How to Make Flash Movies on a Mac

Flash is a file type created by Macromedia that is now owned by Adobe. Flash movie files come in two extensions, SWF and FLV. Creating flash movies on the Mac is simple, but you need the proper Mac software. iWork, a product that comes preinstalled on all modern Mac computers, includes Keynote, which will make flash movies for you as long as you are using Keynote version 8 and not version 9.

Things You'll Need

• Keynote version 8

Instructions

1. Open Keynote on your Mac computer. It will be in your hard drive/Applications/iWork folder. Double-click on it to open it.

2. Click "New Presentation" in the File menu.

3. Add pictures, movies and music to your Keynote presentation by dragging and dropping them into the open window. To create a new page, click "New Slide" in the toolbar menu. To create a transitions between pages, select "Inspector" from Keynote's toolbar and click "Slide inspector," then click the "Transition" button. Choose the type of transition you want to put in. Add text by clicking on the "Text" button in the toolbar.

4. Click "Play" in the toolbar to preview your flash movie.

5. Save the Keynote presentation. Select "Export" from the File menu and choose "Flash." Type in a name for your file and choose a location for it to be saved. Then click "Save."

Tips & Warnings

• Download Keynote 8 from the Internet or buy a DVD of the software. Delete the current version of Keynote on your Mac by dragging the application to the Trash and throwing it away. Install Keynote 8 on your Mac by clicking on the "pkg" file that shows up on your Desktop when you download the file or insert the DVD. Input your administrator name and password and click "Install."

References

• File Info: SWF File Extension
• Making Change: Mac Users--Avoid Keynote 09 for Flash
• O'Reilly Mac Dev Center: Create Flash Files with Keynote

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish