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An evaluation of the business and financial performance of morrisons - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 22 Words: 6473 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Part 1 Project Objectives and Overall Research Approach 1.1 Introduction Markets across the world are gradually lifting themselves out of the doom and gloom of recession. Most markets in the UK have shown relative resiliency as they try and recover. Consumer spending and confidence have been fairly low due to adverse pressures created by the implementation of stringent fiscal and monetary policies by the government. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An evaluation of the business and financial performance of morrisons" essay for you Create order The past couple of years have seen the worst effects of recession, hence businesses had to improvise and develop strategies which would focus on retaining existing customers while attracting new customers simultaneously. WM Morrison Supermarkets plc (herein after simply Morrison) has been a success story amidst all the large scale corporate failure and has managed to remain profitable while its competitors and businesses in general have struggled a great deal. Morrisons was founded by William Morrison in 1899, operating as an egg and butter stall in Bradford, North West England. From its humble beginning Morrisons grew rapidly both in terms of its size and its product portfolio. It was only in 1967 that Morrisons was first floated on the London Stock Exchange. As per TNSglobal.com (Nov 08) Morrisons accounted for 11.8% of the total retail supermarket share in the year 2008, making it the smallest of the big four supermarkets. Morrisons operated predominantly in Northern England and it was only in 2004 that Morrisons expanded its operations in the southern part of the UK through the acquisition of Safeway superstores. Further, as per the Annual Statements published in 2010, Morrisons turnover stood at 15.4bn which was generated from 420 superstores all across the UK. Morrisons operates entirely in the UK market. 1.2 Reasons for choosing the topic Morrisons mission statement which states Keeping things simple has often fascinated me as to how could such a massive organisation operate effectively by keeping things simple at all times. Therefore I choose to analyse the financial statements of Morrisons PLC over a three year period which would provide me answers to my personal curiosities whilst also completing an important research report in my academic career. Most of the knowledge required to compile the research report was acquired through my ACCA studies but this report took me one step further as it provided me with a platform from where I could apply my knowledge in a real life scenario. 1.3 Project Objectives This project report aims to achieve the following objectives: Analysis of the business and financial performance of Morrison PLC over a period of three years i.e. from the 1st of February 2007 to 31st of January 2010. A reflective analysis of the year on year performance of Morrison PLC with critical analysis of the effectiveness of current business strategies and their adequacy to deal with future business and market challenges. Evaluation of Morrisons competitive market position in comparison with its major competitors (with particular emphasis on J Sainsbury PLC, herein after simply Sinsburys). 1.4 Research Questions The project report aims to answer the following research questions: Effectiveness of Morrisons operational and financial strategies over the three year period in review. How well did Morrison perform in comparison to its major competitors (through the use of analytical analysis tools such as ratio analysis)? 1.5 Research Approach Following is the research methodology adopted while compiling this research report: Evaluating Morrisons business performance through the use of business models such as PESTEL, SWOT and Porters 5 forces. Comparative analysis of Morrisons PLC financial statements through the calculation of key ratios such as: profitability, liquidity, gearing, investor returns and efficiency. Accessing Morrisons competitive position with its major competitors (mainly Sainsburys) through the ratios calculated. Part 2 Information Gathering and Accounting/ Business techniques 2.1 Sources of Information 2.1.1 Annual Reports and Summary of Financial Statements The main source of information utilised for compiling the research and analysis report was the annual statements of Morrison PLC. The annual reports consisted of all the relevant financial information for ratio analysis. 2.1.2 Books on interpretation of Financial and Business Data Numerous business study books and articles were read to mainly understand the scope of business analyses models and their effectiveness in analysing Morrisons performance for the last three years. Books were also consulted to ascertain key ratios and comprehend them. I also had to understand what the ratios meant in the retail supermarket sector and realise the limitation of ratio analyses. 2.1.3 Media and Internet sources Electronic and print media were the most important sources of information. The annual statements were downloaded from the internet and expert views on Morrisons performance were consulted from the Financial Times and other authentic business journals. 2.2 Methods used in collecting information The entire research is based on secondary data (i.e. data collected by someone else for their own purposes). The reasons for basing the research upon secondary resources were that no obligation to conduct primary research and the limited time period in which the research had to be conducted and then the compilation of the report. Almost all the literature reviewed and consulted was done with certain amount of scepticism (critical review) so at to ensure that the information collected presented a balanced overview. Therefore the research data was collected from various sources. Internal management view was ascertained from the detailed annual statements, as the directors are responsible for producing such documents. A standard unqualified opinion by the auditors gave further authenticity to the financial information on which almost the entire report is based. As Morrison is also a constituent of London Stock Exchange independent media and expert views were available providing key insight in the companys past and present performance and the future outlook. 2.3 Limitations of information gathering As mentioned in the earlier sections of the report the research was entirely based on secondary data therefore a very slight possibility remains that the data might have been inaccurate and unreliable. Even though the research data has been very carefully selected the chances of error remain but the majority of the work can be deemed authentic and accurate. Further, the amount of information available through various resources was immense and therefore impractical to critically review all of it which might indicate that certain key information was either missed or overlooked. Almost all the information in the annual statement is historical in nature and therefore just reviewing past performances might not truly reflect present and future expectations. 2.4 Explanation of the accounting and/or business techniques The research report focuses on evaluating the business and financial performance of Morrison over a period of 3 years. The financial side of the evaluation will be done through the use of key performance related ratios, whilst the business performance will be examined through PESTEL, SWOT and Porters 5 forces models to evaluate macro and micro activities of the business. 2.4.1 Business Performance 2.4.1.1 PESTEL analysis PESTEL is abbreviated for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal framework. According to Johnson et al. (2008)[1] it involves an examination of the macro environment of an organisation with a view to identifying the factors that might affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organisations supply and demand levels and its costs. 2.4.1.2 SWOT Analysis Johnson et al (2008) states that SWOT analysis is used to appraise the companys internal strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are usually associated from processes within the company and opportunities and threats arise from factors outside the companys control. 2.4.1.3 Porters 5 Forces Analysis Porter (1980) states that it is essential for companies to have a detailed knowledge of competitors influence on the market and that if a company considers the five competitive forces it will be able to appreciate the structure of its industry and thereby be able to put itself in a position to withstand competitor pressure. 2.4.2 Financial Performance: 2.4.2.1 Ratio Analysis Financial ratios can be calculated by comparing two figures in the accounts which are inter-related in some way. The following ratios will be used to evaluate and analyse the financial performance of Morrison: 2.4.2.2 Liquidity Ratios BPP (2009) states that liquidity ratios illustrate the solvency of a business i.e. whether it is in a position to repay its short term debts. They focus on short term assets and liabilities. Creditors are likely to be interested in liquidity ratios to assess whether they will receive the money that they are owed. The ratios that will be calculated under this category are: * Current Ratio= current assets/ current liabilities, Providers of short term credit prefer a high current ratio. * Quick Ratio= current assets-inventory/ current liability Also commonly known as acid test ratio, it is a more severe test of liquidity as it does not include inventory as a liquid asset as they are not guaranteed to be sold, they may become obsolete or deteriorate. 2.4.2.3 Profitability Ratios According to BPP (2009) stakeholders such as shareholders, owners, managers, employers and potential investors are all likely to be interested in the profitability and efficiency of a business. The ratios calculated under this category will be: * Return on Capital Employed= profit before interest and tax/ capital employed The ROCE relates to the profit generated from operating activities with the capital employed. Capital employed is generally the net assets of the company and is also referred to as shareholders fund plus long term borrowings. * Gross profit margin= gross profit/sales * 100% Shows the gross profit made on sales turnover. * Net profit margin= net profit/sales * 100% The ratio helps to measure how well a business is controlling its overheads. 2.4.2.4 Activity/ Efficiency ratios BPP (2009) states that activity or asset utilisation ratios allow a business to measure how effectively it uses its resources. The ratios that would be calculated under this category will be: * Receivables Turnover = credit sales/ trade receivables * Receivables period = receivables/ sales * 365days Receivables turnover and receivables period would be used to assess time taken by Morrisons to reclaim its short term debt on average. * Inventory Turnover = cost of sales/ inventory According to BPP (2009) this ratio measures the number of times during the year a business sells the value of its stocks * Inventory holding period = inventory/ cost of sales * 365days Stock turnover can be expressed in terms of the number of days it takes to sell inventory. 2.4.2.5 Gearing Ratio BPP (2009) states that the gearing ratio looks at the balance of funding in the capital structure of a business. Under this category the ratios that will be calculated are following: * Debt-equity ratio = total debt/ total equity This ratio establishes the total amount of shareholders fund (equity capital) in comparison to the total amount of borrowed capital (i.e. long term loans). * Interest cover = profit before tax and interest/ interest payable According to BPP (2009) the gearing ratio (i.e. debt-equity ratio) is a statement of financial position measure of financial risk. Interest cover is an income statement measure. The ratio assesses the businesss ability to pay interest by comparing profit and interest payments. 2.4.2.6 Investors Ratio Investors are interested in the returns or dividends they may get from holding shares. BPP (2009) states that a number of ratios can be used to measure these returns. The following ratios will be calculated under this category: * EPS= profit available to shareholders/ no. of shares ranked for dividend BPP (2009) defines EPS as a measure of how much each share is earning. It reflects how much is available to be paid to shareholders. * Price Earnings ratio= share price/ earnings per share According to BPP (2009) the price/earnings ratio is said to reflect the confidence shown in the company It shows how many years, at current earnings, it will take an investor to recover the cost of the share. * Dividend Yield= dividend per share/ market price * 100% BPP (2009) defines the dividend yield ratio as a measure of the value of the return on share for an investor. It shows the dividend per share as a percentage of the market price. 2.5 Limitation of ratio analysis BPP (2009) states that ratio analysis is not necessarily a complete measure of assessing a company financial performance. Limitations that can be associated with ratio analysis are as follows: Accounting principles followed whilst preparing financial statements should represent a true and fair reflection of the company and should be consistently applied over a period of time. Ratio analysis looses its credibility when management deliberately uses accounting policies to manipulate financial statements. Businesses are faced with unique risks even though they operate in the same industry. Hence the way businesses deal with there risks vary, limiting the scope of ratio analysis. BPP (2009) states that ratios on their own are meaningless. They have to be used as a benchmark to compare performance of the organisation against a similar company operating in a similar industry. Certain ratios are of a subjective nature therefore having standard definitions and formulae might not always be possible. Macroeconomic factors such as inflation rates, interest rates, changes in accounting policies and procedures are not accounted for when calculating ratios. Ratios also fail to recognise changes in corporate strategy and risk exposure of the company. 2.6 Limitation of SWOT / PESTEL / Porters Five Forces Results of SWOT analysis cannot be standardised as a threat for one organisation can be an opportunity for the other in a completely different environment. * One of the main disadvantages, as described by Dess et al (2004), is that SWOT analysis is primarily a static assessment. It focuses too much of a firms attention on one moment in time. Hence a SWOT analysis may ignore changing circumstances. * SWOT, PESTEL or Porters 5 Forces does not describe factors in terms of quantitative performance indicators. Part 3 Results, Analysis, Conclusions and Recommendations. 3.1 PESTEL analysis 3.1.1 P- POLITICAL As per the Annual Statement (2010) Morrisons did not make any political donation which is the Group policy. However this does not mean that Morrisons operation are not affected by the political decisions made by the government in the UK. Consumer spending power, both in the long and the short term are dictated by the governments fiscal and monetary policies. The UK economy like most other global economies suffered adversely due to the global recession which was directly linked with the global credit crunch crisis. During tough economic times consumer spending power is generally low due to soaring unemployment and uncertainty in the economic environment. Government in the UK has taken important measures to stimulate growth such as reducing VAT (indirect taxation) from 17.5% to 15% in the year ending December 2009, quantitative easing (i.e. pumping money in to the economy) and keeping interest rates low, encouraging people to spend rather than save. Morrisons activities in the retail supermarket industry are regulated by the Competition Commission which keeps a close eye on the activities of the so called big four supermarkets. This ensures that supermarkets do not enter in to price wars or collude to fix prices. Morrisons is also bound by UK and European legislations such as Health and Safety at work Act and National Minimum wage Act. Morrisons cannot legislate for changes in government policy but should pre-empt decisions and ensure that it is ready to face challenges which might result from changes in government policies. But it is safe to assume that Morrisons operates within a very coherent political set up and faces no barriers to trade due to governments political decision making. 3.1.2 E- Economical Morrison operates only within the UK retail supermarket industry and is therefore directly affected by the macroeconomic environment. The UK economy has been under recession over the past few years, which means contraction in the economy, leading to unemployment and weak consumer spending power due to reduction in disposable income. The direct affect of this is that customers look for bargain shopping rather than spending on premium quality products. But as Morrison operates in the retail grocery market the demand for most of its products remains largely in-elastic due to the fact that people have to feed themselves and provide for their daily needs no matter how hard their budgets are squeezed. Additionally people tend to buy food from supermarkets and eat at home rather than spending money in restaurants. Morrison has massively improved its own brand products which offer value for money and appeals to consumers who are willing to buy bargain products rather than premium quality products especially during tough economic times. Annual Statement (2010) states Sales of our own label Value range grew by 34% as consumers tightened their belts in a challenging economic environment. The following table taken from the Annual Statement 2010 further illustrates how Morrisons has consolidated its position in the UK market during the past few years: Therefore it can concluded on the basis of the above figures that Morrisons was able to enhance its position with the retail supermarket industry during adverse economic climate due to the fact it was able to supply quality products at modest prices than its competitors. 3.2.3 S- Social The social trend in UKs grocery market is that families shop almost regularly every week, mostly on the weekends targeting large supermarkets which provide them with all their family requirements under one roof. As stated in the Annual Statement 2010 Morrisons operates from 425 mega stores all across the UK catering towards the social trend of the market. Furthermore there is an ever growing emphasis towards health eating and a sustained fight against obesity. People are getting more and more conscious about what they eat. Morrisons remained a step ahead of its social demands and re-launched its Eat Smart product range and as per the Annual statement (2010 pg 21) Sales were up by 7% reflecting consumers continuing demand for a healthier diet and their concern over the nutritional value of the food they eat. 3.2.4 T- Technology Businesses across the UK are spending heavily on technological advancements, in order to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. Customers in the grocery market are increasingly using the internet to shop for their grocery needs therefore Morrisons has developed a very efficient (website) and robust (delivery system) mechanism to cater for such customers. Morrison has also launched self service check-outs in almost all of its large supermarkets resulting in improved customer service (i.e. decrease in waiting time to be served) subsequently increasing sales. Morrison is also rolling out the use of Voice-picking technology across all its grocery warehouses which has proved particularly successful in increasing depot productivity and pick accuracy and hence improving in-store product availability. (Grocerytrader, 2011) 3.2.5 E- Environmental Businesses across the world are under intense pressure to reduce their carbon footprints on the environment and adopt eco-friendly and sustainable processes. Morrisons thoroughly understands its environmental responsibility and has taken important steps to reduce its carbon footprints and subsequently become GREENER. Below is a graphical representation of decrease in Morrisons carbon footprint as stated in their Annual Review 2010 (pg14) (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 14) Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements (2010) states that during the year, free reusable bags were issued to customers, and as a result of this and other initiatives carrier bag consumption was reduced by 126 million bags. Morrisons during 2010 also completed the conversion of filling station pumps to highly efficient vapour recovery pumps which emit much reduced levels of fuel vapour in to the atmosphere. Morrisons Halifax store was awarded an excellent rating from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method indicating as to how much Morrison regards the environment in which it operates. (Morrisons, 2011) 3.2.6 L- Legal Morrison is obliged to operate in accordance with the British and European law. It has to ensure that labour and employment laws are not compromised in handling staff affairs. Any violation would result in expensive lawsuits and negative publicity. Morrison has to satisfy the minimum wage requirements. 3.3 SWOT analysis: 3.3.1 S- Strengths: Morrison has been regarded as one of the best providers of fresh quality food items. Morrisons business strategy of being the The food specialist for everyone distinguishes it from other grocery chains. Morrison takes immense pride in the provision of quality fresh food which is prepared in-store. This allows customers to choose from a variety of fresh food items such as: baked bread, meat cut to order, fish, seasonal deli selections and a range of delicious cakes and treats. Such diverse fresh food range is a major strength of Morrison and is also widely acknowledged by its customer base. Following is an illustration of the three distinct brand values of Morrison that strengthen their vision as stated in Annual Statement 2010 (pg 6): (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 6) As it is evident from the above diagram, Morrisons overall business strategy of Keeping things simple allows Morrison to concentrate on its historical strengths which is providing fresh quality food at reasonable prices. 3.3.2 W- Weaknesses: Morrison only expanded its operation in the Southern part of the UK in 2004 after the acquisition of Safeway superstores and still heavily relies on the Northern part of the UK which accounts for the major chunk of the sales revenue (55%). This leaves Morrison vulnerable to any adverse fluctuations in the economic activity of the Northern part of the UK. The following illustration taken from Annual Statement 2010 (pg 7, Courtesy Kantar World panel) depicts Morrisons market share by geographical region in the UK: (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 5) Morrison does not operate a loyalty scheme which rewards customers for shopping repeatedly in Morrison stores. This is a major weakness as some of the other loyalty schemes operated by competitors such as Tesco (Tesco Club card) and Sainsburys (Nectar Card) are able to attract secondary shoppers and retain primary shoppers through attractive rewards. Morrison at present largely operates through megastores whereas its competitors are increasingly investing in smaller convenience stores which are able to cater for local businesses and day to day shopping requirements. Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA are increasingly capturing the local convenience stores market and if Morrison does not follow suit it risks losing a major chunk of the grocery market to its competitors. Morrison only operates in the UK market. Its main competitors ASDA and TESCO operate globally and are in a better position to offset their UK losses against any foreign gains whereas Morrison will have to bear the losses. The current recession indicated that developing economies such as India, Brazil and China were still posting strong growth patterns whereas the UK economy might be heading towards a double dip recession which would further dent Morrisons profitability. 3.3.3 O- Opportunities Morrison can further improve on its own brand products. In 2010 sales of own brand products were up by 34% indicating strong growth. During tough economic times customers tend to buy value for money products rather than premium quality products. Morrison can cater for such customers and further improve its revenues. E-commerce is increasingly becoming socially popular and more and more people are shopping for their grocery needs on-line. Morrison can improve its website and develop a more robust delivery system. Hence it can improve on its revenues and market share. Morrison should expand its operations in to lucrative developing economies and take its trusted brand over to countries such as India, China, Russia and Brazil and further consolidate its position as a highly trusted supplier of quality fresh food products. 3.3.4 T- Threats As the current UK government aims to reduce budget deficit it is introducing austerity measures and has also increased VAT (from 17.5% to 20%), putting more pressure on disposable income. Many experts fear a double-dip recession which might prove disastrous for businesses in the UK. Morrison has to ensure it remains a step ahead and continues to provide products which offer value for money or otherwise will risk losing sales and its market share to its competitors. This is validated by the fact that there has been a significant increase in demand of value goods compared to premium goods. (Source Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, pg 16) Morrison so far seems reluctant to expand through convenience stores and depends largely on opening new megastores. There remains an imminent threat that Morrison might fail to seek planning permission from local authorities and might fail to expand. But however this further advocate towards the fact that Morrison should look to expand through both megastores and convenience stores. As per the TNS report of December 2008 the market was affected from the ALDI effect, this meant people were hunting for bargain products rather than quality products at premium pricing. Even though discount brands such as LIDL and ALDI represent a very small segment of the market Morrison should remain vigilant of their presence as they can easily erode in to Morrisons market share. (Source: https://adage.com/article/news/u-k-supermarket-chains-feel-aldi-effect/131086/, Accessed 20th March 2011) 3.4 Porters Five Forces 3.4.1 Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants in to the UK retail grocery market remains largely low due to the massive amount of capital outlay required and the power of the existing so called big-four. TESCO, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons operate very powerful marketing and advertisement campaigns making it very difficult for new entrants to gain a foot hold in the market. Following is a diagrammatic illustration of the big four dominance in the UK market: (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 5) Furthermore supermarket giants like TESCO and Sainsburys operate a very sophisticated and rewarding loyalty schemes. This ensures that customers stay loyal and do not switch to other brands. Large supermarket chains such as Morrison are able to offer significant price reductions and a large product portfolio. This also acts as a significant barrier to entry. Even though the threat of new entrants is low, Morrison has to be proactive to new competition and steps should be taken to neutralise their affect on the market. 3.4.2 Bargaining power of suppliers According to the Competition Commission report published in 2008 suppliers in the grocery/retail sector have little or no influence on the big four supermarket chains. The reason for such lack of influence is that supermarket chains such as Morrison can achieve a high volume of turnover on a very short period of time and therefore can dictate product prices to their suppliers. Suppliers have little or no choice but to enter in to such agreements with large supermarkets as they ensure regular cash-inflows and large orders. (Source: https://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2008/538grocery.htm, Accessed 27th March 2011) Morrison ensures that it has a very cordial relationship with all its suppliers as the products they supply are of a paramount importance to the Morrisons brand name. As per Morrisons (2010 pg 13) the board adopts a policy which is to be fair and honest in dealings with farmers and suppliers. As of 2010 Morrisons average credit period stood at 29 days as compared to 33 days in 2009. Suppliers who constantly ensure quality products are supplied on time are given necessary incentives. 3.4.3 Bargaining power of customers The bargaining power of customers in the retail grocery market remains significantly high. Although the customers are not in a position to directly affect the price of an individual product but due to readily available alternatives they can alienate Morrison without any prejudice or prior notice. Therefore Morrisons has to remain very proactive when forecasting market trends and should always try and innovate ways through which it can look after its customers. 3.4.4 Threat of substitutes The threat of substitute products and retailers is significantly high as cost of switching products or suppliers is virtually non-existent. Customers in the retail grocery market do not follow a predictive trend and get disillusioned very quickly ,without any specific reason. Morrisons business strategy of Keeping things Simple and being the Food Specialist goes a long way in attracting customers to its megastores all across the UK. But regular incentives such Eat Healthy, Special Offers and Discounts should also be utilized to attract new and retain existing customers. 3.4.5 Rivalry amongst competitors Rivalry amongst the top-four competitors remains very aggressive and direct. Apart from the direct competition from the big four Morrison should also be vary of local (Iceland) and European (ALDI and LIDL) discount brands as they can also erode in to Morrisons market through aggressive pricing policies. Even though customers buying patterns are unpredictable but generally during tough economic times customers tend to hunt for bargains and therefore are prone to be attracted towards discount brands but Morrison should further diversify its own brand range and cater for such customers. As Morrison solely focuses on the provision of fresh quality food items it can eliminate aggressive rivalry by further improving on product quality and pricing. 3.5 Ratio Analysis Ratios on their own are meaningless and provide little information unless they are benchmarked against something appropriate. Therefore Morrisons ratio will be benchmarked against Sainsburys as it represents a major competitor and operates within the same industry facing similar kind of risks and rewards. Morrisons ratio will also be compared with previous year figure in order to achieve a relative trend in the financial performance over the past three years 3.5.1 Liquidity Ratios 2008 2009 2010 Morrison Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio           0.49           0.53           0.51 Acid test Ratio           0.25           0.28           0.24 Sainsburys Liquidity Ratios Current ratio 0.62 0.54 0.64 Acid test Ratio 0.36 0.30 0.39 3.5.1.1 Current Ratio An increasing trend can be observed in Morrisons current ratio from 2008 to 2010(Appendix C). The current ratio indicates the ability of Morrisons PLC to pay its short term liabilities from its short term assets. On the contrary Sainsburys current ratio has seen a see-saw effect going from 0.62 to 0.54 to 0.64 from 2008 to 2010(Appendix F). It is also worth considering that Morrisons operates almost entirely on cash and carry business approach and also adopts a very aggressive selling approach therefore little inventory is left over. 3.5.1.2 Acid Test Ratio Acid Test ratio of both companies reveal a similar trend as the current ratio: a small increase in 2009 for Morrison and a small dip in 2009 for Sainsburys. Acid test ratio is a much more stringent test of liquidity as it removes stock or inventory from the calculations in order to reveal the instant solvency of Morrison / Sainsburys. The numbers represent the fact that the stock constitutes almost 50% of the current assets (577/1094=53%) in the three years on average which fulfils Morrisons sales intensive approach. This also points out towards the fact that almost all goods sold are financed by creditors (i.e. suppliers). 3.5.1.3 Reasoning The decrease in the current and acid test ratio of Morrison from 2009 to 2010 can be attributed to the increase in financial liabilities from 1 m in 2009 to 213 m in 2010. This increase in bank loans has been due to aggressive expanding strategy of Morrison where they have opened 19 new Co-op/Somerfield Stores in the first half of 2010. (Source Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010, pg 60) Opening new stores does require a large capital expenditure hence increasing gearing ratio, but this also means that more cash is required to buy stocks that will be sold in those supermarkets. From 2007 to 2010 Morrison has opened a total of 57 new stores nationwide under their strategy of National to Nationwide. The following picture explains the increase in Morrison stores from 2007 to 2010: (Source Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010, pg 7) 3.5.2 Profitability Ratios 2008 2009 2010 Morrison Profitability Ratios Return on capital employed (ROCE) 13.98% 14.85% 18.33% Gross Profit Margin 6.31% 6.28% 6.89% Net Profit Margin 4.72% 4.62% 5.89% Sainsburys Profitability Ratios Return on capital employed (ROCE) 10.74% 15.38% 14.30% Gross Profit Margin 5.62% 5.48% 5.42% Net Profit Margin 2.97% 3.56% 3.56% 3.5.2.1 Return on Capital employed Morrisons return on capital employed has increased from 2008 to 2010 from 13.98% to 18.33% (Appendix C). Comparatively Sainsburys ROCE has only increased marginally from 10.74% to 14.30 in the years 2008 to 2010 (Appendix F). The ROCE indicates the percentage of profit made on capital invested; hence a higher value of ROCE indicates efficient use of capital and a lower value vice versa. Morrisons average ROCE for 2008 to 2010 is 15.72% and that of Sainsburys is 13.47%, revealing more profitability in Morrison. The improvement in Morrisons ROCE is good news for both existing and potential shareholders. 3.5.2.3 Gross Profit margin Morrisons gross profit margin (GPM) was calculated as 6.31%, 6.28% and 6.89% for 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively (Appendix C). Gross profit margin indicates the profit margin achieved by Morrisons on it sales revenue after deducting direct costs. Sainsburys on the other hand had a GPM of 5.62%, 5.48% and 5.42% in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively(Appendix F). This indicates Morrisons has adopted a much stringent cost control mechanism, compared to Sainsbury, while being profitable at the same time. 3.5.2.4 Net Profit Margin Morrisons net profit margin (NPM) has increased from 4.72% in 2008 to 5.89% in 2010(Appendix C). The increase in NPM of Morrisons in 2010 can be largely attributable to reduction in administrative (overhead) expenses. This is achieved by minimising waste and maximising efficiency in individual cost centres. 3.5.2.5 Reasoning One of the main reasons for the increase in the profitability of Morrisons is its ever increasing market share that has been climbing from 11.9% in 2007 to 12.6% in 2010. As per Morrisons Annual Report and Financial statements 2010 total average basket sizes increased by 2.4% and customer numbers were up 6.7%. On average 10.5m customers are now visiting our stores each week This is confirmed by the fact that the UK grocery market has increased by 4.7% in 2009/10 and in that increase Morrisons percentage increase has been 9.1%. (Annual Report and Financial Statement 2010, pg 5) 3.5.3 Efficiency Ratios 2008 2009 2010 Morrison Efficiency Ratios Receivable turnover (times)         65.17         59.30         76.67 Receivable collection period (days)           5.60           6.16           4.76 Inventory turnover times         29.34         29.41         26.71 Inventory turnover in days         12.44         12.41         13.67 Sainsburys Efficiency Ratios Receivable turnover (times) 86.59 96.98 92.86 Receivable collection period (days) 4.22 3.76 3.93 Inventory turnover times 26.19 27.45 28.44 Inventory turnover in days 13.94 13.30 12.83 3.5.3.1 Receivable turnover and receivable collection days Morrisons receivable collection days has decreased from 5.6 to 4.76 in the years 2008 to 2010(Appendix C). This is because Morrisons rarely sells its grocery and food products on credit. Hence the amount of receivables and the time taken to recover the receivables is low. In comparison while Morrisons receivable period averaged 5.51 days that of Sainsburys averaged 3.97 days(Appendix C and F). 3.5.3.2 Inventory turnover The inventory turnover in times has of Morrisons has decreased from 29.34 to 26.71 times in the years 2008 to 2009(Appendix C). On the contrary that of Sainsburys has seen the opposite effect of increasing from 26.19 to 28.00 times(Appendix F). 3.5.3.3 Reasoning The decrease in the receivable days indicates efficient credit control procedures. The advantage of having a lower value for this ratio is that, the lower it is the more Morrison can invest and earn interest or pay up their trade creditors. The decrease in the inventory turnover days can lead to the conclusion that since 2008 to 2010, either Morrison has raised its price or their customers have started buying more premium products. This observation can be supported by Morrisons claim that the sales growths of their value products have seen a dip in 2009 with growth in their premium products as UK tries to come out of recession. (Source: Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010 , Morrison, pg 5) 3.5.4 Gearing Ratios 2008 2009 2010 Morrison Gearing Ratios Gearing           0.32           0.37           0.34 Interest Cover (times)         10.20         11.18         15.12 Sainsburys Gearing Ratios Gearing 0.41 0.50 0.47 Interest Cover (times) 4.02 4.55 4.80 3.5.4.1 Debt/equity ratio Morrisons gearing stood at 34% in 2010, 37% in 2009, and 32% in 2008(Appendix C). This indicates that the companys operations are funded largely by equity capital rather than debt capital. It also means that for every 1 invested by the equity holders 0.34 pence were invested by borrowed capital. Sainsburys gearing on the other hand was calculated as 47% in 2010 and 50% in 2009(Appendix F) 3.5.4.2 Interest Cover This was calculated as 15.12 times in 2010 and 11.12 times in 2009(Appendix C). The relative stability in interest cover ratio is very encouraging and guarantees a good credit rating for the company before its financiers. 3.5.4.3 Reasoning Even though Morrisons gearing is in line with industry expectations but it can be argued that borrowed capital is easier than raising capital. Morrisons net debt has increased significantly during the past three years as depicted above. The small increase in 2009 is due to organic growth of Morrison in 2009, where they opened 11 organic stores and 34 former Co-op/Somerfield stores opened (preliminary results 31 January 2010). This led to Morrisons taking in heavy long term loans hence increasing their gearing ratio in 2009. (Source: Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010, Morrison, pg 25) 3.5.5 Investors Ratios 2008 2009 2010 Morrison Investor Ratio Earnings per share (pence)         20.79         17.39         22.80 Price/earnings ratio         13.90         15.57         13.13 Dividend per share (pence)           4.80           5.80           8.20 Dividend Yield 1.66% 2.14% 2.74% Sainsburys Investor Ratio Earnings per share (pence) 19.14 16.62 32.10 Price/earnings ratio 19.69 17.63 10.45 Dividend per share (pence) 11.4 13.2 14.2 Dividend Yield 3.02% 4.51% 4.24% 3.5.5.1 Earnings per share Morrisons earnings per share were calculated as 22.8, 17.4 and 20.8 pence for 2010, 2009 and 2008 effectively(Appendix C). After a slight dip in 2009 which meant shareholders were losing on their wealth Morrisons has posted a strong EPS in 2010 indicating to its equity shareholders that they will increase their wealth if they continue to invest in Morrison. Comparing that to Sainsburys EPS, we can see an immense increase in its value from 2008 to 2010(Appendix F). 3.5.5.2 Price earnings ratio Price/earnings ratio indicates the amount of time in years it would take Morrisons equity shareholder to recover their investment at current earnings. Morrisons PE ratio was calculated as 13.13, 15.57 and 13.90 times in 2010, 2009 and 2008(Appendix C). The decrease in PE ratio could be largely attributable to the fall in share prices as a result of uncertainty faced by the investors in both the UK and global markets. A similar trend is observed in the P/E ratio of Sainsburys from 2008 to 2010(Appendix F). 3.5.5.3 Dividend Yield Morrisons dividend yield was calculated as 2.74, 2.14 and 1.66% in 2010, 2009 and 2008(Appendix C). After retaining profits in 2009 and 2008 Morrisons is willing to give more profits as dividends to its equity shareholders. It must be noted that profits retained are utilised for business development and expansion. 3.5.5.4 Reasoning The dip in 2009 could be largely attributed to very tough business environment which meant contraction in demand and consumer purchase power. Although a decrease in EPS and P/E ratio is observed Morrisons dividend Yield has increased significantly from 1.66% to 2.74%(Appendix C). This can be confirmed by the diagram below from its Annual report and financial statements 2010. (Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, pg15) The following graph portrays Morrisons share price compared to Sainburys and its other competitors. 3.6 Conclusion and Recommendations Morrisons financial and business analysis presents a very healthy position. Morrisons key ratios present a very good picture to both its existing and potential shareholders. Morrisons is also improving on its year on year profits and liquidity figures. In terms of macro business environment Morrison operates in a very cordial and coherent infrastructure which supports growth and competition which are vital to improve effectiveness and efficiency. Government in the UK is taking positive measures to enhance economic growth and improve customer purchasing power. Morrisons has been strong during the recession and should consolidate its position further when the UK economy shows signs of growth. Morrisons has always been true to its traditions and despite the temptations to diversify in non-food products it continues to remain resilient and offers best quality fresh food to its customers. Morrisons at present only operates in the UK market and has only recently diversified its business in the southern part of the country. They are a trusted brand in North of England but hard work and dedication is required to acquire such status in other parts of the country. They also face stiff competition from rival retailers such as Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA in the UK market. Therefore Morrisons should aim to diversify its business into lucrative developing markets such as China, Russia and India. The opportunities in these markets are enormous and through the use of the right product mix and advertising campaigns Morrisons can further improve its profitability.
Friday, December 27, 2019
Victorian Woman in Dracula - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1907 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/05/16 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Dracula Essay Did you like this example? Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, portrays many of the expectations and realities of victorian women. Set in the eighteenth century the book provides. Ineighteenth century victorian england, a womans place was to be at home. They did not have the same privileges as men. They were not allowed to go to school or hold a job. They were seen as inferior to men. A woman was inferior to a man in all ways except the unique one that counted most: her femininity. Her place was in the home, on a veritable pedestal if one could be afforded, and emphatically not in the world of affairs (Altick 54). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Victorian Woman in Dracula" essay for you Create order A women was expected to be married off so much so that before marriage they would learn domestic skills instead of attending school. These skills would include things such as cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, doing the dishes, and sewing. A women was expected to know how to do all of these things by the time she was married. Marriage and motherhood were what every victorian women was supposed look forward to. Women were seen as child bearers and caretakers.. The woman expected their husband to provide for them because they was not allowed to work and could not provide for themselves. In return the women were expected to do household things, like chores. They were also expected to take of their husband and child, if they had one. Perfect victorian women characteristically must be not only genuinely innocent but they must look innocent on the exterior. The men approved of women who were ignorant of intellectual opinion, submissive, weak and helpless (Petrie 184). If a women did not posses any of these qualities, most of the time, she was left to be a spinster. Which was looked down upon considering a womens main goal in life, in the victorian era, was to be married. Stoker captures the essence of the ideal or perfect victorian ladies and puts them in his story. With Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra. Mina is considered as the perfect victorian lady and wife. Her and her husband Jonathan, whom she loves dearly, have a perfect marriage. She is independent, intelligent and practical. Everyone sees her as being basically perfect. She is one of Gods women, fashioned by His own hand to show us men and other women that there is a heaven where we can enter, and that its light can be here on earth. So true, so sweet, so noble, so little an egoist and that, let me tell you, is much in this age, so sceptical and selfish.(Stoker 161). Lucy is also seen as a perfect victorian lady at least before she is bitten. She is described as extremely beautiful, with a vibrant, caring personality and immensely innocent. Although she is very bold, flirtatious, and seemingly a social butterfly, unlike mina, she is extremely devoted to her fiance Arthur I love him. I am blush ing as I write, for although I think he loves me, he has not told me so in words. But, oh, Mina, I love him.(Stoker 47) However In the late eighteenth century, came a wave of feminism. The feminist of this time were called new women. Characteristically, these women went against everything that was deemed acceptable by society. They wanted to be free from societys expectations and the authoritative power that men held over their lives. The new woman wanted to see economic and social change. This naturally caused fear among society. Stoker is making use of the book repeatedly to comment on the new women and the fear that came with it. Some of the New Woman writers will some day start an idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or accepting. But I suppose the New Woman wont condescend in future to accept; she will do the proposing herself. (Stoker 77). It seems as though he used it as a platform to voice his own opinion about them or maybe he was using it for the controversy of the topic. Draculas three daughters are seen as very impure, horrid and sensual. All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. (Stoker). They have rejected the expectations that society put on them as victorian women. Therefore they could be interpreted as new women. Then there is Lucy who was seen as a very perfect and pure victorian women. Until Dracula bites her we recognized the features of Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness (Stoker 180). She changed after she got bit she became sensuous and promiscuous instead of innocent and pure. Lucy is not conforming to victorian expectations either thus she can be seen as a new women. Both Lucy and the three sisters both seem to be described as horrid, impure and promiscuous. They are described this way because that is how most of society viewed the new woman. They thought thought that the women did not belong in society and were unnatural because, that was not how women were supposed to act. Furthermore, They all are influenced by Dracula who could represent the rejection of victorian ideas of femininity (Buijsman 40). Where are you Going, Where Have you Been? At the beginning of the nineteen-sixties women were still being portrayed as housewives, nurses, and school teachers. Women were still expected to get married and have children. If they did not get married they were rendered spinsters. They were supposed to aim for elegance,, beauty, a happy home, children and marriage. Women grew tired of these expectations and wanted change. In 1960 a statistician estimated what it would cost the average american male to have his meals prepared and served, his laundry dane, his house cleaned, his children cared for, his shopping done, his sexual needs met, and his social obligations catered. The bill came to something like forty-thousand dollars a year before inflation. yet observed the statistician all the average man, who couldnt afford afford all those services otherwise, is a wedding ring One exausted house wife was asked what she wanted more than anything else in the world. What I need she sighed, is a wife. (Archer 123). They also had very ve ry few to no rights In 1961, President Kennedy established a national commission on the Status of Women, which reported that women were given little or no equality with men and that eighty percent of those forced to subsist on welfare rolls were women and children. But nothing was done to change the situation.(Archer 125). This brought about a second wave of feminism. Things like equal pay, ending domestic violence, sexual harassment and there were more jobs becoming available for women. This caused a rise of women in the workplace (Heywood Drake 27). This is prevalent in Where are you Going, Where Have you Been because June, connies sister, works Her sister June was twenty-four and still lived at home. She was a secretary in the high school Connie attended (Oates 673). Over time, women were expected to be able have the same careers and pay as men do. The feminist movement had a powerful influence on Oates fiction (Daly 1). Female sexuality and objectification is very prevalent in Where are you Going, Where have you been?. She uses uses male dominance as a force against young teenage girls who have been conditioned to be submissive to males. Which makes them vulnerable to male attacks (Daly 1). She brings this situation to life in the story with Connie and Arnold friend. Connie, who is one of the main characters, is obsessed with romance and beauty. She defines herself by her beauty She knew she was pretty and that was everything (Oates 672). Connie only thinks about how others view her and is always looking at herself in the mirror. Connie also defines herself by the amount of attention she receives from the boys in her town. This could be brought on by insecurity from society making women feel like they have to look and act a certain way. She identifies too profoundly with the fallacies that movies and music place in the minds of young women. Oates plays the on teenager and female gender stereotypes to describe Connie. This makes Connie seem almost familiar or relateable in some ways. She is characterized by nativity, weakness and inexperience. She is just a teenager trying to gain her independence. However, what Connie does not realize is that by trying to gain her independence she ultimately pushes herself closer to Arnold Friend and what seems to be her demise. One day while Connie is at a diner she captures the attention of Arnold Friend Gonna get you baby (Oates 674). Arnold says this to Connie the night he first sees her at the diner. One day later in the narrative he shows up at her house wanting her to go on a ride with him. Arnold Friend would not take no for an answer Connie, you aint telling the truth. This is your day set aside for a ride with me and you know it (Oates 677). He also threatens her come out here nice like a lady and give me your hand, and nobody else gets hurt, I mean your nice old bald-headed daddy and your mummy and your sister in her high heels. why bring them into this? ( Oates 682). Connie is helpless against arnold friend. He even threatens to kick down the door I mean, anybody can break through a screen door and glass and wood and iron or anything else if he needs to, anybody at all and specially Arnold Friend (Oates 680). Eventually, at the end, Connie ends up submitting to Arnold Friend because she has no ot her choice. Oates used this to bring light to the fact that although the feminist movement is going on, which brings about a lot of female empowerment, women still need to be careful. Our society has always considered men superior to women. Which gives them power or control in both private and public settings. This can be incredible dangerous for girls like Connie, who have been taught to be submissive to dominant males by society. Works Cited Altick, Richard D. The Weaker Sex. Victorian People and Ideas. New York: W. W. Norton Company, Inc., 1973. New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. Buijsman, Simone. Gender roles in Jane Eyre, Dracula, and Middlemarch. Leiden University, 2017 Daly, Brenda. Sexual Politics in Two Collections of Joyce Carol Oatess Short Fiction. Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 32, No. 1, 1995 https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=22sid=9fcdaca5-484d-4a6a-8c07-9baa 346bbf21%40sessionmgr120bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ %3d%3d#AN=9507233937db=fth Heywood, Leslie and Drake, Jennifer. Third Wave Agenda- Being feminist, Doing Feminism. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Oates, Joyce Carol. Where Are You Going Where Have You Been? Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, edited by Robert DiYanni, 6th ed., Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007, pp. 672-683. Petrie, Charles. Victorian Women Expected to Be Idle and Ignorant. Victorian England. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Dover Publications Inc, 2000.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
A Brief Note On Diabetes Mellitus ( Dm ) - 898 Words
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose level), and its characteristic signs and symptoms are polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria. In most cases, the contributory factors include pancreatic disorder or destruction of the beta cells of the Langerhans affecting insulin production. However, globally 592 million people are expected to be diagnosed with DM by 2035 which is about 53% increase (Bone, 2015). Actually, the four different types of DM are Type 1 DM (formally known as insulin dependent), Type 2 DM (formally known as non-insulin dependent), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and secondary DM caused by hormonal abnormalities and pancreatic diseases (Arcangelo Peterson, 2013). Proper management of the diabetes include early detection, understanding the signs and symptoms and treat the patient accordingly to control the blood glucose level, since there is no cure for the disease. In addition, complications such as amputatio n and organ damage are prevented, as well as preventing untimely death. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different types of DM, also, describe gestational diabetes mellitus, drugs used for treatment, proper preparation, and administration, as well as the dietary plan. Also, explanation of the short-term and the long-term impact of the disease on patient and drug effects will be discussed. Differences between types of diabetes Type 1 and juvenile diabetes has an early onset due toShow MoreRelatedA Brief Note On Pain, Hypertension, Gout, And Diabetes Mellitus ( Dm ) Evaluation1448 Words  | 6 Pages Subjective Data: Chief Complaint: Right ankle pain for two days, routine visit for osteoarthritis, hypertension, gout, and diabetes mellitus (DM) evaluation. History of present illness: Mrs. V. J. a 68 year-old-African American female presented in the clinic complaining of a burning pain, stiffness, swelling right ankle, which radiates to the right metatarsophalangeal joint for two days, pain scale seven out of ten. She denied falling or hitting her right ankle against an object, just woke upRead MoreA Brief Note On Diabetes Mellitus ( Dm ) Is A Serious Disease That Affects Much Of The U.s. Population1140 Words  | 5 PagesDiscussion Post Week Nine NURS6051, N-20 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a serious disease that affects much of the U.S. population. DM occurs when the body had trouble regulating the amount of glucose in the blood stream. Although they share a similar name, Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is a different process, which involves kidney-related fluid retention problems. As advanced practice nurses (APNs) one must be able to differentiate, diagnose, and treat all three disorders appropriately. 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This section is a brief summary of the patient’s statistics including name, room number and age, reason for admission, medical diagnosis, relevant medical history, allergies and restrictions (S. Schroeder, 2006). Assessment/Actions section of the report focuses â€Å"†¦on nursingRead MoreThe Cardiovascular System Of Atherosclerosis3729 Words  | 15 Pages Continued buildup of plaque can lead to heart disease and cause a heart attack as well as many other health complications. There are many known risk factors that have been shown to correlate with heart disease. High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of physical activity, and obesity, are all risk factors that correlation to and increase risk of CVD. Fortunately, all of these risk factors can be managed and controlled through a variety of ways. Although CVD is mostly preventable, cardiovascularRead MoreCase Based Pediatrics for Medical Students10891 Words  | 44 Pagesclient’s relatives to perform the procedure d. Doctor’s order regarding position restrictions and client’s tolerance for lying flat 14. Which of the following is a special consideration when performing postural drainage and percussion? a. Take note of the respiratory rate of 16 to 20 per minute b. Make sure that the client can tolerate sitting and lying positions c. Client has no signs of infection d. Know the time of last food and fluid intake of the client 15. The purpose ofRead MorePolicy, Politics and Global Trends Essay7576 Words  | 31 Pagesbring the nursing perspective to policy makers and stakeholders. By identifying the values and ethical perspectives that underpin my position, I will develop criteria to evaluate the success of my work which will lead to the creation of a policy brief that can be sent to decision makers and create a plan to work with an organization/community to promote policy change at the local level. 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Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Macromedia Flash Tutorial free essay sample
Flash Tutorials Trademarks 1 Step RoboPDF, ActiveEdit, ActiveTest, Authorware, Blue Sky Software, Blue Sky, Breeze, Breezo, Captivate, Central, ColdFusion, Contribute, Database Explorer, Director, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, FlashCast, FlashHelp, Flash Lite, FlashPaper, Flash Video Encoder, Flex, Flex Builder, Fontographer, FreeHand, Generator, HomeSite, JRun, MacRecorder, Macromedia, MXML, RoboEngine, RoboHelp, RoboInfo, RoboPDF, Roundtrip, Roundtrip HTML, Shockwave, SoundEdit, Studio MX, UltraDev, and WebHelp are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. nd may be registered in the United States or in other jurisdictions including internationally. Other product names, logos, designs, titles, words, or phrases mentioned within this publication may be trademarks, service marks, or trade names of Macromedia, Inc. or other entities and may be registered in certain jurisdictions including internationally. Third-Party Information This guide contains links to third -party websites that are not under the control of Macromedia, and Macromedia is not responsible for the content on any linked site. If you access a third-party website mentioned in this guide, then you do so at your own risk. Macromedia provides these links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of the link does not imply that Macromedia endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content on those third-party sites. Speech compression and decompression technology licensed from Nellymoser, Inc. (www. nellymoser. com). Sorensonâ„ ¢ Sparkâ„ ¢ video compression and decompression technology licensed from Sorenson Media, Inc. Opera  ® browser Copyright  © 1995-2002 Opera Software ASA and its suppliers. All rights reserved. Macromedia Flash 8 video is powered by On2 TrueMotion video technology.  © 1992-2005 On2 Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www. on2. com. Visual SourceSafe is a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Copyright  © 2005 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. This manual may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without written approval from Macromedia, Inc. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the owner or authorized user of a valid copy of the software with which this manual was provided may print out one copy of this manual from an electronic version of this manual for the sole purpose of such owner or authorized user learning to use such software, provided that no part of this manual may be printed out, reproduced, distributed, resold, or transmitted for any other purposes, including, without limitation, commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this documentation or providing paid-for support services. Acknowledgments Project Management: Sheila McGinn Writing: Jay Armstrong, Jen deHaan Managing Editor: Rosana Francescato Lead Editor: Lisa Stanziano Editing: Evelyn Eldridge, Mark Nigara, Lisa Stanziano, Anne Szabla Production Management: Patrice O’Neill, Kristin Conradi, Yuko Yagi Media Design and Production: Adam Barnett, Aaron Begley, Paul Benkman. John Francis, Geeta Karmarkar, Masayo Noda, Paul Rangel, Arena Reed, Mario Reynoso Special thanks to Jody Bleyle, Mary Burger, Lisa Friendly, Stephanie Gowin, Bonnie Loo, Mary Ann Walsh, Erick Vera, the beta testers, and the entire Flash and Flash Player engineering and QA teams. First Edition: September 2005 Macromedia, Inc. 601 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Contents Chapter 1: Basic Tasks: Create a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Take a tour of the user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Change background and Stage size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Change your view of the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 View the Library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Add graphics to the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Add video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 View object properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Add video control behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Use the Movie Explorer to view the document structure . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Test the document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Find help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter 2: Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Examine the completed FLA file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Creating a new document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Changing document properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Importing graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Introducing layers and the timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Test the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Chapter 3: Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . 43 Examine the completed FLA file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Adding text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Creating a symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Adding animation to a timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Creating a button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Writing simple actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Test the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 3 Chapter 4: Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Examine the completed FLA file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Considering your audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Checking your publish settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Inserting Flash on a Dreamweaver site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Using roundtrip editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Checking for Flash Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Test the application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Chapter 5: Basic Tasks: Create Accessible Flash Content . . . . . 79 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Make your document accessible to screen readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Provide a document title and description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Provide a title and description for instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Specify that screen readers ignore elements in your document . . . . . 83 Change static text to dynamic text for accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Control the tab order and reading order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 About testing your document with screen readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Chapter 6: Basic Tasks: Work with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Select a layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Hide and show layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Lock a layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Add and name a layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Change the order of layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Organize layers in a folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Add a mask layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Add a guide layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Delete a layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Chapter 7: Basic Tasks: Create an Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Copy input and dynamic text fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Name text fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Add and name a Button component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Declare variables and values for the prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Specify values for input text fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 4 Cont ents Write a function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Write an event handler for the component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Test your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Chapter 8: Basic Tasks: Use Layout Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Set up your workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 Use guides to align an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Change the Stage size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Resize objects to match the Stage size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Specify snap alignment settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Align an object using the alignment guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Align objects using the Align panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Snap objects to each other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Align objects using the Property inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Align objects using the grid and arrow keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Chapter 9: Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances . . . . . . 117 Set up your workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 About creating symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Create a graphic symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 19 Duplicate and modify an instance of a symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 Modify a symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Create a movie clip symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Assign an instance name to the movie clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Add an effect to the movie clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Chapter 10: Basic Tasks: Add Button Animation and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Set up your workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Create a button from grouped objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Name a button instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 View the hit area by enabling buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Change the hit area of a button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Align buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Create animation for a button state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Add an action to a button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Add navigation to a button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Test the SWF file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133 Contents 5 Chapter 11: Basic Tasks: Create a Presentation with Screens (Flash Profe ssional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 View the screen hierarchy and screen Timelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 View screen properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Add content to a presentation slide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Add screen navigation behaviors to buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Add and name a slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 Select and move slides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Add content to a new slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Add transition behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Test your p resentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Chapter 12: Creating Graphics: Draw in Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Select a shape tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Select options to create a polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Draw a polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Rotate the shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Use the cutout feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Transform the shape of your drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Copy strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Draw with the Line tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Select and add a different fill color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Group the shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 Create a logo with the Pen tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Chapter 13: Creating Graphics: Create a Timeline Animation . . 153 Create a motion tween . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Create a shape tween . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Copy and paste keyframes in an animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Change the speed of the animation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Test the SWF file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Chapter 14: Creating Graphics: Making Animations with Easing (Flash Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Examine the completed FLA file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Open the starter document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Test the application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 6 Contents Chapter 15: Creating Graphics: Applying Gradients . . . . . . . . . . 177 Examine the completed FLA file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Open the starter document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Apply a linear gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Create a radial gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 Create a transform gradient with a shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186 Apply the finishing touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Test the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Chapter 16: Creating Graphics: Apply Graphic Filters and Blends (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Review your task. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194 Open the starter document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195 Apply filters and blends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Chapter 17: Text: Add Text to a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Set up your workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Create an expanding-width text block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Create a fixed-width text block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Edit text and change font attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Select device fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Add an input text field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Copy a text field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Assign instance names to text fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Create a dynamic text field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Specify format options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 View ActionScript for the dynamic text field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Test the SWF file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Check spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Chapter 18: ActionScript: Use Script Assist mode . . . . . . . . . . 209 Examine the completed FLA file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Open the starter document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Add a script to a button by using Script Assist mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Add frame scripts to the Timeline by using Script Assist mode . . . . . 18 Add a frame script to the Title movie clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221 Test the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Contents 7 Chapter 19: ActionScript: Write Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226 Create an instance of a symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Name button instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Initialize the document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228 Apply ActionScript syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Locate ActionScript reference documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Add comments to ActionScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Write a function for a button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Copy and modify a button function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Check syntax and test your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234 Chapter 20: ActionScript: Add Interactivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 Name button instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Add a scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Move between scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 Control the document with a stop() action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Link a button to a scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Add navigation to return to Scene 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Play a movie clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Use a behavior to play an MP3 file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Test your document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Chapter 21: ActionScript: Create a For m with Conditional Logic and Send Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Set up your workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Add an input text field to collect form data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246 Add a Submit button to the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Add an error message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248 Add a confirmation message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Add a stop() action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Add frame labels for navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Add conditional logic for the Submit button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Pass data out of a SWF file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252 Write a functi on for the Try Again button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Test your SWF file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 8 Contents Chapter 22: ActionScript: Work with Objects and Classes . . 255 Set up your workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Learn about classes and object types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Create an object from a class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Create a custom class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Create two objects from the Product class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Learn about extending existing classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Extend the MovieClip class to create a new class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Chapter 23: Data Integration: Overview (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Chapter 24: Data Integration: Using the Macromedia Tips Web Service Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Connect to a public web service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Create a user interface and bind the components with the web service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 Chapter 25: Data Integration: Using XML for a Timesheet (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Create the user interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Edit the data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 Chapter 26: Data Integration: Using XUpdate to Update the Timesheet (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Update the timesheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 Contents 9 10 Contents Introduction This part of Flash Help includes several step-by-step tutorials, designed to teach you the fundamentals of Flash. Macromedia recommends that you go through the lessons using the sample files provided. The path to the sample file is provided in each lesson. By completing these hands-on lessons, you’ll learn how to use Flash to add text, graphics, and animation to your Flash applications. Additionally, you’ll learn how easy it is to customize your Flash application by using ActionsScript and behaviors. The lessons are targeted toward beginners to intermediate-level Flash designers and developers who want to get up to speed quickly. Each lesson focuses on a specific Flash design feature or topic and takes approximately 10–20 minutes to complete, depending on your experience. In these lessons, you learn how to create a Flash document, write ActionScript, work with video and video ontrol behaviors, and add a Flash component. This book is not a comprehensive manual detailing all the features of Macromedia Flash. For in-depth information about using Flash, from within the Flash application, select Flash Help (Help Flash Help). NO T E 11 12 Introduction CHAPTER 1 Basic Tasks: Create a Document You’re about to exper ience the power of Macromedia Flash Basic 8 and Macromedia Flash Professional 8. You’ll see how, in a few minutes, you can create a compelling web experience that combines video, text, graphics, and media control behaviors. You can print this tutorial by downloading a PDF version of it from the Macromedia Flash Documentation page at www. macromedia. com/go/ fl_documentation. In this tutorial, you will complete the following tasks: Take a tour of the user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Select panel sets and arrange panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Change background and Stage size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Change your view of the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 View the Library panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Add graphics to the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Add video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 View object properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Add video control behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Use the Movie Explorer to view the document structure. . . . . . . . 22 Test the document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Find help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 1 Before taking this lesson, we recommend that you read Getting Started with Flash, to learn about the Flash workspace. To access this guide, select Help Getting Started with Flash. 13 Take a tour of the user interface First, you’ll open the starting FLA file that you’ll use to complete this lesson. Each lesson includes one start file, and a finished file that demonstrates how the FLA file should appear upon completion of the lessons. . To open your start file, in Flash select File Open and navigate to the file:  ¦ In Windows, browse to boot driveProgram FilesMacromediaFlash 8Samples and TutorialsTutorial Asset sBasic TasksCreate a Document and double-click document_start. fla. On the Macintosh, browse to Macintosh HD/Applications/ Macromedia Flash 8/Samples and Tutorials/Tutorial Assets/Basic Tasks/Create a Document and double-click document_start. fla.  ¦ The Create a Document folder contains completed versions of the tutorial FLA files for your reference. N OT E The document opens in the Flash authoring environment. The document already includes two layers in the Timeline. To learn more about layers, select Help Flash Tutorials Basic Flash Work with Layers. One of the layers is named Guides, which contains items to assist you in placing objects correctly on the Stage. The other layer is named Content. This is the layer in which to place the objects that will compose your document. 2. Select File Save As and save the document with a new name, in the same folder, to preserve the original start file. As you complete this lesson, remember to save your work frequently. 14 Basic Tasks: Create a Document Select panel sets and arrange panels The Default Workspace Layout panel set arranges your workspace in a way that facilitates taking lessons. You’ll use this layout for all lessons that you take in Flash.  ¦ Select Window Workspace Layout Default. You can move panels around, and resize them, as follows:  ¦ You can undock a panel by clicking the upper-left corner of the panel, in the title bar, and dragging the panel to another location in the workspace. If the panel snaps against a border, it is docked in a new location (or docked in the same location, if you moved it back). Otherwise, the panel is undocked.  ¦ You can resize an undocked panel by dragging the lower-right edge out to enlarge the panel. Use tools to create Flash content The white rectangular Stage area is where you can arrange objects as you want them to appear in your published file. You can open several documents at once and use document tabs, above the Stage, to navigate between them. N OT E The Tools panel, next to the Stage, offers a variety of controls that let you create text and vector art. To learn more about tools in the Tools panel, select Help Flash Tutorials Creating Graphics: Draw in Flash and Help Flash Tutorials Text: Add Text to a Document. 1. 2. Click the Pencil tool in the Tools panel. Click the Stroke color box in the Tools panel colors area, and select any color except white. Drag around the Stage, without releasing the mouse, to draw a line. You’ve created Flash content. Your finished document will be much more impressive. Take a tour of the user interface 15 Undo changes Flash can undo a series of changes to your document. You’ll undo the artwork that you just created. . To see the undo feature in action, first open the History panel (Window Other Panels History). The Pencil tool appears in the panel, because using the tool was your last action. 2. Do one of the following:  ¦  ¦ Select Edit Undo Pencil Tool. Press Control+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Macintosh). Your scribbles disappear from the Stage. The History panel now shows a d immed Pencil tool, which indicates the undo action was executed. Flash, by default, is set to undo 100 of your changes, in reverse order of execution. You can change the default setting in Preferences. To change your references, see â€Å"Setting preferences in Flash†in Getting Started with Flash. 3. To close the History panel, click the pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the panel and select Close Panel. View the Timeline Just above the Stage, you see the Timeline and layers. You can create and name layers, and then add content to frames on layers to organize how your Flash content plays as the playhead moves across the frames.  ¦ Move the mouse pointer over the area that separates the Stage from the Timeline. When the resizing handle appears, drag up or down slightly to resize the Timeline as necessary. Playhead Keyframe Resizing handle 16 Basic Tasks: Create a Document The playhead (the red indicator line) is on Frame 1 in the Timeline. The keyframes are designated by small circles in the frames, which are filled, indicating there’s content in those frames. You can add a keyframe to a document when you want the Flash content to change in some way in that frame. Change background and Stage size The Stage provides a preview of how your Flash content will appear in your published file. You’ll change the size of the Stage to accommodate artwork designed for a larger Stage, and you’ll change the background color of the Stage. . 2. In the Tools panel, click the Selection tool. On the Stage, click anywhere in the gray workspace that surrounds the Stage, or on the background area of the Stage, so that no objects are selected. The Property inspector, under the Stage, displays properties for the document when no objects are selected. 3. To change the Stage background col or, click the Background color box and select a light shade of gray, such as gray with the hexadecimal value of #CCCCCC. To change the Stage size, click Size in the Property inspector. In the Document Properties dialog box, enter 750 for the Stage width, and then click OK. The Stage resizes to 750 pixels wide. 4. Change background and Stage size 17 Change your view of the Stage You can change your view of the Stage without affecting the actual Stage size of your document. 1. In the Stage View text box, above the right side of the Stage, enter 500%. Then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh). Your view of the Stage enlarges to 500%. In the Stage View pop-up menu, which you access by clicking the control to the right of the text box, select 100% to view the Stage in dimensions that correspond to the size of the published Flash content. 2. View the Library panel Flash content that you import or that is a symbol is stored in your Library panel. To learn more about symbols and instances, select Help Flash Tutorials Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances.  ¦ To view the Library panel, select Window Library. We’ve already imported library items and created symbols for objects that you’ll use in this lesson. Flash also contains a library of buttons that you can use in your document. To view this library, after taking this lesson, select Window Common Libraries and select the Buttons library. N OT E 18 Basic Tasks: Create a Document Add graphics to the Stage To add library items to your document, you verify that you’re adding the object to the correct layer, and then drag the item from the Library panel to the Stage. 1. In the Timeline, click the Content layer name to select that layer. With the Selection tool selected, drag the Title movie clip, which contains a bitmap image and vector graphic, from the Library panel to the Stage and align it on top of the gray bar at the top of the Stage that contains the word Title. In Flash, you can work with bitmap images, which describe graphics using pixels, and vector art, which uses mathematical representation to describe art. For more information, see â€Å"About vector and bitmap graphics†in Using Flash. 2. With the Content layer still selected, drag the text symbol from the Library panel to Stage, and align it with the Trio ZX2004 text that’s already in place as a guide. You can use your keyboard arrow keys to nudge the text into place. The title text is actually a graphic created from text. Add video The Library panel includes an imported Flash video file (FLV). You’ll add the video to your document, and Flash will add the necessary frames to play the video. To learn more about using video in Flash, see â€Å"Working with Video†in Using Flash. 1. Verify that the Content layer is still selected in the Timeline. From the Library panel, drag the ggb_movie_for_trio_new video to the dark gray Video guide on the Stage. A dialog box appears that indicates Flash will add 138 frames to the Timeline for the video. Click Yes. Drag the playhead across the Timeline to view the video. 2. 3. Add video 19 View object properties When you add an object to the Stage, you can select it, and then view and change its properties in the Property inspector. The type of object selected determines which properties appear. For example, if you select a text object (not a text graphic, which you use in this lesson), the Property inspector displays settings such as font, type size, and paragraph formatting, which you can either view or change. If no object is selected, the Property inspector displays properties for the entire document. 1. On the Stage, with the Selection tool selected, click the Title graphic. The Property inspector (Window Properties Properties) shows specifications, such as height, width, and Stage coordinates, for the movie clip. 2. . On the Stage, click the bounding box for the video movie clip that you dragged to the Stage and view its attributes in the Property inspector. In the Instance Name text box of the Property inspector, enter video as the instance name. An instance is an occurance of a symbol on the Stage. Because ActionScript, the Flash scripting language, often refers to instance names in order to perform op erations on instances, it is a good practice to name the instances you create. To learn more about naming instances, see the tutorial: â€Å"ActionScript: Write Scripts†on page 225. NO TE Add video control behaviors Behaviors let you add complex functionality to your document easily, without having to know ActionScript, the Flash scripting language. You’ll now add behaviors for video control. 1. 2. In the Timeline, click Frame 1 of the Content layer to select it, if it’s not already selected. On the Stage, click the Play movie clip instance (which looks like a play button) to select it. In the Behaviors panel (Window Behaviors), click Add (+) and select Embedded Video Play. To learn more about symbols and instances, select Help Flash Tutorials Basic Tasks: Create Symbols and Instances. 20 Basic Tasks: Create a Document . In the Play Video dialog box, verify that Relative is selected. Select video, which is the instance name that you gave to the video clip, and click OK. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. On the Stage, click the Pause movie clip instance to select it. In the Behaviors panel, click Add (+) and select Embedded Video Pause. In the Pause Video dialog box, again select the video movie clip, and click OK. On the Stage, click the Rewind movie clip instance to select it. In the Behaviors panel, click Add (+) and select Embedded Video Rewind. In the Rewind Video dialog box, select Video. In the Number of Frames to Step Back text box, enter 20. The Number of Frames to Step Back text box indicates how many frames the playhead should move back when the user clicks the Rewind button. Additional video control behaviors let you fast-forward, hide, and show a video. N OT E Add video control behaviors 21 Use the Movie Explorer to view the document structure The Movie Explorer helps you arrange, locate, and edit media. With its hierarchical tree structure, the Movie Explorer provides information about the organization and flow of a document. 1. Select Window Movie Explorer. If necessary, enlarge the Movie Explorer to view the tree structure within the pane. The Movie Explorer filtering buttons display or hide information. 2. Click the pop-up menu in the title bar of the Movie Explorer, and select Show Movie Elements and Show Symbol Definitions, if they’re not already selected. Configure the filtering buttons, along the top of the Movie Explorer, so the only ones selected are Show Buttons, Movie Clips, and Graphics; Show Action Scripts; and Show Video, Sounds, and Bitmaps. If you move your mouse pointer over a button, a tooltip displays the name of the button. Examine the list to view some of the assets included in the document, and to see their elationship to other assets. 3. 4. In the Movie Explorer pane, expand Actions for Play to view ActionScript that Flash created when you added the Play video control behavior. To close the Movie Explorer, click its close box. 5. 22 Basic Tasks: Create a Document Test the document As you author a document, you should save and test it frequently to ensure the Flash content plays as expected. When you test the SWF file, click the video control buttons to see if the video stops, plays, and rewinds as expected. 1. Save the document (File Save) and select Control Test Movie. The Flash content plays in a SWF file window. Although . fla is the extension for documents in the authoring environment, . swf is the extension for tested, exported, and published Flash content. 2. When you finish viewing the SWF content, close the SWF file window to return to the authoring environment. Find help The lessons provide an introduction to Flash, and suggest ways that you can use features to create exactly the kind of document required. For comprehensive information about a feature, procedure, or process described in the lessons, see the Help tab of the Help panel (Help Flash Help). Summary Congratulations on creating a Flash document that includes graphics, a video, and video control behaviors. In a few minutes, you learned how to accomplish the following:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Tour the user interface Dock and undock panels Change the background and Stage size Change your view of the Stage View your document library Add graphics to the Stage Add video Summary 23  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ View object properties Add video control behaviors Use the Movie Explorer to view the document structure Test the document Find help To learn more about Flash, take another lesson. 4 Basic Tasks: Create a Document CHAPTER 2 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 Macromedia Flash Basic 8 or Macromedia Flash Professional 8 can seem like a very complex programs to learn. One reason for this seeming complexity is that you can use it for so many different things, such as cartoon animations, media players, and sophisticated software. This tutorial is suitable for you if y oure opening Flash 8 for the first time. This tutorial shows you some of the fundamental aspects of the program, and how to get started using them to build a real project. You dont need to know anything about Flash or animation to complete this tutorial; in fact, youll discover how easy it is to start using Flash 8 to add elements to your web pages. This is Part 1 of a three-part tutorial on how to build a simple animated banner in Flash and add it to a web page using Macromedia Dreamweaver. Youll learn how to create a file and modify its settings, import and add graphics to the Stage from the library, and create layers in Part 1. In Part 2 and Part 3, youll add an animation and create a button that opens a browser window. Then youll specify publish settings, and add the banner to a web page. â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1†on page 25: You learn how to create and structure the banner application. â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2†on page 43: You learn how to add animation, create a button, and write basic scripts. â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 3†on page 63: You learn how to publish your SWF file, and insert the file into a Dreamweaver website. You do not need any prerequisite knowledge to complete these tutorials. 2 25 In Part 1 of this tutorial, you will complete the following tasks: Examine the completed FLA file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Creating a new document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Changing document properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Importing graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Introducing layers and the timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Test the application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 The tutorial workflow includes the following tasks: â€Å"Examine the completed FLA file†on page 27 lets you view the completed Flash document. â€Å"Creating a new document†on page 29 shows you how to create a FLA file that you’ll use to create the banner throughout the three parts of this tutorial. â€Å"Changing document properties†on page 30 shows you how to change the dimensions of your SWF file. â€Å"Importing graphics†on page 33 shows you how to import assets into your document’s library. â€Å"Introducing layers and the timeline†on page 36 shows you how to create and manipulate layers in the main Timeline. Test the application†on page 40 shows you how to export and test your document’s SWF file, which lets you test your progress so far.  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ 26 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 Examine the completed FLA file As you examine the finished version of an application that you’ll create, you’ll also look at the Flash workspace. In this section, you will complete the following tasks:  ¦  ¦  ¦ â€Å"Open the authoring document†on page 163 â€Å"Review the completed FLA file†on page 28 â€Å"Close the completed FLA file†on page 28 In subsequent sections you’ll go through the steps to create the application yourself starting with a brand new FLA file. Open the finished FLA file It’s helpful to analyze the completed authoring document, which is a FLA file, to see how the author designed the application. You should examine what kinds of scripts were used to add interactivity, and understand what you are going to create. The files for this tutorial are located in the Samples and Tutorials folder in the Flash installation folder. For many users, particularly in educational settings, this folder is read-only. Before proceeding with the tutorial, you should copy the entire FlashBanner tutorial folder to the writable location of your choice. On most computers, you will find the Flash Banner tutorial folder in the following locations:  ¦ In Windows: boot driveProgram FilesMacromediaFlash 8Samples and TutorialsTutorial AssetsBasic TasksFlashBanner. On the Macintosh: Macintosh HD/Applications/Macromedia Flash 8/ Samples and Tutorials/Tutorial Assets/Basic Tasks/FlashBanner/.  ¦ Copy the FlashBanner folder to another location on your hard disk to which you have access. Inside this folder are three directories for each part of this tutorial: Part1, Part2, and Part3. In the FlashBanner/Part1 folder, you will find a Flash file called banner1_complete. fla. Double-click the file to open it in Flash. You now see the completed tutorial file in the Flash authoring environment. Examine the completed FLA file 27 Review the completed FLA file In the completed FLA file, you will see the structure that makes up the finished SWF file for Part 1 of this tutorial. The application, a Flash banner for a gnome website, looks like this at the end of Part 1: The completed banner at the end of Part 1. By the end of Part 3 of this tutorial, you will add the graphics, animation, and interactivity to the banner. Then, you’ll insert the banner on a website using Dreamweaver. Close the completed FLA file To close the document, select File Close. If you prefer to keep the finished file open as a reference while working with your banner file, be careful not to edit it or save any changes to it. Now you’re ready to start creating your own banner file in the next section, â€Å"Creating a new document†. 28 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 Creating a new document You can create all kinds of different elements for the web or for CD-ROMs and devices using Flash 8. First, you create a file in the Flash authoring tool, which you use to output SWF files. SWF files are the files that you can put online when you embed it in a web page. The Macromedia Flash Player plug-in then displays the SWF file, so your website visitors can view or interact with the content. Your SWF file can contain video, MP3 sound, animations, images, data, and so forth. The benefit of using an SWF file over other formats is that the Flash Player plug-in is incredibly common. Lets start building a banner. 1. Open the Flash application. By default, Flash displays the Start Page (see the following figure), which enables you to select a recently edited document, create a new Flash document or ActionScript file, or create a new document using a pre-built template. If you use Flash Professional 8, you can create additional kinds of files. By default, Flash displays the Start Page when it’s started. This figure shows the options available in Flash Professional 8. Creating a new document 29 2. Click Flash Document from the Create New column on the Start Page to create a blank document. If Flash doesn’t display the Start Page (the feature might have been disabled earlier if you share a computer) you can select File ; New from the main menu to create a new document. Make sure the General tab is active, select Flash document, and click OK. 3. 4. NO T E NO TE Select File ; Save As from the main menu. Name the file banner. fla, find or create a new directory to save your project in, and click Save when youre done. Flash saves editable documents as FLA files. From the FLA file, you export (or compile) SWF files that you can embed in an HTML page. Flash Player, installed on most computers, plays the SWF files that you export from Flash. Its a good idea to save a new document when you start working with it (and often thereafter) so you dont lose any of your hard work. After you finish saving the file, proceed to the following exercise, â€Å"Changing document properties†. Changing document properties At this point youre looking at a blank canvas surrounded by many controls (see the next figure). The large white square is called the Stage, and its where you place assets you want to display in the SWF file, such as images, buttons, text, or animations. The Stage and panels are commonly called the Flash workspace or authoring environment. The Flash environment consists of the Stage and a variety of panels, tools, and the Timeline above the Stage. For detailed information on each part of the workspace, see â€Å"Take a tour of the user interface†on page 14. 0 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 Around the Stage you see a variety of panels. The panel on the left is called the Tools panel (see the following figure). This panel includes tools you can use to create and modify documents, such as tools you use to draw and make selections. Use the Tools panel to draw and make selections. You use the Selection tool (the black arrow) to make selections in these tutorials. A panel near the bottom of the Flash application is titled Properties. (Select Window Properties Properties if you dont see the panel. This panel is called the Property inspector (see the following figure). This panel lets you change various properties of whatever is currently selected in your document (such as an image or a frame), or set properties for the entire SWF file (such as the frame rate or dimensions). For information on controlling the frame rate of a document, see â€Å"Change the frames per second speed†on page 159. Changing document properties 31 If you dont have any objects or frames selected, the Property inspector allows you to modify properties for the document itself. 1. Open the Property inspector (Window Properties Properties) and click the button next to the text that says Size to open the Document Properties dialog box. Make sure that you don’t have a frame selected. Click the Stage if you do not see the button mentioned in the previous step. NO T E NO T E Click this button in the Property inspector to open the Document properties dialog box. You can then change the size and color of the Stage. The button displays the current dimensions of the FLA file (550 x 400 pixels). By default the Stage size in a new Flash document is 550 pixels wide by 400 pixels high. When you click Size, you open a dialog box where you can change several document-wide properties (such as the Stage dimensions, color, and document frame rate). 2. Type 160 into the Width text box, and 600 into the Height text box. When you type new values into these text boxes, you resize the dimensions of your FLA file. You need to use these specific dimensions because youre creating a banner and you should use a standard banner size. In this tutorial, youre creating a wide skyscraper. For a list of standardized banner sizes, check out the Interactive Advertising Bureaus page on Interactive Marketing Units at www. ab. net/ standards/adunits. asp. You can also create banners from a Macromedia template by selecting File ; New from the main menu. Select the Templates tab and select the Advertising category. 32 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 3. Click OK when you finish entering the new dimensions to return to the authoring environment. When you return to the authoring environm ent, notice how the dimensions of your document change. You can also change the current documents background color and frame rate directly in the Property inspector, without going to the Document Properties dialog box. Youll find information about frame rate in Part 2 of this tutorial, â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2†on page 43. 4. Select File ; Save to save the document before you proceed to the next section (â€Å"Importing graphics†). Importing graphics When you work with Flash, youll often import assets into a document. Perhaps you have a company logo, or graphics that a designer has provided for your work. You can import a variety of assets into Flash, including sound, video, bitmap images, and other graphic formats (such as PNG, JPEG, AI, and PSD). Imported graphics are stored in the documents library. The library stores both the assets that you import into the document, and symbols that you create within Flash. A symbol is a vector graphic, button, font, component, or movie clip that you create once and can reuse multiple times. So you don’t have to draw your own graphics in Flash, you can import an image of a pre-drawn gnome from the tutorial source file. Before you proceed, make sure that you save the source files for this tutorial as described in â€Å"Open the finished FLA file†, and save the images to the same directory as your banner. la file. 1. Select File ; Import ; Import to Library to import an image into the current document. Importing graphics 33 Youll see the Import dialog box (see the following figure), which enables you to browse to the file you want to import. Browse to the folder on your hard disk that contains an image to import into your Flash document. 2. 3. Navigate to the directory where yo u saved the tutorial’s source files, and locate the bitmap image saved in the FlashBanner/Part1 directory. Select the gnome. png image, and click Open (Windows) or Import (Macintosh). The image is imported into the documents library. You can drag assets from the library onto the Stage several times if you want to see several instances of the artwork. Your file size doesnt increase if you use several instances on the Stage. The SWF file only stores the information of the original symbol or asset from the library, and treats each instance like a duplicate.. 4. NO T E Select Window Library to open the Library panel. Youll see the image you just imported, gnome. png, in the documents library. 5. Select the imported image in the library and drag it onto the Stage. Dont worry about where you put the image on the Stage, because youll set the coordinates for the image later. When you drag something onto the Stage, you will see it in the SWF file when the file plays. 34 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 6. Click the Selection tool, and select the instance on the Stage. If you look at the Property inspector youll notice that you can modify the images width and height, as well as the images X and Y position on the Stage. When you select an object on the Stage, you can see and modify the current coordinates in the Property inspector (see the following figure). The X and Y coordinates match the registration point, which is the upper left corner of this movie clip symbol. 7. Type 0 into the X text box, and type 0 into the Y text box. Typing these values in sets the X and Y coordinates both to 0, as shown in the following figure. Set the X and Y coordinates using the Property inspector. Set the X and Y values to 0. Importing graphics 35 Setting new coordinates moves the upper-left corner of the image to the upper-left corner of the Stage. You can drag the bitmap image around the Stage using the Selection tool instead of changing coordinates in the Property inspector. Use the Property inspector when you need to set a specific position for an object, like you did in this step. 8. Select File ; Save to save the document before you proceed to the next section (â€Å"Introducing layers and the timeline†). You can also import sound files into your FLA files. This isnt covered in this tutorial, but you can find out more information Chapter 12, â€Å"Working with Sound†. N OT E Introducing layers and the timeline The Timeline is above the Stage in the Flash workspace. The Timeline, which contains layers and frames, helps you organize assets in your document, and also controls a documents content over time. Flash documents can play over a length of time, like movies or sound, which is measured using frames. Layers are like transparencies that stack on top of one another, and each layer can contain images, text, or animations that display on the Stage. Youll learn more about frames and the Timeline in Part 2 of this tutorial, â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2†on page 43. The FLA file youre working on has one layer (Layer 1) with contents on a single frame (Frame 1). This is the default way that a Flash document opens. In this exercise, you lock and rename Layer 1. Often youll want to place objects in a particular position on the Stage. To help you keep those objects in place, Flash enables you to lock layers, so you cannot select the items on a layer and accidentally move them. 36 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 In this section, you will complete the following tasks:  ¦  ¦ â€Å"Creating a new layer†on page 38 â€Å"Importing to a layer†on page 39 Select Layer 1 in the Timeline and click the dot below the lock icon, as shown in the following figure. 1. Lock a layer so its contents aren’t accidentily moved or deleted from the Stage. You can also prevent inadvertently adding other assets to that layer. With your only layer locked, you need to add new layers before you can add any other objects to the Stage. You cannot add new objects to a locked layer. 2. Select the Selection tool in the Tools panel, and double-click the name Layer 1. When you double-click a layer name, you can modify the name of the layer. 3. Type background into the layer name to rename the layer. Then save your file. When you start building projects with many layers, layer names like Layer 1 and Layer 14 dont help you determine whats on that layer. Giving layers a descriptive name is a good practice to adopt. 4. Select File Save before you proceed to the next exercise (â€Å"Creating a new layer†). You can also organize layers into layer folders. For more information, see â€Å"Organize layers in a folder†on page 94. N OT E Introducing layers and the timeline 37 Creating a new layer In just about any Flash project where you use imported graphics and animation, youll need to create at least a few layers. You need to separate certain elements onto their own layers, particularly when you start to animate objects. You can also stack graphics on top of each other, and even create a sense of depth or overlapping by using multiple layers. 1. Select the background layer on the Timeline, and click Insert Layer to create a new, empty layer. The new layer is created above the background layer (see the following figure). Click Insert Layer to insert a new layer above the currently selected layer. 2. 3. Double-click the name of the new layer so the layers name becomes editable. Type animation to rename the new layer. Graphics on the Stage stack according to the layers on the Timeline. For example, anything that you put on the animation layer will appear above the image on the background layer. You will add animation to this second layer in Part 2 of this tutorial. 4. Select File Save before you proceed to the next exercise (â€Å"Importing to a layer†). If you need to reorganize your layers you can use the Selection tool to select and then drag a layer above or below other layers on the Timeline. N O TE 38 Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 1 Importing to a layer In an earlier exercise, â€Å"Importing graphics†, you imported the gnome. png image directly into the documents library. Then you dragged the image onto a selected layer on the Stage. You can also import assets directly to the Stage instead of into the library. First you need to select the frame into which you want to import the image on the Timeline. Then you can import the image onto that frame, which displays on the Stage. You use this technique to import an image in the following exercise. 1. Select frame 1 of the animation layer. You need to import star. png image to the animation layer. Select File ; Import ; Import to Stage. The Open dialog box appears where you can select an image from your hard disk. Find the folder of this tutorials source files on your hard disk. 2. 3. Select star. png in the tutorials source files, and click Open (Windows) or Import (Macintosh). The image imports to the animation layer (see the following figure), and then it appears on the Stage. The image imports to the frame on the layer that you select on the Timeline. You will learn more about the Timeline and layers in Part 2 of this tutorial, â€Å"Basic Tasks: Creating a banner, Part 2†on page 43. 4. Open the Library panel (Window ; Library). The image you just imported to the Stage also appears as an asset in the library. Even if you import an asset directly to the Sta
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