The variety of menus from which you can open a library of some sort can be daunting at first. If you try to add a new symbol, Flash brings the inactive document forward and makes it the active document. For example, you can delete an asset from the library of a document that is open but not currently active. But if you have several documents and their libraries open simultaneously, it's possible to make changes to the library of an inactive document. When you open the library of an external file, Flash prevents you from making changes to the library assets. In addition, in the library of an external file, the shortcut icons and most of the Options-menu choices are disabled.Ī word of warning: With multiple documents and multiple libraries open, it's easy to get confused about which library you're working with. On a Mac, the change is subtler the names of library assets are gray, but the background remains white. In Windows, Flash grays out the library background. When you open another file as a library following these steps, you can't add to or modify the contents of that library. The Library panel appears on the desktop, making those symbols available for use in other movies (see 'Copying Symbols Between Movies' later in this chapter). Navigate to the file whose library you want to open, select it, and click Open. Choose File > Import > Open External Library to access symbols from the library of a closed Flash document. To open the library of a closed Flash documentĬhoose File > Import > Open External Library, or press Shift-O (Mac) or Ctrl-Shift-O (Windows) ( Figure 7.4).įigure 7.4. Flash opens the library in a new panel window. Then, click the New Library Panel button (the one with the double-document-arrow icon) just below the Options menu. You can also open a separate Library panel for inactive documents. The contents of the Library panel change to display the assets of the selected document. If your Preferences setting is to view open documents in a tabbed window, click that document's tab if you're viewing documents in separate windows, click the desired window to make it active. Select the open document whose library you want to view.To view a different library without switching documents, choose one from the menu of open documents. The Library panel contains the libraries of all the currently open documents.

In the Library panel, from the menu of open documents, choose the desired inactive document ( Figure 7.3)įigure 7.3.With the library panel, open, do either of the following: To view the library of another open document Items are sorted by the selected column click the Sort Order button to reverse the current sort order. The Library panel lists the assets assigned to the current document. The Library panel contains the libraries of all the Flash documents currently open on your desktop.įigure 7.2. The Library panel appears on the desktop ( Figure 7.2). Choose Window > Library to open the Library panel of the currently active Flash document. Choose Window > Library, or press -L (Mac) or Ctrl-L (Windows) ( Figure 7.1).įigure 7.1.Flash has shortcuts for creating new folders, for renaming elements, and for deleting items quickly. The Library panel also contains shortcut buttons and menus for working with symbols. The Library panel provides information about when an item was last modified, what type of item it is, and how many times the movie uses it. They are (were) maintained by a single entity that seeded all updates and fixes.The Library panel offers several ways to view a library's contents and allows you to organize your symbols, sounds, video clips, and bitmaps in folders. Plugins, like Flash, the long-dead Silverlight, and the infamous Java browser plugin, operate under a closed source development model. Anyone can look at source code and probe for exploits or implement the technology in their own projects. Open source technology is often held to a higher level of scrutiny. Unlike Flash, these open technologies don't require a third-party plugin. The web has been moving away from Flash for years as browser-based technologies, like HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly, become more widespread. In Memory of Adobe FlashĪdobe announced that it will 'stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020.' The company encouraged content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to 'new and open formats.' Here's how you can keep playing all your favorites for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, a community project called Flashpoint is stepping up to save them. How to Play Flash Games with FlashpointĪdobe is killing Flash at the end of 2020, but Flash games are an important part of internet history.

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