1. The Flash Authoring Tool

In This Chapter

Working with Flash Documents 2 Working with Template Documents 6 About the Flash Authoring Environment 8 Using Panels 11 Setting Document Properties 16 Using Rulers, Grids, and Guides 21 Working with Snapping 24 Practice Session 28

Before you start working in Adobe Flash Professional CS5, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the authoring environment. On first opening Flash, you’ll see the default workspace in an application frame. The application frame holds pieces of the Flash application in a resizable window. At the top of the frame lies the application bar, which offers Maximize, Minimize, and Quit buttons; a menu for choosing workspace layouts; and a text field where you can enter terms for searching Flash’s Help system. Various docked panels appear around the edges of the window.