ptg 19 19 What You’ll Do 465 Automating Your Work Introduction The History panel helps you work more efficiently in Flash. As you work, the History panel tracks all the steps you take in Flash. With the History panel, you can undo or redo steps to correct mistakes, replay selected steps for new tasks to streamline repetitive work, and record steps for replay from the Commands menu to automate your work. In addition, Flash allows you to use Object-level undo modes. Which means you can undo steps to a specific object without hav- ing to undo the changes made to other main objects on the Stage. You can open the History panel from the Other Panels submenu on the Window menu. Each step you take in the active document during a work session appears on a sepa- rate line in the History panel. You can undo or redo a single step or series of steps quickly with the Undo/Redo slider, which you can drag up to undo a series of steps or drag down to redo a series of steps. You can also select a series of steps in the History panel and replay them to the same object or to a different object in the document. Do you often repeat the same series of steps? Rather than repeat the same actions, you can work faster by saving the entire series of steps as a command on the Commands menu, which you can reuse again and again. Flash stores the commands you save for future use. After you save steps as a command, you can select the command name on the Commands menu to run it, or use the Manage Saved Command dialog box to rename or delete commands. Due to the complex nature of some steps, such as adding a gradient to a shape or modifying document size, Flash can- not replay or save (as a command) all steps in the History panel. For these steps, a red X appears in the icon for a step in the History panel. Even though Flash cannot replay or save all steps, it can undo and redo all steps. What You’ll Do Examine the History Panel Use the History Panel Work with Object-Level Undo Mode Undo and Redo Steps Replay Steps Save Steps and Use Commands Copy Steps Between Documents From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 466 Chapter 19 The History panel helps you automate and streamline the way you work in Flash. As you work in Flash, the History panel is tracking all your steps for the entire document or only on individual or all objects behind the scenes. With the History panel, you can do any of the following: ◆ Undo or redo steps to correct mistakes. ◆ Replay selected steps for new tasks to streamline repetitive work. ◆ Record steps for replay from the Commands menu to automate your work. The History panel doesn’t replace the Undo, Redo, and Repeat commands on the Edit menu, it simply tracks every step you per- form in Flash. When you undo or redo one or more commands, the History panel displays the results; the Undo/Redo slider moves according to the commands you select. You can open the History panel using the Window menu like any of the other panels in Flash. Each step you take in the active docu- ment during a work session (since you cre- ated or opened the document) appears on a separate line in the History panel. The first step you perform in a work session appears at the top of the list and the last step appears at the bottom. If a red X appears in the icon for a step, it indicates Flash cannot save or replay the step. Unlike other panels in Flash, the History panel includes a slider on the left side that you can use to undo/redo steps; the Undo/Redo slider initially points to the last step you performed. The bottom of the History panel includes buttons to replay selected steps, copy selected steps to the Clipboard, and create a command from selected steps. The Options menu displays commands, such as Clear History, specific to the History panel. Examining the History Panel Undo/Redo slider Completed steps Replay selected steps Copy selected steps to Clipboard Create command from selected steps Options menu Completed steps in document From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 19 Automating Your Work 467 You can use the Window menu to open the History panel like any of the other panels in Flash; the History panel appears on the Other Panels submenu. Each step you take in the active document during a work ses- sion appears on a separate line in the History panel. Steps you take in other Flash documents don’t appear in other History panel lists. If you no longer need the steps in the History panel, you can erase the entire list. When you close a document, Flash clears the History panel. Using the History Panel Open and Close the History Panel ◆ To ope n the Histo ry panel , click th e Window menu, point to Other Panels, and then click History. TIMESAVER Press A +F10 (Mac) or Ctrl+F10 (Win) to open the History panel. ◆ To clo se the pane l, click th e Close button, or click the Options menu, and then click Close Panel. Clear the History Panel Open or expand the History panel. Click the Options menu, and then click Clear History. Click Yes to confirm the operation. When you’re done, click the Close button on the History panel. 4 3 2 1 Close button 4 2 1 Options menu From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 468 Chapter 19 The History panel allows you to keep track of the changes made in Flash on a per-object basis. When this mode is activated in the General Preferences dialog box, each object on the Stage and even objects in the Library panel have their own undo list. Think about just what this means. You can now undo the changes you make to an object without having to undo changes to any other object. Working with Object- Level Undo Mode Set Object-Level Undo Click the Flash (Mac) or Edit (Win) menu, and then click Preferences. Click the General category. Click the Undo list arrow, and then click Object-Level Undo. Click OK to confirm changing from Document to Object level undo will delete your current undo history. Click OK to set object level undo or click Cancel to keep document level undo. As you work, Flash keeps a per- object record of the history of each main Flash object. 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 19 Automating Your Work 469 Work with Object Level Undo Set object level undo in General preferences, and then open a new or existing Flash document. Begin working with an object. As you work, Flash keeps a per- object record of the history of each main Flash object. Open the History panel. Use the Undo, Redo, or Repeat commands on the Edit menu. TROUBLE? You cannot undo some object-level actions, such as working in a library or a scene. Check Flash Help for specifics. 4 3 2 1 2 3 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 470 Chapter 19 You can undo or redo a single step or a series of steps quickly with the History panel. The History panel contains the Undo/Redo slider which you can drag up to undo (restore previous steps) a series of steps, or drag down to redo (restore steps you’ve undone) a series of steps. You can also undo and redo previous steps one at a time using the Undo and Redo commands on the Edit menu. When you use these com- mands, the steps in the History panel change based on the command results. The History panel and the Undo command can undo steps up to a maximum number (from 2 to 9999) set in the General tab of the Preferences dialog box. Undoing and Redoing Steps Undo Steps with the History Panel Open or expand the History panel. Drag the Undo/Redo slider up until the slider points to the last step you want to keep. TIMESAVER Position the pointer in the gray area to the left of a step, and then click the gray area to make the slider point to the step. Flash undoes and grays out each selected step, starting from the bottom. When you’re done, click the Close button on the History panel. 3 2 1 31 2 Drawn polygon shape removed with undo. Did You Know? You can undo steps using the Undo command. Click the Edit menu, and then click Undo, or press A+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z (Win). See Also See “Examining the History Panel” on page 466 for information on different elements in the History panel. From the Library of Wow! eBook . Clear History. Click Yes to confirm the operation. When you’re done, click the Close button on the History panel. 4 3 2 1 Close button 4 2 1 Options menu From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 468. any of the other panels in Flash; the History panel appears on the Other Panels submenu. Each step you take in the active document during a work ses- sion appears on a separate line in the History. in other Flash documents don’t appear in other History panel lists. If you no longer need the steps in the History panel, you can erase the entire list. When you close a document, Flash clears