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Creating a new component symbol

All components are MovieClip objects, which are a type of symbol. To create a new component, you must first insert a new symbol into a new FLA file.

To add a new component symbol:

  1. In Flash, create a blank Flash document.
  2. Select Insert > New Symbol.

    The Create New Symbol dialog box appears.

  3. Enter a symbol name. Name the component by capitalizing the first letter of each word in the component (for example, MyComponent).
  4. Select the Movie Clip radio button for the behavior.

    A MovieClip object has its own multiframe Timeline that plays independently of the main Timeline.

  5. Click the Advanced button.

    The advanced settings appear in the dialog box.

  6. Select Export for ActionScript. This tells Flash to package the component by default with any Flash content that uses the component.
  7. Enter a linkage identifier.

    This identifier is used as symbol name, linkage name, and as the associated class name.

  8. In the AS 2.0 Class text box, enter the fully qualified path to the ActionScript 2.0 class, relative to your classpath settings.

    Note: Do not include the filename's extension; the AS 2.0 Class text box points to the packaged location of the class and not the file system's name for the file.

    If the ActionScript file is in a package, you must include the package name. This field's value can be relative to the classpath or can be an absolute package path (for example, myPackage.MyComponent).

    For more information on setting the Flash MX 2004 classpath, see Understanding the classpath.

  9. In most cases, you should deselect Export in First Frame (it is selected by default). For more information, see Best practices when designing a component.
  10. Click OK.

    Flash adds the symbol to the library and switches to symbol-editing mode. In this mode, the name of the symbol appears above the upper left corner of the Stage, and a cross hair indicates the symbol's registration point.

    You can now edit this symbol and add it to your component's FLA file. (See Editing symbol layers.)

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