PHOTOSHOP/CS3-5 My 25 years plus of applicable experience of application/software development within the government, encompassed with more than 20 years of professional instruction of complex programming languages at the collegiate level led me to create this in-depth 200 page book covering in-depth the following topics: Contents

Photoshop CS3 Basics ...... 6 Course Overview ...... 6 Introducing Photoshop CS3 ...... 7 Learning Objectives ...... 7 1. Introducing Photoshop CS3 ...... 7 2. Photoshop file formats ...... 9 3. Photoshop Help ...... 12 Summary ...... 14 The Photoshop CS3 Interface ...... 15 Learning Objectives ...... 15 1. The Photoshop interface ...... 15 2. Customizing the interface ...... 17 Summary ...... 20 Save, Print, and Undo Changes in Photoshop CS3 ...... 20 Learning Objectives ...... 20 1. Saving images and duplicates ...... 21 2. Setting up images for printing ...... 23 3. Undoing with the History palette ...... 26 Summary ...... 29 Using Adobe Bridge CS3 with Photoshop CS3...... 29 Learning Objective ...... 29 1. Using Adobe Bridge CS3 ...... 29 Summary ...... 34 View and Edit Images in Photoshop CS3 ...... 34 Learning Objective ...... 34 1. Image size and resolution ...... 34 2. View and zoom tools ...... 36 3. Editing image size ...... 39 4. Cropping images ...... 41 Summary ...... 44 Open and Resize Images in Photoshop CS3 ...... 44 Learning Objectives ...... 44 Exercise overview ...... 44 Task 1: Using Adobe Bridge ...... 45 Task 2: Customizing the interface ...... 45 Task 3: Viewing and resizing an image ...... 45 Make Color Adjustments in Photoshop CS3 ...... 45 Learning Objectives ...... 45 1. Working with color ...... 46 2. Automatic color correction ...... 48 3. Working with channels and Variations ...... 50 Summary ...... 53 Fine-tune Color Effects in Photoshop CS3 ...... 53 Learning Objectives ...... 53 1. Understanding levels ...... 53 2. Adjusting levels ...... 54 3. Adjusting shadows and highlights ...... 56 Summary ...... 58 Further Color Adjustments in Photoshop CS3 ...... 58 Learning Objectives ...... 58 1. The Curves tool ...... 58 2. The Match Color tool ...... 62 3. The Replace Color tool ...... 63 4. The Channel Mixer ...... 65 5. The Selective Color tool ...... 65 Summary ...... 66 Photoshop CS3 Painting and Color Replacement Tools ...... 67 Learning Objectives ...... 67 1. Color selection tools ...... 67

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2. Basic painting tools ...... 70 3. The Color Replacement tool ...... 72 Summary ...... 75 Task 1: Using levels ...... 75 Scenario ...... 75 Exercise ...... 75 Task 1: Using levels ...... 76 Solution ...... 76 Analysis ...... 76 Task 2: Lightening shadows ...... 76 Scenario ...... 76 Exercise ...... 76 Task 2: Lightening shadows ...... 77 Solution ...... 77 Analysis ...... 77 Task 3: Replacing colors ...... 77 Scenario ...... 77 Exercise ...... 77 Task 3: Replacing colors ...... 78 Solution ...... 78 Analysis ...... 78 Creating Navigation Systems in Flash CS3 ...... 78 Learning Objectives ...... 78 1. Creating a navigation bar ...... 78 2. Creating navigation buttons ...... 81 3. Creating secondary navigation ...... 84 Summary ...... 88 Working with Multiple SWF Files in Flash CS3 ...... 90 Learning Objectives ...... 90 1. Using multiple SWF files ...... 90 2. Loading SWF files ...... 91 Summary ...... 94 Creating a Navigation System in Flash CS3 ...... 95 Learning Objectives ...... 95 Creating buttons in Flash CS3 ...... 95 Creating a navigation system...... 95 Loading SWF files ...... 96 Learning Objectives ...... 98 1. Testing Flash movies ...... 98 2. Using Bandwidth Profiler ...... 100 3. Using a preloader ...... 103 4. Using publish settings ...... 104 Summary ...... 107 Testing and Publishing a Flash CS3 Movie ...... 108 Learning Objective ...... 108 Exercise overview ...... 108 Task 1: Testing a movie...... 108 Task 2: Using the Bandwidth Profiler ...... 108 Task 3: Adjusting publish settings ...... 109 Combining Flash CS3 Movies with HTML ...... 110 Learning Objectives ...... 110 1. Combining Flash and HTML ...... 110 2. Publishing SWFs into HTML pages ...... 111 3. Using Flash content in Dreamweaver ...... 114 Summary ...... 116 Integrating a Flash CS3 Movie into an HTML Page ...... 117 Learning Objective ...... 117 Exercise overview ...... 117 Task 1: Integrating a movie into HTML ...... 117 Task 2: Inserting a SWF file ...... 117 Creating Navigation Systems in Flash CS4 ...... 119 Learning Objectives ...... 119

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1. Creating a menu bar ...... 119 2. Creating navigation buttons ...... 121 3. Creating secondary navigation ...... 125 Summary ...... 128 Working with Multiple Movies in Flash CS4...... 130 Learning Objectives ...... 130 1. Using multiple SWF files ...... 130 2. Loading external content ...... 131 Summary ...... 134 Creating a Navigation System in Flash CS4 ...... 135 Learning Objectives ...... 135 Exercise Overview...... 135 Adding navigation features...... 135 Loading a SWF file ...... 136 Learning Objectives ...... 139 1. Testing a movie ...... 139 2. Using the Bandwidth Profiler ...... 141 3. Using a preloader ...... 143 4. Publishing a movie ...... 144 Summary ...... 148 Combining Flash CS4 Movies with HTML ...... 149 Learning Objectives ...... 149 1. Combining Flash and HTML ...... 149 2. Publishing SWFs in HTML pages ...... 150 3. Using Flash content in Dreamweaver ...... 154 Summary ...... 156 Integrating a Flash CS4 Movie into an HTML Page ...... 157 Learning Objective ...... 157 Exercise overview ...... 157 Task 1: Previewing a movie ...... 157 Task 2: Using the Bandwidth Profiler ...... 157 Task 3: Publishing a movie ...... 157 Task 4: Integrating a movie ...... 158 Creating Navigation Systems in Flash CS5 ...... 159 Learning Objectives ...... 159 1. Creating a menu bar ...... 159 2. Creating navigation buttons ...... 161 3. Creating secondary navigation ...... 165 Summary ...... 168 Working with Multiple Movies in Flash CS5...... 169 Learning Objectives ...... 169 1. Using multiple SWF files ...... 169 2. Loading external content ...... 170 Summary ...... 173 Creating a Navigation System in Flash CS5 ...... 174 Learning Objectives ...... 174 Exercise overview ...... 174 Adding navigation features...... 174 Loading a SWF file ...... 175 Learning Objectives ...... 178 1. Testing a movie ...... 178 2. Using the Bandwidth Profiler ...... 180 3. Publishing a movie ...... 182 Summary ...... 186 Combining Flash CS5 Movies with HTML ...... 187 Learning Objectives ...... 187 1. Combining Flash and HTML ...... 187 2. Publishing SWFs in HTML pages ...... 189 3. Using Flash content in Dreamweaver ...... 193 Summary ...... 194 Integrating a Flash CS5 Movie into an HTML Page ...... 195 Learning Objective ...... 195

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Exercise overview ...... 195 Task 1: Previewing a movie ...... 195 Task 2: Using the Bandwidth Profiler ...... 195 Task 3: Publishing a movie ...... 195 Task 4: Integrating a movie ...... 196

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Photoshop CS3 Basics Course Overview

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) is the latest collection of design tools from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

CS3 includes a new version of Photoshop that provides graphic designers, web designers, and photographers with powerful tools to enhance productivity and creativity.

Photoshop CS3 features a more unified interface across the applications suite and enables a more efficient workflow. You can now perform nondestructive editing and use various enhanced and composition tools.

Photoshop CS3 can be used to correct many common image problems:

 remove color washes from an image

 correct unbalanced contrast

 remove the red-eye effect

More advanced tools enable you to replace colors through color mapping or color replacement tools.

You can also adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance with more precise controls.

Tonal correction tools have been improved, and you can make tonal range adjustments using the Curves tool.

Adobe continues to capitalize on the use of layers and masks to improve productivity. Layers enable you to rearrange or edit the individual elements of existing commercial images discretely. For example, you can change the company by-line or corporate font to reflect the most recent business strategies.

Photoshop now uses Smart Filters, which enable you to add non-destructive filters to Smart Objects – objects that allow for non-destructive transformations. This preserves the original image properties and enables you to roll back and re-edit image elements.

You can create optical camera effects by adding lens flares and other non-destructive photographic filters.

The selection tools, such as the Magic Wand and the new Quick Selection tool, are intuitive, enabling you to quickly make and refine image selections.

The Vanishing Point plug-in from CS2 is also included in Photoshop CS3, and has been improved to enable users to create connected planes. This enables you to manipulate the perspective of images by projecting the image on predefined plane surfaces.

The Photoshop CS3 Extended version adds support for 3D imaging, video, and advanced image analysis. Using Photoshop CS3 Extended, you can edit individual frames of a video. You can also develop timeline- based animations.

Photoshop CS3 can automatically perform a number of common tasks. You can automatically create contact sheets for test prints, or picture packages to package commercial image sets.

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You can also perform more advanced automated tasks such as creating panoramas from a series of regular images. The image stitching technology required for this process has been improved in CS3.

You can automatically create a High Dynamic Range, 32-bit-per-channel, image by combining the highlights and shadows from 8-bit-per-channel images. The result image reveals the full dynamic range of the compilation images.

Adobe Bridge 2.0 is integrated into Creative Suite 3 and enables you to better manage files and initiate certain tasks that use the Creative Suite 3 applications. For example, you can perform batch renaming of files, view a slide show, or add comments and ratings to images using the Bridge.

By the end of this course you will have a better understanding of the Photoshop CS3 features and will be able to put them to use in performing common image manipulation tasks.

Introducing Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize the types of tasks Photoshop is suited for . distinguish between the file types supported by Photoshop . use Photoshop help 1. Introducing Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3 is a professional-level image creation and editing application. You can use it to open and modify digital images – including scanned or downloaded images – and photographs taken on a digital camera.

You can also create new images from scratch using Photoshop's drawing and painting tools, and its effects and filters.

You can modify created or imported images in Photoshop by adjusting their brightness, contrast, and color balance. In addition, you can crop and resize images to make them more manageable sizes.

You can use Photoshop to remove and retouch flaws in your images and to apply special effects.

You can also add text, logos, or portions of other images and graphics to your images.

You can use Photoshop to process both raster and vector based images.

Raster images

Raster images, also known as bitmap images, are made up of arrays of colored pixels. Because their pixels map to the display grid, they are ideal for displaying on monitors.

The images captured by scanners and digital cameras are raster images. Photoshop's painting and retouching tools were created for working with raster images and process images pixel by pixel.

Vector images

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Vector images consist of paths and anchor points defined by mathematical formulae. You create each vector component separately and you can later combine it with other components. You can edit and move vector graphics independently.

At a normal scale, the pixels in a raster image are so small and close together that they aren't individually visible.

However, raster images contain a finite number of pixels and lose definition when you enlarge them. As you enlarge or zoom in on a raster image, the individual pixels become visible and the outlines and texture of the image become uneven and grainy.

Image quality will also be low if you print the image at an enlarged scale.

The higher the resolution of an image, the more pixel data it contains, and the higher the file size. The more you transform raster images, the more image definition you lose.

Because vector images are defined mathematically, you can enlarge, transform, and shrink them without losing any definition. This is particularly important for large-scale print work or for graphics that need to be used at many different sizes.

Vector graphics also use less disk space than typical raster graphics because the objects in vector images aren't stored as pixel arrangements.

Although Photoshop provides options for creating and working with vectors, they are limited. You should use for design projects specifically involving vector graphics.

Photoshop is more suited for working with pure raster-based images. It is particularly effective for working with images that are

 captured using a digital camera

 scanned from drawings, artwork, or photographs

 stills from film or video

Photoshop is suited to creating realistic images that rely on soft edges and blends between highlights, midtones, and shadows.

You should also use Photoshop for any artwork that requires the use of reflections or realistic shadows, or that requires special effects that you can't apply to vector images.

Question

For which tasks is Photoshop most appropriate?

Options:

1. Creating artwork with soft transitions and shadows 2. Retouching digital photographs 3. Adding paint effects to vector images 4. Creating vector artwork for large-scale printing that requires photo-realistic details

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Answer

Option 1: Correct. Photoshop is suitable for modifying photographs and creating realistic artwork that relies on smooth transitions between highlights, midtones, and shadows.

Option 2: Correct. Photoshop is particularly suitable for editing scanned and captured photographs because the majority of the tools it provides are for manipulating raster – or bitmap – images.

Option 3: Incorrect. Photoshop's painting and retouching tools are designed specifically for editing raster images, rather than vector images.

Option 4: Incorrect. Photoshop is best suited for working with raster artwork, which loses definition when enlarged. Vector graphics can be created using Photoshop. However, they are not photo-realistic.

Correct answer(s):

1. Creating artwork with soft transitions and shadows 2. Retouching digital photographs

2. Photoshop file formats

Photoshop supports 16 file formats, but you can use plug-ins to increase this support to 35 formats.

Each file format saves an image to disk in a different way, and has specific uses. Many file formats support compression, helping you to reduce file size.

You can recognize each file type by its three- or four-character file extension. For example, a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file has a .gif extension.

Photoshop has two of its own native formats, including

Photoshop Document (PSD, PDD)

PSD is Photoshop's default native format, and uses a .psd file extension. It's optimized for Photoshop files. It can save information related to any of Photoshop's features by using a lossless compression algorithm to reduce file size without any loss of data. Photoshop opens and saves PSD files faster than files in any other format.

A secondary file format supported by Photoshop is PDD, which uses the .pdd file format. PDD files are very similar to PSD files. PDD was the default file format for the discontinued Adobe PhotoDeluxe. It's still available to provide compatibility.

Print, Strength, Bandwidth (PSB)

Also known as Large Document Format, Photoshop's PSB format is designed for working with large files such as high dynamic range photos.

You can open and save PSB images, and you can create them from scratch once you've enabled the PSB option in Photoshop. These files have a .psb file extension.

Few other applications support the PSD, PDD, and PSB file formats, so you may need to save artwork or images in a different format to make them accessible.

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Examples of more universal file formats that Photoshop supports include

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)

JPEG is one of the most widely-supported image formats, which makes it ideal for images that need to be accessible in other applications or published on the Web.

The JPEG format uses .jpg or .jpeg file extensions.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

TIFF is the best format for working with scanned images and for printing high-quality images. It supports up to 24 channels and multiple layers, including transparent layers. It is supported by most raster image applications.

TIFF uses .tif or .tiff file extensions.

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS)

EPS images are essentially vector images that use the PostScript language to describe their elements. If you're using a PostScript printer to print images, you can print faster and more reliably by using files in this format. EPS files have an .eps file extension.

EPS is suitable for exporting images to many vector-based drawing and desktop publishing programs. When you save an image in EPS format, you can choose various printing-specific options. You can also choose to save the image as a raster image.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

The PNG file format is designed for publishing images with lossless compression on the Web. It's a useful format and is supported by both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. You can use the PNG file format when you want to preserve image transparencies or when you need 24-bit image support.

When working with Photoshop file formats, you can choose to compress images that are in the JPEG format using one of 13 compression settings, each of which offers a different level of compression and quality. However, a disadvantage of compressing JPEG images is that it involves the loss of some image data. To minimize loss of quality, you should save an image in JPEG format only when you've finished editing it.

You should use JPEG for continuous images such as photographs. However, you should rather use the GIF format for line drawings and schematics.

Images in the TIFF format can use three types of compression - lossless Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) or ZIP compression, or lossy JPEG compression. When you save a file in TIFF format, you can choose to keep Photoshop layers independent and choose a compression scheme for the layers. However, these features are not supported by all TIFF applications, so you should use lossless compression and remove any layers for compatibility.

Photoshop supports camera raw files. A camera raw file contains unprocessed picture data from a digital camera's image sensor.

The (DNG) file format is the file format Photoshop uses to standardize camera raw files. The DNG file format was designed to provide compatibility by standardizing the saving of camera raw files into one file format.

You can use the Camera Raw plug-in in Photoshop to save camera raw image data in the DNG format.

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Photoshop supports Wireless Bitmaps (WBMP). The WBMP format is used for the black-and-white images that display on the screens of some cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

You can use Photoshop to export and import black-and-white bitmaps to and from this format.

You can use Photoshop to save images as a movie frame. Photoshop supports several proprietary video formats, including Kodak's Cineon, TrueVision's TGA, Premiere Filmstrip, and Pixar's animation format.

If you are using Photoshop Extended, you can use the new

Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) file formats

DICOM is the most common standard method of communication between medical imaging devices. You can use Photoshop Extended to open and work with DICOM file formats.

Many DICOM files contain multiple layers of a scan. Photoshop reads the frames and converts them to Photoshop layers you can work with. You can then use Photoshop tools to adjust, mark up, or annotate the files. For example, you can use the Dust and Scratches filter to remove any dust and scratches from the scan.

MATLAB file formats

MATLAB is a numerical computing environment and a programming language. You can use the MATLAB environment to plot functions and data, visualize data, and perform data analysis.

You can use Photoshop Extended to view MATLAB image processing results, and combine MATLAB commands with the editing features in Photoshop.

You can use a number of other less common file formats in Photoshop.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Less Common File Formats

View information about additional file formats in Photoshop.

Launch window

Question

Match each file extension to its description.

Options:

A. .psd B. .jpg C. .tif D. .png E. .dng

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Targets:

1. Supports the full range of Photoshop features 2. Provides the best compression options for photographs 3. Enables you to save up to 24 channels and multiple layers 4. Used to publish images on the Web with lossless compression 5. Used to standardize camera raw files to one file format in Photoshop

Answer

The PSD format is Photoshop's native format, so it's optimized for performance with Photoshop.

The JPEG format can compress images more effectively than any other format. However, images in this format lose quality when compressed - the higher the compression, the lower the quality.

The TIFF format enables you to save layers and to select compression settings for the layers.

The PNG file format is designed for publishing images with lossless compression on the Web. It's supported by both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The DNG file format provides compatibility by enabling you to save camera raw files into one file format.

Correct answer(s):

Target 1 = Option A

Target 2 = Option B

Target 3 = Option C

Target 4 = Option D

Target 5 = Option E

3. Photoshop Help

Photoshop is a very powerful tool with numerous capabilities, so one of the most challenging aspects for users is learning how to use these capabilities.

You can use various help features in Photoshop to find out what all the different options and tools are for.

You can use either

in-product help

The in-product help system is the built-in help that is included in Photoshop. All the documentation and instructional content are only as up to date as the point at which your version of Photoshop was released.

LiveDocs help

The LiveDocs help is the online help database for numerous Adobe products. LiveDocs includes all the in- product help, as well as any updates and links to additional help material.

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Try It

You have installed CS3 and you now want to launch it.

To complete the task

1. Select Start - All Programs 2. Select Adobe Photoshop CS3

Photoshop launches.

Now that you have opened Photoshop, you want to view the in-product help. You can access the in-product help from the Adobe Help Viewer within Photoshop.

You select Help - Photoshop Help to access the Adobe Help Viewer.

Keyboard Sequence

The keyboard alternative to launch the Adobe Help Viewer is F1.

Once the Help Viewer launches, you can use the various sections of the Help Viewer window to navigate around the Adobe help topics.

Toolbar

You can use the tools on the Help Viewer toolbar to navigate through the different pages of a selected help topic. You can also print a selected help topic and view version and product information about the Adobe Help Viewer you are using.

You can use the Browse drop-down list to browse the help topics for other Adobe products installed on your computer. This helps facilitate cross-product learning.

Finally, you can use the Search text field to search for various help topics based on the keywords or phrases you enter.

Categories pane

You can use the expandable items on the Categories pane to navigate manually through all help topics by category. For example, all the help topics related to printing are under the Printing expandable category.

Display area

You view any help topic you have selected in the Display area of the Help Viewer window. The help topics displayed in the Display area may include links to other relevant help topics.

Suppose you now want to view the help topics in the Getting Started category in the Help Viewer.

You expand the Getting Started node.

Try It

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You decide to view the "Image editing improvements" help topic in the "What's new?" subcategory.

To complete the task

1. Click the + (plus sign) icon for the What's new? category 2. Select the Image editing improvements topic link

The "Image editing improvements" help topic displays in the Display area.

You discover that Photoshop CS3 includes some cloning tool improvements. You decide that you want to find out more about the cloning tool in Photoshop.

To search for relevant help topics, you type Clone tool in the Search text box and press the Enter key.

Photoshop displays a list of appropriate help topics. You can now select the most appropriate help topic from the list to display it.

SkillCheck

Launch Adobe Photoshop CS3 and search for help using the keyword "Gradients" in the Adobe Help Viewer, and use the Enter key provided.

Task:

1. Launch Adobe Photoshop CS3 from the Start menu. 2. Launch the Adobe Help Viewer. 3. Perform a search using the keyword "Gradients."

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Start - All Programs - Adobe Photoshop CS3

Step 2: Select Help - Photoshop Help

Step 3: Type Gradients in the Search text box and click the Enter key provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

Summary

Adobe Photoshop CS3 is an image editing application that is primarily designed for working with raster images, which consist of pixels. Although it supports some features for working with mathematically defined vector images, its main value is in processing scanned artwork and photographs from digital cameras, and in creating or modifying artwork.

Photoshop supports a wide range of file formats for storing images in different ways. The native formats include Photoshop Documents (PSD and PDD) and Print, Strength, Bandwidth (PSB). It also supports more universal formats such as Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), Encapsulated

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PostScript (EPS), and Portable Network Graphics (PNG). Photoshop supports the Digital Negative (DNG) file format for camera raw data, the Wireless Bitmaps (WBMP) format, and multiple video formats. Photoshop also now supports Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) and MATLAB processing.

You can use either the in-product or LiveDocs help features to access help information on Photoshop topics.

The Photoshop CS3 Interface Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize the main components of the Photoshop interface . customize the Photoshop interface 1. The Photoshop interface

Adobe Photoshop CS3 has an overall interface that differs from the interface in previous versions of Photoshop. Some of the interface elements have been altered to give you more space for images.

In addition to the Photoshop menu bar, you will use three main interface elements when working with images. These interface elements are close to the image area, making it quicker and easier to use them to alter images.

Toolbox

You can use the various tool buttons in the Tools palette - more commonly referred to as the toolbox - to select the tools you want to use to edit or create an image. Once you have activated a tool, you can use it to make selections, paint and draw, add and manipulate text, and apply effects to the image.

You can use the color and mask controls to view the current foreground and background colors. You can then change the foreground and background colors, apply masks to the image, and change the image view.

Options bar

You can use the Options bar to configure the settings of the currently selected tool. The settings available on the Options bar change according to the tool you select.

Palettes

The palettes in Photoshop all contain controls for a specific purpose. For example, the Color palette contains controls for mixing and selecting colors. The Layers palette contains controls for creating, deleting, managing, and configuring layers.

Photoshop groups the related palettes so that it's easier for you to find the appropriate controls. For example, the Color, Swatches, and Styles palettes are all grouped.

Palettes behave in much the same way as image windows. You can move them around, resize them, and close them.

Adobe has changed the format of the toolbox in Photoshop CS3 to try and maximize the vertical area of most modern monitors. In previous versions of Photoshop, the toolbox was a double column of tools.

By default, the toolbox is now a single vertical column. However, if you prefer the double column toolbox, you can easily expand the toolbox by clicking the Double-arrow icon above the toolbox.

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The toolbox is then spread over two columns.

Not all the tools can be shown at all times, so to conserve space, most of the tools contain hidden menus that provide access to extra, related tools.

You can access these extra hidden tools by selecting the small triangle on the bottom right corner of many of the tool buttons.

For example, if you click and hold the triangle on the Slice Tool button, the hidden menu displays the Slice Tool and the Select Slice Tool options.

There are numerous tool buttons displayed on the double column toolbox, and even though they are grouped logically by function, you still may be confused as to what they are.

You can hover your mouse over a tool button that you are unsure of, and Photoshop displays the tool's name in a tooltip.

In this case, a tooltip informs you that the button you've positioned your cursor over is for the Brush Tool.

Once you've selected a different tool, the options on the Options bar change accordingly so that you can configure the current tool.

For the Brush tool, for example, you can configure brush type, style and size, as well as the mode, opacity, and flow of the tool.

Question

Match the interface element to their descriptions. Not all of the elements match to a description.

Options:

A. Toolbox B. Options bar C. Palette D. Menu bar

Targets:

1. Contains various logically grouped buttons for accessing tools 2. Used to configure settings for the selected tool 3. Can be moved, resized, and closed

Answer

The toolbox contains buttons for numerous tools. Some of these buttons have hidden menus, which contain options for activating tools with related uses.

The tool settings you can configure on the Options bar are dependant on the selected tool. As you switch from one tool to another, the options change.

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Palettes group controls that are used for a specific purpose. You can move palettes around, resize them, and close them.

Correct answer(s):

Target 1 = Option A

Target 2 = Option B

Target 3 = Option C

2. Customizing the interface

Many of the palettes you will use have multiple related tabs. For example, the Color palette consists of the Color, Swatches, and Styles tabs. You can consider these a set of palettes.

You can use each of the grouped palettes to perform different, but related, tasks. You can use the Color palette to select a new color and alter its red-green-blue (RGB) balance.

You can then click the Swatches tab and use the Swatches palette to select a commonly used color swatch, either as a foreground or background color.

You can use the Styles palette to select a different style to apply to a selected color, including gradients and other styles.

Palettes are a very dynamic element of the Photoshop interface and enable you to:

 access additional menu options specific to the palette

 minimize the palette so that only its title bar displays

You can access the menu options for a specific palette by clicking the palette's down-pointing arrow.

Try It

You decide you want to change the Color palette so that it displays sliders for setting CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color instead of RGB (red, green, blue) color.

To complete the task

1. Click the down-pointing arrow on the Color palette and select CMYK Sliders from the palette menu

The Color palette displays C, M, Y, and K sliders instead of R, G, and B sliders.

Suppose you are now finished using the Histogram palette for a while, but you don't want to close it entirely.

You display only its title bar, you click the Minimize button.

The Histogram palette is minimized so that only the names of the tabs it contains display.

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You can resize the palettes in Photoshop. The new version of Photoshop enables you to resize palettes from multiple corners and edges.

You will know where you can resize the palette from by the double arrow feedback mouse cursor that appears. You decide to make the Color palette a bit larger by clicking and dragging its left border.

As you resize one palette, all the other palettes docked to it are resized with it.

You can move the palettes around the interface to best suit your needs. Photoshop includes a snapping feature.

As you move a palette close to the edge of your screen, a blue line appears and Photoshop pulls it to align perfectly with the edge. This snapping enables you to structure your palettes neatly.

If you want to temporarily disable snapping in order to move a palette around without it aligning to the edge of the screen, you can press and hold the Ctrl key while moving the palette.

Try It

You have now customized your palettes to suit your needs, and you decide that you want to close the Layers palette.

To complete the task

1. Click the Close button on the Layers palette

The Layers palette is closed.

If you need the Layers palette later, you can open it from the Window menu, which lists all of the available palettes.

Another feature of the Photoshop interface is the palette docks. A dock is basically a container for palettes attached vertically to one side of the screen.

Docks are useful because they provide structure for the interface. They differ from free-floating stacks of palettes in that you can

 collapse docks to display all the palettes as icons

 populate docks with additional palettes

Say you want to collapse all the currently docked palettes. To do this, you click the Collapse to Icons double arrow icon of the appropriate dock.

The Color, Swatches, Styles, Histogram, and Info palettes collapse and labeled icons display in their place. To expand the palettes again, you click the same button a second time.

Note

Once a dock is collapsed to icons, the name of the double arrow button changes to Expand Dock.

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By default, the Photoshop interface already contains a collapsed dock with many of the available palettes displayed as icons.

You can expand and work with the palette simply by clicking the appropriate icon.

Graphic

The Tool Presets icon has been clicked in this example, and the Tool Presets panel displays alongside the default dock.

You have decided to make the Brushes palette a part of the main dock. You begin by expanding the dock so that the Color, Swatches, Styles, Histogram, and Info palettes are shown in full – with the Histogram and Info palettes minimized but not collapsed.

You expand the Brushes palette.

To populate the dock, you then click and drag the Brushes palette tab to the appropriate dock.

You release the mouse button only when the blue placement line is in the right place on the dock.

Only the Brushes palette is added to the dock because you moved only a single palette tab.

If you had wanted both the Brushes and Clone Source palettes to be moved as a set, you would need to drag the title bar instead.

After you have been using Photoshop for a while, you will find the best arrangement for your interface. It takes a little experience to know which palettes you use most often.

Once you have customized the interface, you can save your workspace.

Try It

Say you want to save the current workspace – which you've found best for using painting tools on images – with the intuitive name "Painting."

To complete the task

1. Click the Workspace button arrow and select Save Workspace 2. Type Painting in the Name text box and click Save The Save Workspace dialog box includes a Name text box and a Capture section with Palette Locations, Keyboard Shortcuts, and Menus checkboxes. The Palette Locations checkbox is selected by default.

The Painting workspace is saved.

Once you have saved a workspace, you can access it from the Workspace drop-down menu.

Note

You can also save and access workspaces from the Window menu.

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One of the most useful features in Photoshop is the ability to clear your entire workspace of everything except the menu bar and the image you're currently working on.

You clear the workspace by pressing the Tab key on your keyboard.

You return your workspace to normal by pressing Tab again.

SkillCheck

You are working on an image in Photoshop and want to customize the interface to suit your current needs.

Close the Histogram palette, collapse the main dock to icons, and save the workspace as the "Work" workspace.

Task:

1. Close the appropriate palette and collapse the dock. 2. Select the appropriate options to save the workspace. 3. Enter the appropriate name and save the workspace.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Click the Close button for the Histogram palette and click the Collapse to icons button

Step 2: Select Workspace - Save Workspace

Step 3: Type Work in the Name text box and click Save

Summary

You access and manage Photoshop tools using the toolbox and a range of palettes. The toolbox contains buttons for selecting tools and working with colors and masks. Some of the tool buttons include hidden menus that provide access to extra, related tools. You can use the Options bar to configure settings for a selected tool. Related palettes - such as the color-related palettes - are grouped.

Each palette has a palette menu that enables you to configure the controls it contains. You can minimize, resize, and move the palettes around the interface. The palettes snap to align with the screen's edge. You can also place the palettes in docks and collapse them so that only their icons display.

Once you have customized the interface to best suit your needs, you can save the workspace. You can also use the Tab key to toggle between an interface that displays only the menu bar and your artwork, and the full interface.

Save, Print, and Undo Changes in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. save images and duplicates

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. set up an image for printing . undo changes using the History Palette 1. Saving images and duplicates

It's important for you to save files regularly when working in Adobe Photoshop. Saving ensures that you don't lose new files or the changes you've made to existing files if you experience computer problems.

You can save a file in a new format but in the same directory as the original version.

By default, the new file has the same name as the original file, but with a different file extension to indicate its changed format. You can save the same file in multiple file formats.

You can duplicate a version of a file. You can then apply changes to the duplicate version, without altering the original version.

This enables you to assess the effects of changes you make before finalizing them, or permanently altering the original file version.

Suppose you want to save the Buffalo.tif image file in a different file format.

You begin by selecting File - Save As.

Keyboard Sequence

The keyboard alternative is Shift+Ctrl+S.

The Save As dialog box enables you to specify how and where to save the file.

Graphic

The Save As dialog box contains a Save in drop-down list box, a File name text box, a Format drop-down list box, a Save Options section, a Color section, a Use OS Dialog button, as well as the following buttons: Cancel, and Save.

The Save Options section contains the following checkboxes: As a Copy, Alpha Channels, Layers, Annotations, and Spot Colors. The Color section contains the following checkboxes: Use Proof Setup: Working CMYK, and ICC Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1.

Try It

The image is currently saved as a TIF file, but you want to save it as a JPEG file.

To complete the task

1. Select JPEG (*.JPG; *.JPEG; *.JPE) from the Format drop-down list 2. Click Save

The JPEG Options dialog box opens.

The Options dialog box includes two sections, which enable you to specify the required image size or quality and the display format.

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Graphic

The JPEG Options dialog box consists of two sections: Image Options, and Format Options. The dialog box also has a Preview checkbox, a Cancel button, and an OK button.

The Image Options section contains a Quality text box, a compression drop-down list box, and a horizontal slider that offers a choice between a small file and a large file.

The Format Options section contains the following radio buttons: Baseline ("Standard"), Baseline Optimized, and Progressive.

Image Options section

You can use the Image Options section to alter the quality and file size of the image. You can either use the Quality text box, the Quality drop-down list, or the file size slider to specify the quality.

Format Options section

The Format Options section enables you to specify how the JPEG will be displayed by a web browser. The Baseline ("Standard") format is the default JPEG format and displays images using rapid line-by-line passes on a regular CRT monitor, just as regular text is displayed.

The Baseline Optimized format uses Huffman encoding to reduce the image file size without reducing quality.

The Progressive format displays the image in multiple passes on screen. Images are gradually constructed and displayed as they download from a server.

As you alter the options, you can view a live preview of the image in the background. You can also view the image's file size as you make changes.

If you decrease the quality, the file size will be smaller.

You decide to drop the quality to medium level. So you select Medium from the Quality drop-down list.

The slider, file size, and Quality text box reflect the changes.

You decide to leave the format at Baseline Standard, and you click OK.

The image saves as a medium quality JPEG and you return to the Photoshop interface to continue working using the new format.

SkillCheck

You have finished working on an image you want to use in a holiday brochure. You now want to save another version of the image as a small, low-quality JPEG file, for use as a sample.

Save the image in the required format, preserving its original name and location.

Task:

1. Select the appropriate option to save another version of a file.

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2. Specify the required file format and accept the changes. 3. Specify the required quality setting and accept the changes.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Save As

Step 2: Select JPEG (*.JPG; *.JPEG; *.JPE) from the Format drop-down list and click Save

Step 3: Select Low from the Image Options quality drop-down list and click OK

Try It

Suppose you are working on an image and want to make changes to it, but without affecting the original image.

A good way to do this is to duplicate the image.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Duplicate

The Duplicate Image dialog box opens.

You can now rename the duplicate by typing over the default name. However, you decide to keep the default name.

Graphic

The Duplicate Image dialog box contains an As text box, a Cancel button, and an OK button. The name of the original image is "Sunset" and the default name of the duplicate is "Sunset copy."

You click OK to duplicate the image.

You can now work on the duplicate without affecting the original. You can also compare the duplicate to the original version to assess the effects of changes you make.

2. Setting up images for printing

Before printing an image, you need to configure the printing size and layout, as well as the color model, that the document uses.

Photoshop prints one image per page by default. However, you can also set it to print multiple images per page.

Photoshop supports both

desktop printing

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If your image uses RGB color mode, you should not change to CMYK when printing. Desktop printers typically accept RGB information and automatically convert to CMYK during printing. This makes printing from CMYK mode unpredictable because the conversion still takes place.

commercial printing

Commercial printing generally involves separating an image into its CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color components and making separate color plates for each of these colors.

To prepare an image for CMYK printing, you need to ensure that it uses the CMYK color mode.

You should flatten any images before you print them. This involves condensing all of the image's layers into a single layer. This reduces file size and makes the transfer of data to a printing device more reliable.

You should also save the image under a new name before printing it. This is so that you can optimize the print settings without altering the original image.

Say you want to print the "landscape" image. You have already flattened the image and saved it as a TIFF file under a new name.

You begin by selecting File - Print.

The Print dialog box opens with a preview of how the image will appear once printed. You can change the page format from Portrait to Landscape using the two buttons below the previewer.

Graphic

The Print dialog box contains a preview of the current image, a Printer drop-down list box, a number of Copies text box, a Page Setup button, and a Show Bounding Box checkbox. The dailog box also consists of three sections: Position, Scaled Print Size, and Color Management.

The Position section contains a Center Image checkbox, a Top text box, a Left text box, and a Units drop-down list box. The Scaled Print Size section contains a Scale to Fit Media checkbox, and the following percentage text boxes: Scale, Height, Width. It also has a Units drop-down list box.

The Color Management section contains two Print Options radio buttons: Document, and Proof. It also contains a Color Handling drop-down list box, and a Rendering Intent drop-down list box.

You can then set the Printer options, such as the printer you want to use and the number of copies to print.

You can also change the image's position. By default, it is centered on the page. However, you can deselect centering and adjust its distance from the top and left margins.

Graphic

The Position section of the dialog box contains the center image checkbox, the Top and Left text boxes, and a Units drop-down list.

You can alter the image's scaled print size by typing a new percentage to scale the image proportionally to the original.

For example, you could type 90 in the Scale text box to resize the printed image to 90% of its original size.

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Graphic

The Scaled Print Size section contains the Scale to Fit Media checkbox, and the Scale, Height, and Width text boxes. It also contains a Units drop-down list, which is set to Inches by default, and displays print resolution in pixels per inch.

You can also manually set the image's height and width.

You can toggle between the following sections for different printing options:

Color Management

You use the Color Management section to change the print settings with respect to color. You can use this section to set color handling – configuring either Photoshop or the printer to handle the image's color – and to set rendering intent to convert colors appropriately for the intended color space. The options in the Color Management drop-down list box are: Color Management, and Output.

Output

You can use the Output section to add printing marks to the image when printing. You can also alter certain attributes, such as the background color, border, or bleed effects on the print before printing. The Printing marks section contains the Calibration Bars, Registration Marks, Corner Crop Marks, Center Crop Marks, Description, Labels, Emulsion Down, and Negative checkboxes. A Functions section contains the Background, Border, Bleed, Screen, and Transfer options. It also contains the Interpolation checkbox and the Encoding drop-down list.

Try It

You have decided that you want to print the current image scaled to best fit the page. You also want the image to be printed with registration marks on it.

To complete the task

1. Select the Scale to Fit Media checkbox 2. Select Output from the Color Management drop-down list and select the Registration Marks checkbox 3. Click Print

The Standard Print dialog box opens.

You can now make any last-minute printing changes using the standard Windows Print dialog box. You can select a printer, the number of copies to print, and the pages to print. You can click the Print button to print the image.

Graphic

The Print dialog box contains the following sections: Select Printer, Status, Page Range, and Number of Copies. The Page Range section has the following radio buttons: All, Selection, Current Page, and Pages. The Number of Copies section contains a spin box, and a Collate checkbox.

The dialog box also contains a Print to File checkbox, and the following buttons: Preferences, Find Printer, Print, Cancel, and Apply.

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SkillCheck

You have edited a photograph and now want to set the image up for printing. The image is very large, so you want to print it at 85% of its original size. You also want the printed image to include center crop marks.

Perform the steps to do this.

Task:

1. Select the appropriate file options. 2. Enter the required scale percentage and select the appropriate section. 3. Select the appropriate printing mark and specify that you want to print the image.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Print

Step 2: Type 85 in the Scale text box and select Output from the Color Management drop-down list

Step 3: Select the Center Crop Marks checkbox and click Print

If you want to print an image using a commercial printer, you need to set the image color mode to CMYK.

To do this, you select Image - Mode - CMYK Color.

The image changes from RGB color mode to the CMYK color mode. You can now print the image commercially.

3. Undoing with the History palette

You can undo your last action using the Undo option on the Edit menu in Photoshop.

In addition to enabling you to undo previous changes, Photoshop provides the History palette, which gives you more control over the changes you make to an image.

This palette enables you to track the changes you make to an image, to undo specific changes, and to revert an image to a previous state.

The History palette functions either in

linear mode

Linear mode is the default mode for the History palette. When you delete a state in this mode, Photoshop automatically deletes all changes you made after that state.

non-linear mode

You can set the History palette to display states in a non-linear mode. In this mode, you can delete individual states without deleting the state changes that follow them chronologically.

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By default, the History palette is open but minimized to give you more working space.

Suppose you've made some changes to an image, and the result is not satisfactory. You now want to view the changes you made and possibly undo the unwanted ones.

You open the History palette by clicking the History button on the collapsed dock.

The History palette displays a chronological list of the changes you've made to the image. Every time the state of the image alters, the palette displays a new entry at the end of the list.

By default, the palette saves and displays a maximum of 20 states. You can increase the number of states it saves, but this increases the amount of RAM needed to run Photoshop.

The top of the History palette displays a snapshot of the image when it was first opened. You can click this snapshot to recover the original image – thereby undoing all changes you've made to it.

You can also choose to make a new snapshot of any state you select in the palette's list so that you can revert the image to that particular state at any point during a work session.

You can use the Create new document from the current state button to create a new image from the currently selected state. You can then alter and save that new image as needed.

You can use the Create new snapshot button to create a snapshot of the currently selected state. This snapshot acts like a restore point that you can use to return to the state in the snapshot, regardless of the changes you made.

You use the Delete current state button to delete the currently selected state from the History palette.

You can revert to a previous state simply by selecting the state from the list on the History palette.

In this case, you select the Brightness/Contrast state to revert to the appearance of the image before you changed its brightness and contrast.

Once you select the state, the image reverts, undoing any state underneath it. In this case, color balance changes are removed.

Note

You can redo the color balance changes by selecting the Color Balance state in the History palette.

Try It

You now want to create a new image from the Brightness/Contrast state you have selected.

To complete the task

1. Click the Create new document from the current state button

A new image is created.

The new image you created is currently active and its own history displays.

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Once you are finished with the duplicate, you save it and then close it to return to the original image.

Try It

You now want to make the CMYK Color state a snapshot so that you can revert back to it at any time.

To complete the task

1. Select the CMYK Color state and click the Create new snapshot button

A new snapshot entitled "Snapshot 1" is created.

The new snapshot you've created will act as a permanent restore point that you can use to revert the image to its CMYK Color state.

You continue working on the image.

Try It

You decide that you no longer need the Color Balance state and now want to delete it and all the states beneath it.

To complete the task

1. Select the Color Balance state, click the Delete current state button, and click Yes to confirm

The Color Balance state is deleted from the History palette.

You have now deleted the Color Balance state as well as the Hue/Saturation state, because hue and saturation changes occurred after the color balance changes you made.

To undo changes without losing later states, you first need to set the History palette to use a non-linear mode.

To do this, you expand the palette menu and select History options.

Then you click the Allow Non-Linear History checkbox and click OK.

Graphic

The History Options dialog box contains the following checkboxes: Automatically Create First Snapshot, Automatically Create New Snapshot When Saving, Allow Non-Linear History, Show New Snapshot Dialog by Default, and Make Layer Visibility Changes Undoable. It also has the following buttons: OK, and Cancel.

Once you've switched to non-linear mode, you can delete individual states without deleting the states that follow them.

The History palette loses all state information when you close the file.

SkillCheck

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You want to revert an image to a previous state.

Revert to the Feather state and save the image as a new snapshot so that it acts as a restore point.

Task:

1. Expand the collapsed History palette and select the appropriate state. 2. Create a new snapshot of the current state.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Click the History button and select the Feather state

Step 2: Click the Create new snapshot button

Summary

To save a new file in Adobe Photoshop CS3, you specify the directory location, name, and format in which you want to save it. Photoshop enables you to save copies of the same file in different formats, and to save duplicate versions of the same file.

To prepare an image for commercial or desktop printing, you need to set the appropriate color mode and use Photoshop print settings to determine the size, location, and resolution at which it prints. You then use the standard settings for your printer to determine which pages and how many copies of them to print.

The History palette enables you to track the history of changes you make to an image, to undo specific changes, and to revert an image to a previous state. You can set the palette to use a non-linear mode, which enables you to alter previous states of an image without deleting more recent states.

Using Adobe Bridge CS3 with Photoshop CS3 Learning Objective

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. use Adobe Bridge 1. Using Adobe Bridge CS3

Adobe introduced the Adobe Bridge application in the previous version of Photoshop. Adobe Bridge is a cross- program application that helps you locate, organize, and browse your files.

You can use Adobe Bridge to

 manage your images, footage, and audio files without opening their respective individual applications

 import, edit, and manage the photos from your digital camera

 perform automated tasks, such as batch processing

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 start a real-time web conference to share and review documents

You can access Adobe Bridge by selecting File - Browse in Photoshop.

Try It

An alternative method is to open Adobe Bridge directly from the Start menu, without first opening Photoshop.

To complete the task

1. Select Start - All Programs - Adobe Bridge CS3

Adobe Bridge launches.

Adobe Bridge opens with the Desktop folder selected by default in the Favorites navigation pane.

Graphic

The Adobe Bridge window contains a Favorites navigation pane that contains the following options: Bridge Home, Computer, Version Cue, Start Meeting, Adobe Stock Photos, Adobe Photographers Directory, Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. The Content details pane displays the content of the currently selected pane.

You can perform a variety of tasks using the panels of the Adobe Bridge interface.

Favorites panel

You can use the Favorites panel to perform most of the useful tasks in Adobe Bridge. You can access the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Computer areas in Windows Vista with a single click. You can use the Favorites panel to access the Bridge homepage for help and online resources.

You can also use the Favorites panel to access Adobe Version Cue, start a web conference, and access the Adobe Photographers Directory.

Folders panel

You can use the Folders panel in Adobe Bridge to navigate quickly and easily through all the folders and subfolders on your computer.

The new version of Adobe Bridge now has the Desktop node added to the top level, making it easier for you to drag and drop files to your desktop.

Content panel

You can use the Content panel to preview thumbnails of the images in a selected folder.

Adobe Bridge CS3 has changed the way thumbnails display so that they load a great deal faster. You can now scroll through the thumbnails in the Content panel faster because the screen is updated with high-quality images only when you stop scrolling. The latest version of Adobe Bridge also allows you to drag-select files, whereas you couldn't before.

Filter panel

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You can use the Filter panel to filter the files displayed in the Content panel. The Filter panel is larger and more powerful in the new version of Adobe Bridge.

You can use it to search for images using more criteria, such as keywords, file type, ratings, and orientation.

All the panels in Adobe Bridge can be resized and moved to suit your needs. For example, if you want to view files' details rather than thumbnails, you can shrink and move the Content panel.

Adobe Bridge was created to replace the File Browser feature in previous versions of Adobe products, including Photoshop, so one of its main functions is navigation.

You can do the following to navigate to images in Adobe Bridge:

 select an item from the Favorites panel

 select a folder in the Folders panel

 use the Find function to search for specific items

You can use the Favorites panel to select the most commonly used Windows locations, such as the Desktop, the Documents folder, and the Pictures folder.

In this case, you select the Pictures folder and its contents display in the Content panel.

You can now open and view the contents of any of the folders in the Pictures folder.

Try It

When you need to navigate to a more complex location, the best method is to navigate using the Folders panel.

Suppose you need to find images of fruit, which are stored in the Fruit subfolder on your computer.

To complete the task

1. Select the Folders tab, expand the Work pictures folder, expand the Food subfolder, and select the Fruit folder

The contents of the Fruit subfolder display in the Content panel.

You can use the Folders panel to navigate through and search multiple folders and subfolders on your computer.

However, if you are unsure of the exact location of a file but know some other details of the file, you need to use the Find feature.

Try It

Say you want to use the Find feature to locate the image file named "Whitewater."

To complete the task

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1. Select Edit - Find

The Find dialog box opens.

Depending on what you know about the file you are looking for, you can use different sections in the Find dialog box to look for the file.

Source section

You use the Source section to select the general folder you want to search.

Criteria section

You can use the Criteria section to set the search criteria and parameters. By default, this section sets Photoshop to search by filename, and you can specify words that the filename should contain.

However, you can choose to search by creation date, file size, document type, and numerous other criteria. You can set the parameters to a file containing, not containing, starting with, ending with, equal to, or not equal to the criteria you've defined. You then enter the appropriate search text and begin the search.

Results section

You can use the Results section to restrict the results to only those files that match all the criteria you've set. You can also set the Find function to include subfolders and unindexed files in the search.

You now want to find the Whitewater image file. The only other detail you know about this file is that it should be in the Work pictures folder.

So you select Work pictures from the Look in drop-down list in the Source section.

You leave the search criteria set to "Filename" and "contains," and you type Whitewater in the Enter Text text box.

You want the search to be quite broad, so you leave the Results section to display files that meet any of the criteria you set.

You then select the Include All Subfolders checkbox to ensure all subfolders are searched.

Finally, you click Find to begin searching.

Adobe Bridge displays the file or files that match your search criteria. In this case, it has found the appropriate image file.

SkillCheck

You are creating a holiday brochure for a client and you want to use the Folders panel in Adobe Bridge to view the images in the Scenery subfolder. The Scenery subfolder is on the C: drive in the Project pictures - Travel folder.

Launch Adobe Bridge from the Start menu and then navigate to the subfolder.

Task:

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1. Launch Adobe Bridge CS3 from the Start menu. 2. Access the appropriate tabbed page. 3. Navigate to the Scenery subfolder.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Start - All Programs - Adobe Bridge CS3

Step 2: Click the Folders tab

Step 3: Expand Local Disk (C:), expand the Project pictures folder, expand the Travel folder, and select the Scenery folder

You can use Adobe Bridge to label and rate files as you review them. You can then sort the files according to their labels or ratings.

For example, if you are previewing hundreds of images for a project, you can label the ones you want to keep. You can then sort all files so that only the labeled files display.

You can also label and rate folders and read-only media such as CDs.

Try It

You are working on a brochure for Portage Airlines and now want to label all the airplane images in the currently selected folder as "Review."

You have already selected all the necessary images.

To complete the task

1. Select the Label menu 2. Select Review

The images are labeled with a light blue-green bar, the default indicator for images requiring review.

Once you have labeled the images, you can sort the files so that only the labeled images display.

The Labels section in the Filter panel displays how many images were labeled, the color of the label, and the type of label.

Try It

You can give the images ratings to help you organize them better. Suppose you want to give image 5132.jpg a rating of four stars.

To complete the task

1. Select the 5132.jpg image in the top row

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2. Select Label in the menu bar and then select ****

The image is rated with four stars.

Once you've rated the image, the rating is shown under the Ratings section in the Filter panel.

Summary

Adobe Bridge is a cross-program application that helps you locate, organize, and browse your Adobe-related files. It contains the Favorites, Folders, Content, and Filters panels. You can label and rate image files using Adobe Bridge and then sort them so that only those files display.

View and Edit Images in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objective

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. edit an image size 1. Image size and resolution

Most Adobe Photoshop CS3 tools are for working with raster images, which consist of arrays of colored pixels arranged in grids.

The pixels are usually indistinguishable unless you enlarge or zoom in on an image. As a result, colors in a raster image appear to blend, even though each individual pixel has a single color.

The way in which pixels are distributed in a Photoshop image determines the following properties of the image:

resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels per unit of measurement - pixels per inch (ppi) or pixels per centimeter (ppc) - when an image is represented on screen or paper. The more pixels per inch, the higher the resolution of an image.

Higher resolution images can display more detail and create the illusion of continuous tone.

document size

Document size - or pixel dimension - is an estimate of the physical size of the image, which is a function of its resolution and the number of pixels it contains.

Changing the document size of an image changes its resolution and can reduce the quality of the printed image, but can also reduce file size.

file size

The file size of an image - the amount of space it takes up on disk - is directly related to the number of pixels it contains, because color information must be stored for each pixel in the image.

To decrease the file size of an image for display on the Web, for example, you need to reduce the number of

Page 34 of 196 pixels it contains. Decreasing the resolution or document size has no effect unless you use resampling to do this. Resampling involves changing the number of pixels in an image or its resolution.

The quality of an image - the amount of detail it displays and the smoothness of its transitions - depends on the number of pixels it includes and its resolution.

Higher resolution always results in improved image quality. Unless they contain a large number of pixels, however, images can look very small when displayed at high resolutions.

For example, a 600 by 600 pixel image measures only one square inch when printed on a printer at 600 ppi resolution.

You can increase the printed dimensions of the image by increasing its document size, but this effectively reduces the resolution and quality of the image, unless you resample it at the same time.

You can optimize image quality by including as many pixels in an image as possible. This enables you to print or display it at high resolution without compromising quality.

However, file size increases dramatically with the number of pixels. An RGB (red, green, blue) image measuring 4,000 by 6,000 pixels, at a default resolution of 72 ppi, for example, requires around 70 MB of disk space and occupies 70 MB of RAM while you're working with it.

You should use such large files only when a large-scale, high-resolution display is required. For example, you would use large files with high resolutions to print detailed images at high quality on a commercial printer.

There are two kinds of resolution that change the way an image displays:

image resolution

The resolution of an image is determined by the number of image pixels in a given area. An image with a high resolution may have as many as 300 pixels per inch (ppi), while a low resolution may include 72 or 96 ppi.

monitor resolution

The monitor resolution is a measure of the number of monitor pixels in a given area, and – like image resolution – is usually measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Image pixels are translated directly into monitor pixels if the image's pixel dimensions are the same size as the monitor's resolution.

Often in Photoshop an image's resolution is higher than the monitor's, causing the image to display larger on screen than its specified print dimensions.

At a zoom of 100%, one image pixel translates directly to one monitor pixel. Unless the monitor and image resolutions are exactly the same, the image is scaled accordingly on screen.

You can change the relation between screen pixels and image pixels to zoom in or out on an image. If you zoom in to 200%, for example, every image pixel is represented by four screen pixels in a square of two pixels by two pixels.

As you zoom in on an image, the image pixels appear larger on screen. Eventually it becomes impossible to see the original image, but you can select and edit individual pixels.

Zoom settings temporarily change the view size of an image on screen, but they have no effect on the number of pixels in the image or its resolution.

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Question

Match the image concepts to their definitions.

Options:

A. Document size B. File size C. Resolution D. View size

Targets:

1. The output or pixel dimensions of an image 2. The amount of disk space an image occupies 3. The number of pixels per unit of space 4. The apparent size of an image displayed on a screen, which is increased when you zoom in

Answer

Document size refers to the physical output dimensions of an image at a specified resolution.

The file size of an image is the amount of disk space it occupies, which depends directly on the total number of pixels in the image.

Resolution is the density of pixels in an image, expressed as the number of pixels per inch (ppi) or pixels per centimeter (ppc).

View size - the apparent size of an image displayed on screen - depends on the proportional relationship between screen pixels and image pixels. This proportion is also called the zoom ratio.

Correct answer(s):

Target 1 = Option A

Target 2 = Option B

Target 3 = Option C

Target 4 = Option D

2. View and zoom tools

When you open an image in Photoshop, it displays at a zoom ratio suitable for viewing the whole image. If the image is smaller than the available space on the interface, it displays at a zoom of 100% - one screen pixel for every image pixel.

However, if an image is larger than the available space, Photoshop shrinks it to the largest zoom ratio that enables the whole image to appear on screen.

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The current zoom ratio is indicated in the title bar of the image.

The current zoom ratio is also displayed at the left-hand corner of the status bar on the image.

You can use the Zoom feature to alter the zoom ratio of an image in a number of different ways:

 using the Zoom tool on the Options bar and its associated options

 using the zoom options in the Navigator palette

 typing the required zoom ratio in the image's status bar

 using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+ to zoom in or Ctrl- to zoom out

You decide to view the current image at its actual size, so you click the Zoom Tool to access the zoom options.

You can now use the additional zooming options on the Options bar to perform various tasks.

Graphic

With the Zoom Tool selected, the Options bar contains a Preset Tool picker, a Zoom In button, a Zoom Out button, a Resize Windows to Fit checkbox, a Zoom All Windows checkbox, and the following buttons: Actual Pixels, Fit Screen, and Print Size.

You can use the options to select and load tool presets. You can also choose to use the Zoom tool to zoom in to the image, or to zoom out from it.

Graphic

The relevant options include the Zoom Tool Preset picker and the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons.

You can also change what is zoomed when you use the Zoom tool.

You can choose to resize the image window as you zoom on the image, and you can even apply this change to all open image windows.

Graphic

The options to perform these tasks include the Resize Windows to Fit and the Zoom All Windows checkboxes.

You can use the preset zooming buttons to automatically zoom to a predefined zoom ratio.

Actual Pixels

You use the Actual Pixels button to change the image's zoom ratio to its actual pixel dimensions.

The image's window doesn't change size to accommodate the change in zoom ratio.

Fit Screen

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You use the Fit Screen button to automatically change the zoom ratio so that the image fills the maximum possible area on the interface.

Print Size

You use the Print Size button to automatically change the zoom ratio to the image's approximate printed size.

Try It

Suppose you want to use the preset zooming options to change the image's zoom ratio to its actual pixel size.

To complete the task

1. Click the Actual Pixels button

The image's zoom ratio changes to 100%.

You can now view and edit the image at its actual pixel dimensions.

Note

You can also access zooming features using the View menu.

When you alter the zoom ratio, the red rectangle in the Navigator palette representing the area of the image on screen changes size accordingly.

You can use the zoom slider in the Navigation palette to change the zoom ratio of the image. As you drag the slider, the red rectangle changes its proportions to represent the new screen area occupied by the image.

For a more precise zoom, you can type the exact zoom ratio you want in the Zoom text box in the Navigator palette.

The Zoom text box on the image's status bar performs the same function as the Zoom text box in the Navigator palette.

You can simply type the exact zoom ratio you want and press Enter on your keyboard to apply the new zoom.

Question

Identify different ways you can change the zoom ratio of an image in Photoshop.

Options:

1. Use the Zoom tool and its predefined options 2. Use the zoom slider on the Navigator palette 3. Type the required value in the image's status bar 4. Increase the number of pixels in an image to increase the zoom ratio 5. Change the zoom ratio in the image's title bar

Answer

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Option 1: Correct. You can use the Zoom tool and its predefined options to change the zoom ratio by a standard amount.

Option 2: Correct. You can use the zoom slider in the Navigator palette to increase or decrease the zoom ratio. This method is less precise than typing an exact ratio.

Option 3: Correct. You can type the exact zoom ratio you need in the image's status bar to change the zoom ratio very accurately.

Option 4: Incorrect. If you increase the number of pixels an image contains, you are increasing its resolution. An image's resolution has no effect on the image size, so the image won't appear larger as it would if you increased its zoom ratio.

Option 5: Incorrect. The image's zoom ratio is displayed in the image's title bar. However, it can't be changed from there.

Correct answer(s):

1. Use the Zoom tool and its predefined options 2. Use the zoom slider on the Navigator palette 3. Type the required value in the image's status bar

3. Editing image size

Photoshop provides two ways of changing the size of an image:

document resizing

Document resizing involves changing an image's height and width dimensions.

Resizing a document - without resampling - doesn't change the number of pixels in the image, so no distortion is introduced. You can freely resize an image any number of times without reducing its quality.

However, resizing has limited usefulness for enlarging an image for printing, because it enlarges the print size of the pixels and reduces print quality, altering the image's print resolution.

resampling

Resampling an image changes the number of pixels in an image, so it involves either removing or adding pixels and recalculating the color values of pixels. With resampling enabled, you can edit an image's resolution and its dimensions independently.

If you reduce the number of pixels in an image, Photoshop averages the color values of adjacent pixels to the ones it removes. If you increase the number of pixels, resampling interpolates the colors of the new pixels using a mathematical algorithm.

You can resize and resample an image at the same time, for example by reducing the number of pixels in the image and altering its resolution.

Resizing is useful if you need an image to fit into a predefined space – such as a column in a publication or a designated area of a web page – without changing its dimensions.

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You should be cautious when using resampling - particularly when increasing the number of pixels in an image - because it causes an irreversible loss of image quality. It is always better to start out with an image of the right size and resolution than to resample it to fit.

Try It

Suppose you want to resize the current image to print at a width of 6 inches.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Image Size

The Image Size dialog box opens, providing options that enable you to resize and resample the image.

The first section of the dialog box displays the image's dimensions in pixels.

Graphic

The Pixels Dimensions section displays the Height and Width text boxes, each with a corresponding unit of measurement drop-down list box.

You can view the image's dimensions in inches and its resolutions in pixels per inch in the Document Size section.

Graphic

The Document Size section contains Height and Width text boxes. Each of the text boxes has a corresponding units drop-down list box from which the unit of measurement can be selected.

The final section of the dialog box contains a number of checkboxes. These enable you to maintain the current image proportions, enable or disable resampling, and ensure that any scale effects change proportionally when the image is resized. There is also a drop-down list for selecting the types of resampling you want to apply.

Graphic

The three checkbox options are Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions, and Resample Image. The Resample image checkbox has a corresponding drop-down list.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Resampling in Photoshop

Select the launch window for more information about resampling in Photoshop.

Launch window

In this case, you want to retain the highest possible image quality when you resize the image. You are making the image smaller, but you don't want Photoshop to decrease the number of pixels.

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You begin by clearing the Resample Image checkbox because you want to retain all image data. Downsampling deletes image data.

This deactivates the settings in the Pixel Dimensions section.

You want to change the width of the image to 6 inches, so you type 6 in the Width text box.

Because the Constrain Proportions option was selected, the height dimension of the image changes proportionally to prevent distortion in the image.

The resolution displayed in the Document Size section also changes. You deactivated resampling, so the number of pixels remains the same, but they are now in a smaller area. This has increased the resolution of the image to a higher ppi value.

You can view the image's dimensions in a number of different measurement units. You simply select the measurement unit from the appropriate drop-down list.

Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made, you click OK to accept them.

Changing the print size of the image doesn't change the way it appears on screen, so you can't see any visible change in the image.

The file size of the image also remains constant because the number of pixels has not changed.

SkillCheck

You need to resize an image. You want the image to have a width of 5 inches but to retain its proportions. You don't want any pixels to be removed when you make the image smaller.

Perform the steps to do this.

Task:

1. Open the Image Size dialog box. 2. Ensure the image won't lose pixels, specify the required width, and accept the changes.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Image Size

Step 2: Clear the Resample Image checkbox, type 5 in the Width text box, and click OK

4. Cropping images

Cropping is the process of isolating a selected area in an image and discarding the rest of it. You crop images to remove unnecessary elements or to focus on the most important elements.

Cropping images reduces file size by removing unnecessary or unwanted areas.

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Suppose you want to crop an image to focus on the people in the raft.

You select the Crop Tool in the toolbox.

The mouse cursor changes to the crop mouse cursor, and you can now crop freehand by clicking on the starting point and dragging the tool to match the desired dimensions on the image.

Another way to crop is to use the tools in the Options bar that become available once you select the Crop Tool.

Cropping tool presets

You can select a predefined cropping size from the Crop Tool Presets drop-down list. The crop sizes range from 4 inches by 6 inches to 8 inches by 10.

Width and Height text boxes

You can use the Width and Height text boxes to enter an exact width and height for the cropping area that you need. This enables you to crop images more accurately, to exact specifications.

You can set the resolution of the area that you need to crop for resampling. You define this in either ppi or ppc.

Finally, you can use the Front Image button to automatically use dimensions and resolution values from another image.

You use the Clear button to clear all width, height, and resolution settings you may have entered.

Once you have defined the crop settings using options on the Options bar, you drag a box around the area you want to preserve.

This selects the area and defines it with a marquee. The rest of the image is covered with a semi-transparent mask.

Once the cropping area is selected, you can drag the marquee to move it, and you can drag the handles at the corners and along the sides of the marquee to resize it.

When you position the pointer outside the marquee, it changes into a curved arrow. You can then rotate the marquee by dragging the pointer.

Try It

You are now ready to crop the image and want to accept the current changes.

To complete the task

1. Click the Commit current crop operation button on the Options bar

The image is cropped and the selected area remains at its original zoom ratio.

Photoshop has applied the crop and retained the original zoom ratio of 24%. You can increase the zoom ratio and continue working on the image.

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You have decreased the number of pixels in the image because you have decreased its area, so the file size is now smaller.

Question

Match the cropping options to the most appropriate scenarios in which you would use them.

Options:

A. Select an area freehand B. Select a preset crop size C. Enter exact height and width dimensions

Targets:

1. You need to crop an image to place more focus on the subject matter, but an exact crop isn't needed 2. You need to crop an image for a brochure with a standard print size of 4 by 6 inches 3. You need to crop an image to the exact size of 4.5 inches by 8.2 inches

Answer

You crop images freehand when there are no size constraints and the crop doesn't have to be precise.

Photoshop provides standard cropping presets you can use to constrain cropping areas to commonly used sizes, including 4 by 6 inches.

You can enter exact height and width dimensions when the size constraints for a cropped area are very specific.

Correct answer(s):

Target 1 = Option A

Target 2 = Option B

Target 3 = Option C

Now suppose you need to reduce an image to a specific print size for use in a brochure, and you decide to do this by cropping the image.

The image has large areas of landscape detail that can be omitted from the print without detracting from the impact of the image.

Try It

The layout of the brochure requires that you crop the image to a print size of 8 inches by 10 inches.

To complete the task

1. Select the Crop 8 inch x 10 inch 300 ppi option from the Crop presets drop-down list, and click the Enter key provided

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The maximum crop area is set to 8 by 10 inches.

The specifications for the crop are now specified in the Width, Height, and Resolution text boxes on the Options bar. The values represent the maximum dimensions you can use.

The preset you selected is more suited to portrait style images, so you decide to switch the Width and Height dimensions.

To do this, you click the Swaps height and width button.

The dimensions are switched.

You drag to define the cropping marquee in the usual way, but now the size of the marquee is constrained by the print size limits.

You accept the crop settings, and the image is cropped to the size of the marquee and resized to the specified print size.

Summary

The resolution of an image is the number of pixels per unit of space, and image size is the printed size of the image. You can zoom in and out of an image to view it at different sizes without affecting its resolution or its image size.

You can zoom in on part of an image to work with it in detail or zoom out for a wider perspective. The Zoom tool and the Navigator palette provide controls for changing the image view. The Actual Pixels view is the only zoom ratio that displays images without distortion, using one screen pixel per pixel in the image.

Resizing an image changes its document size and resolution without affecting the number of pixels in the image. Resampling an image changes the number of pixels it includes, and so reduces the quality of the image.

Cropping an image removes unnecessary portions of it, and therefore reduces its file size. You can crop an image to an area you define using a marquee you draw freehand or to a predefined print size. You can also rotate the area to be cropped.

Open and Resize Images in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. use Adobe Bridge . view and resize an image . customize the interface Exercise overview

In this exercise, you're required to use Adobe Bridge and Photoshop CS3.

This involves the following tasks:

 using Adobe Bridge to open an image

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 customizing the Photoshop interface  viewing and resizing an image Task 1: Using Adobe Bridge

You are creating a brochure for a client and now want to use Adobe Bridge to navigate to your image library.

Use the Folders pane in Adobe Bridge to navigate to the Work - Images subfolder on the C drive.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select the Folders panel

2. Expand Computer - Local Disk (C:) - Work - Images Task 2: Customizing the interface

You now want to customize the Photoshop interface to suit your needs.

Close the entire Histogram palette. Open the Navigator palette from the Window menu and collapse the entire palette dock to icons.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Click the Close button on the Histogram palette

2. Select Window - Navigator

3. Click the Collapse to Icons button Task 3: Viewing and resizing an image

You now want to resize the current image so that you can attach it to an e-mail to the client.

Change the image's pixel width to 500 pixels, ensuring that the image's file size will decrease and that the size change will be proportional.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select Image - Image Size

2. Type 500 in the Pixel Dimensions Width text box and click OK

An image library has been accessed in Adobe Bridge, the Photoshop CS3 interface has been customized, and an image has been resized.

Make Color Adjustments in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

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After completing this topic, you should be able to

. make color adjustments to an image . match color correction tools to their description . recognize how to use the Variations settings 1. Working with color

The same digital image will not always look the same on different computers.

Printed copies of the image can also look different when printed using a variety of computer and printer configurations.

The most noticeable variation is generally in the color of an image. You should consider color consistency for any projects with digital imagery. Test prints may look significantly different from production prints from a commercial printer.

You can configure Photoshop CS3 to limit variations in color across hardware configurations and print jobs.

To do this correctly, you first need to understand the concepts of

color models

A color model refers to the mathematical model according to which various individual colors are described. The models divide the color spectrum into a number of channels – usually three or four, so that each possible color in the model can be described using sets of three numbers, known as tuples, with one number from each channel. Photoshop can implement a number of color models. The color model used is known as the mode of an image. Three sliders for the RGB (red, green, and blue) color model are set to the values 255, 0, and 0 respectively.

color spaces

A color space is a graphical representation or mapping of the color gamut, or range of colors available within the constraints of a specific color model. A color space for a three-channel color model can be described using a three-dimensional image. Each channel is represented on one of the three axes to create a 3-D model that shows the extent of the range of colors available. For example, the RGB (red, green, and blue) color model includes several color spaces, including sRGB and Adobe RGB. Three sliders for the RGB (red, green, and blue) color model are set to 256, 0, and 0 respectively. The red slider is outside the color space, which ends at 255.

In the commonly used RGB (red, green, and blue) color model, each color is represented by a number set with values from 0 to 255 for each channel. Primary red can be represented by 255 0 0 – it has the full red spectrum and none of the other spectrums.

The RGB model is additive, so a full spectrum on all the channels describes white, and zero values on all channels describes black.

Graphic

In the RGB additive color model red and blue make purple, blue and green make turquoise, green and red make yellow, and mixing red, green, and blue makes white.

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RGB is commonly used to describe monitor or display colors because it matches the way our eyes interpret light, as opposed to how color paints are mixed. For example, red and green light can be mixed to produce yellow light.

The color space for the RGB model shows that a red with a red channel value of 256 does not exist within the color model. For example, florescent colors are not available in RGB because they are outside the RGB color space.

Another common color model is CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). These colors match the ink colors used for most commercial printing. Each channel deals with an individual ink well or layer.

Graphic

In the CMYK subtractive color model, yellow and cyan make green, cyan and magenta make navy blue, and magenta and yellow make primary red. Mixing all the colors makes a muddy black.

CMYK is a subtractive color model because it copies the way that inks interact when layered over each other. Unlike the additive RGB, a full spectrum in all the CMYK channels produces black, much like mixing paint of all the primary colors.

Note

CMYK also includes a black ink because the black produced by mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow is inferior.

Commercial printers separate each color channel and often create a printing plate for each channel. Then each plate is printed on the same page, one plate at a time. The interaction of the color channels on the page produces the required colors.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Color Modes

View a list of the color modes available.

Launch Window

Another way of rendering color is using the dimensions of hue, saturation, and brightness – the HSB color space. The hue value provides the entire color space or gamut, without shades or tints. For example a hue value of 10 is red and a value of 100 is blue.

Saturation refers to the color intensity. Low intensity colors appear to be close to flat gray. Colors with high saturation appear without any shade or black component.

Brightness refers to the perceived difference between the color and flat white. Red with high brightness results in pink, and the highest brightness results in white.

Graphic

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The HSB color space is represented by a circular band with a triangle inside it. The circle has the three RGB colors on it, blending into each other. One corner of the triangle is the same color as the nearest color on the band. Another corner is white and the third corner is black. The triangle shows all the shades of the selected color.

You can use Photoshop to adjust the hue, saturation, and brightness of an image.

To reduce image color variations across different hardware, you can

calibrate the monitor

Devices that examine your monitor's output and recommend adjustments are available. In addition, many operating systems include a series of visual inspection tests you can use to adjust your monitor's calibration.

calibrate the printer

Once the monitor is calibrated, you can print a test print of an image and manually compare the color to either the swatches or the calibrated monitor. Many printers include a series of visual inspection tests you can use to adjust your printer's calibration. 2. Automatic color correction

In Photoshop, tools you can use to analyze images with slight color problems and to apply appropriate color correction include

 Auto Levels

 Auto Contrast

 Auto Color

The Auto Levels tool examines the tonal range in each color channel. It finds the color of the lightest pixel and the color of the darkest pixel, and broadens the tonal range so that the extreme colors become flat white and black respectively.

Auto Levels also redistributes intermediate pixel values – anything between white and black – proportionately in each channel based on the color that features most within a photograph's color range. In this way, it increases the overall contrast in an image. Because Auto Levels adjusts each channel individually, this can either remove color or unintentionally add color casts.

Note

You can click the eye icon in the Channels palette to hide and display any of the red, green, and blue colors that constitute an RGB image. For example, you can hide the blue and green tones in an image to display only the red color range.

Auto Contrast performs the same adjustment as Auto Levels, but it applies an average adjustment to all the channels equally so that there is no shift in color.

Auto Contrast increases the contrast between black and white – the number of shades – without changing an image's color properties.

Auto Color performs the same adjustment as Auto Levels, examining each channels' white and black pixels.

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However, instead of finding the lightest and darkest pixels, Auto Color uses an average of the lightest and an average of the darkest pixels.

This ensures that a single white or black pixel caused by an error will not skew the adjustment for an entire channel.

Try It

You access the color correction tools via the Image menu.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments

The Adjustments submenu opens.

In this case, you select Auto Levels to apply the Auto Levels tool to the current image.

Graphic

The Adjustments submenu contains several options, amongst which are Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color.

Photoshop applies the Auto Levels color correction to the image.

Question

Match each color correction tool to its description.

Options:

A. Auto Level B. Auto Contrast C. Auto Color

Targets:

1. Maximizes the tonal range in each channel by examining the lightest and darkest two pixels 2. Applies an average adjustment to all the channels 3. Examines the average lightest and average darkest pixels to maximize tonal range

Answer

The Auto Level tool uses the two pixels on the extremes of light and dark to broaden the tonal range for a color channel.

The Auto Contrast tool performs the same adjustment to all the channels equally, so no color shift occurs.

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The Auto Color tool broadens the tonal range by examining the average lightest and darkest pixels, rather than only two pixels.

Correct answer(s):

Target 1 = Option A

Target 2 = Option B

Target 3 = Option C

SkillCheck

You want to correct the color in the current image.

To do this, you use the automatic color adjustment tool that examines each channel and applies an average adjustment to all the channels equally.

Task:

1. Access and apply the Auto Contrast option.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Auto Contrast

3. Working with channels and Variations

You can convert images to grayscale, which uses the average value of all the colors in each channel to determine how they must display in shades ranging from white to black.

When you do this, Photoshop discards all the color information contained in each of the color channels.

Alternatively, you can choose to preview only individual color channels. Single channels display an image in grayscale. Each channel's grayscale representation will appear different depending on the colors in the image. You can also convert an image to grayscale based on a channel selection.

Try It

To convert all colors in an image to grayscale, you change the image mode.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Mode - Grayscale 2. Click Discard You are prompted to confirm that you want to discard the image's color information.

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The image is converted to grayscale using an average of the color values of all the channels, and color information for the image is discarded.

Try It

You want to compare the grayscale appearance of the blue channel to that of the red channel, so you need to use the Channels tabbed page of the Layers palette.

To complete the task

1. Click Channels 2. Select the Blue channel 3. Select the Red channel

The red channel is selected and is now the only channel shown in the image.

Try It

Now suppose you want to use only the red channel in an image to create a grayscale image. With the red channel selected, you change the image mode.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Mode - Grayscale 2. Click OK You are prompted to confirm that you want to discard the other channels.

The image is converted to grayscale based on its red channel.

Photoshop offers numerous ways to correct color mapping. However, you need to be cautious that these tools – in particular the Brightness/Contrast and Color Balance tools – don't damage your images. The tools should be used sparingly to introduce minor changes.

As well as correcting color, you can change threshold, invert, and posterize settings to apply special effects, rather than color quality improvements.

The Variations feature offers a quick way to make multiple automatic adjustments to an image.

Graphic

A thumbnail of the current picture is surrounded by thumbnail versions with slight adjustments labeled More Green, More Yellow, More Red, More Cyan, More Blue, More Magenta, Lighter, and Darker.

It displays a number of different versions of the image with varying automatic corrections applied. You simply select the image that looks the best.

Try It

To open the Variations window, you use the Image menu.

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To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Variations

The Variations window opens.

The Variations window presents the following options:

Shadows

Selecting the Shadows radio button limits the changes to the darkest parts of the image.

Midtones

Selecting the Midtones radio button limits the changes to the middle range colors of the image without affecting highlights or shadows extensively.

Highlights

Selecting the Highlights radio button limits the changes to the lightest parts of the image.

Saturation

Selecting the Saturation radio button causes the Variations tool to change the saturation of the colors without changing overall brightness.

Fine/Coarse slider

You can select the extent of the change using the Fine/Coarse slider. Moving the slider towards Fine results in small changes, and moving it towards Coarse results in more extensive changes.

Show Clipping

Some pixels may end up outside the color gamut after a variations change. This means that they will be changed to black if they are dark, or white if they are light, resulting in a loss of shadow and highlight detail. Selecting Show Clipping minimizes the density and number of clipped pixels.

Try It

Suppose you want to increase the saturation of the current image.

To complete the task

1. Select the More Saturation image and click OK

The saturation adjustment selected in the Variations window is applied to the image.

Question

What is the function of the Highlights option in the Variations window?

Options:

1. Makes adjustments to the lightest parts of the image only 2. Makes adjustments to the color range of the image 3. Makes adjustments to the darkest parts of the image only

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4. Makes adjustments to the saturation without changing the brightness of the image

Answer

Option 1: Correct. Selecting the Highlights radio button in the Variations window ensures that variation adjustments affect only the lightest parts of the image.

Option 2: Incorrect. Selecting the Midtones radio button ensures that variation adjustments affect the midrange colors only.

Option 3: Incorrect. Selecting the Shadows radio button ensures that variation adjustments affect the darkest parts of the image only.

Option 4: Incorrect. Selecting the Saturation radio button ensures that variation adjustments affect the saturation of the image without changing its overall brightness.

Correct answer(s):

1. Makes adjustments to the lightest parts of the image only

Summary

The same digital image will not always look the same on different computers. You can configure Photoshop CS3 to limit variations in color across configurations and print jobs. To reduce image color variations, you can calibrate your monitor and printer.

Photoshop includes three tools that can analyze images with slight color problems and apply appropriate color corrections automatically. These include the Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color tools.

You can use a combination of all color channels in an image to create a grayscale image, or you can preview a single channel in grayscale. The Variations tool offers a quick way to make multiple automatic adjustments to an image.

Fine-tune Color Effects in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. use the Levels command . use the Shadow/Highlight command 1. Understanding levels

The Levels tool enables you to correct color and tonal range imbalances by manipulating the levels of an image's shadows, midtones, and highlights.

You would normally edit the levels of an entire image or layer at once.

Alternatively, you can adjust the levels of specific channels one-by-one.

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Note

The number of channels available depends on the color mode used.

The Levels tool works by broadening the tonal range used by an image. To understand how it does this, you need to understand how histograms work.

A histogram for an image is a graph depicting the distribution of each tone's pixels. Each value in the color space is represented on the X axis from darkest (0) to lightest (255). The Y axis shows the proportional number of pixels for each value on the X axis. A predominantly dark image will have a peak on the left of the combined channel histogram because most of the pixels have lower – or darker – values.

A picture with balanced contrast will have a broader peak in the center of the histogram.

An image with a narrow tonal range will have a steep, narrow peak in its histogram.

The Levels tool displays an editable histogram that clips off the tails of the peak. These are usually one or two rogue or blown pixels that are not a part of the image. Any pixels outside the clipped area are changed to flat black or flat white. If you clip more than the couple of rogue pixels, however, you can lose image detail.

The Levels tool reassigns the existing tones across the new range. Light pixels become lighter and dark pixels become darker. Which way the pixels are changed depends on the midtone balance, which you also configure. Usually the midtone threshold is set at the apex of the peak, near the middle of the tonal range.

After clipping and extending the tonal range, there should be white columns in the histogram on the Histogram palette where a particular tone was moved either to the right or to the left. These are tones where the pixels were made either darker or lighter, and there are now no pixels of that tone. This process is known as posterization.

2. Adjusting levels

You can apply levels adjustments to the current image layer.

Alternatively, you can create an adjustment layer that applies to image layers under it. This is recommended because it retains the original image layer.

Try It

To access the Levels window, you use the Image menu.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Levels

The Levels window opens.

The Levels window includes

the Channel drop-down list

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You can select which channel to adjust using the Channel drop-down list, or you can view and edit all the channels at once.

a histogram

The graph is a histogram for the input levels of the selected channel or channels.

histogram sliders

The histogram has three Input sliders on the X axis. The two end sliders represent the edges of the color space. To select the darkest pixels, you drag the shadows slider to where the blackest pixels start in general, represented by the small foothill on the peak. You drag the highlights slider to the lightest part of the image's tonal range – the end of the right-side foothill. You use the gray slider to adjust midtones. Pixels to the right of the gray slider will appear lighter and vice versa. You can enter slider values manually.

Output Levels sliders

If you need to reduce the tonal range for specialized printing purposes, you can alter the sliders in the Output Levels section. For example, if you want to use white ink on white paper, you may want to reduce flat white to 245 245 245 so that white ink is used for all white areas, rather than letting white paper show through.

Save and Load buttons

You can save the levels adjustment so that it can be applied to another image, or you can load a levels settings profile.

Auto and Options buttons

You can have the Levels tool automatically adjust the three sliders for the selected channel. This is the same as using the Auto-Levels tool. You can access options for the automatic function by clicking the Options buttons.

eye droppers

You can use the three eye droppers to manually select actual areas or pixels for the black, gray, and white sliders.

Preview checkbox

You can disable the live preview of the image with settings you choose applied by clearing the Preview checkbox.

Suppose you want to adjust the brightness and contrast of the current image. You need to clip the edges of the histogram, so you move the dark slider to the dark edge of the peak.

You move the white slider to the light edge of the peak.

And you adjust the gray slider to correct the midtones.

You click OK to confirm the changes.

The image now has darker shadows, lighter highlights, and a broader tonal range.

Try It

You now want to adjust the levels of an image by manually setting the shadow threshold to 15, the highlight threshold to 231, and the midtone to 1.2.

To complete the task

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1. Type 15 in the Shadow text box and then place the cursor in the Highlight text box 2. Type 231 in the Highlight text box and then place the cursor in the Midtone text box 3. Type 1.2 in the Midtone text box and click OK

The levels are adjusted to broaden the tonal range in the image.

SkillCheck

Suppose you want to adjust the levels of an image.

Manually set the shadow level to 10, the highlight level to 225, and the midtone balance to 1.2.

Task:

1. Open the Levels window. 2. Change the shadow value. 3. Change the highlight value. 4. Change the midtone value and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Levels

Step 2: Type 10 in the Shadow text box and then place the cursor in the Highlight text box

Step 3: Type 225 in the Highlight text box and then place the cursor in the Midtone text box

Step 4: Type 1.2 in the Midtone text box and click OK

3. Adjusting shadows and highlights

The Shadow/Highlight tool enables you to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights of an image. This is useful for correcting backlit images, where the subject is in shadow, or overexposed images.

Note

This adjustment can also be made with the Levels tool but the Shadow/Highlight tool is easier to use if you need to adjust only the shadows and highlights, and not the midtones. It also darkens or lightens based on the shadows and highlights in surrounding pixels.

You can specify the extent of the change to each pixel and select how much of the color space to consider as either a highlight or shadow.

And you can configure how many pixels need to be in a specific radius to qualify as either a shadow or highlight to prevent rogue or blown pixels from being treated.

Try It

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You open the Shadows/Highlights dialog box from the Image menu and, to view all the options it provides, expand it.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Shadow/Highlight 2. Select the Show More Options checkbox

The full dialog box with all options opens and the image is automatically adjusted to match the default shadow and highlight settings.

The Shadows/Highlights dialog box includes the following options:

Amount

The Amount sliders in the Shadows and Highlights sections are used to specify the required degree of change. 50% is the default setting. Settings of 100% will result in maximum lightening of shadows or darkening of highlights.

Tonal Width

You specify how much of the color space to include in the classification as shadow or highlight. A low value results in only the darkest of the dark and lightest of the light pixels being adjusted. The default value is 50%.

Radius

You can adjust the scope in pixels with which Photoshop distinguishes highlights or shadows. Increasing this value means that a larger number of pixels in any specific area must be of a light tone to be considered a highlight or a low tone to be considered a shadow. This avoids treatment of rogue or broken pixels as highlights or shadows.

Color Correction

You can increase the color saturation to counter a side-effect of the Shadow/Highlight tool, which is to desaturate the colors.

Midtone Contrast

You can change the amount of contrast adjustment made to the midtone pixels. A lower value results in a lighter image but with a more balanced contrast.

Black and White clip

You can set the sensitivity with which near-black and near-white pixels are identified for clipping to flat black and flat white respectively. A lower value clips fewer pixels, which retains detail in shadows and highlights.

Try It

Suppose you want to use the Shadow/Highlight tool to lighten an area that is in shadow in a backlit image. You want to set the shadows to 60%, the highlights to 10%, and the color correction to 30%.

To complete the task

1. Type 60 in the Shadows Amount text box and then place the cursor in the Highlights Amount text box 2. Type 10 in the Highlights Amount text box and then place the cursor in the Color Correction text box 3. Type 30 in the Color Correction text box and click OK

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The image's backlighting problem is reduced.

SkillCheck

You want to use the Shadow/Highlight tool to adjust the shadows and highlights in a backlit image.

Set the shadows amount to 65%, the highlights amount to 5%, and the color correction to 25%.

Task:

1. Open the Shadow/Highlight tool. 2. Change the Shadows amount. 3. Change the Highlights amount. 4. Change the Color Correction and accept the changes.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Shadow/Highlight

Step 2: Type 65 in the Shadows Amount text box and then place the cursor in the Highlights Amount text box

Step 3: Type 5 in the Highlights Amount text box and then place the cursor in the Color Correction text box

Step 4: Type 25 in the Color Correction text box and click OK

Summary

The Levels tool enables you to alter the color balance, or tonal range, of an image. The histogram it displays is a graph of the distribution of tones for the selected color channel or channels.

You can apply a levels adjustment to the current image layer, or you can create an adjustment layer that applies the adjustment to the image layer under it.

The Shadow/Highlight tool enables you to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights of an image. This is useful for correcting backlit images in which the subject is in shadow, and for correcting overexposed images.

Further Color Adjustments in Photoshop CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. set Curve display options . make color and tonal adjustments 1. The Curves tool

The Curves tool can perform the same tonal adjustments as the Levels tool, but it can adjust different parts of the tonal range with different values.

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Graphic

A number of graphs are overlayed in the Curves tool – the baseline, the adjustment curve, and a histogram. The baseline graph shows output on the Y-axis and input on the X-axis. Both axes range from black to white. An adjustment curve is in an S shape, compared to the baseline straight diagonal line, meaning that the shadows will be made darker and the highlights made lighter.

This means that it can adjust the lower value tones and incrementally reduce the degree of adjustment for the lighter tones.

Using the Curves tool, you can manipulate 14 points within an image's tone rather than the three (white, black, and midtone) adjustments you can make with the Levels tool.

The Curves tool presents an input and output graph. It starts as a straight diagonal line, known as the baseline, because there is no change across the range. Each input tone matches exactly to the output tone.

You adjust an image's tonality by manipulating the shape of the curve in the Curves dialog box.

A normal adjustment in the Curves tool produces an S-curve shaped graph, bringing the highlights above the baseline and the shadows below the baseline. This results in more dramatic adjustments at the brighter and darker tones, with minimal or balanced adjustment to the midtones.

Try It

You use the Adjustments menu to access the Curves tool.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Curves

The Curves dialog box opens.

There are a number of options in the Curves dialog box for controlling the shape of the curve:

Curve mode

By default, the Adjust curve by adding points button is depressed, allowing you to adjust the curve by clicking it to add a point and then moving it either up or down. Alternatively, you can click the Draw a curve button and draw a new curve freehand.

Black and White point sliders

You can select the black and white points beyond which all tones will be changed to flat black and flat white respectively using the sliders.

black, white, and gray point eyedroppers

Instead of dragging the point sliders, you can manually select the darkest shadow, lightest highlight, and midtone using the eyedroppers.

Show Clipping

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The Show Clipping checkbox lets you view which pixels will be clipped to flat black or flat white because they are outside the black and white points. If too many pixels are clipped, you may lose detail in the shadows and highlights.

Auto

You can have the Curves tool automatically draw a correction curve by clicking the Auto button.

Save and Load

You can use the Save and Load buttons to save and load adjustment settings so that the same effect can be applied to a similar image or another image in a series.

Curve Display Options

You can select different options for how the graph is displayed.

The RGB color mode is used for "digital" or "light" images and is an additive mode, while CMYK is used for printing and is a subtractive mode. The orientation of light and dark in additive and subtractive modes is opposite. For example, a value of 0 0 0 in the RGB mode results in black, while a value of 0 0 0 0 in the CMYK color mode results in white.

So when the RGB mode is used, the bottom left corner of the Curves tool graph represents shadows, the top right represents highlights, and - by default - the input and output levels are measured as intensity.

Conversely, when the CMYK mode is used, the top right corner of the Curves tool graph represents shadows whereas the bottom left represents highlights, and the input and output levels are measured as pigment percentages.

The Curve Display Options section provides a number of options for how the graph is displayed:

Show Amount of Light and Show Amount Of Pigment/Ink

You can reverse the orientation of the dark and light corners of the graph by selecting the Light or Pigment/Ink radio buttons.

Simple Grid

You select Simple Grid to display the grid in 25% tone increments.

Detailed Grid

You select Detailed Grid to display the grid in 10% tone increments.

Channel Overlays

You select the Channel Overlays checkbox to display curves for each color channel in the graph, placed over the main composite curve.

Histogram

You can toggle the histogram on or off by selecting the Histogram checkbox.

Baseline

You can toggle the baseline on or off by selecting the Baseline checkbox.

Intersection Line

When you create and drag a node on the curve, vertical and horizontal intersection guidelines appear. You can disable these by clearing the Intersection Line checkbox.

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Try It

Suppose you want to reverse the orientation of the graph to show the amount of ink used, and you want to remove the histogram to make the graph less cluttered.

To complete the task

1. Select the Pigment/Ink % radio button 2. Deselect the Histogram checkbox

You can now view the graph in the subtractive mode without a histogram.

Suppose you turn the histogram back on. To adjust the tonal curve, you select a point on the baseline and drag it up or down. In this case, you also make an adjustment to the highlights to create a slight S-curve.

Graphic

As the curve is moved the shadows are darkened and the highlights are lightened.

You reposition the black and white point sliders on the edges of the tonal range to broaden the tonal range. And you click OK.

The image now has darker shadows and lighter highlights, and the midtones are adjusted with a sliding degree of change.

SkillCheck

Open the Curves window and create an automatic curve adjustment. Then view the image's curves information in terms of the amount of light in the image, and view its histogram.

Task:

1. Open the Curves tool. 2. Initiate an automatic adjustment. 3. View the graph as an additive spectrum. 4. Turn on the histogram. 5. Accept the adjustment.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Curves

Step 2: Click the Auto button

Step 3: Select the Light radio button

Step 4: Select the Histogram checkbox

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Step 5: Click OK

2. The Match Color tool

If you take a series of photographs at different times of day, numerous photographs of the same subject, or the same scene but with different subjects, you will notice variation in the colors across the images.

You can use the Match Color tool to apply the color palette used in one image to another image. Alternatively, you can use the tool to apply a color palette from one layer to another, or from one selection to another.

This is useful for making skin tones or product colors consistent, or for removing color casts.

To match colors, you need to

1. select a target image, layer, or selection

2. select a source image, layer, or selection

3. correct luminance and saturation

Try It

Suppose you want to replace the colors in image_008.JPG with the colors from image_006.JPG. To use the Match Color tool, you first make the target image_008.JPG active. You then access the tool via the Image menu.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Match Color

The Match Color tool opens.

There are a number of options available in the Match Color dialog box:

Source and Layer

You select the source image, selection, or layer using the Source or Layer drop down lists.

Neutralize

You select the Neutralize checkbox to remove any color cast as a result of the match when matching from within the same image.

Luminance

You can adjust the luminosity of the image using the slider or by entering a value in the text box. The default value is 100.

Color Intensity

You can adjust the color saturation using the Color Intensity slider or by entering a value in the text box. The default value is 100.

Fade

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You can fade the effect of the match using the Fade slider. The default value is zero, which does not fade the effect at all.

You specify the source image by selecting image_006.JPG from the Source drop-down list.

In this case, you increase the saturation by increasing the color intensity value to 110 and you click OK.

The target image now uses the color palette from the source image.

SkillCheck

Two images will appear next to each other on the same page, so you decide to make the color palettes the same for both images. Apply the colors from DSCN5140 to DSCN5139, which is currently active.

Task:

1. Open the Match Color tool. 2. Select the source image. 3. Accept the changes.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Match Color

Step 2: Select DSCN5140.JPG from the Source drop-down list

Step 3: Click OK

3. The Replace Color tool

Some images allow you to effectively replace an entire color. For example, if the subject of an image is in a color that does not appear elsewhere in the image, you can use the Replace Color tool to replace that color with another one.

The Replace Color tool creates a mask over the selected colors and then replaces the masked occurrences of the color with another.

Try It

Suppose you want the subject of an image, the skier, to have red ski pants rather than yellow. You begin by opening the Replace Color tool from the Image menu.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Replace Color

The Replace Color dialog box opens.

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You use the Eye-dropper tool to select the color that needs to be replaced. In this case, you click the ski pant leg. The selection appears in the preview pane.

Graphic

The selected yellow parts are shown in the selection preview. The parts that are not selected are black.

You increase the fuzziness by dragging the Fuzziness slider or by entering values into the associated text box until all the shades of that color are included in the mask preview. You can use the Image and Selection radio buttons to toggle between the image and the selected mask.

Graphic

As the fuzziness value is increased, more parts of the image are added to the selection.

Instead of increasing the fuzziness, you can select multiple colors and shades using the Add to Sample eye- dropper tool.

Graphic

More parts of the image are added to the selection.

You select a target color in the Replacement section. In this case, you select a red with the HSL adjustment of - 32, 36, and 12.

You can add to the mask by selecting bits of the image that are still yellow with the Add to Sample eye-dropper. Then you click OK.

The skier now appears to wear red ski pants.

SkillCheck

Suppose an image of canoeists needs to feature red rather than yellow life vests and paddles.

Replace the yellow color with red and change the fuzziness to 100, the hue to -35, the saturation to 36, and the lightness to -29. You have already used the Replace Color tool eye-dropper to select the yellow color you want to replace

Task:

1. Specify the color area to be changed and increase the fuzziness. 2. Change the Hue value. 3. Change the Saturation value. 4. Change the Lightness value and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

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Step 1: Type 100 in the Fuzziness text box, and place the cursor in the Hue text box

Step 2: Type -35 in the Hue text box and place the cursor in the Saturation text box

Step 3: Type 36 in the Saturation text box and place the cursor in the Lightness text box

Step 4: Type -29 in the Lightness text box and click OK

4. The Channel Mixer

You can use the Channel Mixer to create high-quality grayscale or tinted images by blending the individual channels of an RGB or CMYK image together.

Sometimes a scan or digital camera will produce an image with a channel that is inferior. You can mix the other channels to create a grayscale image that uses only the good channels.

In an RGB image, the red channel contains the most brightness.

The green channel contains the most detail.

The blue channel in the image contains the most noise.

You can change the ratio of the three channels used to create the grayscale image. The Channel Mixer provides a percentage value for the target channel, and the three channels should add to 100%. After applying the Channel Mixer, you can convert the image to the single-channel grayscale mode.

You can add an adjustment layer that mixes the channels or you can apply the Channel Mixer to the image layer. The Channel Mixer can provide a number of preset mixes that are biased towards a color.

Try It

You want to convert the image to grayscale using the preset blue filter, which will use only the blue channel.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Channel Mixer 2. Select the Monochrome checkbox The Channel Mixer dialog box contains a Preset drop-down list box, an Output Channel drop-down list box, a Preview checkbox, and a Monochrome checkbox. It also contains a Constant horizontal percentage slider, and a Source Channels section.

The Source Channels section contains the following percentage sliders that add up to a total of 100 percent: Red, Green and Blue. 3. Select Black & White with Blue Filter (RGB) from the Preset drop-down list and click OK The filters available are infrared, Blue, Green, Orange, Red, and Yellow.

The image is converted to grayscale using the blue channel.

5. The Selective Color tool

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You can adjust the composition of each color channel to fine-tune color correction for process color or commercial printing.

For instance, a printing company may request a change to the composition of the primary colors in an image, or you may want to adjust the colors based on actual print results.

You can then use the Selective Color tool to change the composition of the CMYK primary colors, even in an RGB image.

Try It

When an image is printed, the sky looks too washed out and gray. You want to change the composition of cyan in the image to give the sky a richer appearance.

To complete the task

1. Select Image - Adjustments - Selective Color 2. Select Cyans from the Colors drop-down list 3. Type 60 in the Cyan text box and then place the cursor in the Magenta text box 4. Type 60 in the Magenta text box and place the cursor in the Black text box 5. Type 60 in the Black text box and click OK

The cyan component now contains more black, magenta, and cyan, making the sky seem less washed out.

SkillCheck

When an image of a landscape is printed, the sun looks too yellow.

Use the Selective Color tool to add 50% more magenta to the yellows in the image.

Task:

1. Open the Selective Color tool. 2. Select the Yellows colors. 3. Change the magenta content of the yellows and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Image - Adjustments - Selective Color

Step 2: Select Yellows from the Colors drop-down list

Step 3: Type 50 in the Magenta text box and click OK

Summary

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The Curves tool can adjust the lower value tones in the tonal range and incrementally reduce the degree of adjustment for the lighter tones in an image.

You can use the Match Color tool to apply the color palette used in one image to another image.

If the subject of an image is a color that does not appear elsewhere in the image, you can use the Replace Color tool to replace that color with another one.

You can use the Channel Mixer to create high-quality monochrome images by blending the individual channels of an RGB (red, blue, green) image together.

Using the Selective Color tool, you can selectively adjust the composition of each color channel to fine-tune color correction for process color or commercial printing.

Photoshop CS3 Painting and Color Replacement Tools Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. use the color replacement tool with appropriate settings . use the basic painting tools with appropriate settings 1. Color selection tools

Adobe Photoshop painting tools enable you to apply color freehand.

Most of the tools use at least one color, known as the foreground color. Some tools use an additional color, known as a background color, in conjunction with the foreground color. For example, a gradient fill creates a fill effect that changes from one color to another.

Once you've set the foreground and background colors, you can switch these colors easily by clicking the Switch button on the toolbox. The foreground color then becomes the background color and vice versa.

Keyboard Sequence

The keyboard alternative to switch between foreground and background colors is X.

You can also switch to the default foreground and background colors - black and white - using the toolbox, or by pressing D.

The tools you can use to select a color for a tool to apply are:

1. Eyedropper

2. Color Picker

3. Swatches palette

You can select a background color that already exists in an image using the Eyedropper tool. You can select a single pixel, or you can select the average color across a number of pixels.

This is useful for matching color in one part of an image with color in another part of the image.

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Even if you open a new image, the color selected with the Eyedropper remains active as the foreground color.

You can adjust the sample size for the Eyedropper tool from the default single pixel to a grid of pixels, up to an area of 101 by 101 pixels.

Extending the number of pixels from which color is sampled enables you to sample an average color, rather than the exact color value of a single pixel.

Try It

Say you want to change the sample size to be the average color in an area that is 31 by 31 pixels.

To complete the task

1. Select 31 by 31 Average from the Sample Size drop-down list 2. Click the sky area in the picture

The pale sky color is selected as the foreground color.

Instead of selecting an existing color in an image, you can use the Color Picker tool to choose a color.

To do this, you first specify a foreground or background color by clicking the relevant button in the toolbox.

You select a color from the spectrum bar and then narrow your selection by selecting a shade in the color foreground color pane. Alternatively, you can define a color by specifying the color model values.

Graphic

The Color Picker dialog box includes a bar from which you can choose a hue, and a pane that displays shades in the selected hue. It includes a preview pane that displays the currently selected foreground or background color.

The dialog box also includes H, S, B, R, G, B, C, M, Y, K, and L, a, b radio buttons, each with a corresponding text box, a # text box, and an Only Web Colors checkbox.

The dialog box warns you if you've selected a color that is outside of the color gamut or is not a web-supported color. It displays an exclamation mark icon for out-of-gamut colors and a cube icon for web color errors.

When you click the icons, Photoshop automatically replaces the out-of-gamut colors with the closest in-gamut or web-safe equivalents. You can limit the image to suitable colors by selecting the Only Web Colors checkbox.

To apply an existing or predefined color to an image, you can select a color from a series of standard colors in the Swatches palette.

You open this palette by clicking the Swatches tab on the Color palette.

If you hover the mouse over a color, the name and its values are displayed.

Question

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Which tool enables you to sample an average color from a specified part of an existing image to use it in a new image?

Options:

1. Eyedropper 2. Swatches palette 3. Color Picker

Answer

Option 1: Correct. The Eyedropper tool enables you to sample the average color from a number of pixels - or the color from one pixel - in an image, and to set this color as the default foreground color. You can then use this color on another image.

Option 2: Incorrect. The Swatches palette enables you to apply a predefined color from a swatch library to an image.

Option 3: Incorrect. The Color Picker samples a color using one pixel and not an average color from a number of pixels. If you move your cursor over the image with the Color Picker open, your cursor becomes an Eyedropper tool.

Correct answer(s):

1. Eyedropper

Question

What does the Color Picker enable you to do?

Options:

1. Adjust the sample size for selecting a color sample 2. Define a color by setting the values of its components 3. Ensure that a color you choose is suitable for display on the Web 4. Select a color from a preloaded palette of colors

Answer

Option 1: Incorrect. You can adjust the sample size for the Eyedropper tool to use a single pixel or a grid of pixels, but not for the Color Picker since it is not dependent on sample size.

Option 2: Correct. You can use the Color Picker to set the values of each component of a color, using the HSB, RGB, CMYK, or Lab color models.

Option 3: Correct. By selecting the Only Web Colors checkbox in the Color Picker dialog box, you limit the colors you can choose to those suitable for display on the Web.

Option 4: Incorrect. You use the Swatches palette, rather than the Color Picker, to select a predefined color from a swatch library.

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Correct answer(s):

2. Define a color by setting the values of its components 3. Ensure that a color you choose is suitable for display on the Web

2. Basic painting tools

The Brush and the Pencil tools enable you to add color to an image as though you were painting or drawing on it. You can adjust the style of the strokes that each tool creates.

By default, the Brush tool creates lines with soft edges. The outer pixels blend with the surrounding colors in the image.

The Pencil tool creates lines with hard edges that don't blend with underlying colors. The pixels on the edge of the pencil line are the same color as the line body.

To paint a straight line, you click the start point, hold Shift, and then click the end point.

You can restrict straight lines to the horizontal or vertical axis. To do this, you click and hold the start point, hold Shift, drag the cursor to the end point, and then release the cursor and the Shift button.

There are a number of options for configuring the basic Brush and Pencil tools:

Tool Preset Picker

There are a number of preset tool configurations that you can select for each brush. You can close the Tool Preset Picker by clicking the drop-down arrow again.

Brush Preset Picker

The Master Diameter text box enable you to set the thickness of the brush or pencil stroke. The Hardness text box enables you to set the size of the brush's hard center to a value that is a percentage of the brush diameter. This produces hard or soft lines. You can also select from hundreds of built-in preset brushes from the Brush Preset Picker menu, or create a preset from the current brush settings using the Create New Brush button.

Mode

The Mode drop-down list box enables you to set a blending mode that specifies how a tool affects pixels in an image. Normal mode is the default mode. It edits or paints each pixel so that it reflects the foreground color.

Opacity

The Opacity option specifies the amount of paint coverage that a brush applies. An opacity of 100% completely covers the background pixels, whereas an opacity of 0% creates complete transparency.

Flow

The Flow drop-down list box enables you to specify the speed at which the Brush tool applies paint. A low setting produces a lighter stroke, and a high setting produces a darker stroke.

Air Brush

You can make the brush behave the way an airbrush does, so the paint will accumulate if you hold it in one spot.

The Paint Bucket tool is used to fill areas of similarly colored pixels with a flat color or effect.

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You click an area that has the color you want to change and the tool automatically paints similar pixels with the selected color or pattern.

You can choose the Foreground or Pattern options from the Fill drop-down list on the Options bar. The Foreground option sets the Paint Bucket tool to use the currently selected foreground color.

The Pattern option sets the tool to use a pattern fill.

The Pattern drop-down list provides a variety of preset pattern libraries from which you can choose a pattern. You can also use it to access settings for creating a custom pattern.

The Tolerance text box enables you to specify how similar in color a pixel should be to the target color for the Paint Bucket tool to paint it.

Tolerance values range from 0 to 255. High tolerance values fill a pixel group that contains wide variations in color, whereas a low tolerance value fills very similar pixels only.

Try It

You want to use the red airbrush preset tool, specifying a diameter of 50.

To complete the task

1. Click the Brush Tool 2. Click the Tool Preset Picker button, select Transparent Red Spray Paint, and then click the drop-down arrow to close the Tool Preset Picker 3. Click the Brush Preset Picker button, type 50 in the Master Diameter text box, and then click the drop-down arrow to close the Brush Preset Picker

The red spray tool is selected and the master diameter of the tool has been reduced.

To finish, you use the selected tool to paint the required portion of the image red. In this instance you paint the person's hat.

Question

When using the Paint Bucket tool, which type of setting do you use to increase the area of the image to which the tool applies a fill?

Options:

1. High opacity 2. High tolerance 3. Low opacity 4. Low tolerance

Answer

Option 1: Incorrect. A high opacity setting will ensure that the foreground color completely or almost completely obscures the background color.

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Option 2: Correct. Increasing the tolerance setting increases the number of pixels that the tool includes when it applies a fill. When you set a high tolerance, you expand the selection to be filled to include more areas with similar color.

Option 3: Incorrect. Reducing the opacity setting reduces the extent to which the foreground color obscures the background color.

Option 4: Incorrect. A low tolerance setting causes the tool to fill very similar pixels only. As a result, it fills very small areas at a time.

Correct answer(s):

2. High tolerance

SkillCheck

You want to apply freehand effects to an image.

Switch to the Brush tool, change the diameter to 100 and the hardness to 20, and then close the Brush Preset Picker.

Task:

1. Select the Brush tool. 2. Open the Brush Preset Picker 3. Change the diameter. 4. Change the hardness and close the Brush Preset Picker

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Click Brush

Step 2: Click the Brush Preset Picker arrow

Step 3: Type 100 in the Master Diameter text box, and select the Hardness text box

Step 4: Type 20 in the Hardness text box, and click the drop-down arrow to close the Brush Preset Picker

3. The Color Replacement tool

You can use the Color Replacement tool to change all shades of one color to another. This is similar to the Replace Color tool, which replaces the components of one color channel with another, except that you can apply the effect with a brush.

The Color Replacement tool changes the colors under the brush to a shade of the selected foreground color.

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This enables you to replace the color of parts of an image without losing their original detail or shadows. You can use the Color Replacement tool to remove red glare from subjects' eyes or to change colors in existing corporate branding, for example.

Suppose you need to change the color of a marking on the tarmac to green for a new brand advertisement. To select the Color Replacement tool, you click the Brush tool, hold the mouse button, and then select Color Replacement Tool.

You select the replacement color.

There are a number of options for the Color Replacement tool:

Tool Preset Picker

By default, there are no preset configurations available for the Color Replacement tool, but you can add presets using the Tool Preset Picker.

Brush Preset Picker

You can change the diameter and hardness of the brush. You can also edit the brush spacing and tip properties such as angle and roundness.

Mode

The setting in the Mode drop-down list specifies how the tool should combine new pixels with the existing pixels in the image. The default mode setting is Color, which affects hue and saturation without altering the luminosity of the image.

Sampling Continuous

The Sampling Continuous button sets the tool to resample the color to be replaced continuously as you drag it across the image. This is useful for recoloring a larger range of different colors in an image.

Sampling Once

The Sampling Once button ensures that the color that you first click is the only color that the tool will replace. You can use this setting to correct a red eye effect in a photograph, for example.

Sampling Background Swatch

The Background Swatch button enables you to alter pixels that share a color with the current background color only.

Limits

The setting in the Limits drop-down list box specifies how the Color Replacement tool paints. The Discontiguous option enables you to replace sampled colors anywhere that you drag with the tool. The Contiguous option enables you to replace colors in areas that connect by color to the color currently under your cursor. The Find Edges option works similarly to the Contiguous option, but preserves the edge details of an image.

Tolerance

The Tolerance drop-down list box enables you to specify how similar in color a pixel should be for the Color Replacement tool to replace it. High tolerance values replace a broader range of colors than low tolerance values.

Anti-alias

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You can set the Color Replacement tool to use anti-aliasing by selecting the Anti-alias checkbox. This softens the edges of the effect that the tool applies by blending the edges of the newly colored areas with the surrounding pixels.

In this case, you select Sampling Once and Discontiguous because the hue in the area you're replacing is all a similar color and it is broken by shadows. You start using the tool with the cross on the target color – in this case, the yellow line.

You can replace the color in a single brush stroke.

Suppose you want the woman's dress to be a shade of green. You decide to use the Color Replacement tool because the Replace Color effect will change other parts of the image too.

So you select a dark green foreground color and select the Color Replacement tool. Then you re-color the dress.

Animation

The Color Replacement tool pointer is moved over the image, painting in the new color.

Try It

Next you want to use the Color Replacement tool to change the color of the cyclist's vest from blue to the new corporate gray color. So you decide to configure the tool to use Saturation mode with a brush diameter of 20 pixels.

To complete the task

1. Click Color Replacement 2. Select Saturation from the Mode drop-down list 3. Click the Brush Preset Picker arrow, type 20 in the Diameter text box, and then click the drop-down arrow to close the Brush Preset Picker

The tool is now ready to reduce the saturation of the cyclist's vest.

You paint the areas of blue vest that you want to change to gray.

Graphic

The blue vest is changed to gray as the brush moves over it.

SkillCheck

You want to change the color of the backpack in an image using the Color Replacement tool. You want to replace only the first color you click with the tool, and you want to replace multiple occurrences of unconnected color by finding the edges.

Select the tool and configure it appropriately.

Task:

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1. Select the Color Replacement tool. 2. Configure the tool to target a color once. 3. Configure the tool to Find Edges.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Click Color Replacement

Step 2: Select Sampling Once

Step 3: Select Find Edges from the Limits drop-down list

You paint over the backpack to change the purples to red.

Summary

Most Photoshop tools use at least one color, known as the foreground color. Some tools use an additional color, known as a background color, in conjunction with the foreground color. The three ways to select a color for a tool are with the Eyedropper, the Color Picker, or using swatches.

You can use the Color Replacement tool to change all shades of one color to another. This is similar to the Replace Color tool, which replaces the components of one color channel with another, except that you can apply the effect with a brush. This enables you to replace the color of parts of an image without losing their original detail or shadows. The Color Replacement tool is useful for removing common image color defects, such as red glare in the eyes of photographed subjects.

The Brush and the Pencil tools enable you to add color to an image freehand. You can adjust the style of the lines that each tool creates. There are many preset types of brush tools. Many typical paintbrushes are available, as well as other presets that can create shape or image effects.

Task 1: Using levels Scenario

You need to edit a photograph that will be published on the company web site. You decide to broaden the tonal range by adjusting the color gamut with the Levels tool.

Exercise

Your assignment for this task is to download the 001 image and open it in Adobe Photoshop CS3, then carry out the instructions in the Steps list.

Steps list

Number Instructions

1 Access the Levels tool.

2 Move the Black Point to the point where the majority of dark pixels begin so that the

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Steps list

Number Instructions

darkest pixels are changed from dark grey to black.

3 Move the White Point to the point where the majority of light pixels end so that the lightest pixels are changed from light grey to white.

4 Move the Gray Point to adjust the tonal balance.

5 Initiate the Levels adjustment.

Task 1: Using levels Solution

The model solution to this task is given in the Analysis section that follows. You can use the Print feature at the top of the page to create a hard copy.

Analysis

The solution for the task is analyzed in the following table. You can download the 001solution image for a solution sample.

Checkpoints

Task Instructions

1 To access the Levels tool, you select Image - Adjustments - Levels.

2 The shadow point should be moved to a value of approximately 23 so that the darkest pixels are changed from dark grey to black.

3 The highlight point should be moved to a value of approximately 237 so that the lightest pixels are changed from light grey to white.

4 The balance point should be moved to a value of approximately 1.6 so that the tonal range is balanced.

5 Click OK to accept the changes.

Task 2: Lightening shadows Scenario

The subject of this image is backlit and you want to increase some of the subject detail by lightening the shadows with the Shadow/Highlight tool.

Exercise

Your assignment for this task is to download the 002 image and open it in Adobe Photoshop CS3, then carry out the instructions in the Steps list.

Steps list

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Number Instructions

1 Access the Shadow/Highlight tool.

2 Lighten the shadows to reveal more detail in the subject but not so much as to create a white wash over the entire image.

3 Accept the change.

Task 2: Lightening shadows Solution

The model solution to the exercise is given in the Analysis section that follows. You can use the Print feature at the top of the page to create a hard copy.

Analysis

The solution for this task is analyzed in the following table. You can download the 002solution image for a solution sample.

Checkpoints

Task Instructions

1 To access the Shadow/Highlight tool, you select Image - Adjustments - Shadow/Highlight.

2 You need to lighten the shadows by approximately 30%.

3 You click OK to apply the changes.

If you'd like to review the scenario and assignment for this task, return to the task page. To return to the previous task, click Back. To advance to the next task, click Forward.

Task 3: Replacing colors Scenario

The company that owns the buses in the picture has changed its corporate colors. So you need to change the red stripes to green using the Color Replacement tool.

Exercise

Your assignment for this task is to download the 003 image and open it in Adobe Photoshop CS3, then carry out the instructions in the Steps list.

Steps list

Number Instructions

1 Access the Color Replacement tool.

2 Select a light green.

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Steps list

Number Instructions

3 Replace the red stripe using the Color Replacement tool.

Task 3: Replacing colors Solution

The model solution to the exercise is given in the Analysis section that follows. You can use the Print feature at the top of the page to create a hard copy.

Analysis

The solution for this task is analyzed in the following table. You can download the 003solution image for a solution sample.

Checkpoints

Task Instructions

1 To access the Color Replacement tool, you click and hold the Paint tool and then select the Color Replacement tool.

2 You select a light green foreground color in the toolbox using the Color Picker.

3 You paint over each red stripe, ensuring that the crosshair in the tool stays focused on the red stripe to avoid over-run into the white areas.

Creating Navigation Systems in Flash CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize how to add navigation buttons to a Flash CS3 web site . recognize how to save a navigation bar as a separate movie . recognize how to add secondary navigation to a Flash CS3 web site 1. Creating a navigation bar

A well-designed Flash navigation system makes a Flash movie easy to use and invites users to return again.

Before you create a web site that uses a Flash navigation system, you should plan a navigational strategy that takes into consideration the needs of the intended users and the type of site content.

To help users navigate a web site that uses Flash components, you can use a navigation bar, rollover buttons, and a table of contents.

In addition, the following elements help ensure that a navigation system is easy to use:

a well-organized site hierarchy

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A well-designed site hierarchy ensures that users can easily identify important content on a web site and navigate to the content they want to access. To ensure a well-organized site hierarchy, you should place important links in a consistent location on all web pages, and use a consistent style for these links.

well-designed navigation tools

Well-designed navigation tools, such as clickable buttons and menu items, ensure that users can navigate a web site easily. Images are not essential for a good navigation system – users should not have to rely on images, icons, or sounds to locate information.

location indicators

Location indicators help users identify and remember where they are on a web site. Because visitors may access a web page from outside of the web site, you need to provide location indicators to orientate the user.

Question

Which elements should you use to ensure an effective Flash navigation system for a web site?

Options:

1. A well-organized site hierarchy 2. Location indicators 3. Navigation tools 4. Images and icons 5. Sounds

Answer

Option 1: Correct. A well-organized site hierarchy helps users access important information from any page on the web site, using consistent links and buttons.

Option 2: Correct. Location indicators tell users where they are on a web site. They orientate users – especially those who access a web page from outside the web site.

Option 3: Correct. Navigation tools, such as buttons and menus, ensure that users can easily navigate to different areas of a web site.

Option 4: Incorrect. Users should not have to rely on images and icons to help them navigate a web site.

Option 5: Incorrect. Users should not have to rely on sounds to help them navigate a web site.

Correct answer(s):

1. A well-organized site hierarchy 2. Location indicators 3. Navigation tools

A navigation bar is a bar containing controls that enable users to link to important areas of content.

In Flash CS3, you can create navigational elements such as navigation bars with a variety of controls, and save these objects as symbols so they can easily be reused.

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Suppose you are creating a web site for the Northglenn Fitness Club. You have created a banner image on the stage. You want to save the image as a symbol and use it as the background for a navigation bar.

To begin creating the symbol, you select the banner image on the stage.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard shortcuts when navigating the Flash interface, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Creating Navigation within a Flash CS3 Movie.

Try It

After you've selected the banner image, you need to add it to the library. To do this, you first display the Library panel.

To complete the task

1. Select Window - Library

The Library panel displays.

To convert the banner to a reusable movie clip symbol, you click and drag it from the stage to the Library panel.

Note

You can also select the graphics and use the Modify - Convert to Symbol menu path to convert a graphic to a symbol.

The Convert to Symbol dialog box displays.

Graphic

The Convert to Symbol dialog box contains a Name text box and Movie Clip, Button, and Graphic radio buttons. The Button radio button is selected by default.

It also contains a square Registration grid with nine points – one in the center, one in each corner, and one in the center of each side. The center point is selected by default.

Try It

You assign the symbol a meaningful name, change its type, and set its registration point.

To complete the task

1. Click the Name text box, type navbar, and select the Movie clip radio button

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2. Click the top-left point in the Registration grid in the Convert to Symbol dialog box and click OK

The Convert to Symbol dialog box closes.

The new symbol is listed in the Library panel. You can now reuse the symbol as many times as you'd like within a Flash movie without drastically adding to the file size.

SkillCheck

Say you've created a banner image on stage that you want to use as the background for a navigation bar.

Save the banner image as a movie clip symbol with the default name and a center registration point. You have already opened the Library panel and Convert to Symbol dialog box.

Task:

1. Specify that you want to save the image as a movie clip symbol. 2. Set the symbol's registration point and close the Convert to Symbol dialog box.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select the Movie clip radio button

Step 2: Click the center point in the Registration grid and click OK

2. Creating navigation buttons

Making navigational buttons in a Flash navigation system intuitive and easy to find ensures that users can find their way around a web site efficiently.

A well-constructed button should

use a legible font

Using a legible font such as a sans-serif font in a suitably large size ensures that users can easily read the button labels. The color of the text on the button and the button's background color should also contrast well.

have an intuitive label

Having an intuitive label on a button ensures that users understand what the function of the button is, and what information it gives them access to. The text on a button should map intuitively to the type of content it links to.

have a clickable appearance

A button must have a clickable appearance. This ensures that users know they can interact with it. One way of ensuring this is to give buttons raised edges.

Say you now want to add buttons to the navigation bar you created for the Northglenn Fitness Club web site. The buttons will be used to navigate to the different sections of content within the web site.

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You decide that you want to keep the buttons separate from the rest of movie's content. So you add a new layer to the timeline to separate the navigation buttons from the navigation bar's background, and you rename it by typing nav_buttons.

You want to create a Facilities button on the navigation bar. To label the button and define its size, you need to add a static text field to the bar.

To do this, you click the Text Tool button in the Tools panel and click where you want to create the button.

You then type Facilities in the static text field.

To add static text fields for three additional buttons, you can create copies of the existing static text field. To do this, you click the Selection Tool button in the Tools panel, hold the Alt key on your keyboard, and click and drag the text field to create duplicates of it.

Then you change the text in each of the text fields to labels you want to show on the buttons. In this case, you change the text to "Classes", "Timetables", and "About Us."

Try It

Next you need to convert the static text fields to button symbols. You select the first static text field and convert it into a button symbol named "Facilities."

To complete the task

1. Select Modify - Convert to Symbol 2. Click the Name text box, type Facilities, select the Button radio button, and click OK

The Convert to Symbol dialog box closes and the static text field is converted into a button symbol.

You convert the remaining static text fields into button symbols named "Classes", "Timetables", and "About Us."

Your main navigation design is now in place, and you can align and add functionality to your buttons.

SkillCheck

Suppose you are creating a Flash navigation system for the Earth Farm web site. You have already created the navigation bar and a static text field that you want to use as a button.

Convert the selected text field to a button symbol with the name "Home" and a bottom-center registration point. You have already selected the static text field on the stage.

Task:

1. Open the Convert to Symbol dialog box. 2. Assign the button symbol a name, specify its type and registration, and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

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Step 1: Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

Step 2: Click the Name text box, type Home, select the Button radio button, select the bottom-center point in the Registration grid, and click OK

Now that you've created the button symbols, you decide that you want to align them on the navigation bar.

Try It

Before you align the buttons, you want to define the left, right, and bottom borders for the buttons on the navigation bar. To do this, you first display the rulers.

To complete the task

1. Select View - Rulers

The rulers display along the top and left edges of the stage.

With the rulers displayed, you click the horizontal ruler and drag a horizontal guide to the position you want to define as the bottom border of the buttons on the navigation bar.

You also drag two vertical guides to define the left and right borders for the set of buttons.

The rulers can help you align and space objects on the stage.

Try It

Now that you have defined the borders, you can begin aligning the buttons. To do this, you first select the buttons and open the Align panel.

To complete the task

1. Select Window - Align

The Align panel displays.

The Align panel contains five groups of buttons.

Align

The Align buttons let you arrange selected objects on the stage by aligning their left edges, horizontal centers, right edges, top edges, vertical centers, or bottom edges.

Distribute

The Distribute buttons enables you to distribute objects evenly, either from edge to edge or from their vertical or horizontal edges.

Match size

The Match size buttons let you match the dimensions of selected objects to make them the same size. Objects can be matched horizontally, vertically, or both.

Space

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The Space buttons let you space objects evenly on the stage along a vertical or horizontal axis.

To Stage

The To Stage button aligns an object in relation to the stage.

Try It

In this case, you want to align the selected buttons with the bottom edge of the lowest of the buttons, and with an equal amount of space between each of the buttons.

To complete the task

1. Click the Align bottom edge button 2. Click the Space evenly horizontal button

The buttons are aligned on the navigation bar.

SkillCheck

Say you have created a navigation bar and buttons, and added a horizontal guide.

Use the Align panel to align the selected buttons with the bottom edge of the Contact Us button.

Task:

1. Display the Align panel. 2. Choose the align option that will align the bottoms of the buttons.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Window - Align

Step 2: Click the Align bottom edge button

3. Creating secondary navigation

Adding secondary navigation levels such as submenus to a Flash navigation system increases the interactivity of a web site.

It also gives users access to more areas of the web site without consuming too much space on screen.

To set a submenu to display, you create and save the submenu elements as symbols. You then use the timeline and ActionScript to determine when the submenu will display – for example, once a user clicks and then releases a button.

You should manage the content on a secondary navigational menu carefully using the timeline.

To use the timeline effectively, you should

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space static content using a consistent number of frames

Spacing content on the timeline using a consistent number of frames makes the content easier to find.

label important frames

Labeling important frames enables you to identify and reference them in ActionScript.

use frame comments

Frame comments can provide useful reminders of what frames contain. Frame comments begin with a double forward slash, for example //Text.

order content in a consistent manner

Ordering navigational elements in the timeline as they appear on screen makes it easy to find specific content. For example, if you have a menu item labeled "Facilities" followed by one labeled "Classes", you should insert the content for Facilities before the content for Classes on the timeline.

You have created the primary navigation bar for the Northglenn Fitness Club web site. You now decide that you want to add a secondary navigation level to the Facilities button on the navigation bar that will be used to navigate to the web site content.

You have already created and saved the submenu navigation bar and buttons to the library.

Because the ActionScript you will be creating will not be attached to the buttons in the movie, you decide to add a new layer to the timeline to hold it, and you rename the layer by typing actions.

Now you need to create a stop() action, using ActionScript, that will prevent the movie from automatically playing sequentially, from start to finish.

In this case, you want to add the stop() action to the first frame in the movie, so you ensure that frame 1 is selected on the timeline.

Try It

To add the ActionScript for the stop() action, you use the Actions panel.

To complete the task

1. Select Window - Actions 2. Type stop(); in the Script pane and click the Enter button provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

The ActionScript for the stop() action has been added to the frame.

Next you select frame 20 in all three layers on the timeline and press F5 so that all layers are the same length.

This ensures that the navigation controls in the nav_bar layer, and the ActionScript in the actions layer are visible throughout the movie.

Then you need to add a keyframe to frame 10 in the actions layer that will be used to reference the submenu's location on the timeline.

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To label the keyframe, you display the Property inspector and type Facilities in the Frame text box. You then close the Property inspector.

You add a new layer that will contain the secondary navigation buttons and rename it by typing sec_nav.

Then you add a keyframe to frame 10 in the sec_nav layer to hold the Facilities submenu.

You open the Property inspector and insert a frame comment on the keyframe by typing //Facilities in the Frame text box. This will provide a visual reminder of what the frame contains.

Next you add the submenu navigation bar to the stage. Because you have already created and saved the submenu navigation bar in the library, you open the Library panel.

In this case, you have named the submenu navigation bar "Sec_nav_bar", and you have named the buttons "Swimming_pool", "Tennis_court", and "Climbing_wall."

You click and drag Sec_nav_bar to the stage and position it below the Facilities button.

You then add the buttons to the submenu navigation bar by clicking and dragging them to the bar, and you close the Library panel.

Try It

You need to give the Facilities button an instance name so that you can reference the button in ActionScript.

To complete the task

1. Select the Facilities button on the stage 2. Select Window - Properties - Properties 3. Click the Name text box, type Facilities, and click the Enter button provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

The button has been assigned an instance name.

Now you need to add the ActionSript that makes the playhead move to the Facilities submenu when the Facilities button is clicked. You close the Property inspector and select the frame to which you want to add the code – in this case, frame 1.

First you add an event handler for the Facilities button.

Code

Facilities.addEventListener(

Then you specify the type of event handler you want to use. In this case, you want the button to activate when a user releases their mouse button after clicking the Facilities button.

Code

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Facilities.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, gotoFacilities); function gotoFacilities(evt:MouseEvent):void { gotoAndStop("Facilities"); }

Try It

Next you add a gotoAndStop() action to the event handler to ensure the playhead stops at the correct frame – in this case, the frame you labeled "Facilities", which contains the submenu.

To complete the task

1. Type gotoAndStop("Facilities"); in the Script pane and click the Enter button provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

The playhead will now stop at the facilities frame when the Facilities button is clicked.

When you test the movie, clicking the Facilities button causes the submenu you've created to display.

Question

Suppose you are creating a navigation system in Flash. You want the movie to stop at frame 1 instead of playing all the frames sequentially.

Type the ActionScript to do this.

Code INSERT THE MISSING CODE ();

Answer

You use the stop() action to prevent the movie from playing sequentially, with a semicolon to mark the end of a code statement. So the code you use in this case is stop();.

Correct answer(s):

1. stop(); 2. stop();

Question

You now want the About Us button to activate when a user releases their mouse button after clicking the button.

Complete the ActionScript you use to specify this.

Code stop();

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product.addEventListener(INSERT THE MISSING CODE , gotoProducts); function gotoProducts(evt:MouseEvent):void {

}

Answer

You need to specify that the event handler for the button must detect the MOUSE_UP event, which occurs when a user releases their mouse button after clicking the button. So to complete the code, you type

MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,

Correct answer(s):

1. MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, 2. MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,

Question

To display a submenu which you've added to the "products" frame, you want the playhead to skip to the "products" frame and then stop play when the Product button is clicked. You have already added the event handler for the button.

Type the ActionScript you use to skip to the products frame and stop play so that the submenu displays.

Code stop();

product.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, gotoProducts); function gotoProducts(evt:MouseEvent):void { INSERT THE MISSING CODE ("INSERT THE MISSING CODE "); }

Answer

You use the gotoAndStop() action, with the frame label as a parameter, to move the playhead to a different frame and stop play. So to complete the code, you type

gotoAndStop("products");

Correct answer(s):

1. gotoAndStop("products"); 2. gotoAndStop("products"); Summary

To ensure your Flash movies enable a web site to be user-friendly, your designs should have a logical site hierarchy, use location indicators, and include well-designed navigation tools. To create a navigation bar, you can save an image as your navigation bar's background image, and convert it to a symbol for easy reuse.

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Navigation buttons should be labeled intuitively, use legible fonts, and have a clickable appearance. Once you've created a navigation bar, you can add buttons to it by adding static text fields and then converting them into button symbols.

Adding secondary navigation levels such as submenus to a navigation system increases interactivity in a web site. To use the timeline effectively when creating a secondary navigation level, you should space static content using a consistent number of frames, label important frames, use frame comments, and order content in a consistent manner.

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Working with Multiple SWF Files in Flash CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. identify reasons for dividing a site into multiple Flash CS3 SWF files . recognize how to load and display external content using ActionScript 3.0 1. Using multiple SWF files

A published SWF file can contain all the content for an entire web site. However, this causes delays in the amount of time it takes to download the web site.

To avoid this, you should split a web site and its contents into multiple SWF files.

When dividing a web site into multiple SWF files, you should create a SWF file for each area of content in the web site. This helps to simplify the structure of the web site and optimize download times.

Note

It is a good idea to limit the size of each SWF file to approximately 50 KB.

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files is practical because it

decreases download times

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases download times because the user needs to download only the area of the web site they want to view, instead of the entire web site. Decreased download times improves web site navigation and enhances the user experience.

facilitates easy updating

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files facilitates easy updating because you can update the source file for each SWF file separately, instead of updating the entire web site. This also means that only parts of the web site need to be down during maintenance.

enables users to bookmark pages

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to bookmark individual HTML pages in their Internet browsers.

Question

Why is it practical to divide a web site and its content into multiple SWF files?

Options:

1. It decreases download times 2. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages 3. It facilitates easy web site maintenance 4. It lets users download the entire web site at once 5. It lets you contain all the web site's core content and functionality in one file

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Answer

Option 1: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases download times because users can download only the areas of the web site they want to view.

Option 2: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to bookmark individual HTML pages in the site using their browsers.

Option 3: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files facilitates easy maintenance because you can update and republish the source files for each SWF file separately.

Option 4: Incorrect. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files means that the user downloads only the sections and content they want to view.

Option 5: Incorrect. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files involves creating a separate SWF file for each area of core content and functionality.

Correct answer(s):

1. It decreases download times 2. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages 3. It facilitates easy web site maintenance

2. Loading SWF files

In Flash CS3, you use the ActionScript 3.0 Loader class to load and display external SWF files and image files.

Note

The Loader class in ActionScript 3.0 replaces the MovieClipLoader and LoadVars classes in ActionScript 2.0.

To load a movie using the Loader class, you need to

Syntax

var urlObj:URLRequest = new URLRequest("external_movie.swf"); var loadObj:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(loadObj); loadObj.load(urlObj);

create an instance of the URLRequest class

You need to create a new instance of the URLRequest class. You do this by declaring a variable of the type URLRequest and defining it as a request for the file that you want to load.

The URLRequest constructor takes the SWF file's location as its parameter.

create an instance of the Loader class

You need to create a new instance of the Loader class using the constructor. This instance contains the methods that enable you to load content from any accessible source.

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add the instance of the Loader class to the stage

You need to add the instance of the Loader class to the stage as a display object, using the addChild method.

The addChild method takes the instance of the Loader class as a parameter.

load the instance of the URLRequest class

Finally, you need to initiate the loading using the load method.

The load method takes the instance of the URLRequest class as a parameter.

Say you are creating a Flash-based web site for the Northglenn Fitness Club. You want to create a home page for the web site. You decide that you want to start by calling an external movie, which shows a Northglenn Fitness Club banner image. The movie's name is "Banner.swf" and it is located in the same directory as the current movie.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard shortcuts when navigating the Flash interface, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Creating Navigation within a Flash CS3 Movie.

Try It

You begin by creating a new request for the Banner.swf file.

To complete the task

1. Type new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); and click the Enter button provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

An instance of the URLRequest class has been created.

Next you create a new instance of the Loader class, named "bannerLoader."

Code var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader();

You then add the bannerLoader instance to the stage.

Code

Page 92 of 196 var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(bannerLoader);

Try It

Finally, you need to load the movie using the bannerLoader object.

To complete the task

1. Type bannerLoader.load(bannerURL); and click the Enter button provided The Courseware Player cannot recognize input from your keyboard Enter key. Therefore, please click the Enter button provided instead of pressing the Enter key.

The banner movie is loaded into the current movie at runtime.

When you test the movie, the Banner.swf movie is displayed within the current movie.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Loading SWF Files

View information about loading movies using ActionScript 2.0.

Launch window

Question

Say you are creating a web site and you want to call an external file, named "list.swf", from a Flash movie. You have already created a URLRequest object named "listURL" and a Loader object named "listLoader."

Complete the code to load the movie.

Code var listURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("list.swf"); var listLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(listLoader); INSERT THE MISSING CODE(listURL);

Answer

You use the load method of the Loader class instance – in this case named listLoader – to load an external file. So to complete the code, you type

listLoader.load

Correct answer(s):

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1. listLoader.load 2. listLoader.load Summary

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases web site download times, enables easier web site maintenance, and enables users to bookmark individual HTML pages in the site.

In ActionScript3.0, you use the Loader class to load external SWF files into a Flash movie. To do this, you need to create an instance of the URLRequest class, create an instance of the Loader class, add the instance of the Loader class to the stage, and then load the instance of the URLRequest class using the load method.

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Creating a Navigation System in Flash CS3 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. add secondary navigation to a given Flash CS3 web site . load a given SWF file in Flash CS3 Creating buttons in Flash CS3

Suppose you're creating a navigation system for a web site. You have created a static text field on the stage and want to use it as a navigation button.

SkillCheck

Convert the static text field to a button symbol, with the default name and a center registration point.

You have already selected the static text field.

Task:

1. Open the Convert to Symbol dialog box. 2. Specify the symbol type and registration, and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

Step 2: Select the Button radio button, click the center point in the Registration grid, and then click OK

Creating a navigation system

You now decide that you want to move the playhead to the frame labeled "Pricelist" when the Pricelist button is clicked.

Question

You have already opened the Actions panel and added the event handler for the Pricelist button. When the button is clicked, you want the playhead to move to the frame labeled "Pricelist" and then stop play.

Complete the code to do this.

Code stop();

Pricelist.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, openPricelist); function openPricelist(evt:MouseEvent):void {

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INSERT THE MISSING CODE("Pricelist"); }

Answer

The gotoAndStop action moves the playhead to a specified frame on the timeline. It takes the frame name as a parameter.

Correct answer(s):

1. gotoAndStop 2. gotoAndStop Loading SWF files

You now decide that you want to load an external movie into the web site you are creating. You begin by creating a new layer named "."

Question

You need to create an instance of the URLRequest class that will be used as a new request for the file that you want to load, which is named "pricelist.swf."

Complete the code to do this.

Code var pricelistURL:URLRequest = INSERT THE MISSING CODE("pricelist.swf");

Answer

To complete the code that creates an instance of the URLRequest class , you type

new URLRequest

Correct answer(s):

1. new URLRequest 2. new URLRequest

Question

Finally you need to load the external file. You have already created a URLRequest object named "pricelistURL" and a Loader object named "pricelistLoader."

Complete the code to pass the new URLRequest to the loader.

Code var pricelistURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("pricelist.swf"); var pricelistLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(pricelistLoader); pricelistLoader.INSERT THE MISSING CODE;

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Answer

The load method of the Loader class takes the instance of the URLRequest class as a parameter. So to complete the code, you type

load(pricelistURL)

Correct answer(s):

1. load(pricelistURL) 2. load(pricelistURL)

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Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize how to test and publish a Flash CS3 movie . recognize how to use the Bandwidth Profiler in Flash CS3 . identify the functions of a preloader . recognize how to publish a movie in Flash CS3 1. Testing Flash movies

You should test a movie before you publish it so that you can determine how to optimize it.

When testing a movie, it is important to check its file size, to preview the movie, and to view its streaming information.

By testing the movie, you ensure that it plays as it is expected to play on the intended platform – for example, in a web browser or on a mobile phone.

There are several environments in which you can preview Flash documents, including the

timeline

The timeline enables you to preview an entire movie sequentially on the stage by playing it. Some ActionScript, such as the loadMovie()command, cannot be previewed in the timeline. Accurate frame rates are not always possible when testing content in the authoring environment. Complex animations may pause or skip when previewed in this way.

a new window

You can test Flash movies directly within the Flash CS3 interface by using the Test Movie or Test Scene command. When you choose one of these commands, Flash generates a SWF file for the movie currently on the stage and opens it in a new window.

If you're working on a very large movie with multiple scenes, you should test each scene individually. Separating content into scenes or smaller movies makes it easier to update content and can enable users to download individual sections of the movie at a time. This is faster than downloading an entire large movie.

a browser

You can test a movie in a browser by choosing the Publish Preview command and then selecting the appropriate file type. The file types available depend on the publishing settings you've configured. If you choose to preview a movie in the default HTML format, the movie plays in the default browser.

the Flash Player

You can test Flash movies you've created for export or published as SWF files in the Flash Player. The SWF format flattens all Flash content into a single file.

Question

You've created a movie and now want to test it by previewing it in sequence on the stage. You plan to test the ActionScript commands for the movie later.

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How should you test the movie?

Options:

1. Use the Test Movie command 2. Use the Publish Preview command and choose the HTML file type 3. Preview the movie in the Flash Player 4. Play the movie in the timeline

Answer

Option 1: Incorrect. If you use the Test Movie command, a SWF file of the current movie will play in a new window, rather than on the stage. In addition, interactive functionality provided through ActionScript will be included in the preview.

Option 2: Incorrect. If you chose to preview a movie in the default HTML format, the movie plays in the default browser rather than on the stage.

Option 3: Incorrect. You preview an exported or published movie using the Flash Player, which includes interactivity provided through ActionScript in the preview.

Option 4: Correct. When you play a movie in the timeline, the whole movie is previewed on the stage. Features and interactivity provided through ActionScript aren't included in the preview, which is appropriate because you want to test the ActionScript commands later.

Correct answer(s):

4. Play the movie in the timeline

To preview a movie in the timeline, you select Control - Play.

The movie then plays sequentially on the stage.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard alternatives when publishing movies in Flash, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Publishing Movies in Flash CS3.

Try It

Say you want to preview the movie in a new window from a SWF file that Flash will automatically generate.

To complete the task

1. Select Control - Test Movie

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The movie opens in a new window and plays.

If you want to preview a single scene in the movie, you select Control - Test Scene.

The current scene is then previewed in a new window.

Try It

Now say you want to preview the movie in the default browser on your computer.

To complete the task

1. Select File - Publish Preview - Default (HTML)

The movie opens and plays in the browser.

To preview a movie in the Flash Player, you select the SWF file for the movie and double-click it.

The movie begins playing.

SkillCheck

You're creating an introductory movie for a web site and you want to test the movie in a browser.

Test the movie in the default browser.

Task:

1. Preview the movie in the default browser.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Publish Preview - Default (HTML)

2. Using Bandwidth Profiler

The speed at which a movie downloads and plays is vital to the effectiveness of the movie.

The Bandwidth Profiler in Flash CS3 enables you to assess the bandwidth use of a movie by providing a graphical representation of its download behavior at a specified download speed.

This enables you to assess how smoothly the movie will be downloaded at various connectivity speeds and whether you need to optimize any aspects of the movie.

To assess the bandwidth needs of a movie, you first need to start the movie – so, for example, you select Control - Test Movie.

This opens the movie in a new window.

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Try It

Next you access the Bandwidth Profiler.

To complete the task

1. Select View - Bandwidth Profiler

The Bandwidth Profiler opens within the movie's window, in a pane above the content.

The Bandwidth Profiler comprises several sections.

Movie

The Movie section displays the dimensions of the movie in pixels, the frame rate of the movie in frames per second (fps), the size of the SWF movie file in kilobytes and bytes, and the duration and preload rate of the movie in number of frames and seconds.

Settings

The Settings section displays the current bandwidth requirement of the movie based on the download speed you've set. The information is given in bytes per second and bytes per frame.

State

The State section displays the current frame number and the number of bytes in that frame. This section also displays the percentage of a movie that has loaded when you use the Simulate Download feature of the Bandwidth Profiler.

Graph

The graph in the right pane of the Bandwidth Profiler displays the playhead and a graphical representation of the frames in the movie. In this case, the graph contains four vertical gray bars because the movie includes four frames. The vertical height of each bar directly corresponds to a frame's size in bytes.

The red line in the graph indicates the bandwidth limit. If a frame bar is higher than this line, the corresponding frame contains too much information for the connection to download and play the content in real time, which will cause a download delay. For example any frame above 400 bytes will cause a delay for 56 Kbps modems accessing a 12 frames per second (fps) movie. The byte limit for each frame depends on the movie's frame rate.

The Bandwidth Profiler enables you to view a streaming graph or a frame by frame graph. By default, the streaming graph displays.

The streaming graph shows which frames cause pauses. If any frame block is higher than the red line, Flash stops playback until that frame is completely downloaded.

Graphic

The streaming graph in this case has four columns of alternating light and dark gray to represent the four frames of the movie. The red line is set at 400 bytes. The first and second frame are at around 64 KB, the third frame is at around 4 KB, and the fourth frame is below the red line.

To switch to the frame by frame graph, you select View - Frame By Frame Graph.

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In the frame by frame graph, each frame is positioned side by side underneath the timeline header. This enables you to easily determine which frames are contributing to streaming delays. Frames larger than the connection-speed red line in the graph will halt playback until the entire frame downloads.

By default, the Bandwidth Profiler displays information based on the use of a 56 K modem – with a bandwidth of about 4.7 KB per second – to download the movie. However, you can test a movie for different download speeds by selecting View - Download Settings and choosing a download speed.

Graphic

Available download setting speeds are 14.4 (1.2 KB per second), 28.8 (2.3 KB per second), 56 K (4.7 KB per second), DSL (32.6 KB per second), T1 (1312 KB per second), User Setting 6 (2.3 KB per second), User Setting 7 (2.3 KB per second), and User Setting 8 (2.3 KB per second). The Download Settings submenu also contains a Customize option.

For example, to test the movie given the use of a DSL connection to download it, you select DSL (32.6 KB/s) from the Download Settings submenu.

The red line in the graph moves from 400 bytes to 2.7 KB.

Try It

You want to watch the actual download performance of the movie at 56.6 K download rate. You have changed the graph to a streaming graph and set the download setting back to the default 56 K.

To complete the task

1. Select View - Simulate Download

The download performance is then shown both on stage and within the Bandwidth Profiler. In this case, the movie took around 28 seconds to download.

SkillCheck

You want to change the download settings of a movie and then test the download performance of the movie.

Use the Bandwidth Profiler to change the download settings to DSL (32.6 KB/s) and then preview the download performance of the movie.

Task:

1. Open the Bandwidth Profiler. 2. Change the download settings 3. View a simulated download.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select View - Bandwidth Profiler

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Step 2: Select View - Download Settings - DSL (32.6 KB/s)

Step 3: Select View - Simulate Download

3. Using a preloader

Often downloads can take a long time. To prevent users from becoming bored or canceling the action, you can use a preloader.

A preloader is a document that will load quickly before a movie. This document usually contains a simple animation and is used to occupy the user while the content of the main movie is downloading.

For example, a preloader could show a progress bar that provides a graphical animation of how swiftly a movie is loading.

To develop a preloader, you

 create a preloader layer

 add a preloader to the first keyframe of the preloader layer so that the preloader will play before the main content

 place the rest of the movie content from frame 2 onwards

 add ActionScript code to ensure the preloader will play before the main movie plays and then load the main movie once all the content has downloaded

Preloaders enable you to hold back the playhead until all frames are ready to play. This ensures that once a movie does play, delays won't cause pauses or stops.

Preloaders also entertain and distract viewers while the main movie downloads. Generally they inform viewers how much of the movie has downloaded and how much longer they need to wait.

Note

Although a preloader can help you occupy a user while a file loads and helps give the impression that the file loads faster, it does not affect the file's actual download speed.

Question

What are the functions of preloaders?

Options:

1. They entertain and distract viewers 2. They speed up the download of movies 3. They can inform viewers how much of a movie has downloaded and how much longer they need to wait 4. They enable you to hold back the playhead until all frames are ready to play 5. They flatten any frame peaks so that all frames take the same amount of time to download

Answer

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Option 1: Correct. Preloaders help to pass time for viewers so that they do not terminate a download instead of waiting for it to complete.

Option 2: Incorrect. Although a preloader can provide the illusion that a movie is taking a shorter time to download, it has no effect on the actual time needed for the movie to download.

Option 3: Correct. Typically, preloaders provide a sense of how much of a movie has downloaded and how much longer users have to wait. This can be done with a moving line like a progress bar or even text that states what percentage of the download has been completed or still needs to occur.

Option 4: Correct. A preloader holds back the playhead until all the frames in a movie have downloaded and can be played. This prevents delays while the movie is playing.

Option 5: Incorrect. A preloader has no effect on frame size or distribution.

Correct answer(s):

1. They entertain and distract viewers 3. They can inform viewers how much of a movie has downloaded and how much longer they need to wait 4. They enable you to hold back the playhead until all frames are ready to play

4. Using publish settings

By default, a Flash movie is published as an exported SWF file and an HTML file. The HTML file contains markup tags that enable the movie to be accessed using the Flash Player 9 plug-in control.

However, you can choose to publish Flash documents in a variety of file formats and to configure the publish settings for each of these formats. You can also choose to save the publish settings you configure as a profile, which you can then reuse for other documents and share with others.

Try It

To alter the default publish settings for a movie, you first open the Publish Settings dialog box.

To complete the task

1. Select File - Publish Settings

The Publish Settings dialog box opens.

The Formats tabbed page of the Publish Settings dialog box enables you to specify the formats in which the Flash document must be published.

The Flash and HTML formats are selected by default, so the dialog box contains tabbed pages for configuring the publish settings for these formats. You can add other formats depending on your needs.

Graphic

The Publish Settings dialog box contains a Current profile drop-down list box – currently set to Flash 5 settings, Formats, Flash, and HTML tabbed pages, and Publish, OK, and Cancel buttons.

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The Formats tabbed page is open by default. For each available file format, it displays a checkbox and a corresponding File text box, which contains the current file's name with the default file extension for the relevant file format. A Browse icon displays alongside each File text box. The page also includes a Use Default Names button.

The Formats tabbed page lets you choose from eight available file formats.

Flash

Flash is one of the default publishing formats. It creates a SWF file, which requires Flash Player for playback.

HTML

The HTML option creates an HTML page with the Flash movie embedded in it. This option is selected by default.

GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is one of the only image formats that support the use of some animations. You can export a GIF as either a static image or an animated GIF. However, this format does not include most types of animated interactivity. GIFs are generally used when publishing line art.

JPEG

The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format doesn't permit interactivity or animation, but supports high file compression. This format is generally used when publishing content that includes photographs.

PNG

The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format is similar to the JPEG format in that it doesn't support interactivity or animation. However, the PNG format is one of the only image formats that supports transparency in Flash images. This is useful when saving Flash content that uses the alpha channel in coloration.

Windows Projector

The Windows Projector format publishes a Flash file as an executable (EXE) projector file, which is a standalone file and does not require Flash Player to be installed.

QuickTime

You can export a file as a QuickTime (MOV) video file playable on any machine that has the QuickTime Player installed. This format enables you to retain all interactive features in a movie.

Macintosh Projector

The Macintosh Projector format, like the Windows Projector format, publishes a Flash file as a standalone file that does not require Flash Player to play on a Macintosh system.

Try It

You want to publish your movie as a GIF image file, and as SWF and HTML files.

To complete the task

1. Select the GIF Image (.gif) checkbox

A GIF tabbed page is added to the Publish Settings dialog box.

To change the publish settings for the Flash SWF file, you click the Flash tab.

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The Flash tabbed page displays a range of possible settings for the Flash file that will be published.

Graphic

The Flash tabbed page contains Version, Load order, and ActionScript drop-down list boxes. An options section includes eight checkboxes – Generate size report, Protect from import, Omit trace actions, Permit debugging, Compress movie, Optimize for Flash Player 6 r 65, Export hidden layers, and Export SWC. The tabbed page contains Password and Script time limit text boxes, a JPEG quality slider and text box. Audio stream and Audio event sections each contain a Set button, and there are two sound-related checkboxes – Override sound settings and Export device sounds. The tabbed page also includes a Local playback security drop-down list box.

Using the top three drop-down list boxes on the Flash tabbed page, you can specify the published SWF file's

version

The Version drop-down list box enables you to specify which version of Flash your document should be published for. To ensure compatibility with all of the new Flash CS3 features, you should use the Flash Player 9 version. If in doubt, you should test your choice of version in that version's Flash Player.

Flash CS3 enables you to publish a SWF file using a Flash Lite version. Flash Lite 1.0 or 1.1 is the most common Flash Player used by mobile phones. Newer phones may have Flash Lite 2.0 or 2.1 installed.

load order

Using the Load order drop-down list box, you can specify whether the movie layers must download in ascending or descending order. This determines the order in which layers are drawn over slow Internet connections. The Bottom up option causes the lowest layer to display first. When Top down is selected, the topmost layer displays first. This option affects only the display of the first frame of a Flash movie.

Load order does not affect the order of actions in a single frame. ActionScript actions begin executing from the topmost layer.

ActionScript version

You can select an ActionScript version in the ActionScript version drop-down list box. This option controls how ActionScript is compiled in a SWF file. You can choose ActionScript 1.0, ActionScript 2.0, or ActionScript 3.0.

The Generate size report option is useful in identifying bandwidth-intensive elements. When this checkbox is selected, the Publish command exports a text file that you can view in a text editor application.

The Export hidden layers checkbox enables you to prevent hidden layers from being exported with the SWF file. This option is new to Flash CS3.

The Script time limit text box enables you specify a time-out value for ActionScript execution. For resource- intensive commands, you can set a long time-out period. If the execution of the script exceeds this period, the Flash Player displays a dialog box that enables the user to abort the script. This feature is also new to Flash CS3.

Once you've configured the required publish settings, you can publish the associated files immediately by clicking the Publish button.

You then click the OK button to close the dialog box.

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SkillCheck

Suppose you want to publish a movie as a highly compressed image file that will contain photographs. It will also use the default Flash and HTML formats.

Configure the required publish settings, publish the document, and close the dialog box.

Task:

1. Open the Publish Settings dialog box. 2. Select the JPEG format, publish the document, and close the dialog box.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Publish Settings

Step 2: Select the JPEG Image (.jpg) checkbox, click the Publish button, and click OK

Summary

You test a movie before you publish it to check its file size and that it runs correctly.

The Bandwidth Profiler provides you with a graphical representation of the download behavior of a Flash movie at a download speed you choose. You can also use the Bandwidth Profiler to simulate the download of a movie.

A preloader is generally a simple animation that loads quickly and can be used to entertain viewers while the content of the main movie is being downloaded.

You can publish Flash documents in a variety of file formats and configure publish settings for each of these formats.

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Testing and Publishing a Flash CS3 Movie Learning Objective

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. test and publish a Flash CS3 movie, in a given scenario Exercise overview

In this exercise, you're required to test and publish a Flash CS3 movie.

This involves the following tasks:

 testing a movie  using the Bandwidth Profiler  adjusting publish settings

Suppose you want to test a movie that you have created in a new window and then in the default browser.

You then want to check the bandwidth usage of the movie for 56K modems and preview its download performance.

Finally, you want to adjust the publish settings so that the movie will play in a QuickTime player and as a Windows Projector file.

Task 1: Testing a movie

Test the current movie in a new window and then in the default browser.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select Control - Test Movie

2. Click the Close button

3. Select File - Publish Preview - Default (HTML) Task 2: Using the Bandwidth Profiler

Check the bandwidth usage of the movie, change the download settings to DSL (32.6 KB/s), and then preview the movie's download performance.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select View - Bandwidth Profiler

2. Select View - Download Settings - DSL (32.6 KB/s)

3. Select View - Simulate Download

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Task 3: Adjusting publish settings

Adjust the publish settings so that the movie will be published as a QuickTime file and also as an EXE file that can be played directly on Windows computers.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select File - Publish Settings

2. Select the QuickTime with Flash Track checkbox and the Windows Projector checkbox

3. Click the Publish button and click OK

The Flash movie has been tested in a new window and in the default browser. The movie's bandwidth usage and download performance have been checked, and its publish settings have been adjusted.

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Combining Flash CS3 Movies with HTML Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. identify the design considerations for combining Flash and HTML . recognize how to publish a SWF file into an HTML page . recognize how to insert Flash CS3 content using Dreamweaver 1. Combining Flash and HTML

One of the main uses of Flash is to create visually complex and highly interactive web content. Browsers require HTML to open Flash documents using the Flash plugin.

Flash is effective for showing simple motion animation, whereas HTML is better suited to displaying static content. So it's best to use Flash for creating visual demonstration content such as animations, and to use HTML to display large amounts of text, data in table format, or static images.

You can design web content using Flash only, or you can combine the functionalities of Flash and HTML for a balanced, well-constructed site. For example, you could create static text on a web page in HTML and use Flash movies for banner ads or snippets of interactive content.

Occasionally, you may have an entire web page that runs as a SWF file if that content is animated or is highly interactive.

To decide how to combine Flash with HTML to create a web site, you should consider the

 accessibility of the content

 balance of animation and text

 audience

 file size

 download speed

A web browser can display Flash content in an HTML page only if the browser is on a computer with the Flash Player plugin installed, the Flash file is in the SWF format or in an image format, and the HTML page includes the necessary markup tags.

For Flash files to be viewed in a browser, the HTML page must contain the necessary and HTML tags. These tags automatically link a file – a SWF file in the case of Flash content – with an HTML page.

Microsoft Internet Explorer reads the tag. Netscape on both Windows and Macintosh uses the tag, as do the Internet Explorer and Safari browsers on Macintosh.

In Flash CS3, unlike in previous Flash versions, embedding a SWF file in an HTML file automatically creates a JavaScript file. The HTML file must use the JavaScript file for the SWF content to display.

If you embed a movie in a separate HTML document, you need to upload the JavaScript file and ensure that the source (src) section of the code links to this file.

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Instead of using Flash to generate HTML pages containing Flash content, you can use .

Dreamweaver is an HTML authoring tool that creates an HTML framework to which Flash files can be added. It offers more control in terms of HTML layout and page design than the Flash publishing settings.

Question

Web browsers can display Flash content in an HTML page only if certain conditions are met.

What are these conditions?

Options:

1. Flash files must be in SWF or image format 2. Adobe Dreamweaver must be installed 3. The Flash Player plugin must be installed 4. The HTML page must include the necessary markup tags 5. The HTML page must be created using Dreamweaver

Answer

Option 1: Correct. A browser can display a Flash file only in SWF format or as an image. SWF files are compressed versions of the original Flash (FLA) files.

Option 2: Incorrect. You don't need to use Adobe Dreamweaver to display Flash content in an HTML page. Dreamweaver simply enables you to edit HTML files, including HTML files with embedded Flash files.

Option 3: Correct. Having the Flash Player plugin installed enables a browser to access Flash files in the SWF format.

Option 4: Correct. The HTML page must contain the necessary and HTML tags for Flash files to be viewed in a browser. These tags automatically link a file – a SWF file in the case of Flash content – with an HTML page.

Option 5: Incorrect. Dreamweaver is an HTML authoring tool that offers more control in terms of layout and page design than the Flash publishing settings. However, it's not necessary to use Dreamweaver to create HTML pages containing Flash content.

Correct answer(s):

1. Flash files must be in SWF or image format 3. The Flash Player plugin must be installed 4. The HTML page must include the necessary markup tags

2. Publishing SWFs into HTML pages

In Flash CS3, you can use publish settings to specify how HTML pages containing Flash content must be published.

Supplement

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Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard alternatives when publishing movies in Flash, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Publishing Movies in Flash CS3.

Suppose you're designing a web page for the Earthfarm company.

You've created a Flash movie of a seed growing that you want to publish as a separate SWF file and as an HTML file with embedded Flash information. You now need to configure the publish settings for these two formats.

Try It

First you need to access the publishing settings for the movie.

To complete the task

1. select File - Publish Settings

The Publish Settings dialog box opens by default on the Formats tabbed page.

The required Flash and HTML formats are selected by default. At this point, you can generate a SWF file and a basic HTML page with the SWF file embedded in it by clicking the Publish button.

In this case, however, you want to change the way the movie plays. So you click the HTML tab to access playback settings.

Graphic

The HTML tabbed page contains the Template drop-down list box, the Info button, the Detect Flash version checkbox, the Version text boxes, the Dimensions drop-down list box, the Width and Height text boxes, the Paused at start, Display menu, Loop and Device font checkboxes, the Quality, Window Mode, HTML alignment, and Scale drop-down list boxes, the Horizontal and Vertical Flash alignment drop-down list boxes, and the Show warning messages checkbox.

Try It

On the HTML tabbed page, you want to configure the movie to pause on playback, not to loop, and to apply no scaling.

To complete the task

1. Select the Paused at start checkbox and clear the Loop checkbox 2. select No scale from the Scale drop-down list

The required HTML publish settings have been chosen.

You want to publish the movie with the settings you've chosen, so you click the Publish button.

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You click OK to save your settings and close the dialog box.

Flash automatically generates a compressed SWF file, a JavaScript file, and an HTML file, which are saved in the same location as the Flash (FLA) file for the movie.

You can preview the published movie in a browser, or in a new window.

You can examine the HTML code in a text or web editor, such as Notepad or Dreamweaver.

The tag contains parameters used by Microsoft Internet Explorer in a Windows environment to display the HTML content in a browser window. This includes details such as width and height dimensions, alignment, and the version of the Flash plugin detected.

The HTML also contains parameters for some of the publishing settings that you configured in the Publish Settings dialog box, such as the "no loop" and "paused at start" settings.

Code

After you have previewed the movie, you can upload the SWF file and support files – such as the JavaScript, HTML, and ActionScript files – to a web server.

SkillCheck

You want to publish a Flash movie as a SWF file embedded in an HTML page, and as a separate SWF file.

Access publish settings, ensure that the embedded version of the movie is paused at the start and that the HTML alignment is set to the left, publish the movie, and close the dialog box.

Task:

1. Open the Publish Settings dialog box. 2. Open the HTML tabbed page. 3. Adjust the settings. 4. Publish the movie and close the dialog box.

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Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Publish Settings

Step 2: Click the HTML tab

Step 3: Select the Paused at start checkbox and select Left from the HTML drop-down list The HTML tabbed page contains the Template drop-down list box, the Info button, the Detect Flash version checkbox, the Version text boxes, the Dimensions drop-down list box, the Width and Height text boxes, the Paused at start, Display menu, Loop and Device font checkboxes, the Quality, Window Mode, HTML alignment, and Scale drop-down list boxes, the Horizontal and Vertical Flash alignment drop-down list boxes, and the Show warning messages checkbox.

Step 4: Click the Publish button and click OK

3. Using Flash content in Dreamweaver

You can use Adobe Dreamweaver to generate HTML pages containing Flash content. The Flash content can be placed inside HTML table cells created in Dreamweaver.

By using tables or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), you can easily position your Flash content on a web page.

Try It

You've already created a table in Dreamweaver to hold the content of the seasons_movie.swf file. You select the first empty cell in the table, specify that you want to add Flash content, select the SWF file, and then save a copy of the file to the root folder for the web site.

To complete the task

1. Click the Media button arrow and select Flash The options available in the Media drop-down list are Flash, Flash Button, Flash Text, Flash Paper, Flash Video, Shockwave, Applet, param, ActiveX, and Plugin. 2. In the Select File dialog box, select seasons_movie.swf and click OK 3. Click Yes to copy the file to the root folder of the web site you are creating in Dreamweaver A dialog box states that the current file is outside of the root folder of the site and that it may not be accessible if you publish the site. It asks if you want to save a copy of the file in the site's root folder, and contains Yes, No, and Cancel buttons. 4. Click Save to accept the default file name and save the file The Copy File As dialog box contains a Save in drop-down list box set to the root folder, a pane that lists the contents of this folder, a File name text box set to the name of the SWF file, a Save as type drop-down list box, and Save and Cancel buttons.

The Object Tag Accessibility Attributes dialog box opens.

The Object Tag Accessibility Attributes dialog box enables you to supply a title, access key, and Tab index for users who use accessibility browsers.

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Graphic

The Object Tag Accessibility Attributes dialog box contains Title, Access key, and Tab index text boxes, and OK, Cancel, and Help buttons.

Note

You can also add Flash files from the Insert menu or drag Flash files onto the Dreamweaver stage from the list of files in the Files panel.

In this case, you type seasons animation in the Title text box and click OK.

The SWF file is embedded in the Dreamweaver page. The Property inspector enables you to adjust the settings for the movie. You click the Play button to play the animation in the page.

Graphic

The Property inspector has Width and Height text boxes, File and Src Name text boxes, Edit and Reset size buttons, and a Class drop-down list. The panel also has Loop and Autoplay checkboxes, V space and H space text boxes, Quality, Scale, and Align drop-down list boxes, a Play button, and a Parameters button.

The SWF movie plays on the page. All interactivity you created in Flash is retained. For example, you can click the Winter hyperlink within the movie.

The Winter animation then plays.

SkillCheck

Suppose you want to insert the Flash movie "plant_movie" into a Dreamweaver HTML page. The file is currently stored in the root folder for the web site. You want accessibility browsers to read the title of the movie as "seed." You have positioned your cursor where you want to embed the file.

Insert the file in the HTML table in Dreamweaver.

Task:

1. Specify that you want to add Flash media. 2. Select the plant_movie SWF file. 3. Use the title "seed" for accessibility browsers.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Media - Flash

Step 2: Select plant_movie.swf and click OK

Step 3: Type seed in the Title text box and click OK

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Summary

When creating interactive web pages, you can combine Flash content with HTML to make web content more visually attractive to users. Web browsers display Flash content that's embedded in an HTML file, provided the Flash Player plugin is installed, the Flash file is in the SWF format or in an image format, and the HTML page includes the necessary markup tags.

You can use publish settings to specify how HTML pages for a Flash movie must be published.

You can also use Adobe Dreamweaver – an HTML authoring tool – to insert Flash content in tables on HTML pages.

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Integrating a Flash CS3 Movie into an HTML Page Learning Objective

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. integrate a Flash CS3 movie into an HTML page, in a given scenario Exercise overview

In this exercise, you're required to integrate a Flash CS3 movie into an HTML page.

This involves the following tasks:

 integrating a movie into HTML  inserting a SWF file into an HTML page in Adobe Dreamweaver CS3

Suppose you want to integrate a movie into an HTML file.

You then want to insert a SWF file into an HTML table in Dreamweaver CS3.

Task 1: Integrating a movie into HTML

Publish the current movie in the default formats, so that the movie does not loop when played and the movie scales to an exact fit.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select File - Publish Settings

2. Click the HTML tab

3. Clear the Loop checkbox and select Exact Fit from the Scale drop-down list

4. Click the Publish button and click OK Task 2: Inserting a SWF file

Insert the portage.swf file into the first cell of the HTML table in Dreamweaver. Specify "logo" as the title of the content.

You have already placed your cursor in the required position in the table.

Steps list

Instructions

1. Select Media - Flash

2. Select portage.swf and click OK

3. Type logo in the Title text box and click OK

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A Flash file has been published to an HTML page using custom settings and a SWF file has been embedded in an HTML page in Adobe Dreamweaver CS3.

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|

Creating Navigation Systems in Flash CS4 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize how to add navigation to a Flash CS4 movie . recognize how to add secondary navigation to a Flash CS4 web site 1. Creating a menu bar

A well-designed Flash navigation system helps ensure that users can navigate a movie easily and successfully.

Before you create a navigation system, you should plan it carefully, taking the needs of the intended users and the type of content into account.

Among the elements that can help users navigate a web site are menu bars, rollover buttons, and a table of contents.

The following additional elements help ensure that a navigation system is easy to use:

a well-organized site hierarchy

A well-designed site hierarchy ensures that users can easily identify important content on a web site and access it quickly. To create a well-organized site hierarchy, you should place important links in consistent locations on all web pages and use a consistent style for these links.

well-designed navigation tools

Well-designed navigation tools, such as buttons and menu items, help ensure that users can navigate a web site easily. Users should not have to rely on images, icons, or sounds to locate information. Not all the users of a web site may associate a particular sound or picture with the information they wish to access.

Buttons and menu items increase the interactivity of a web site. Using clear text labels rather than images on buttons generally makes it easier for users to determine what they link to.

location indicators

Location indicators help users identify and remember their location on a web site. They're also useful for visitors who access a web page from outside a web site.

Question

Which elements help ensure that users can easily navigate web sites?

Options:

1. A well-organized site hierarchy 2. Location indicators 3. Navigation tools

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4. Images and icons 5. Sounds

Answer

Option 1: Correct. A well-organized site hierarchy helps users access important information from any page on a web site, using links and buttons placed in consistent locations.

Option 2: Correct. Location indicators help users determine their locations within a web site. They help orient users, especially those who access a web page from outside the web site.

Option 3: Correct. Navigation tools such as buttons and menus ensure that users can easily access different areas of a web site.

Option 4: Incorrect. You should not rely on images and icons to help users navigate a web site. These may be interpreted differently by different users, and don't clearly identify the content to which they link.

Option 5: Incorrect. You should not rely on sounds to help users navigate a web site. Instead you should use a well-organized site hierarchy, location indicators, and clearly labeled navigation tools.

Correct answer(s):

1. A well-organized site hierarchy 2. Location indicators 3. Navigation tools

Flash CS4 provides a variety of controls that enable you to link to important areas of content in a web site. You can save these controls as symbols so they can easily be reused.

Suppose you're developing a web site for Portage Airlines. You have created a banner image on the Stage and now want to save the image as a symbol that can be used as the background for a menu bar.

Graphic

The banner image is a yellow bar that displays below the Portage Airlines logo.

To begin, you select the banner image on the Stage.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard shortcuts when navigating the Flash interface, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Creating Navigation within a Flash CS4 Movie.

You now need to save the banner image to the library as a movie clip symbol so that you can reuse it.

Graphic

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The Library panel is located next to the Properties Inspector on the right of Stage.

Try It

You access options for converting the selected image into a symbol.

To complete the task

1. Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

The Convert to Symbol dialog box displays.

You use the Convert to Symbol dialog box to assign the symbol a descriptive name, change its type, and set its registration point.

Graphic

The Convert to Symbol dialog box contains a Name text box and a Type drop-down list, in which Button is currently selected. It also contains a square Registration grid with nine points – one in the center, one in each corner, and one in the center of each side. In this case, the bottom left registration point is selected.

Note

Instead of using menu options, you can drag a selected image to the Library panel to open the Convert to Symbol dialog box.

Try It

You name the symbol "menu_bar", specify it must be saved as a movie clip, and set its top-left point as its registration point.

To complete the task

1. Type menu_bar in the Name text box and click the Submit button 2. Select Movie Clip from the Type drop-down list The Type drop-down list includes Movie Clip, Button, and Graphic options. 3. Click the top-left point in the Registration grid and click OK

The graphic is saved to the library as a movie clip symbol.

The new symbol is now listed in the Library panel. You can reuse the symbol as many times as you like within a Flash movie, without adding significantly to file size.

2. Creating navigation buttons

The buttons in a Flash navigation system should be easy to find and their functions should be simple to understand. This helps ensure users can easily find their way around a web site.

A well-constructed button should

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use a label with a legible font

You should create button labels using a legible font – such as a sans-serif font in a suitably large size – to ensure that the labels can be easily read. The color of the text on the button and the button's background color should also contrast well.

have an intuitive label

The text on a button should map intuitively to the type of content it links to, so users can easily understand what the function of the button is.

have a clickable appearance

You should give the buttons you create a clickable appearance. This will ensure that users know the buttons are objects they can interact with. One way to do this, for example, is to give a button a raised edge when it is active but not selected, and a depressed edge when it's selected.

Suppose you want to add navigational buttons to the menu bar you created for the Portage Airlines web site.

To keep the buttons separate from the rest of the movie's content, you add a new layer to the timeline.

And you rename the layer by typing menu_buttons.

To begin creating a button labeled "Bookings", you add a static text field to the menu bar by clicking the Text Tool button in the Tools panel and then clicking and dragging your cursor on the menu bar.

You then type Bookings in the static text field.

By default, the button text is created using the same style as for the last static text field that was created.

Note

If you need to make any changes to the font and style of your text items, you can use the Property inspector to do this.

You can add static text fields for additional buttons by creating copies of the existing static text field.

To do this, you click the Selection Tool button in the Tools panel, hold the Alt key on your keyboard, and click and drag the text field to create duplicates of it.

You then enter the required labels – in this case, Schedule, FAQ, and Contact Us – in the new text fields.

Try It

Next you need to convert the text labels you've created into button symbols. You select the "Bookings" static text field and then convert it.

The Bookings text field is already selected.

To complete the task

1. Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

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2. Type booking in the Name text box and click the Submit button The Convert to Symbol dialog box displays. 3. Select Button from the Type drop-down list and click OK

The static text field is converted into a button symbol.

You convert the remaining static text fields into button symbols, named "schedule", "faq", and "contact_us" respectively.

Your main navigation design is now in place and you can align and add functionality to the buttons.

SkillCheck

On a web site for the Northglenn Fitness Club, you have already created a menu bar and a static text field – containing the text "Facilities" – that you want to use as a button.

Convert the selected text field to a button symbol with the name "facilities" and a bottom-center registration point.

Task:

1. Access the options for converting objects into symbols. 2. Assign the symbol a name and specify its type. 3. Specify the button's registration point and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

Step 2: Type facilities in the Name text box and select Button from the Type drop-down list

Step 3: Select the bottom-center point in the Registration grid and click OK

Try It

Before you align the buttons you added to the menu bar, you need to display rulers. These will enable you to align and space the objects on the menu bar.

To complete the task

1. Select View - Rulers

The rulers display along the top and left edges of the Stage.

To create a vertical guide, you click the vertical ruler and drag your mouse to the appropriate position. In this case, you create vertical guides to define the left and right borders for the set of buttons.

You click the horizontal ruler and drag a horizontal guide to the position you want to define as the bottom border for the set of buttons.

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You then select the buttons so you can align them.

Try It

You access options for aligning the selected buttons.

To complete the task

1. Select Window - Align

The Align panel displays.

The Align panel contains five groups of buttons.

Align

The Align buttons enable you to arrange selected objects on the Stage by aligning their left edges, horizontal centers, right edges, top edges, vertical centers, or bottom edges.

Distribute

The Distribute buttons enable you to distribute objects evenly, either from edge to edge or from their vertical or horizontal edges.

Match size

The Match size buttons enable you to match the dimensions of selected objects to make them the same size. You can match objects horizontally, vertically, or both.

Space

The Space buttons enable you to space objects evenly on the Stage along a vertical or horizontal axis.

To stage

The To stage button enables you to align an object in relation to the Stage.

Try It

In this case, you want the selected buttons to be evenly spaced along a horizontal axis and aligned according to their vertical centers.

To complete the task

1. Click the Align vertical center button 2. Click the Space evenly horizontal button

The buttons are aligned on the menu bar.

The buttons now display neatly on the menu bar and can be used as part of an effective navigation system.

SkillCheck

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You have created a menu bar with buttons and added a horizontal guide to a web page.

Align the bottom edges of the selected buttons.

Task:

1. Open the Align panel. 2. Specify the required alignment.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Window - Align

Step 2: Click the Align bottom edge button

3. Creating secondary navigation

Adding secondary navigation features such as submenus increases the interactivity on a web site. It also enables you to give users access to more areas of a web site without consuming too much on-screen space.

To create a submenu, you need to create and save the submenu elements as symbols. You then use the timeline and ActionScript to specify when the submenu must display – for example, once a user clicks and then releases a button.

The content on a secondary navigational menu should be managed carefully using the timeline.

To use the timeline effectively, you should

space static content using a consistent number of frames

You should space static content on the timeline using a consistent number of frames to make the content easier to find. You can do this by selecting the same frame, for example frame 20, across all the layers of the timeline.

label important frames

You should label important frames so you can identify and reference them in ActionScript.

use frame comments

You should include frame comments to provide useful reminders of what frames contain. A frame comment begins with a double forward slash – for example, //Text begins here.

order content in a consistent manner

You should sequence navigational elements in the timeline in the same order they must appear on screen to make it easy to find specific content. For example, if you have a menu item labeled Schedule followed by one labeled Bookings, you should insert the content for the Schedule item before the content for Bookings.

You have created the primary menu for the Portage Airlines web site. You have also saved a submenu navigation bar and buttons to the library.

You now decide that you want to add a secondary navigation level to the Bookings button on the menu bar.

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This navigation level will enable users to navigate to booking information for the three available flight types – national, international, and private.

To hold the ActionScript you will be creating, you create a new layer and rename it by typing actions.

You now need to create a stop() action using ActionScript. This will prevent the movie from automatically playing from start to finish.

Because you want to add the stop() action to the first frame in the movie, you ensure that frame 1 is selected on the timeline.

Try It

You open the Actions window, add the action to the frame, and then close the window.

To complete the task

1. Select Window - Actions 2. Type stop(); in the Script pane and click the Submit button The Actions window contains an ActionScript 3.0 pane that lists ActionScript elements, a pane that identifies the currently selected object and scene, and a Script pane. 3. Click Close

The stop() action has been added to the frame.

You now want to ensure that all the layers are the same length. You do this by first selecting frame 20 in all four layers on the timeline.

Then you select Insert - Timeline - Frame.

This ensures that the navigation controls in the menu_bar layer and the ActionScript in the actions layer are visible throughout the movie.

You then add a keyframe to frame 10 in the actions layer by selecting the frame and selecting Insert - Timeline - Keyframe.

Note

Alternatively, you can right-click the frame where you want the keyframe to be inserted and then select Insert Keyframe from the shortcut menu that displays.

This keyframe will be used to reference the location of the submenu on the timeline. Flash will use it to determine where the next action must begin.

To label the keyframe, you open the Property inspector with the keyframe still selected and type Bookings in the Name text box.

You add a new layer that will contain the secondary navigation buttons and rename it by typing sub_menu.

Then you add a keyframe to frame 10 in the sub_menu layer to hold the Bookings submenu.

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Using the Property inspector, you insert a frame comment on the keyframe – in this case by typing //Bookings menu starts here in the Name text box. This will provide a reminder of what the frame contains.

Because you have already created and saved the submenu bar and buttons, you open the Library panel to access them. In this case, you have named the submenu navigation bar "sub_menu_bar" and the buttons "national", "international", and "private."

You click and drag sub_menu_bar to the Stage and position it below the Bookings button.

You then add the buttons to the submenu navigation bar by clicking and dragging them onto the menu bar.

Try It

You now need to give the Bookings button an instance name so that you can reference the button in ActionScript.

To complete the task

1. Select the Bookings button on the Stage 2. Click the Properties tab to open the Property inspector 3. Type booking_btn in the Instance Name text box and click the Submit button

The button has been assigned an instance name.

Now you need to add the ActionSript that makes the playhead move to the Bookings submenu when the Bookings button is clicked. You select the frame to which you want to add the code – in this case, frame 1.

You then open the Actions window and add an event handler for the Bookings button using the addEventListener command, after the ActionScript that will stop the movie at the selected frame.

Code stop(); booking_btn.addEventListener(

In this case, you use the MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP event handler and create a function that will open the Bookings submenu once a user has clicked and released the Bookings button.

Code stop(); booking_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, openBookings); function openBookings(evt:MouseEvent):void

Try It

Next you add an action to the event handler to ensure the playhead stops at the correct frame – in this case, the frame you labeled "Bookings", which contains the submenu. You can then close the Actions window.

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To complete the task

1. Type gotoAndStop("Bookings"); in the Script pane and click the Submit button

Code: stop();

booking_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, openBookings); function openBookings(evt:MouseEvent):void {

} 2. Click the Close button

The playhead will now stop at the bookings frame when the Bookings button is clicked.

You can now test the movie by selecting Control - Test Movie.

You click the Bookings button and the submenu you created displays.

Once you have created a submenu with buttons, you can assign functions to the buttons using ActionScript like gotoAndStop. For example, you can link the buttons to web pages or to other SWF files.

You can also arrange your content on the timeline and add ActionScript to jump to the frames that you choose.

Question

When a user clicks and releases the Products button on a web page, you want a submenu to display.

Complete the event handler for the button.

Code stop(); Products.addEventListener(INSERT THE MISSING CODE , openProducts); function openProducts(evt:MouseEvent):void { gotoAndStop("Products"); }

Answer

You need to specify that the event handler for the button must detect the MOUSE_UP event, which occurs when a user releases their mouse button after clicking the button. So to complete the code, you type

MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP

Correct answer(s):

1. MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP Summary

An effective navigation system for an CS4 web site includes a logical site hierarchy, location indicators, and clearly labeled navigation tools – such as buttons, menus, rollover buttons, and a table of

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Navigation buttons should be labeled intuitively using legible fonts, and have a clickable appearance. To create a button, you create a static text field containing the button label and then convert this into a button symbol.

Adding secondary navigation levels such as submenus to a navigation system increases interactivity in a web site. To create a submenu, you create and save the submenu elements as symbols. You then use the timeline and ActionScript to specify when the submenu must display.

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Working with Multiple Movies in Flash CS4 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. identify reasons for dividing a site into multiple Flash CS4 SWF files . recognize how to load and display external content using ActionScript 3.0 1. Using multiple SWF files

A published SWF file can contain all the content for an entire application or web site. However, this can mean that web-based content will take a long time to download.

You can reduce download times for users by dividing a web site and its contents into multiple SWF files.

When dividing a web site into multiple SWF files, you should create a separate file for each area of content in a web site.

This helps to simplify the structure of the web site and makes it easier to edit. It is good practice to limit the size of each SWF file to approximately 50 KB.

The advantages of dividing a web site into multiple SWF files are that it

reduces download times

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files reduces download times because it enables a user to download only the area of a web site they want to view, instead of the entire web site. Decreased download times improve web site navigation and enhance the user's experience.

facilitates easy updating

If you divide a web site into multiple SWF files, you can update the source file for each SWF file separately, instead of updating the entire web site. This also means that if only certain parts of a web site require maintenance, you don't have to make the entire site unavailable to users.

enables users to bookmark pages

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to bookmark individual pages in their Internet browsers. With only one SWF file, users would need to bookmark the entire site and navigate to the sections they want each time they load the site.

Question

Why is it practical to divide a web site and its content into multiple SWF files?

Options:

1. It simplifies web site maintenance 2. It enables users to download the entire web site at once 3. It decreases download times 4. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages 5. It enables you to contain all the web site's core content and functionality in one file

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Answer

Option 1: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files facilitates easy maintenance because you can update and republish the source files for each part of the web site separately.

Option 2: Incorrect. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to download only the sections and content they want to view, rather than the full site.

Option 3: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases download times because it enables users to download only the areas of the web site they want to view.

Option 4: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to bookmark individual pages in the site using their browsers.

Option 5: Incorrect. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files involves creating a separate SWF file for each area of core content and functionality.

Correct answer(s):

1. It simplifies web site maintenance 3. It decreases download times 4. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages

2. Loading external content

In Flash CS4, you use the ActionScript 3.0 Loader class to load and display external SWF and image files.

To load a movie using the Loader class, you need to

Syntax

var urlObj:URLRequest = new URLRequest("external_movie.swf"); var loadObj:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(loadObj); loadObj.load(urlObj);

create an instance of the URLRequest class

You create a new instance of the URLRequest class by declaring a variable of the type URLRequest and defining it as a request for the file that you want to load.

The URLRequest constructor takes the SWF file's location as its parameter. The syntax to do this is

var urlObj:URLRequest = new URLRequest("external_movie.swf");

create an instance of the Loader class

You need to create a new instance of the Loader class using the constructor. This instance contains the methods that enable you to load content from any accessible source. The syntax to do this is

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var loadObj:Loader = new Loader();

add the instance of the Loader class to the Stage

You add the instance of the Loader class to the Stage as a display object, using the addChild method.

The addChild method takes the instance of the Loader class as a parameter. The syntax to do this is

addChild(loadObj);

load the instance of the URLRequest class

Finally, you need to initiate loading using the load method of the Loader class instance. This method takes the instance of the URLRequest class as a parameter. The syntax to do this is

loadObj.load(urlObj);

Say you want to create a home page for the Northglenn Fitness Club.

You decide that you want to start by calling an external movie – named Banner.swf – to display a Northglenn Fitness Club banner image. The movie is located in the same directory as the current movie, so it is sufficient to use the movie's relative URL when calling it.

You have already opened the Actions panel for the appropriate frame.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard shortcuts when navigating the Flash interface, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Creating Navigation within a Flash CS4 Movie.

Try It

To begin, you create an instance of the URLRequest class named bannerURL. You declare the bannerURL variable and then, using the URLRequest constructor, set it to store a new request for the Banner.swf file.

Code: var bannerURL:URLRequest = MISSING CODE

To complete the task

1. Type new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); and click the Submit button

An instance of the URLRequest class has been created.

Next you create a new instance – named bannerLoader – of the Loader class.

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Code var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader();

You then use the addChild method to add the bannerLoader instance you've defined to the Stage.

Code var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(bannerLoader);

Try It

Finally you load the movie using a method of the Loader class instance – bannerLoader – with the URLRequest class instance – bannerURL – as a parameter.

Code: var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(bannerLoader); MISSING CODE

To complete the task

1. Type bannerLoader.load(bannerURL); and click the Submit button

You have completed the code.

At runtime, the load method will load the request contained in the URLRequest instance, to load the banner movie into the current movie.

Code var bannerURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("Banner.swf"); var bannerLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(bannerLoader); bannerLoader.load(bannerURL);

When you test the movie, the Banner.swf movie is combined with the movie into which you've loaded it, in this case for the home page of the northglenn.com web site.

By default, the content being loaded displays at the top left of the web page.

It also automatically adopts the Stage color of the movie it is being loaded into.

Question

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In a web site you're creating, you want to call an external file named "list.swf" from within a Flash movie. You have already created a URLRequest object named listURL and a Loader object named listLoader, and added the Loader instance to the Stage.

Complete the code to load the movie.

Code var listURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("list.swf"); var listLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(listLoader); INSERT THE MISSING CODE(listURL);

Answer

You use the load method of the Loader class instance – in this case named listLoader – to load an external file. So to complete the code, you type

listLoader.load

Correct answer(s):

1. listLoader.load Summary

Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases web site download times, makes the site easier to maintain, and enables users to bookmark individual HTML pages in the site.

In ActionScript 3.0, you use the Loader class to load external SWF files into a Flash movie. To do this, you first need to create an instance of the URLRequest class and an instance of the Loader class. You then add the instance of the Loader class to the Stage. Finally, you load the instance of the URLRequest class using the load method of the Loader class instance.

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Creating a Navigation System in Flash CS4 Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. add navigation to a given Flash CS4 movie . load a given SWF file in Flash CS4 Exercise Overview

In this exercise, you're required to add navigation features to a Flash CS4 movie and then to load an external SWF file into the movie.

This involves the following tasks:

 adding navigation features  loading a SWF file Adding navigation features

Suppose you're creating a navigation system for a web site. You have created a static text field on the Stage and want to use it as a navigation button.

Graphic

The static text field contains the label "Pricelist."

SkillCheck

Convert the static text field to a button symbol, with the default name and a center registration point.

You have already selected the static text field.

Task:

1. Access the options for converting objects into symbols. 2. Specify the symbol type. 3. Specify the registration point and accept the settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select Modify - Convert to Symbol

Step 2: Select Button from the Type drop-down list

Step 3: Select the center registration point in the Registration grid and click OK

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You now decide that you want to move the playhead to the frame labeled "Pricelist" when the Pricelist button is clicked.

Question

You've already opened the Actions panel and added the event handler for the Pricelist button. When the button is clicked, you want the playhead to move to the frame labeled Pricelist and then stop play.

Complete the code to do this.

Code stop();

Pricelist.addEventListener( MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, openPricelist); function openPricelist(evt:MouseEvent):void { INSERT THE MISSING CODE }

Answer

The gotoAndStop action moves the playhead to a specified frame on the timeline and then stops play. It takes the frame name as a parameter. So the code you type in this case is

gotoAndStop("Pricelist");

Correct answer(s):

1. gotoAndStop("Pricelist"); Loading a SWF file

Rather than containing all of the content of your web site in a single SWF file, you want to divide the content across multiple SWF files.

Question

What are the advantages of dividing web site content into multiple SWF files?

Options:

1. It decreases the time it takes to download content 2. It prevents the need for after-hours web site maintenance 3. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages 4. It simplifies web site maintenance 5. It enables users to download all the content at once

Answer

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Option 1: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files decreases the time it takes to download content because it enables users to download only the sections of the web site they want to view.

Option 2: Incorrect. Although dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables you to update each SWF file separately, you may still need to do this after hours to ensure minimum user disruption.

Option 3: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to use their browsers to bookmark individual pages within the site.

Option 4: Correct. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files facilitates maintenance because you can update and republish the source files for each SWF file separately.

Option 5: Incorrect. Dividing a web site into multiple SWF files enables users to download content selectively, rather than downloading the entire web site at once.

Correct answer(s):

1. It decreases the time it takes to download content 3. It enables users to bookmark individual web pages 4. It simplifies web site maintenance

Question

You want to use ActionScript 3.0 to add an external file named demo.swf to the home page of a web site you've created as a Flash CS4 movie.

You've already created a URLRequest instance named demoURL and a Loader instance named demoLoader, and added the Loader instance to the stage.

Complete the code to load the movie.

Code var demoURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("demo.swf"); var demoLoader:Loader = new Loader(); addChild(demoLoader); INSERT THE MISSING CODE(demoURL);

Answer

You use the load method of the Loader class instance – in this case named demoLoader – to load an external file. So to complete the code, you type

demoLoader.load

Correct answer(s):

1. demoLoader.load

Question

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You now want to use ActionScript 3.0 to add an animated logo you've created in SWF format to the home page of your web site.

You've already created a URLRequest instance named logoURL and a Loader instance named logoLoader.

Type the code to add the Loader instance to the Stage.

Code var logoURL:URLRequest = new URLRequest("logo.swf"); var logoLoader:Loader = new Loader(); INSERT THE MISSING CODE logoLoader.load(logoURL);

Answer

You use the addChild method to add the Loader class instance – in this case named logoLoader – to the Stage. So the code you type is

addChild(logoLoader);

Correct answer(s):

1. addChild(logoLoader);

Navigation features have been added to a Flash CS4 web site and a SWF file has been loaded into a movie.

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Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. recognize how to test a Flash CS4 movie for publication . recognize how to use the Bandwidth Profiler in Flash CS4 . identify the functions of a preloader . recognize how to publish a movie in Flash CS4 1. Testing a movie

It's a good idea to test a movie to give you an idea of what it will look like to viewers. You can then adjust or change any aspects of the movie before you publish it.

As well as previewing a movie to test it plays as required, you can check its file size, assess whether there are any breaks or pauses between frames, test the movie's download performance, and view its streaming information.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard alternatives when publishing movies in Flash, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Publishing Movies in Flash CS4.

Flash CS4 enables you to test a movie using

the Timeline

You can use the Timeline to preview a whole movie in sequence. This is satisfactory for basic previewing but doesn't provide an accurate test of the movie's functionality. Timeline previews can't process ActionScript commands, don't always display accurate frame rates, and may skip frames or cause pauses in complex animations.

a browser

Testing a movie in a browser enables you to preview it using an appropriate file type. The file types available depend on the publishing settings you've configured. If you choose the default HTML format, the movie loads in an HTML page in the default browser.

a new window

You can test a movie in a new window by instructing Flash to generate a SWF file for it. You can then choose to preview only a specific scene or the entire movie. This is useful if the movie is large and consists of several scenes.

Dividing content into scenes or smaller movies makes it easier for users to download individual sections of a movie at a time, which is faster than downloading the whole movie at once. Testing a movie or scene in a new window also enables you to preview and test any ActionScript commands you have added to it.

the Flash player

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You can test movies created for export or published as SWF files in the Flash player. The SWF format compacts all Flash content into a single file.

Suppose you want to preview a movie in the Timeline.

To do this, you select Control - Play.

The movie plays on the Stage.

Try It

Now you want to preview the same movie in your default browser.

To complete the task

1. Select File - Publish Preview - Default - (HTML)

The movie opens and plays in the browser.

To preview a movie in a new window, you first expand the Control menu. You can then choose to preview either the current scene or the full movie.

Graphic

The Control menu includes two options for testing movies – Test Scene and Test Movie.

In this case you want to test the whole movie, so you select Test Movie.

The movie opens and plays in a new window.

To test a movie using the Flash player plug-in, you first need to locate the Flash file containing the movie.

So you access the Open dialog box and navigate to the file's location.

Graphic

The file in this example is located in Desktop - Jennifer Westlein - Documents. The file is called character_movie.

And you double-click the file.

The movie opens and plays in the Flash player.

SkillCheck

Suppose you have created a short movie for a web site and want to test it in a browser to see what it will look like once published.

Preview the movie in the default browser.

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Task:

1. Access the Publish Preview settings.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Publish Preview - Default - (HTML)

2. Using the Bandwidth Profiler

The Bandwidth Profiler is a tool you can use to test the download speeds of movies.

To access the Bandwidth Profiler for a movie, you select Control - Test Movie to preview it in a separate window.

Try It

The movie opens in a new window, from which you can access the Bandwidth Profiler.

To complete the task

1. Select View 2. Select Bandwidth Profiler

The Bandwidth Profiler opens in a pane above the content in the new window.

The Bandwidth Profiler is divided into four sections.

Movie

The Movie section shows the dimensions of the movie in pixels, the frame rate of the movie in frames per second, the size of the SWF movie file, and the duration and preload rate of the movie.

Settings

The Settings section displays the current bandwidth requirement of the movie, which is based on the download speed you've set in the profiler. The information is shown in bytes per second and bytes per frame.

State

The State section shows the current frame number, the number of bytes in it, and the percentage of the movie that has loaded when the profiler's Simulate Download feature is used.

Graph

The graph shows the playhead and a graphical depiction of the frames in the movie. The number of differently shaded vertical bars correspond to the number of frames in the movie, and the vertical height of each bar identifies a frame's size in bytes.

The red line in the graph represents the bandwidth limit. Where a frame exceeds the height of the red line, the frame contains too much data for the connection to download and play in real time. This causes a slight pause in

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playback.

For example, any frame exceeding 400 bytes will cause a delay for 56 Kbps modems accessing a movie of 24 frames per second. The byte limit for each frame depends on the movie's frame rate.

The Bandwidth Profiler displays a streaming graph by default. It indicates how the movie downloads by showing how many image segments are packed into each frame.

The image segments in the movie are represented by shaded blocks. Single vertical blocks or bars of a uniform color rising above the red line signify image segments exceeding the bandwidth setting.

You can change the streaming graph to a frame by frame graph showing only the amount of data in each image or movie segment.

Graphic

The streaming graph in this case shows 6 columns of alternating dark and light bars denoting the movie's 20 frames.

To switch to the frame by frame graph, you select View - Frame By Frame Graph.

In this graph, each frame is positioned side by side beneath the timeline header. This enables you to determine which frames are contributing to streaming delays. Frames extending above the red line in the graph will pause playback until they have finished downloading.

By default, the Bandwidth Profiler's streaming graph displays information based on the use of a 56 K modem – which has a bandwidth of around 4.7 KB per second (KB/s).

To test a movie for different download speeds, you select View - Download Settings. The Download Settings submenu includes a range of bandwidth options.

Graphic

Available download setting speeds are 14.4 (1.2 KB/s), 28.8 (2.3 KB/s), 56K (4.7 KB/s), DSL (32.6 KB/s), T1 (131.2 KB/s), User Setting 6 (2.3 KB/s), User Setting 7 (2.3 KB/s), and User Setting 8 (2.3 KB/s). The Download Settings submenu also contains a Customize option.

You decide to test the movie for a DSL connection, with a bandwidth of 32.6 KB/s.

Graphic

The DSL (32.6 KB/s) option is selected in the Download Settings submenu.

The red line in the graph moves from 200 bytes to 1.4 KB. With one exception, all columns representing frames fall below the line, indicating that they won't cause delays in playback for users with DSL connections.

You decide to return to the default streaming graph set to its default download bandwidth of 4.7 KB per second (KB/s).

Try It

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You now want to view a simulation of the movie's actual download performance at a 56.6 KB download rate.

To complete the task

1. Select View - Simulate Download

The move begins to play, as it will once a user with a 56.6 KB modem downloads it.

You can now view the movie playing below the statistics in the Bandwidth Profiler to check how delays in playback are likely to affect a viewer with a 56.6 KB modem.

SkillCheck

You have already chosen to preview a movie in a new window. You now want to view a simulation of the download performance of the movie given a download setting of 28.8 (2.3 KB/s).

Use the Bandwidth Profiler to do this.

Task:

1. Open the Bandwidth Profiler. 2. Specify the required download setting. 3. View a simulation of the download.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select View - Bandwidth Profiler

Step 2: Select View - Download Settings - 28.8 (2.3 KB/s)

Step 3: Select View - Simulate Download

3. Using a preloader

A movie can often take a long time to download. To prevent users from becoming frustrated and navigating away from the Flash content, you can add a preloader to the movie file.

A preloader is a document created to load quickly before a movie. It is usually made up of a simple animation. You can use it to entertain or occupy the user while the actual content of the movie is downloading.

For example, a preloader could show a progress bar that indicates graphically how much of a movie has downloaded.

Although a preloader can give the impression that it is causing a file to load faster, it has no actual affect on the file's download speed.

To develop a preloader, you

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1. create a preloader layer

2. add a preloader to the first keyframe of the preloader layer, ensuring that the preloader will play before the movie's content

3. situate the rest of the movie content after the first keyframe

4. add ActionScript code to ensure the preloader will play and that the full movie will play once its content has finished downloading

Preloaders enable you to delay the playhead until all frames in a movie are ready to play. This means that the movie will play without any pauses or stops.

Question

For which purposes can you use a preloader?

Options:

1. To entertain and distract users while a movie is downloading 2. To inform viewers how much of a movie has downloaded and indicate how much longer they will have to wait 3. To delay the playhead until all frames in a movie are ready to play 4. To speed up the download time of a movie to prevent viewers from becoming frustrated 5. To flatten any frame peaks, to ensure that all frames in a movie take the same amount of time to download

Answer

Option 1: Correct. Preloaders help users pass time so they don't get bored or cancel a download before it is completed.

Option 2: Correct. Preloaders can give viewers a sense of how much of the movie has downloaded and how much longer it will take. This can be achieved with a progress bar or even text stating what percentage of the download has been completed.

Option 3: Correct. A preloader holds the playhead back until all the frames are downloaded and ready to play. This prevents breaks and delays in the movie.

Option 4: Incorrect. Although a preloader can give the impression that it is quickening the download time, it has no real effect on the movie's actual download time.

Option 5: Incorrect. Preloaders have no real effect on the size or distribution of frames.

Correct answer(s):

1. To entertain and distract users while a movie is downloading 2. To inform viewers how much of a movie has downloaded and indicate how much longer they will have to wait 3. To delay the playhead until all frames in a movie are ready to play

4. Publishing a movie

By default, a Flash movie is published as a SWF file and an accompanying HTML page.

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You can choose to publish Flash documents in many other file formats. You can then configure the publish settings of these formats and save the changes as profiles, enabling you to use them again or share them with others.

Try It

To change the default publish settings for movies in Flash CS4, you access the Publish Settings dialog box.

To complete the task

1. Select File - Publish Settings

The Publish Settings dialog box opens.

The Formats tabbed page provides a list of formats in which the movie can be published.

The Flash and HTML checkboxes are selected by default, so the Publish Settings dialog box also contains Flash and HTML tabbed pages.

Graphic

The Formats tabbed page includes Flash (.swf), HTML (.html), GIF Image (.gif), JPEG Image (.jpg), PNG Image (.png), Windows Projector (.exe), and Macintosh Projector checkboxes.

There are eight file formats available on the Formats tabbed page:

Flash

Flash is a default publishing format. It creates a SWF file that requires the Flash Player plug-in on the computer playing the movie.

HTML

HTML is a default publishing format. It creates an HTML page with the movie embedded in it.

GIF

The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) supports the use of some animations. GIFs can be exported as either animated or static images. However, this format does not include most types of animated interactivity. GIFs are usually used when publishing line art.

JPEG

The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format does not enable interactivity or support animation in a movie. However, it does enable high file compression. The format is generally used for publishing content that includes photographs.

PNG

The Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format is similar to the JPEG format in that it does not permit animation or interactivity. However, the PNG format supports transparency in Flash images. This can be helpful when saving Flash content that uses the alpha channel in coloration.

Windows Projector

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The Windows Projector format publishes Flash files as executable (EXE) projector files. An EXE file is a standalone file that does not require the Flash Player to be installed.

Macintosh Projector

The Macintosh Projector format publishes Flash files as executable projector files for Macintosh systems.

Question

Say you want to publish a movie in a format that can be exported as either a static or animated image. Your movie does not require interactivity, but contains line art.

Which publishing format should you choose?

Options:

1. PNG 2. JPEG 3. HTML 4. GIF

Answer

Option 1: Incorrect. The PNG format does not enable animation or interactivity. It supports transparency in Flash files, but is not the best solution for line art.

Option 2: Incorrect. The JPEG format publishes movies as images and cannot support interactivity or animation. It is not usually used to publish line art.

Option 3: Incorrect. The HTML format option supports all interactivity but is not used for line art.

Option 4: Correct. The GIF format is typically used for line art. It supports some animation but does not enable interactivity. You can publish a movie as either an image or an animated GIF.

Correct answer(s):

4. GIF

In this example, you want to use the GIF format.

When you select the GIF Image (.gif) checkbox, a new GIF tabbed page is added to the dialog box.

In the dialog box, a separate tabbed page contains configuration options for each of the selected file formats. In this case, you click the Flash tab.

The Flash tabbed page displays options for configuring the Flash file format.

Graphic

The Flash tabbed page contains Player and Script drop-down list boxes and options in three sections – Images and Sounds, SWF Settings, and Advanced.

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The Images and Sounds section contains a JPEG quality, Audio stream, and Audio event options, as well as two checkboxes – Override sound settings, and Export device sounds.

The SWF Settings section includes four checkboxes – Compress movie, Include hidden layers, Include XMP metadata, and Export SWC.

The Advanced section contains four Trace and Debug checkboxes – Generate size report, Protect from import, Omit trace actions, and Permit debugging. It also contains a Password text box, a Local playback security drop- down list box, a Hardware Acceleration drop-down list box, and a Script time limit text box.

You can use the two drop-down list boxes at the top of the Flash tabbed page to specify the published SWF file's settings:

Player

The Player drop-down list box enables you to specify which version of Flash your movie will be published for. By default, Flash Player 10 is selected. This ensures the file is compatible with all of the new Flash CS4 features. If you're unsure, you should test your choice of version in that version's Flash player.

Flash CS4 enables you to publish a SWF file using a Flash Lite version. Older mobile phones may use Flash Lite 1.0 or 1.1, whereas newer phones are more likely to use Flash Lite 2.0 or 2.1.

Script

The Script drop-down list enables you to specify the ActionScript version you want to use. The version determines how ActionScript is managed in a SWF file. Not all ActionScript 3.0 code will work if you choose a lower scripting publish format. There are three options in the Script drop-down list – ActionScript 1.0, ActionScript 2.0, and ActionScript 3.0.

The Advanced section of the dialog box includes a Generate size report checkbox. When this checkbox is selected and you publish a file, a text file is automatically exported. You can view this file in a text editor application to identify any bandwidth-intensive elements in the published movie.

You can specify the timeout value of the ActionScript commands in your movie by using the Script time limit text box. If the command exceeds the time limit you specify, a dialog box will display, giving the user the option of aborting the script.

Graphic

By default, the Script time limit text box is set to 15 seconds.

Once you have configured the publish settings, you publish the associated files immediately by clicking the Publish button.

Note

If you click OK without first clicking Publish, the settings will be saved but the movie itself will not be published.

Once you have published the movie, you apply the changes you have made to the publish settings by clicking OK.

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You have now published your movie and saved the publish settings.

SkillCheck

You want to publish a movie in JPEG format in addition to the default formats.

Configure the required settings, publish the movie, and save its publish settings.

Task:

1. Access the publishing settings. 2. Select the JPEG format. 3. Publish the document. 4. Accept the changes and close the dialog box.

Answer

To complete the task

Step 1: Select File - Publish Settings

Step 2: Select the JPEG Image (.jpg) checkbox

Step 3: Click the Publish button

Step 4: Click OK

Summary

You can preview and test Flash CS4 movies in several environments, including the Timeline, a separate window, a browser, and the Flash player plug-in.

The Bandwidth Profiler provides a graphical representation of a movie's download performance. You can use it to test the movie's download performance at various speeds and to simulate the actual download of the movie.

A preloader is a simple animation that plays while a large file is being downloaded. Preloaders are used to distract and inform viewers while a movie is downloading.

By default, Flash CS4 publishes a movie in the SWF and HTML formats. It also provides several other publishing formats. You can configure settings for each of the formats.

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Combining Flash CS4 Movies with HTML Learning Objectives

After completing this topic, you should be able to

. identify the design considerations for combining Flash and HTML . recognize how to publish a SWF file along with an HTML page . recognize how to insert Flash CS4 content using Dreamweaver 1. Combining Flash and HTML

One of the main uses of Flash is to create visually complex and highly interactive web content. Browsers require HTML to open Flash documents using the Flash plug-in.

Flash is effective for showing simple motion animation, whereas HTML is suited for displaying static content. So it's best to use Flash for creating visual demonstration content such as animations, and to use HTML to display large amounts of text, data in table format, or static images.

You can combine the functionalities of Flash and HTML to create a balanced, well-constructed site. For example, you could create static text on a web page in HTML and use Flash movies for banner ads, video presentation, or other snippets of animated or interactive content.

To decide how to combine Flash with HTML to create a web site, you should consider the

 accessibility of the content

 balance of animation and text

 audience

 file size

 download speed

A web browser can display Flash content in an HTML page only if the page includes the necessary markup tags.

Browsers playing the movie need the Flash Player plug-in installed, and the Flash file must be in SWF format or another supported published file format.

For Flash files to be viewed in a browser, the HTML page must contain the necessary and HTML tags. These tags automatically link a file – a SWF file in the case of Flash content – with an HTML page.

Microsoft Internet Explorer reads the tag. Some other browsers on both Windows and Macintosh systems use the tag.

Instead of using Flash to generate HTML pages containing Flash content, you can use Adobe Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver is a web page authoring tool that creates an HTML framework to which Flash files can be added. It offers more control in terms of HTML layout and page design than the Flash publishing settings.

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Question

Web browsers can display Flash content in an HTML page only if certain conditions are met.

What are these conditions?

Options:

1. Adobe Dreamweaver must be installed 2. Flash files must be in SWF or image format 3. The Flash Player plugin must be installed 4. The HTML page must be created using Dreamweaver 5. The HTML page must include the necessary markup tags

Answer

Option 1: Incorrect. You don't need to use Adobe Dreamweaver to display Flash content in an HTML page. Dreamweaver simply enables you to edit HTML files, including HTML files with embedded Flash content.

Option 2: Correct. A browser can display a Flash file only in SWF format or as an image. SWF files are compressed, published versions of the original Flash (FLA) files.

Option 3: Correct. The Flash Player plug-in must be installed for a browser to access Flash files in the SWF format.

Option 4: Incorrect. Dreamweaver is an HTML authoring tool that offers more control in terms of layout and page design than the Flash publishing settings. However, it's not necessary to use Dreamweaver to create HTML pages containing Flash content.

Option 5: Correct. The HTML page must contain the necessary or HTML tags for Flash files to be viewed in a browser. These tags automatically link a file with an HTML page.

Correct answer(s):

2. Flash files must be in SWF or image format 3. The Flash Player plugin must be installed 5. The HTML page must include the necessary markup tags

2. Publishing SWFs in HTML pages

In Flash CS4, you can use publish settings to specify how HTML pages containing Flash content must be published.

Supplement

Selecting the link title opens the resource in a new browser window.

Job Aid

If you wish to use keyboard alternatives when publishing movies in Flash, access the job aid Keyboard Shortcuts: Publishing Movies in Flash CS4.

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Suppose you're designing a web page for Portage Airlines.

You've created a Flash movie of the banner that you want to embed in the web page. Before you can embed the movie, you need to create HTML code for it. You do this by publishing the movie as an HTML file with embedded Flash information.

When you publish the movie, the HTML code relating to the movie is automatically generated and inserted into the HTML code of the web page between tags.

Syntax

<\head>