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Adding Timeline Effects

Timeline effects are essentially pre-built animation settings that you can apply to text, graphics or button symbols. Effects include Blur, Drop Shadow, Expand and Eplode.

To add a Timeline effect to an object on the Stage:

1. Select the object, like the shape below, which appears on the first frame of Layer 1.

2. From the Insert menu, select Timeline Effects, then Effects, and then the effect you want to apply from the submenu.

A window for that effect opens, showing a preview:

3. Experiment with the settings in the window until the preview shows the effect the way you want it. Then click OK.
4. The effect is immediately applied to the object. Flash moves the object into what it calls an “effect graphic”, and moves the graphic and the tween to a new layer, which it names according to the effect:

Assets for the effect are placed into a folder in the library: