Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ SWiSHmax QuickStart

There are a number of common fonts you can use if you don’t have the suggested font in

your system. Arial, Bank Gothic, and Century Gothic are similar to Eras Demi.

2. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the Font Size field and select an alternate

font size. The text size of the sample project is 36.

3. Click the color swatch to open the Color Selector to select a custom color. Click on a

color swatch in the panel to select it. You can also enter a Hex number in the Hex field.

For the sample project, type CC6699 in the Hex field, which is a dark pink.

4. Click the Text Justification icon and choose an alternate alignment for the text, if

desired. For the sample project, click Center Justify to center the text on the stage.

5. Click the Text type button and choose Static Text from the dropdown list. The Static

Text label appears on the button.

If you don’t know the name of the buttons, move your mouse cursor over a button to display

a tooltip.

When you are finished editing your text, check its location in the Outline panel or the Timeline,

and move the layer, if necessary. For the sample project, make sure the text layer is third from

the bottom, above the bkdg shape and the map.jpg layers.

Aligning objects with one another

There is one thing you should check before you start animating. Look at the stage, and make

sure the objects are placed on the stage where you want them to appear. The location of a

drawn object or text depends on where you click the stage with the tool when you start con-

structing the object.

Before you begin to animate the objects in a movie, make sure the text and the text back-

ground Autoshape are aligned to your liking.

For the sample logo project, the center of both the text and the background should be the

same.

When you set the position for an object, you can move the object and eyeball the location or

use menu commands and make sure its location is exact.

1. Select the text layer, and then press the Ctrl key and select the Autoshape layer.

Make sure you select the layers in this order.

2. Click the Align relative to button to display the dropdown list and choose Relative to

Stage.

3. Click Modify ➪ Align ➪ Center (Horizontally). This aligns both elements horizontally.

4. Click Modify ➪ Align ➪ Center (Vertically). The text position shifts to the center of the

Autoshape layer. Save the file.

Applying Effects to the Movie Layers

Now the fun starts! One of SWiSHmax’s strongest features is quick and effective animation. A

word of caution before you start — there are dozens (if not hundreds!) of pre-built animations

from which you can choose. With such a banquet of effects, it can be difficult to find the right

animations to use and to restrain yourself from choosing one of everything.

Note

Tip

Note

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