Getting started with your first project in flash and ActionScript 3 is relatively easy compared to most scripting languages, in the sense that all you need is your chosen flash authoring software – Flash, Flex, Flash Builder or Catalyst. In this series we will be focusing on ActionScript 3 using the Flash authoring tool.
At this stage it would be useful to note the naming conventions when we are referring to the flash family to avoid confusion when reading this series.
- Flash – Is the Flash Authoring tool – as in the program you create flash movies in.
- Flash player – Is the browser plug-in which plays flash movies.
- Flash movie – Is the actual compiled .swf
Creating your first project
Open flash and choose new ActionScript 3 project.
Start flash project screenshot
Once your project has opened we will need to set up the project to best suit our needs. Goto the properties panel and you will see:
- Script > Make sure this is set to ActionScript 3.
- Player > Make sure this is set to 9 or higher. (try to use the lowest player which will support what you are using within your project, at this stage use 9 – Flash will tell you if you are using something that is not supported)
- The size option is your stage size in pixels
- FPS is the frames per second > This will determine the fluidity of your animation, if you have any. (Try to keep it a low as possible to reduce the load of your movie on the system)
At this point you are ready to start programming. In the next part we will look at creating your first script.
