Chapter 4. Interface Fundamentals

This chapter gives you a tour of the Flash workspace and the various methods for organizing and navigating your documents. We define fundamental features of the authoring environment, but in some cases, defer detailed explanation of functionality to later chapters. This chapter orients new users to the program and introduces experienced users to some of the new Flash CS4 features.

Getting Started

When you walk into a studio, the first thing you need to know is where to find your tools. Although you might have an idea of where to start looking based on experience, nothing improves your workflow more than being able to reach for something without hesitation. This kind of familiarity and comfort in a workspace is a prerequisite for the mastery of any craft.

Fortunately, many of the features of the Flash CS4 interface will look familiar to you if you've worked in other graphics applications. However, there are some unique features that you need to understand before you can tackle your Flash projects with the ease of an expert. We begin by introducing the Flash interface and pointing out the tools available for managing and customizing your Flash "studio."

You'll soon notice that there is often more ...

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