SWF exporter

[AjIsCoool]

I was playing with Xara animation. I produce a simple one, for testing only, but when i exported to flash format then imported into flash 5 into a new layer all the opjects or Xara frame became overlap in top of eachother. what can i do?

[AjIsCoool]

I was playing with Xara animation. I produce a simple one, for testing only, but when i exported to flash format then imported into flash 5 into a new layer all the opjects or Xara frame became overlap in top of eachother. what can i do?

[JZiehlke]

Hi,

I usually export from Xara to Flash one object or layer at a time, especially if I'm building a complex Flash animation. Then in Flash I create the layer and name it, and then import the Xara swf file and place it where I want in the timeline. I have also brought multiple layers into Flash from Xara, and then selected the various objects and moved them into different layers and positions in Flash. Hope this helps.

Joan

[ivca]

AjIsCool

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> all the opjects or Xara frame became overlap in top of eachother <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Xara exports "static" swf objects. This means they don't move. I think you are trying to create a flash movie through the gif animating utility within Xara X. It does not work this way. Both flash and (Xara's) GIF, are completely different methods to animating.

I use Joan's method to import swf's made in Xara as well... then organise the objects from in Flash. The purpose for Xara X's swf export to begin with, is for those who are "not" familiar with or find drawing stuff within Flash, a tedious process.

Wayne

[AjIsCoool]

Thank you Joan & Wayne for your reply. Wayne i think you have cleared the confusion. i thought swf will export as flash movie where i can take it into flash to add some action script to it. But you confused me more. What is the purpose of exporting to swf format? Because you said that Xara will export as gif ( bmp ) where flash is vector! Is that when using Joan way to export one at a time into flash layer will be edited and can be modified as vector? Guys i am realy confused.
Flash using Symbols to minimize the file size. when i export an animated object from a different App. (Xara, RAVE, Swish...etc) this object will be a seperate object or there is a way to customize and tell flash this is a Symbol so it can be added to the library for reusing later.
I hope you understand what i am trying to say.
sorry for this long msg.

[JZiehlke]

AjIsCoool,

When I bring in an object from Xara to Flash, I have to tell Flash to convert it to a symbol. A majority of my objects convert to Flash and remain vector. However, if you use beveling or shadows on your Xara objects, they will convert over as bitmaps. Once placed in Flash from Xara, I select what I want to be symbols, and click on the Insert tab on top of the screen, and tell Flash to convert the object to symbol. I hope this helps.

Joan

[ivca]

AjIsCool
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Because you said that Xara will export as gif ( bmp ) where flash is vector! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Precisely, for use on the web, you use the Xara's gif function for gif format, and use Flash for flash format. I'll explain.

It seems that you'd like to use Xara for creating flash movies. This is a common misnomer. Flash builds movies with a "timeline", as you know. This method is not the same as building animation with Xara's gif tools. The purpose of Xara's swf export, as stated earlier, is to let people familiar with Xara's drawing interface, to create "objects" for Flash movies.

As Joan has mentioned, all you have to do is seperate your Xara created elements within flash and convert them to symbols, seperate and layer them, etc...

Joan also said ..
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> However, if you use beveling or shadows on your Xara objects, they will convert over as bitmaps. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point. Not all of Xara's elements will export as vector.

One last thing. I'm not an expert in programming or proprietary web formats but, here's what I've observed about importing "unprotected" swfs.

I can't tell you about RAVE (Corel's verson of flash's timeline), I haven't seen it yet - but, I can tell you about SWISH.
Let's say you've created a funky text effect in Swish. You export the swf and import it into flash. You'll notice that the whole movie (swish, swf export), is placed on the timeline, frame by frame - as opposed to what appeared to be a "tween" ... when you did it in Swish(?)
Taking it a step further ... download the attatched file I've included. I did a quick experiment for you. One's a .FLA, and the other is the "unprotected" swf (of the same animation). Try this... open the .FLA file in Flash 5. It's a simple 3 layer tween. Now import the included swf and hide all the layers EXCEPT the layer containing the swf you've just imported... you'll notice that it imports the whole animation to one layer, frame by frame (BTW, a great tune by King Crimson). Where has all the tweening gone?

From what I gather, the SWF file is essentially a flattened version of the raw .FLA. It's sort of the same principle as flattening a layered Photoshop file, and exporting (or saving as) a JPEG or GIF for that matter. This is how flash file sizes are reduced and made "web ready". All unnecessary or extranious information is eliminated... (unlike this reply [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I won't say "hope this helps" but rather, "hope this doesn't confuse you further" ... 'course, i hope it's helped though.

Wayne

[ivca]

samples