ptg 498 Chapter 20 When you work with a profile, you're creating a time-saving file that lets you use the same settings over and over again. Not only does Flash make the creation of a profile easy; it will let you create a duplicate of the file. In truth, a duplicate file would not serve much of a purpose: Why would you want an exact copy of something that already exists? Actually, creating a duplicate can be a very smart thing to do. For example, say you create a profile for a specific job that involved sev- eral changes to the default settings, and you name it: Output_A. Then, two weeks later you need another profile that's almost exactly the same as Output_A, with one or two minor changes. Rather than start from scratch, you create a duplicate of Output_A, make the minor changes, and Export it using the name: Output_B. It's fast and easy, and it means you're working smart. Duplicating a Profile Duplicate a Profile Click the File menu, and then click Publish Settings. Click the Current Profile list arrow, and then select the profile you want to duplicate. Click the Duplicate Profile button. Give the duplicate a new name. Click OK. 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 See Also See “Exporting and Importing a Profile“ on page 496 for more informa- tion on how to export a Flash publishing profile. 5 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 20 Publishing a Movie 499 Previewing a Flash movie is an important part of the design process. As you work, you should periodically stop and preview the movie. It's also a good idea to periodically save your document. In fact, you should always save the Flash document before previewing. That way, if there happen to be any problems, it's an easy matter of restoring the file from the last-saved version. To preview your Flash SWF file with the publish- ing format and settings you've selected, you can use the Publish Preview command. This command exports the file and opens the pre- view within the default browser. Previewing a Movie Preview a Movie Click the File menu, point to Publish Preview, and then select from the following options: ◆ Default (HTML). Select this option to display the Flash document within an HTML document. ◆ Flash. Select this option to create and play a Flash .swf file. ◆ HTML. Same as Default (HTML). ◆ GIF. Select this option to create a GIF version of the currently selected frame in the Timeline. ◆ JPEG. Select this option to create a JPEG version of the currently selected frame in the Timeline. ◆ PNG. Select this option to create a PNG version of the currently selected frame in the Timeline. ◆ Projector. Select this option to display the Flash document in a self-contained projector file. 1 1 Changing Magnification in Flash Player In the Flash Player, you can increase or decrease the magnification of the current Flash movie (SWF), as well as play, rewind, step for- ward, or step back. To zoom in or out in a browser, press Control+click (Mac) or right-click (Win) anywhere in the movie win- dow, and then click Zoom In or Zoom Out. Click Show All to see the entire Flash movie. For Your Information From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 500 Chapter 20 As you work, you should periodically stop and test your movie as a Flash SWF. The Test command allows you to quickly see your movie on different devices and players—Flash Professional, Device Central ( New! ) or Air Debug Launcher (Desktop or Mobile) ( New! )—without leaving the program. The Test command tests the movie based on the current test option. Flash uses the document type the default until you change it. Each time you test your movie as an SWF, Flash creates a log entry in the SWF History in the Property Inspector ( New! ). The SWF History shows you the difference in file size between the different tests. If there is over a 50% increase in size, a warning icon appears next to the log entry. In the SWF History, you can view or clear the log entries. Testing a Movie Test a Movie and View a SWF History Click the Control menu, and then point to Test Movie. Select the option where you want to test your movie: ◆ in Flash Professional. Plays the movie in a separate window in Flash Professional. ◆ in Device Central. Opens Adobe Device Central CS5 and displays the movie. ◆ in Air Debug Launcher (Desktop). Opens Adobe Air Player for the desktop and displays the movie. ◆ in Air Debug Launcher (Mobile). Opens Adobe Air Player for mobile devices and displays the movie. ◆ Test. Performs a test with the currently selected test option. TIMESAVER Press Ctrl+Enter (Win) or A +Return (Mac). To view and work with the SWF History log, click the Window menu, and then click Properties to open the Property Inspector. ◆ Clear the SWF History. Click the Clear button. ◆ View the SWF History Log. Click the Log button. 3 2 1 1 2 3 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 20 Publishing a Movie 501 To view the performance of a Flash document using a graph, use the Bandwidth Profiler. The Bandwidth Profiler displays how much data is sent for each frame in the active Flash document, according to the speed you specify. The Bandwidth Profiler has two windows. The left window shows information about the active document and the current download settings, and the right window displays information about each frame in the document. In addition, the Bandwidth Profiler lets you view how the page loads, based on a specific bandwidth. For example, you could specify to load the Flash document using a speed of 28.8Kbps. To maintain an accurate download test, the Bandwidth Profiler compensates for added compression support applied to SWF files, which reduces the file size and improves streaming performance. Using the Bandwidth Profiler Use the Bandwidth Profiler Click the Control menu, point to Test Movie, and then click Test. Click the View menu, and then click Bandwidth Profiler. Click the View menu, point to Download Settings, and then select from the available bandwidth options, or click Customize, and then create a user- defined setting. Click the View menu, and then click Simulate Download. This tests the load of the Flash movie against the current settings. 4 3 2 1 Test movie bandwidth settings. Timing Rule A timing rule used in Web design is called the 10-second rule. If doc- uments load too slowly, there's a good chance that your visitors will not wait for the document to load, and will move on to other pages. The Bandwidth profiler gives you a real taste of what your visitors are going to experience when they download your Flash movies. For Your Information From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 502 Chapter 20 Flash can export an entire movie or frame to several different formats that are not included in the Publish Settings dialog box. These formats include Adobe FXG, Bitmap, JPEG Image or Sequence, GIF Image or Sequence, PNG Image or Sequence, Quick Time (MOV), Animated GIF, Windows AVI, and WAV (for Windows only). When you export a movie or image (frame), some file formats require you to select additional for- mat specific options, such as resolution (dots per inch) and number of colors or color bit depth, to complete the operation. To set the resolu- tion to match your monitor, select Match Screen. Exporting a Movie to Different Formats Export a Movie Frame to Different Formats Open a document. Select a frame you want to export in the Timeline. Click the File menu, point to Export, and then click Export Image. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file. Enter a name in the Save As (Mac) or File Name (Win) box. Click the Format popup (Mac) or the Save As Type list arrow (Win), and then select a file format. Click Save. Some file formats require you to select additional format specific options to complete the operation. If a dialog box appears, select the options you want, and then click OK. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Available file formats 5 4 7 6 Options vary depending on export format 8 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 20 Publishing a Movie 503 Export a Movie to Different Formats Open a document. Click the File menu, point to Export, and then click Export Movie. TIMESAVER Press Option+ Shift+ A +S (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+ Shift+S (Win) to export a movie. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file. Enter a name in the Save As (Mac) or File Name (Win) box. Click the Format popup (Mac) or the Save As Type list arrow (Win), and then select a file format. Click Save. Some file formats require you to select additional format specific options to complete the operation. If a dialog box appears, select the options you want. Click OK or Export. When you export a movie, Flash creates a separate file for each frame of the movie and numbers them in sequential order. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 3 6 4 5 7 8 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 504 Chapter 20 In your browser, you can press Control+click (Mac) or right-click (Win) a Flash movie in a Flash Player to display a contextual, or shortcut, menu. The menu contains Flash Player related commands, such as Print. You can give viewers the option to print some, or all of your movie. By default, the Print command prints every frame in the movie unless you restrict printing to specific frames by labeling them as print- able in the Flash document before you publish it. You label frames as printable by typing #p in the Frame box of the Property Inspector. By default, the movie’s Stage size determines the print area. Printing from the Flash Player Label Frames as Printable and Print from the Flash Player Open a document. Select the frames or keyframes in the Timeline you want to label as printable. Type #p in the Frame box in the Property Inspector. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each keyframe you want to label as printable. Publish your movie using the Publish command on the File menu, and then view it in your browser using the Flash Player. Press Control+click (Mac) or right- click (Win) anywhere in the movie window, and then click Print. 6 5 4 3 2 1 #p appears in the selected frames. 2 3 Did You Know? You can disable printing from the Flash Player. Open the Flash docu- ment, select a frame in the Timeline, open the Frame Property Inspector, and then type !#p in the Label box. You can disable the contextual menu in the Flash Player. Click the File menu, click Publish Settings, click the HTML tab, clear the Display Menu check box, and then click OK. Printing with ActionScript You can also print with ActionScript using the following commands: print (target, bounding box), printasBitmap (target, bounding box), or Printjob class. The target is the Movie Clip Timeline (or specific frames) and bounding box is bmovie (frame with a #b used as print area), bframe (each frame used as print area), or bmax (one big print area). For Your Information From the Library of Wow! eBook . export a Flash publishing profile. 5 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 20 Publishing a Movie 499 Previewing a Flash movie is an important part of. Select this option to display the Flash document within an HTML document. ◆ Flash. Select this option to create and play a Flash .swf file. ◆ HTML. Same as