How to Build Banners in Macromedia Flash Format

Banners built using Flash allow the designer to use animation to attract an audience.

Building a banner in Macromedia Flash formats will allow you implement creative animation techniques to draw attention to your banner. Online advertisements are the best representation of Flash banners on the Internet today, and using this animation program will enhance your website design with banners and other graphic embellishments. Flash is a complicated professional software program, and while this is an introductory tutorial regarding banners, a basic familiarity of Flash and its workspace is necessary for this exercise.

Instructions

1. Open a new file in Flash and choose from the template settings located in the "New Document" dialogue box. Choose the banner that meets the appropriate size for the final location of your banner. For example, a banner located at the top of a web page will have dramatically different settings and will be a long and narrow size as opposed to a side banner, which may be square in format.

2. Create a new Layer in your Timeline by going to "Insert" > "Timeline" > "Layer" and label the layer "Background." Layers are used to separate the various elements of a project, such as Navigation, Images or Text, and allows the programmer to control when the element appears in the project. A Keyframe is indicated by the small black circle in the rectangle underneath a number next to the Layers, called Frames. A Keyframe must be present for the content in that Layer to appear on the Stage, which represents all the Frames that the Playhead, which controls the Timeline, falls upon. For example, if the Playhead is resting on Frame 1, each Layer which contains content, represented by a Keyframe, will appear on the Stage and in the animation.

3. Import your images, graphics or videos created outside of Flash using the "Import to Library" setting located under "File." Follow the dialogue boxes associated with the import and then drag and drop each element from the Library onto the Stage. The Library will be the storage unit for all your external images, graphics and videos, also referred to as assets, and will also store any assets created in Flash, such as Buttons, Movies and Symbols.

4. Add text, objects or additional animation functions to your project using the Stage and the appropriate tools. This will vary dramatically based on your skill level and familiarity with ActionScript, the programming language that adds logic to various elements of the project and allows the user to interact with the project.

5. Save your file as an FLA or Flash project file. This will serve as the master file and will not be placed on the Internet. The master file will be accessed in Flash for future edits and revisions.

6. Create the Flash files necessary for publishing to the Internet. Go to "Publish Settings" and select "Flash (.swf)" and select "OK". Select "File" > "Publish" and Flash will create the SWF necessary to publish your banner on the Internet.

References

• Adobe: Introduction to ActionScript 3.0

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish