When you create a new movie or

scene, Flash starts you out with

a single layer and a Timeline.
You can add layers to the
Timeline, or delete layers you no
longer need. Additional layers
do not affect the file size, so you
can add and delete as many
layers as your project requires.

layerstan hclpyoukeeptra* of related

itemsln yourmovie,Forexample, youmlght
wantto plateall theobjedsyouusefor a logo
on a singlelayer,andall theobiedsfor a
productillustrationonanotherlayer.

ADDA TAYTN

Q Ctict< thatyou
thelayerin theTimeline
wantto appearbelowthenewlayer.

@ Ctict<
theInsert layer button0*r,0.

6nA newlayerimmediately
appears. 9l
Wwffi
Flashaddsthesame amount
offrames
tothenewlayerto match
thelayer
withthelongest
framesequence.
Note:See
Chapter
I to leornnorethoulframes.
RENAMEA FOLDER
you
thelayerfoldername
O Double-click
wantto rename.
Q) ryp.a newname.
@tressffiffi
Thelayer
folderisrenamed.

COTLAPSEA FOTDER

O ctictthelayer
folder's icon(lp).
Expand
@ changes topl.
Layers withthefolderarenow
associated
hidden.
Youcanclickthelayerfolder's
Collapse
icon(lS'D
to viewthefolder's
contents
again.
@ changes
to [].

How do I remove a layer CanI lock a layer folder?

from a folder?
Displaythe layerfolder's
contents,then clickand drag
the layeryou wantto
removefromthe folder
and drop it elsewhere on
the Timeline.To remove
the layercompletely from the
Timeline,clickthe layername
andclick@.
Yes.Youcanlockandhidelayer
foldersjust asyou canlock
and hidelayers.Lockinga I
folderlocksallthe layers
includedwithinthe folder.
Clickthe folderlayer'sbullet
fil changes to [}. rlash
locksthe folderand anylayers
associated with the folder.
You can define the aspectsof any given
layer through the Layer Properties
dialog box, a one-stop shop for
controlling a layer's name, function,
and appearance.The more you work
with layers in Flash, the more necessary
it is to change layer properties.

Bynaming layers,youGan moreeasilykeeptrack

of theircontentsandposition.
Youalsohavethe
optionof hidingthelayerto getitsrontents
outof
theway.Tokeepthelayer's tontenlssafefrom
editingyoucanlockthelayer.

l:f ,;';5i:',
Q Ctictthelayerforwhichyouwantto
setcontrols.
Note: qutomoticsfu
Flash selecls
ollobiecls
associoted
withtheselected
layer.

@ ctict<
Modify,
@ ctict<
Timeline.
@ CtictLayerProperties.
Note:
Youcun
ulso
righrdkk
over
thelayuond
dkk
Properties
toopen
theLoyer
Properties
diolog
hox.
m, riae*41t*?
TheLayerProperties
dialogbox Utu LrEr L l4g J
appears.
Od

(O fyp. a distinctive
namefor thelayerin 0d*

OFe
theNametextbox. ffie:lq;
ntutry*(tr
Lww, --..i;
i!m1",
 layerproperty.
thedesired
@ Change
6 Tomakethelayervisiblein theTimeline, N*", Gu.r,.qr*nd":--:--*:l t__E::l
leavetheShowcheckboxchecked. .:t,
.. r-"l gsho/'* U l Lock
I
f -lq,til
I Tolockthelayerto prevent
changes, -t
Typa: Q)tlomal I
theLockcheckboxfi changes
select Ceuioe I
rom. *uask
I
ill;lti

eiFold6r
outlkrecolonffil
f]view hver asoutlim
Layerheiqft:iiiii-,_:-::

1 Youcanselect
a layertype,
**----_i
6 Toenlarge thelayerheight, youcanclick r'r"*, i-ii"ir.qi*"d **
pland select a percentage.Anenlarged -
Esto* E -oct
t*.d I
heightis useful for viewing
sound
Type: .&Nstrd
waveforms in thelayer.
*cddu

@ ctictor. O-t-^ ' '"1

L)Mask
, : ..i.1irlE{l
Thelayerproperties toyour
change etFoHEr
specifications. ft.*finecdonffil
f]rdw hver as *tlinm

Lryaheisht:i1-!b::} +----r
n0rt"
100"/o

Bydefault,all layersyou add to the Timelinearenormol which Laver

meansall the objectson the layerappearin the movie.Objectsyou
Prop"erties
pfaceon guidelayersdo not appearin the movie.Aregularguide Nanre Layer CaG
layercanbe usedfor reference pointsand alignment.A guidedlayer TYPe o Normal
is a layerlinkedto a regularguidelayer.A masklayerhidesany O Guide
layerslinkedto it. Youcanalsoplacelayersinto foldersto keepyour 6r Guided
movieorganized. To changethe layertype,clicka typein the Layer 6 Mask
Properties dialogbox () changes to (D). To learnmoreaboutlayer g Masked
folders,seethe task"Organize Layersinto Folders." g Folder ,
Flash makes it easy to control
layers in the Timeline. You can
quickly rename a layer, hide a
layer, or lock a layer to prevent
unnecessary changes without
having to open a separate dialog
box. The Timeline has buttons
and toggles that you can use to
control a layer with a quick click.

In additionto controlling
Iayerstatus,youGan
alsoquicklynamelayersin theTimelineby
typingnewlabelsdirectlyon thelayernamelist.

RENAMEA IAYER

O Double-click
thelayername.
O ryp.anew
name.
@Pressffi(ffi
Thelayer's
name
changes.

HIDE A IAYEN

O Clict<
[ beneath
the@ column.
6 [ changestoffi andalltheobjects
on
thelayerbecome invisible.
Tomake thelayerobjects
visible
again,
youcanclickffi under
theeyeicon
columnfXlchanges top.

LOCKA LAYER

O undertheS column, clickthelayer's

bulletffi changesto p),
Flash
locks thelayerandyoucannot edit
thecontents.
a layer,
Tounlock padlock
clickthelayer's
icon@ changesto$.

How can I tell whtch obiects are theslzeof a

on which layeP
Youcanchooseto view
layercontentsas
outlines,makingit easy
to distinguishthe
objectsfrom other
layers.Click[] under
the squareiconcolumn
(Eilchansesto &0. All
objectson the layerare
now outlinedin the same
colorasthe squareyou clicked.
f#,lr"nttte
All layersyou add to the
Timelineusea default
size;however,you can Name Strata 2O
enlarge a layer to better
view its contents.To h?,;il.*g*
enlargethe layerheight,
right-clickthe layername
and clickPropertlesto
openthe LayerProperties
dialogbox.Clickthe Layer
Height! and choosea percentage.
ClickOK.
To rearrange how objects appear in
your Flash movie, you can stack layers.
Layers act like sheets of transparent
plastic. Depending on the placement of
the layers, objects can appear in front
of or behind objects on other layers.
Stacking layers in this manner creates
the illusion of depth in your movie.

Youranchange theorderof a layerby moving

it up or downin thelayerlist on theTimeline.
Thelayerat thetop of thelist appearsat the
top ol thestaclcwhilethelayerat thebottom
ol thelist appearsat thebottomof thestack.

:
..i ' .

youwantto move.
t! Ctictthelayer
Nole:Flashaulonalkolly
selects
oll obieos
associoted
withtheselected
loyu.

@ Oragthelayerupor downto itsnew it $@ t4orle.ih. l:;:;:_;:-;;.,:-:-._

location
inthestack. '
.
t r t..r E* H s ro
al EarthF{n.., . . f4\

ffipAninsertion
barappears,
showing
where
thedraggedlayer
willrest.

ilr ' iJl i s- t:.1

 themouse
@ Release bufton.
itsnewposition.
O Thelayerassumes
thelayermoves
a Inthisexample, upinthe
stacking Anyobjects
order. onthelayer
nowappear ontopoftheotherlayer
objects.

6l Inthisexample,thelayermovesdownin
onthe
order.Anyobjects
thestacking
layernowappear othertop
to bebeneath
layerobjects.

How can I seemore layersat a time
in my tlmeline?
Youcanresizethe Timeline
to seemoreof yourlayers.
Movethe N overthe
bottomboiderof the
Timelineuntil it becomes
a $. Clickand dragthe
borderdownto increase
the size of the Timeline.This
shouldenableyou to see
more of the layersin the
Timeline.
I cannot see all my layers, Why?
Themorelayers youaddto theTimeline,
thelongerthelistof layernames.Notall
the layersstayin view.Usethe
scrollbarat the far-rightend
of the Timelineto scrollup
and downthe layerlist
andview otherlayers.
Youcanalsousethe
Flashlayerfoldersto
t$,"j';iJ
il'i:1,
lini,! ",*
to learnmore.
You can use layer folders to
further organize the numerous
layers you use in a Flash movie
project. Layer folders act just like
the folders found on your
computer's hard drive. For
example, you can place related
layers into one layer folder on the
Timeline. This makes it much
easier to find a layer for editing
later. Layer folders are identified
in the Timeline by tiny folder
icons next to the folder names.

li;;ii;1"i1;.iff
:'11lii:#i,;i
CREATIA FOLDEN sv*Insert Flodify Tezt CommandcControl Debug Window Hel

Q CticttheInsertLayerFolderbufton NlySpaceMovi*,fla* |
@
sftr ltl s to tF zo
& Flash
addsa layerfolder
tothe ,SL-.. "':'-:'-r-;"::::r:..
Timeline. ffi
rrlAsrronaut . E+l
'
o Youcanalsoclickthelnsertmenuand sl E a rt h p la , , ,' . E ll
clickTimeline
andthenlayerFolder. ql TanPlanet .
" fl
llj OranoeP,.. . . T] l

ADDA IAYENTOA FOTDER

t! Oictthelayer
youwantto move
intoa
folder.
@ Orag
thelayeroverthefolder.
@ Release
themouse button.
Thelayerismoved tothelayer folder
andindentedslightly
inthelistto
indicate
it appears
ina folder.
DETETE
A TAYER
thelayeryouwantto delete.
O Ctict<
! L.trf I

@ CticttheDeletelayerbutton(fiD.
Youcandelete morethanonelayerby l"rrilr c., t:.; r l2,o:r. o$ (
-'
clickingthefirstlayeryouwantto remove, i'tii;;;ilii;,riiL.;..:-..,:._..::,,;..,::,:,:.:,i.: r....., - 6t

andthenpressing ffi (Window$

rrOfr s 20 6 30 40 45
orffi 1o- s 3s so ss 60 6 70 75 80 !.;
I spr . t&,,_ .,
Wlo
(Mac) whileclickingotherlayersandthen
clicking@.
rl ilJ
W Thelayerdisappears fromtheTimeline. I 0,0r a

Nole:lf yououidentolf
delae thewrong youcon
layer,
clkktheEditmenuanddickUndo Delete
Loyer.

llllhy would I use layers?

LayersCan Organize
Thebiggeryourproject,the moreelementsit is likelyto contain.Ratherthan placingall of theseelements
in a singlelayer,whichmakethem moredifficultto locateand edit,you caninsertthem into separate
layersand nameeachlayerwith a descriptive
namethat tellswhat is in the layer.
Add Depth
Layersaresimilarto transparentsheetsof paperstackedone on top
of another.Flashstackslayersfrom top to bottom.Eachlayerlets
you seethroughto the layerbelow.Asyou add morelayers,existing
layersmovedown in the stackto appearbehindnew layers.For
example,you mightplacea background on the bottomlayerand
add otherobjectsto subsequent layersto createa feelingof depth.
CreateGuidesand Masks
Guidelayerscanassistyou with the layoutand positioningof
objectson otherlayers.Masklayersenableyou to hideelementsin
underlyinglayersfrom view.Youcreatea hole,as it were,in the
masklayerthat letsyou viewlayersbelow