How to Import Photoshop Files Into Flash Professional CS3

Long gone are the days of saving image files as PNGs or GIFs and then having to import your file layer by layer. Importing Photoshop files to Flash has never been easier. Since Macromedia products are now a part of the Adobe family, you can import Photoshop files directly into Flash Professional CS3 while retaining the layers.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Make sure that the correct scene and/or symbol is selected. If you are working on a multi-leveled scene in Flash, make sure you open up the PSD file while the appropriate scene or symbol is pulled up on the stage.

2. Adjust your import settings before you begin. Go to Preferences > PSD File Importer > Import Text Layers. Select "Editable Text" and then exit. This ensures that your text layers in your PSD file are still editable after you import the document into Flash.

3. Go to File > Import > Import to Stage or Import to Library. Importing to the Library does not keep the location information and, instead, creates individual library items without a location on the stage, unless you import it as a movie clip.

4. Determine how you want the layers in your PSD file to convert into a Flash document by selecting from the "Convert layers to" drop down menu. You can convert your layers into layers on the time line or key frames in one layer on the time line.

5. Make sure that "Place layers at original location" is selected unless you want to arrange your layers later. Leaving this unselected compiles the layers in the middle of the stage.