Flash 8 Create a Simple Button

In this Flash 8 Video Tutorial on Creating a Simple Button, you will be taken through the steps to create the most basics of buttons. Many people get confused about how to do this and so I decided to show the simple steps so that any confusion is taken away.

The first thing to do is to create the basic shape for the button background.
Say a rectangle , then select it by clicking on the arrow (selection) tool and dragging around the rectangle.
Then hit Key F8 to convert to symbol and name the button. I usually put the suffix _btn after the name so that i know it is a button.
Select type button of course and click OK.
Double click on the button to get into the button editing window.
Click on frame 2 - the Over state and hit key F6 to create a keyframe and do the same for frames 3 and 4 as well.
The hit frame is important as that is the dimensions that the mouse will register as the hitArea of the button.

Lock that layer and create a new layer and call it text.
Put some text on that layer , eg. home, back, part 2, about.
Click on the Scene 1 button to get back to the main timeline.
Select the button and give the button an instance name in the properties window(e.g. home_btn).
Create a new layer and call it actions.
Click on frame 1 of the actions layer and open the Actions Window (F9).
Put this code in : -

	stop();
	home_btn.onRelease = function(){
		gotoAndStop(1);
	}

That code will take the timeline back to frame 1 of the timeline. Other buttons may take you to other frames where you have different sections of your movie.

Flash 8 Resources

Macromedia Flash 8: A Tutorial Guide - by Jay Armstrong, Jen deHaan. Navigate the Flash workspace and use common document types. Use the Flash drawing tools and create engaging graphic effects. Use ActionScript to add interactivity and custom functionality to your documents. Connect your Flash projects to external data sources to create data-driven applications.

Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Hands-On Training - Start creating Flash animations and interactive files with little effort. You’ll learn to create vector animations using a wide variety of drawing tools and Timeline effects, and add interactivity and dynamic content to your projects by using ActionScript 2, Components.

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