The following points are guidelines for you to create optimal Flash files to export to or import in Harmony.
The following are limitations that apply when importing .swf files, whether they were exported specifically for Harmony or just regular Flash Movie files.
Drawing Features
- The line width will be preserved, whether it's constant or varied with the Width tool.
- Any line caps and line joins other than round will be converted to round line caps and line joins
- The flow of gradients must be set to Extend Color, which is the default flow for gradients. Gradients with a Reflect or Repeat flow will cause the entire symbol in which they're located to be ignored.
Effects
The following effects will not be imported by Harmony:
- Filters (ie: Adjust Colour, Drop Shadow, Bevel, etc.)
- Colour Effects (ie: Alpha, Advanced, Brightness and Tint)
- Blending (ie: Layer, Darken, Multiply, etc.)
- Render: Cache as Bitmap (Export as Bitmap is supported)
- 3D Rotations
- Component properties
Bitmap Images
Bitmap images must be either .jpg or .png format. Symbols that have their Render mode set to Cache as Bitmap will also be imported.
Flash Export Guidelines
The following are rules to follow when exporting assets from Flash for import in Harmony.
Scene Root
What can be at the scene root:
- Only symbols. A minimum of one symbol is necessary. It could be a MovieClip or a graphic.
What cannot be used at the scene root:
- Shapes: Colour shapes and line shapes
- Bitmaps
- Drawing objects
- Groups: The group works differently at the scene level. They are understood as shapes at the scene level—see Flash Export and Import Guidelines.
Timeline
These features can be used in the Flash file, but will not appear when imported in Harmony.
- Guide layers for references
- Locked layers
- Disabled layers
- Folders in the Timeline view
- Other: Several symbols on the same layer/keyframe. Harmony will spread them over several drawing layers, implicitly performing a Distribute to Layers operation in the process.
Not recommended:
- Mixed layers—see Flash Export and Import Guidelines
- Symbols, shapes, bitmaps and groups in the same layer/keyframe
- Symbols with drawing objects
Library View
In the Library view, the following will not be exported:
- ActionScript Linkage
- Embedded fonts
Mixed Layers
Mixed layers are something you must seriously consider before trying to export a Flash project to Harmony. Otherwise, there can be unexpected results or no export at all. In fact, it's best to avoid having mixed layers altogether.
A mixed layer is defined as a layer that has more than one instance of objects at the same keyframe. It could be a mix of symbols and groups; groups and drawing objects; symbols and shapes, and so on. Since Harmony understands symbols better than groups or drawing elements, some information can be lost along the way.
| Parameter | Description |
| Drawing Objects |
No matter what is inside a drawing object, it will always be understood as a shape. So if a drawing object shares the same layer with a shape, it won’t be a real mixed layer, since they are all understood as shapes. |
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Groups that Contain Only Symbols (MovieClip or graphic) |
When there is a symbol inside a group, the group will be ungrouped automatically during the export from Flash. The symbol inside it will be understood by Harmony as a Drawing node. But if there is more than one symbol inside the group, all the symbols will be understand as if they were only one symbol. For example, if you have a group containing five MovieClips and one graphic, Harmony will create one Drawing node to contain the five MovieClips and one graphic. This can be useful when you want to create a repetitive texture and you don’t want to have each repetition separated in Harmony. There is no differentiation between symbols. |
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Groups that Contain Symbols and Shapes |
When there is one or more symbols with shapes inside the same group, the group will be ungrouped automatically during the export from Flash, but all the symbols and shapes will be exported as if they were one symbol. There is no differentiation between symbols and shapes. |
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Symbols and Groups on the Same Layer |
If there are symbols and groups sharing the same layer, each symbol will be separated from all the groups which will then be grouped together as one element. In Harmony, each symbol will have its own Drawing node, but all groups share one Drawing node. Since only symbols can have a name, its name is propagated to the Drawing node and peg. Groups, however, will receive the name of the MovieClip followed by an underscore and an appropriate number. For example, of you have a group inside a symbol called HEAD, the group will receive the name HEAD_1 if there is already a Drawing node that was created with the same name. |
| Symbols and Drawing Objects/Shapes on the Same Layer |
If there are symbols and drawing objects/shapes sharing the same layer, the symbols will be separated from them and all the drawing objects/shapes will be kept together. Drawing objects and shapes cannot be separated. In Harmony, the symbols will have their own Drawing node and the drawing objects/shapes will share the same Drawing node. Since only symbols can have a name, its name is propagated to the Drawing node and peg. Drawing objects and shapes, however, can't do this. Drawing objects and shapes will receive the name of the MovieClip followed by an underscore and an appropriate number. For example, if you have a group inside a symbol called HEAD, the group will be named HEAD_1 if there is already a Drawing node that was created with the same name. |
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Groups and Drawing Objects or Shapes on the Same Layer |
In order to have groups and drawing objects/shapes on the same layer, these elements must first be inside a symbol. Groups and drawing objects/shapes sharing the same layer in Flash will be exported as one Drawing node. This Drawing node will contain both drawing objects and shapes, and receive the name of the symbol in which they are contained. |
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Mixed Instances at the Same Level as a Symbol |
Mixed instances at the same level as a symbol can occur when, at the same level inside a symbol, there is more than one type of element sharing the same timeline at a specific frame. Those elements may be mixed layers. Type of problems that can occur if mixed instances are kept:
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