Recipe 3.4. Applying New Default Document Settings

Problem

You use document settings other than the factory defaults for many Flash projects, and you want to apply those settings as the default rather than the 540 x 400, 12 frames per second (fps), white background, pixel ruler units settings that are the factory defaults.

Solution

Select the new default settings you want from the Document Properties dialog box, and click the Make Default button.

Discussion

If you frequently use document settings that are a standard for the projects you work on, but those settings differ from the Flash factory defaults, you may have to set the document properties every time you start a new Flash project. Not only can that be a slight hassle, but it can also cause difficulties if you're using a frame rate other than the default and you accidentally forget to change the settings before adding timeline animations.

If you use some set of document settings frequently, consider assigning them as the default document settings. Although Flash has factory defaults, doing so allows you to customize the default settings with the click of a button. From the Document Settings dialog box, select the settings you want to use as the defaults. Then click on the Make Default button in the lower-left corner of the dialog box. From then on, any new Flash document will use those settings as the default.

If you use several different standard document settings, consider making new document templates for each. Recipe 3.5 discusses how to do that in more detail.