How to Edit Flash Templates
Flash templates provide an excellent method for publishing a multimedia website or portfolio without learning the difficult programming language associated with Flash. A multitude of sites exist for purchasing a Flash template; be sure to research user reviews of the sites and their templates prior to purchasing. Though the difficult programming is taken care of by the creator of a template, a basic knowledge of Flash is necessary for making edits to the site, and Adobe provides an excellent tutorial on its website to explain the basics of the program. Flash is a professional level multimedia program and some familiarity is necessary to complete this task.
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Instructions
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Download the Flash template files from your source. Most templates are purchased on a web site, such as Flashmint.com or Flashmo.com. Hundreds of such sites exist and some research is required to find a template that fits your needs. To edit the template, you will need files with the following extensions: FLA, SWF, JS and HTML.
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Open the Flash FLA file, with the FLA extension, using Flash Professional. The web templates will then appear on the Stage for you to edit.
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Use the Selection Tool and place the cursor on the proper Layer of the Timeline you wish to edit. Place the Playhead on the proper Keyframe containing the content you wish to edit (the Playhead moves along the Timeline to the various Keyframes). When the Keyframe is selected, using the Selection Tool and the Playhead, the content from that Keyframe will display on the Stage.
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Begin editing the content on the Stage. For example, to change the text on the home page, use the Text Tool and click the text element you wish to change. After selecting a text element, the text box will appear on the Stage and the Text Properties window will appear below, allowing you to change the text fonts, colors and size.
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Add additional graphics, images and movies, also called assets, by importing them to your Library and applying the changes to the Stage. Go to "File," "Import," "Import To Library" and select the proper files from the computer using the dialog box. Follow the prompt windows to import individual files, which will vary based on the type of file imported. Check your Library to be sure the elements imported properly. Use folders in the Library to organize the assets if you are using multiple graphics, images and movies.
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Use the Selection Tool to drag an asset onto the Stage from the Library. Arrange the asset in the proper location, and make sure you are still working on the proper Layer.
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Save the file once your edits are complete. Go to "File," "Save As" and give the file a new name and save the file in a different folder than the original. In case you need to start from scratch, the original template will not contain your edits.
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Publish the recent edits from your hard drive prior to uploading to the web. The edits will not appear unless they have been published for a preview. Go to "File," "Publish Preview," "Default" and Flash will pull up your offline browser window to test the edits. Flash will also create your SWF, HTML and JavaScript files which are necessary for publishing to the web.
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The template is ready for the Internet. If troubles arise during your preview, be sure to check the Compiler Errors window and Flash will describe where the errors occurred in the project.
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