Otherwise, it simply highlights the item in the Library.
(For this to work, both Show Movie Elements and Show Symbol Definitions must be toggled on.)įind in Library: If the Library window is not open, this opens the Library and highlights the selected item. Select Symbol Instances: This jumps to the scene containing instances of the symbol that is selected in the Symbol Definitions area. (For this to work, both Show Movie Elements and Show Symbol Definitions must be toggled on.) Goto Symbol Definition: This jumps to the symbol definition for the symbol that's selected in the Movie Elements area. Goto Location: For a selected item, this transports you to the relevant layer, scene, or frame. These commands enable you to control how much detail is shown in the Display list and also to perform edits or revisions after you've found the specific items that you want to modify: The Options menu is accessed by clicking the options triangle in the upper-right corner of the Movie Explorer panel.
Furthermore, the Find function is an incredible timesaver when working on complex project files.įigure 6-22 shows the Movie Explorer as well as the Movie Explorer Settings dialog box, which you can open by clicking the Customize Which Items to Show button in the Movie Explorer (Customize is the far right icon in the row of filter buttons.). As an editing tool, you can use it as a shortcut to edit any symbol, for changing the properties of an instance, or even for doing multiple selections and then changing the attributes of the selected items. However, it's also useful for troubleshooting a movie, for finding occurrences of a particular font, and for locating places where you refer to a certain variable name in any script throughout a movie.
This means that you can see every element in its relationship to all other elements, and you can see this all in one place. The Movie Explorer is an especially useful tool for getting an overview and for analyzing the structure of a Flash movie. We discuss the many uses of the Find and Replace feature in Chapter 9, "Modifying Graphics." We include coverage of the Movie Explorer here because it is still the best tool for discovering the structure of a file. The Find and Replace command will be a much more efficient choice if your goal is to dig up specific elements such as fonts or colors that you wish to replace in your project file. You can open it from the application menu by choosing Window ð Movie Explorer (Option/Alt+F3). The Movie Explorer panel is a powerful tool for deciphering movies and finding items within them.