Inserting and Modifying Frames
To insert frames in the Timeline, do one of the following:

• To insert a new frame, select Insert > Timeline > Frame.
• To create a new keyframe, select Insert > Timeline > Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame where you want to place a keyframe, and select Insert Keyframe from the context menu.
• To create a new blank keyframe, select Insert > Timeline > Blank Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame where you want to place the keyframe, and select Insert Blank Keyframe from the context menu.

To delete or modify a frame or keyframe, do one of the following:

• To delete a frame, keyframe, or frame sequence, select the frame, keyframe, or sequence and right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame, keyframe, or sequence and select Remove Frames from the context menu. Surrounding frames remain unchanged.
• To move a keyframe or frame sequence and its contents, select the keyframe or sequence, then drag to the desired location.
• To extend the duration of a keyframe, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the keyframe to the final frame of the new sequence.
• To copy a keyframe or frame sequence by dragging, select the keyframe or sequence, then Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) to the new location.
• To copy and paste a frame or frame sequence, select the frame or sequence and select Edit > Timeline > Copy Frames. Select a frame or sequence that you want to replace, and select Edit > Timeline > Paste Frames.
• To convert a keyframe to a frame, select the keyframe and select Modify > Timeline > Clear Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the keyframe and select Clear Keyframe from the context menu. The cleared keyframe and all frames up to the subsequent keyframe are replaced with the contents of the frame preceding the cleared keyframe.
• To change the length of a tweened sequence, drag the beginning or ending keyframe left or right. To change the length of a frame-by-frame sequence, see Creating frame-by-frame animations.
• To add a library item to the current keyframe, drag the item from the Library panel onto the Stage.
• To reverse an animation sequence, select the appropriate frames in one or more layers and select Modify > Timeline > Reverse Frames. There must be keyframes at the beginning and end of the sequence.

Using Onion Skinning
Normally, Flash displays one frame of the animation sequence at a time on the Stage. To help you position and edit a frame-by-frame animation, you can view two or more frames on the Stage at once. The frame under the playhead appears in full color, while surrounding frames are dimmed, making it appear as if each frame were drawn on a sheet of translucent onion-skin paper and the sheets were stacked on top of each other. Dimmed frames cannot be edited.

To simultaneously see several frames of an animation on the Stage, click the Onion Skin button. All frames between the Start Onion Skin and End Onion Skin markers (in the Timeline header) are superimposed as one frame in the Document window.

To control onion skinning display, do any of the following:

• To display onion skinned frames as outlines, click the Onion Skin Outlines button.
• To change the position of either onion skin marker, drag its pointer to a new location. (Normally, the onion skin markers move in conjunction with the current frame pointer.)
• To enable editing of all frames between onion skin markers, click the Edit Multiple Frames button. Usually onion skinning lets you edit only the current frame. However, you can display the contents of each frame between the onion skin markers normally, and make each available for editing, regardless of which is the current frame.

Note: Locked layers (those with a padlock icon) aren't displayed when onion skinning is turned on. To avoid a multitude of confusing images, you can lock or hide the layers you don't want onion skinned.

To change the display of onion skin markers, click the Modify Onion Markers button and select an item from the menu:

• Always Show Markers displays the onion skin markers in the Timeline header whether or not onion skinning is on.
• Anchor Onion locks the onion skin markers to their current position in the Timeline header. Normally, the Onion Skin range is relative to the current frame pointer and the Onion Skin markers. By anchoring the Onion Skin markers, you prevent them from moving with the current frame pointer.
• Onion 2 displays two frames on either side of the current frame.
• Onion 5 displays five frames on either side of the current frame.
• Onion All displays all frames on either side of the current frame.

Moving an Entire Animation
If you need to move an entire animation on the Stage, you must move the graphics in all frames and layers at once to avoid realigning everything.

To move the entire animation to another location on the Stage:

1. Unlock all layers. To move everything on one or more layers but nothing on other layers, lock or hide all the layers you don't want to move.
2. Click the Edit Multiple Frames button in the Timeline.
3. Drag the onion skin markers so that they enclose all the frames you want to select, or click Modify Onion Markers and select Onion All.
4. Select Edit > Select All.
5. Drag the entire animation to the new location on the Stage.

Using Timeline Effects
Flash includes prebuilt Timeline effects that enable you to create complex animations with a minimal number of steps. You can apply Timeline effects to the following objects:

• Text
• Graphics, including shapes, groups, and graphic symbols
• Bitmap images
• Button symbols

Note: Timeline effects share some of the same names as filter effects; however, they are completely different features. Timeline effects are automated vector animations you apply to the previously mentioned objects. Filter effects are static effects you apply to objects and animate in various ways by applying code or motion tweens.

Adding a Timeline Effect
When you add a Timeline effect to an object, Flash creates a layer and transfers the object to the new layer. The object is placed inside the effect graphic, and all tweens and transformations required for the effect reside in the graphic on the newly created layer. The new layer automatically receives the same name as the effect, appended with a number that represents the order in which the effect is applied, out of all effects in your document.

When you add a Timeline effect, a folder with the effect's name is added to the Library, containing elements used in creating the effect.

To add an effect to an object:

1  Do one of the following to add a Timeline effect:

• Select the object to which you're adding the Timeline effect. Select Insert > Timeline Effects. Then select Assistants, Effects, or Transition/Transform from the submenu, and select an effect from the list.
• Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the object to which you're adding the Timeline effect. From the context menu, select Timeline Effects. Then select Assistants, Effects, or Transition/Transform from the submenu, and select an effect from the list.

2  Effects available for the type of object you've selected appear as active menu choices.

3  In the dialog box that appears for the effect, view the effect preview based on default settings. Modify the default settings as desired, and then click Update Preview to view the effect with the new settings.

4  When the Timeline effect appears as desired in the preview window, click OK.

• Flash Animation Learning Guide (Part I)

• Figure 1
• Figure 2
• Figure 3
• Figure 4
• Figure 5