Stage will appear in the final movie. Objects placed in the Work Area, which surrounds the Stage, will not be visible unless they are moved onto the Stage at some point.
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