12. Managing Content and Troubleshooting

As the complexity of your Flash movie increases with the addition of bitmaps, videos, sounds, and animations, as well as the ActionScript that integrates them, you need to keep close track of all the elements so you can make necessary revisions and bug fixes. After all, the most elaborate Flash movie is useless if you can’t pinpoint the one variable that’s keeping the whole thing from working. Fortunately, Flash provides several tools for troubleshooting and managing Library symbols and code.

This chapter shows you how to create shared Library symbols and external ActionScript files that supply common elements—symbols and code—to a team of Flash developers working on a project. This chapter delves into the Movie Explorer and the Output panel, which offer information about the organization and status of your movie. The Movie Explorer provides an overview of all the elements of your movie and can quickly track the objects that interest you. The Output panel can output values and custom messages while your movie plays, helping you isolate troublesome variables or behaviors of your objects.