Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ SWiSHmax QuickStart

The sample project has four visual elements and one sound used as a soundtrack. Two of the

objects are imported images, one is a shape you draw in the program, and the fourth is text

you add in SWiSHmax.

You can work with your own images and sound file if you prefer. You need one full-size

image in any allowed format for the background, one GIF or PNG image with a transparent

background to apply motion effects to, and some music you can use as a soundtrack.

The steps include general instructions, as well as how to use the images and sound files from

the book’s Web site. The three files are in the Chapter01 folder. To import the files you need

for the project, follow these steps:

1. Choose File ➪ Import, and browse to the location of the folder where you are storing

the artwork for your SWiSHmax projects.

2. Press the Ctrl key, and select the files you want to use. If you are working with

the sample project files, click the two image files and the sound file to select them:

airplane.png, map.jpg, and score.wav.

3. Click Open. The dialog box closes, and the files are imported into the program. When a

sound file is imported, the program asks if you want to use the sound as a soundtrack.

Click Yes. The clips are added to the project.

When you add a graphic object, it is placed at the center of the movie automatically.

Take a look around the program and see what is happening before starting the drawing and

animating processes.

First, view the list in the Outline panel displayed by default to the left of the Layout panel.

In the listing you see the two images you imported as well as the soundtrack music file. Each

file is listed under the Scene_1 heading and has an eye icon indicating the layer is visible

(or audible in the case of the sound file). Each file also has an icon identifying the layer as a

graphic or music file. When you look at the list displayed in the Timeline, you see the files

listed in the same order.

The music file can be placed anywhere in the sequence, but you must use a particular order

for both the imported images and the layers you create. If you are working with your own

files, the GIF image with the transparent background must be placed higher in the list than

the solid image used for the background.

The higher the element appears in the list, the higher it is in the stacking order. For example,

if the airplane image is above the map image in the list, then it appears on top of the map; if

the map image is above the airplane in the list, then you wouldn’t be able to see the airplane

because the map covers it. Check your list, and make sure the order is correct. If it isn’t, click

one of the file names in either the Outline list or the Timeline list and drag it up or down.

When you move an image in one area (Outline panel or Timeline) it is also moved in the

other area.

Note

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