Flash Site Design - How do I see entire .fla as timeline?

Author

How do I see entire .fla as timeline?

AlliCT59

2006-08-25, 10:23 pm

Purchased template.

Modified the template.

I want to insert extra pages.

How can I see the entire timeline at once, or does it matter? Each page of the
template is a movie clip.

And what are these index1.html, index2.html etc. files?

Shouldn't there just be ONE index file?

Regards, and thanks to all for any info.

Allison

Chris Georgenes

2006-08-26, 3:20 am

what do you mean see entire timeline? if the site is made up of movie clips - you can't - one of the
strengths of flash is having multiple timelines - you simply can't see more then 1 at a time - not
sure i have ever needed to.
As for index - you can name any file anything you want - why the author of the template chose to
name them that way is just personal preference.

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AlliCT59 wrote:
> Purchased template.
>
> Modified the template.
>
> I want to insert extra pages.
>
> How can I see the entire timeline at once, or does it matter? Each page of the
> template is a movie clip.
>
> And what are these index1.html, index2.html etc. files?
>
> Shouldn't there just be ONE index file?
>
> Regards, and thanks to all for any info.
>
> Allison
>

AlliCT59

2006-08-26, 6:21 pm

Thanks for the info. Now I know it was just a stupid question.

I guess coming from the non-linear Avid/Final Cut/After Effects world, you
just sort of get used to being able to see the enire forest sometimes.

I'm still working on the gestalt of how all the template files work together.

Thanks for solving a piece of the puzzle.

Regards,

Allison

David Stiller

2006-08-30, 6:26 pm

Allison,

> Thanks for the info. Now I know it was just a stupid question.

I wouldn't say "stupid," just uninformed; which, of course, makes sense
if you're new to Flash.

> I guess coming from the non-linear Avid/Final Cut/After Effects
> world, you just sort of get used to being able to see the enire
> forest sometimes.

Flash can be linear if you want it to, in which case you might indeed
"see the whole forest," or it can be non-linear. The trouble with 99% of
templates is that they're built with no regard for best practices.
Hungry-artist designers are paid bottom dollar under sweatshop-like
conditions to crank out as many designs as possible. From what I've seen,
no one cares a lick of the FLA is *usable* by anyone, only if, out of the
box, it compiles to an attractive SWF. Any *changes* you may want to make
are a tedious, frustrating, needle-in-a-haystack, at-your-own-risk endeavor.
I occasionally consult for people trying to weed through the rat's nest that
typically comprises a template under the hood. Layers are unnamed, assets
unnamed and not organized into Library folders, it goes on and on. In all,
I don't think templates are a good example of how to do Flash right -- they
tend not to set good examples.

> I'm still working on the gestalt of how all the template files
> work together.

Gestalt is right. As a general rule, templates-for-hire cannot be
reckoned from the sum of their parts. I don't mean to sound so cynical --
you wouldn't likely have known this -- but you may have set yourself up for
a difficult time.

David Stiller
Adobe Community Expert
Dev blog, http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."