Dreamweaver® CS3 Bible

Chapter 17. Working with Timelines

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Adding animation with Dreamweaver timelines

• Using the Timelines panel

• Incorporating timelines

• Dreamweaver Technique: Setting Up a Slideshow

• Automatically starting and looping a timeline

• Altering timelines with keyframes

• Putting behaviors into timelines

• Dreamweaver Technique: Making the Slideshow Interactive

Motion implies time. A static object, such as an ordinary HTML Web page, can exist either in a single moment or over a period of time. Conversely, moving objects (such as Dynamic HTML AP elements flying across the screen) need a few seconds to complete their path. All of Dreamweaver's Dynamic HTML animation effects use the Timeline feature to manage this conjunction of movement and time.

Timelines can do much more than move an AP element across a Web page, however. A timeline can coordinate an entire presentation: starting the background music, scrolling the opening rolling credits, and cueing the voice-over narration on top of a slideshow. These actions are all possible with Dreamweaver because, in addition to controlling an AP element's position, timelines can also trigger any of Dreamweaver's JavaScript behaviors on a specific frame.

This chapter explores the full and varied world of timelines. After an introductory section brings you up to speed on the underlying concepts of timelines, you learn how to insert and modify timelines to achieve cutting-edge effects. From complex animations to slideshow presentations, you can do it all with ...