Library View
The Library view is used to store elements such as animation, drawings, backgrounds and puppets to reuse in different projects. You can also use the Library view to create and store your symbols.
To reuse an element from another project, you must create a template out of your drawings. A template is a mini scene that you import in your other project. A template has no link to the original scene. When you create a template, the full content of your selection is copied in the template.
You also have the possibility to create symbols. These can be used as drawing containers when you are creating puppets so that you can store different mouth shapes or hands to use while animating. Note that drawing layers already have this capability without being a symbol. You can also use symbols when you are building props, such as a skateboard whose wheel you want to reuse for the four skateboard wheels.
The Library View menu allows you to access commands that are related to the Library view, such as importing SWF movies and Illustrator files, adding a new folder and refreshing the library’s content.
The Preview window is used to see the content of the currently selected template or symbol in the Template/Symbol list.
The Preview Playback button is used to play back the content of the selected template or symbol if it contains more than one frame. Press the Play button to play back the preview.
The Library Folder List displays all the folders linked to the Library view. There are two default folders:
• | Symbols: This folder is the only folder containing symbols. You can organize it by adding subfolders inside. |
• | StageLibrary: This is a default folder found on the hard drive in your user documents. This folder can contain templates, but no symbols. |
You can link new library folders to the Library view and organize them with subfolders.
The Template/Symbol list displays the templates or symbols contained in the selected library folder. You can display the templates and by right-clicking the symbols’ thumbnails and selecting View > Thumbnails.