How do I change the symbol timeline from a movie clip to a button?
Posted by jerothe in 
This is maybe pretty basic, but isn’t something that I just learned in my self tutorial of Flash. If you are creating a symbol, moving quickly, you set the type to a movie clip or graphic, and mean a to make a button, you can change the type in the properties inspector. But this won’t change the timeline in the symbol. Instead;
Open the Library (F11)
Right click the symbol
Choose Behavior
Change to a different symbol type
I am using a component, and it isn’t working, what do I do?
Always double check your publish settings when working with Flash MX vs. Flash MX 2004, because the component architecture is different and uses a more recent version of Actionscript.
Go to File > Publish Settings (Ctrl+Shift+F12)
Make sure, when you check Flash, to select Flash Player Compatibly with Version 7, and Actionscript Ver 2.0. Ver 1.1 is used with the component set in Flash MX.
When I paste text into Flash, the text goes off of the canvas, how do I set the text field size?
When pasting text into Flash, make sure to drag click the text box so that the upper left corner does not have a circle, but a square, signaling a fixed box size for the text to wrap inside.
How do I send items backwards and forwards in stacking order?
Objects can be sent forward and backwards in stacking order just like an other graphics program. However, with Flash’s basic shapes, there are some complications with the rules of basic shapes already established.
In order to send back or forward, you need to group an object first, at least, if not create a symbol, and then you can achieve this result.
How do I underline text in Flash MX?
You’d think for how beloved of a program Flash is, you would be able to do something as simple as underline text. But no, it is something really complicated.
In order to underline text:
New Document in Flash.
Choose your text tool and draw a rectangle
In your properties inspector, select dynamic and give the text field a name “copy”.
Then, open the actions inspector
Type these lines of code
Copy.htmlText = “This is some random copy”
Strike = new TextFormat();
strike.underline = true;
strike.size = 12;
strike.font = “Arial”;
copy.setTextFormat(14, 20, strike);
There are other ways of doing this, using Flash’s capabilities to recognize basic HTMl in text fields, but this defines a style, sets the values and then sets the characters that should have the style applied to the text box.
Shape hints don't move with basic shape
If a movie and masks are moved using onion skinning, the shape hints will not always, if ever, move with the shape. The best solution that I have found so far, is to always do animated masking effects last, when the movie is the closest it can be to being finalized, putting more time into the planning stages of your Flash project.