Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Design and Content : Importing images into flash

[Amish_Geek]

I have a bunch of photographs I'dl ike to import into a flash movie. But they are all 1600x1200. Is there a way to resize them within flash so they are all the same size? Or do I have to manually rezise them to the correct size before importing them?

I need them to all be the exact same size as the flash movie (640x480)

[the_pm]

You can resize them in Flash, but keep in mind the file sizes will be enormous open export of your Flash file. If this isn't a problem, then you can mass-import into the library and set up a quick macro that will resize any object to your specified dimensions and reposition that object with one push of a button.

If space is a concern, you should consider resizing externally first. If you have a good bitmap editor like Photoshop, you can set up the same sort of macro (they call it an action) and resize everything in one keystroke. If not, there are applications available that can do batch conversions like this for you. www.irfanview.com is one of the best free ones. Resizing won't take more than a couple minutes this way

[Amish_Geek]

How do I set up an action/macro in photoshop? I have about 60 images that need to be resized... space is a concern for me, so I'll resize before importing

[NelKa]

the the_pm post is correct, the better option is resize out the flash because it affect the file weight.
you can use photoshop resize tools and then export for web and take the control for to optimize the photo.

[Amish_Geek]

I figured out how to make new actions, i had to enable the "action" window.

I created an action that resizes the image to 640x480, saves it, and then closes it.

I have all 60 or so images open in photoshop and now I just hit Ctrl+Shift+F2 and then Enter, and I'm making my way through all the images.


Thanks!

[the_pm]

Excellent Aaron!

In the future, you can also copy/paste all of your images into a new folder (so you have a copy in case something goes wrong), and add the save and close step to the macro as well. That way, you can simply open up all 60 images at once, and use your Shaolin fighting skills to edit all 60 images in about 3 seconds flat

[Amish_Geek]

Yeah, I did make backup copies of the high-res images, just in case.

I'm using these images in a flash movie with sound. Trying to synchronize some of the pictures with the sound.

I have my MP3 file added as Layer2. Is there a way for me to hit play halfway through the movie, and play the sound that is at that point? Right now, I have to go back to frame 1 and hit play to get the sound to play while the pictures change. It's getting highly annoying to have to replay the whole movie after every few pictures/frames that I add to make sure they were in the right spot with the song.

[the_pm]

Yep. When you go into export preview mode (Ctrl-Enter), you can click on any frame in the stream bar at the top of the page and it'll play from that spot on

[Amish_Geek]

Well, I figured the streaming thing out. If I set my sound file to "Streaming" instead of "Event", when I'm in the 'build' mode, I can slide through the timeline, and the sound plays right along as I slide...


Now I have my clip done. I did it at 640x480, and it looks real nice. However its 2.35mb. Is there a way now that I can shrink the resolution of the movie to make a low_res version, without having to resize/readd all my pictures? It wont let me change the export settings, and if I change the document size, the images stay at 640x480 and I only get the upper left corner.


[edit] Nevermind, I figured it out Under publish settings, in the HTML tab, I needed to change the dropdown menu to let me resize the output file.

[Amish_Geek]

Bugger... Resizing the output only saved me 0.3mb

[the_pm]

Yep. Flash doesn't optimize bitmaps very well. It does a great job with compressing audio though!

[glossyone]

.. and make sure save as .png if u have transparent area in your image..
it's give u more!

also dont forgot to put images quality output at 100%!

[sabian1982]

id also suggest resizing externally out of flash, plus make sure you save the images as png's as png is the best format for use in flash!!!