Flash 5 Tutorial: Part 2

In this second installment we will discuss how to import and use sounds inside Flash files and how to manipulate objects to cause them to flip and do other things.

We will begin by discussing how Flash can use sounds to enhance a users experience. Sounds can play continuously — independent of the timeline of the movie — or can be synchronized with the animation to create a sound track. Sounds can be attached to buttons in order to give them a more interactive feel. Sounds can be set up in shared libraries so that a sound from one library can be used in multiple movies. Playback can be controlled with ActionScript.

Sounds can be dealt with in two different ways — streaming and event sounds. Streaming sounds begin playing as soon as enough data for the first few frames have been downloaded. These are synchronized to the Timeline for playing in sync with the Flash file on the Web site. Event sounds must download entirely before they begin to play. They will continue to play until a 'Stop' action is encountered.

There are also compression options to control the quality and size of the sounds in the final exported movies. Each individual sound can have the compression options changed by using the 'Sound Properties' dialog box. In order to define the settings for all sounds in the movie simply use the 'Publish Settings' dialog box.

Sound files can be imported from another source. In order to do this use the [File > Import] command from the menu bar at the top. Windows users can import WAV files, while Macintosh users can import AIFF files. Both operating systems can import MP3 files. If you have QuickTime 4 (or a later version), additional sound file formats can be imported:

• Sound only QuickTime Movies (Both Windows and Macintosh)
• System 7 Sounds (Macintosh Only)
• Sound Designer II (Macintosh Only)
• Sun AU (Both Windows and Macintosh)
• WAV Files (Both Windows and Macintosh)

Once the sound file is imported into the movie it shows up in the library along with the bitmaps and symbols that are there.

One thing that needs to be remembered is that sound can use considerable amounts of both disk space and RAM. One of the best audio formats is MP3 files, which are more compressed and smaller than WAV or AIFF sound files. When using WAV or AIFF files, it is best to use 16-bit 22 kHz mono sounds (stereo uses twice as much data as data as mono). However, Flash can import either 8- or 16- bit sounds at sample rates of 11 kHz, 22 kHz, or 44 kHz. When the file is exported Flash can convert the sounds to lower sample rates.

To import a sound file select [File > Import]. In the import box that appears locate and open the desired sound file. The imported sound is then placed in the library for the current movie to use. To add the sound to a movie assign a sound to a layer and set the options in the 'Sound Panel'. In order to keep the movie file as organized as possible it is recommended to place the sound file on it's own separate layer. To create a new layer for the sound select [Insert > Layer] from the menu options. With the new layer selected drag the sound from the library onto the 'Stage'. This allows the sound to be added to the current layer. Multiple sounds can be placed on one layer, or on layers containing other objects. Like mentioned before it is recommended that each sound be placed on a separate layer. Each one of these layers acts like a separate channel for the sounds.

In order to view the sound panel, select [Window > Panels > Sound]. Select a sound file from the 'Sound' menu selection. There are numerous ways to change the sound from the pop-up menu. The first selection is 'None' which means that there is no effect on the audio — also choose this option to remove any previously applied effects to the sound. Select 'Fade In' to gradually increase the volume of a sound over duration of time. 'Fade Out' gradually decreases the volume of the sound over the duration of time. There are also 'Left Channel' and 'Right Channel' options that play the sound file in the selected channel/speaker only. One of the more interesting effects that can be used is the 'Fade Left to Right' or 'Fade Right to Left', which shifts the audio from one speaker to the other.

The same dialog box can be used to specify the number of times the sound loop should play. If you are going to want continuous play, enter a number large enough to play the sound an extended duration. For example, if you want to loop a 15 second sound for the entire time that the user is going to be at the site, enter a high number, i.e. 99, and it will simply loop over and over again.

When creating buttons sounds can also be associated with different states of the symbol. Due to the fact that the sound is stored within the symbol, the audio will be heard for all instances of that symbol.

In order to do this, simply select the button from the library and choose [Edit] from the options menu. In the timeline of the button, add another layer for the sound to be placed. Now, you must decide at what stage of the button you want the sound to be heard. If you want the sound to be heard when the user moves the mouse over the button, add a keyframe there. If you want the sound when the user clicks on the button you want to add the keyframe there. Whatever instance you want the sound to occur simply select the sound from the library and drag it onto the stage. At the same time if you want to have different sounds for different states of the button, just add another keyframe and sound for that state.

Flash 5 Tutorial: Part 1
Flash 5 Tutorial: Part 2 - Page 2