How to Create Transparent Flash Movies

Avoid unnecessary white space by setting your flash CS4 project to "transparent."

Hiding the stage of your flash CS4 file, or making the stage "transparent," is a necessary design aesthetic when you create video, web or presentation projects. A well designed background or video piece is obscured by solid flash project stages if the flash project is not made transparent. To make your flash CS4 project stand out and avoid leaving a large white flash box in the middle of your piece, consider the transparent option.

Instructions

1. Highlight the "File Menu" option at the top of your Adobe Flash CS4 window and scroll down to "Publish Settings."

2. Select the HTML tab in the "Publish Settings" window. Find the "Window Mode" box in the middle of the "Publish Settings" window. The mode should display "Window" as the default setting.

3. Change the window mode to "Transparent Windowless." Click "Publish."

4. Locate the published flash file in your project folder. Insert the flash file into the video, web page or presentation that you are creating.

5. Test the final product by opening the video, web page or presentation in which you placed the flash CS4 file. You will see through the blank spaces that the original flash file stage contained.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the publish date of your published flash file. If the date is incorrect, you published the file into a different project folder. You will not be able to see the most recent changes if this is the case.

• Older web browsers such as Netscape 7.0 and Internet Explorer 7.0 will not display the transparent flash option correctly.

References

• Adobe: How to Make a Flash Movie with a Transparent Background
• Kirupa: Making Flash Movies Transparent