Recipe 12.8. Building an Image Slideshow Using a Flash Template

Problem

You want to create a slideshow that uses a Flash template.

Solution

Open a new Flash document using the Modern Photo Slideshow template, add your own images, and export.

Discussion

Flash ships with a slideshow template that enables you to create an image slideshow without having to know any ActionScript. The slideshow template works very similarly to the presentation templates, in that it pauses on the first frame of the main timeline and then enables the user to navigate back and forth through contents placed in sequential frames. A quick look at the contents of an .fla file shows that the main timeline contains several layers. Most of the layers contain artwork that remains constant throughout the entire slideshow. The layers labeled Captions and Picture Layer each contain multiple keyframes, however. Presumably you will want to modify the contents of those two layers, at the very least. Replace the contents of each keyframe with your own images and caption text. If your slideshow contains fewer images than the template, you can delete the extra frames from each layer. If your slideshow contains more images than the template, you can add extra keyframes to the Captions and Picture Layer layers, and add extra regular frames to the other layers.

You may also want to customize the look of the rest of the template as well. You can do so without much difficultly by replacing the artwork within the symbols used or by removing and/or replacing contents altogether. However, be aware that there is no simple way to change the appearance of the controller, and the controller must be included in the application for it to work.