Copyright: © 1999 ... your company


Welcome

Swish is a standalone Windows application designed to make animated text effects quick and easy.  Swish animations can be exported to a web page and used as a banner, or they can be imported into Macromedia Flash and used as part of a larger Flash movie.  Swish text effects include Explode, Squeeze, Typewriter and Wave.  Swish also supports Events and Actions that allow you to add interactivity to your animation.  Future versions of Swish will support images, vector artwork and advanced interactivity.

Version 1.5 can import and play audio files, adds three new effects, has improved object positioning tools, and adds two new actions for building pre-loaders.  See What's New in Version 1.5.

The demonstration version of Swish will scramble the letters of any text exported from the program.  Registration for a single user costs only $30 (US. dollars).  Minor version upgrades (e.g. 1.0 to 1.1) are free of charge.  Major version upgrades (e.g. 1.x to 2.x) will cost around $10.

System Requirements:

•	Windows 95/98/NT4/2000

•	Pentium 100 or better.

•	32Mb of RAM

•	256 color display or better.

•	Swish does NOT require Macromedia Flash be installed.

For more information visit Swishzone.com or email sales@swishzone.com

Credits

•	Swish is a Macromedia Flash-Enabled application.  Swish incorporates the Flash Player which enables it to preview SWF animations without launching an external player or browser.

•	Swish incorporates the LAME MP3 Encoder.  LAME is distributed under the GNU Library General Public License.  The LAME source code can be downloaded here.

•	This Help File was made with EC Software Help & Manual

•	The Swish installer was created using MindVision Installer VISE.

•	Thank you to Flash Kit for hosting the Swish support forum.


What's New in Version 1.51

Version 1.51 is the first major upgrade to SWiSH since version 1.0.  The most significant changes are three new effects, and sound support.  Version 1.51 is a FREE UPGRADE for customers who have purchased any previous version.  Customer keys used with earlier versions will work with version 1.51.

New features in version 1.51 include:

•	Images

Swish can now import GIF, JPEG and PNG images.  Only Simple Effects can be applied to an Image Object.

•	Sound

Swish can now import audio files into a movie.  Sounds are saved in the Content Tab and played back with the Play Sound action.  Sounds can be played in response to a Frame Event or a Mouse Event and stopped with the Stop Sound and Stop All Sounds actions.  Swish can import MP3 files directly as well as most WAV files.

•	New Effects

Swish 1.51 includes three new effects; Vortex, Blur and 3D Spin.

•	Preloaders

The If Frame is Loaded action allows you to build "Preloaders".  That is, looping animations that play while the rest of the movie downloads.  The Preload Content can be used to download content before it is used.

•	Kerning and Leading

The Text Tab now includes two controls for adjusting Kerning and Leading.

•	Improved object positioning

Overlapping objects are now easier to select in the View Window.  To reduce clutter, objects can be temporarily hidden by clicking the eye icon on the Scene List.  The position of an object can be adjusted using the arrow keys, or set precisely by entering an X, Y co-ordinate.  Objects can now be aligned using any side or corner of the object, as well as the center point.

•	New Installer

Swish 1.51 has a new installer built with MindVision Installer VISE.  The new installer means fewer installation problems and across a broader range of system configurations.


What's New in Version 1.01

Version 1.01 is the first update to SWiSH since the initial release.  It is primarily a bug-fix version, however it does include a few new features, including:

The Export Tab.

The new Export Tab allows you adjust export options for the Export to SWF and Publish options on the File Menu.

These options include:

•	Exporting the Swish movie so that it is suitable to import into a Flash movie clip (i.e.the movie is offset to the left and upwards).

•	Clipping objects that are outside the movie window.

•	Exporting all text characters as shapes (symbols).

•	Showing or hiding the Flash player menu.

•	Looping (or not looping) the published movie.

•	The Flash player window mode (window, opaque or transparent)

•	The Flash player quality (antialiased or not)

•	The HTML alignment of the Flash player window.

Support for Japanese and Chinese character sets.

Version 1.01 now supports Japanese and Chinese character sets correctly.  Any effect that can be applied to Latin characters can also be applied to Japanese and Chinese characters.

Bug Fixes and Workarounds.

•	Background color is now exported correctly when Swish movies are published.

•	SWI files can be opened from the Samples menu on systems that have file extensions hidden.

•	Systems with many thousands of fonts installed will now display the text tab without freezing.

•	A warning message is now displayed when you attempt to overwrite an existing file.

•	A few obscure crashing bugs have been fixed.

•	A warning message is now displayed when Adobe Type 1 (PostScript) fonts are used on Windows NT4.  Due to a bug in Adobe Type Manager for Windows NT Swish may not function correctly when you attempt to play (or export) movies that contain PostScript fonts.  This bug also affects Macromedia Flash (read this technote from Macromedia).  This workaround explains how to avoid the problem.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is SWF?

A. SWF is the file format used by Macromedia Flash to deliver graphics, animation and sound over the Internet. SWF files are much like GIF files and will play in most browsers without installing a plugin.  SWF files can be imported into Macromedia Flash and used as part of a larger animation.  SWF is pronounced "swiff".

Q. Do I need Flash installed to use Swish?

A. No, Swish is a standalone application.  It is not a plugin for Flash.  Swish can export SWF animations and create web pages without Flash being installed.  However, Swish is very handy for Flash users because it allows them to import text effects into larger Flash movies.

Q. Can I Import Swish movies into Flash?

A. Yes!  Yes  Yes!

Q. How do I import Swish movies into Flash?

A. In Swish, select Export to Swish from the File menu and enter a filename. In Flash, select File | Import and select Files of Type: Flash Player (*.swf, *.spl) on the Flash Import dialog.  Then choose the SWF file you exported from Swish and press Open.  Flash will create a new layer and place the Swish animation in that layer.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash.

Q. Why is my text scrambled when I export to SWF (or preview in my browser) ?

A. This is intended. When you purchase Swish the text is exported correctly.

Q. Swish animations imported into Flash are difficult to select and move.   How do I make them easier to manipulate?

A. In Flash, first create a movie clip and import the Swish animation into the movie clip. Then place an instance of the movie clip on the stage.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash

Q. When I Import a SWF into a Flash movie clip the animation is shifted down and to the right.  How do I fix this?

A. In Swish, check the "Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip" option on the Export Tab, re-export the SWF from Swish, and re-import the SWF into the movie clip.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash

Q. When I Import a SWF into a Flash layer the animation is shifted up and to the left.  How do I fix this?

A. In Swish, uncheck the "Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip" option on the Export Tab, re-export the SWF from Swish, and re-import the SWF into Flash.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash

Q. Why don't actions I added in Swish import into Flash?

A. This is a bug in Flash.  Flash will not import actions buttons, movie clips or sounds from a SWF file.  Read this Technote from Macromedia.

Q. Why don't sounds I added in Swish import into Flash?

A. This is a bug in Flash.  Flash will not import actions, buttons, movie clips or sounds from a SWF file.  Read this Technote from Macromedia.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash

Q. Why doesn't Swish support FLA files?

A. FLA is a closed format.  Macromedia has only published the specifications for SWF (the Flash Player format) not FLA.  Therefore only Macromedia can read and write FLA files.

Q. Why doesn't Swish support LIV (Live Motion) files?

A. LIV is a closed format.  Adobe has not published the specifications for LIV, therefore only Adobe can read and write LIV files.

Q. Is a Mac version planned?

A. A Mac version is probably a year away or more. SWFs created by Swish will play on a Mac, and can be imported into the Mac version of Flash.

Q. How can I reduce the size of the SWF file produced?

A. Reuse similar fonts in similar sizes and colors.  Minimize use of effects where lots of objects (or components of objects) are moving at once (such as explode and squeeze).  Check the "Clip Objects to Window" option on the General Tab -- this will prevent objects that are outside the movie window from moving.

Q. Why do some effects produce larger SWF files than others?

A. Effects where lots of objects  (or components of objects) are moving at once, such as explode and squeeze, require many "PlaceObject" tags to be exported in every frame of the SWF file.  Effects such as typewriter only change the current letter being typed, requiring only one "PlaceObject" tag per frame.

Q. Why do letters "stick" to the edge of the movie when I import my Swish animation into Flash?

A. You have the "Clip Objects to Window" option checked on the General Tab.  Uncheck this option and re-export your Swish movie.

Q. I opened a Swish Movie created on another machine, and some of the fonts are not displaying correctly.  Why?

A. You do not have all the fonts installed on your machine.  Missing fonts will be displayed as Times-Roman.  You need to install all the fonts used in the Swish movie.  Note: Fonts do not need to be installed to play Swish animations over the internet.

Q. Why do effects start one frame into the animation?

A. This is so effects can be joined together seamlessly without the object "sticking" for one frame between the effects.  If you need the initial frame of the effect simply shift the effect one frame to the right, and insert a Show Effect in the first frame.

Q. Why are Text Effects called Complex Effects?

A. We anticipate that future versions of Swish will support grouping of objects, and these effects will be applicable to any group, not just a group of letters (i.e. a Text Object)

Q. Swish will not play Adobe Type 1 PostScript fonts correctly on my Windows NT4 machine.  How do work around this problem?

A. Due to a bug in Adobe Type Manager for Windows NT Swish may not function correctly when you attempt to play (or export) movies that contain PostScript fonts.  This workaround explains how to avoid the problem.  This bug only affects Windows NT4.  You can use Adobe Type Manager and PostScript fonts without problems on Windows 95, 98 and 2000.


Samples

Swish ships with a collection of samples that demonstrate various features of the program.  All of these samples are available on the  Samples Menu.

•	first.swi -- this is a simple Swish movie (from the first tutorial).

•	actions.swi -- this is a Swish movie that illustrates how to use actions (from the second tutorial)

•	promo.swi -- this Swish movie was used as a banner ad to promote the product.  It demonstrates most of the effects in Swish.

•	menu.swi  -- this demonstrates how to make a menu with Swish that links to other websites.


Purchasing Swish

The demonstration version of Swish will scramble the letters of any text exported from the program.  A single user license costs only $30 (US dollars).  When you purchase you will be emailed a "key" that unlocks the program so text is exported correctly.

To Purchase Swish simply select click "Purchase" on the Main Menu.  This will display the How to Purchase Swish dialog below:

If your Customer Key is correct you will see a Green Check Mark to the right of the key.

•	Customer Name -- This can be your own name, a nick name, or a company name.  Just make sure you use the same Customer Name when you are entering your details at the online Purchase Page.

•	Machine Number -- This number identifies your machine and prevents your Customer Key being used on other machines.  A single user license entitles you to two Customer Keys, one for a home machine and one for a work machine.  Licensed users can also get one replacement key a week per license from an online form at Swishzone.com.

•	Go to Purchase Page -- Clicking here will launch your browser and take you to our online purchase page.  Here you will be asked to enter details such as your Customer Name, email address, Machine Number and credit card number.  If you don't have a credit card, our reseller accepts personal checks, money orders, even cash.  See Payment Options

•	Customer Key -- Within a few minutes of completing the purchase form you will be emailed a Customer Key.  Copy this key from the  email message, then right-click on the Customer Key edit box, and choose Paste from the context menu.

Note:  Multi-user licenses are also available, visit Swishzone.com or email sales@swishzone.com for more information.


The Movie

A movie is a collection of Scenes.  A movie contains all the scenes, objects, effects and actions that make up the final animation.

Properties of a movie (including size, frame rate and background color) can be edited on the General Tab.

A new movie can be created by pressing New Movie on the Toolbar, or by selecting New from the File Menu.  Scenes can be added to a movie by pressing Insert Scene on the Toolbar, or by selecting Insert Scene from the Modify Menu.

Movies can be saved to disk (as a .swi file) by pressing Save Movie on the Toolbar, or by selecting Save from the File Menu.  Existing movies can be read from disk by pressing Open Movie on the Toolbar, or by selecting Open from the File Menu.

Movies can be exported to the Shockwave Flash format (.swf) by pressing Export to SWF on the Toolbar, or by selecting Export to SWF from the File Menu.

Note: Swish cannot read or write FLA files because FLA is a closed format.


Frames

A frame is a single timeslice of the Swish Movie.  It is a similar concept to a frame of a motion picture.

The amount of time a single frame is displayed is controlled by the Frames per Second field on the General Tab.  A high frames  per second value (e.g. 20) will result in a fast-running movie.  A low frames per second value (e.g. 1) will result in a slow-running movie.

Note:  The speed of the movie is limited by the power of the CPU playing the movie.


Scenes

A Scene is a collection of Objects that animate over a number of Frames.  When a scene is complete, all the objects are removed from the display and the movie automatically moves to the next scene.

A new scene can be created by pressing Insert Scene on the Toolbar, or by selecting Insert Scene from the Modify Menu.  Objects can be added to the scene by pressing Insert Text on the Toolbar, or by selecting Insert Text from the Modify Menu.

The Timeline Tab is used to change the duration of a scene (i.e. the number of frames in a scene).  You can also use the Timeline Tab to co-ordinate and combine animations of different objects.

The Scene Tab is used to set the name of a scene, and a URL when the scene is clicked.


Objects

Swish will eventually support two kinds of objects:  Simple Objects and Complex Objects.

•	Complex Objects are made up of more than one component or character.  At present, Swish only supports one kind of Complex Object and that is a Text Object.  Both Simple Effects and Complex Effects can be applied to a Complex Object.

•	Simple Objects consist of a single component.  At present, Swish does not support simple objects.  Examples of a simple object In future versions of Swish include pictures, shapes and lines.    Only Simple Effects can be applied to Simple Objects.


Simple Objects

Simple Objects consist of a single component.  At present, Swish does not support simple objects.  Examples of a simple object include Image Objects (and in future versions shapes).  Only Simple Effects can be applied to Simple Objects.


Image Objects

A Image Object is a Simple Object that acts as a container for an imported image.  Image Objects are created by selecting Insert Image from the Modify Menu (or by pressing [image] on the Toolbar) and selecting GIF, JPEG or PNG image file.

•	Only Simple Effects can be applied to an Image Object.

•	Image Objects can be modified using the Image Tab.

•	Each Image Object is linked to an image file in the Content Tab.

•	Transparent images are displayed on a checkerboard pattern in edit mode.

•	Only the first frame of a GIF animation is imported.


Complex Objects

Complex Objects are made up of more than one component or character.  At present, Swish only supports one kind of Complex Object, and that is a Text Object.  Both Simple Effects and Complex Effects can be applied to a Complex Object.


Text Objects

A Text Object is a Complex Object that is made up of a collection of letters.  Each letter is called a character or component of the Text Object.  Both Simple Effects and Complex Effects can be applied to a Text Object.

Text Objects are created pressing Insert Text on the Toolbar, or by selecting Insert Text from the Modify Menu.  Text Objects can be modified using the Text Property Tab.


Effects

Effects are animations that change the appearance of an object over time.  You can add, modify and co-ordinate effects using the the Timeline Tab.

There are two types of Object Effects:

•	Simple Effects -- where all components of an object move in unison.  Example: Slide In

•	Complex Effects -- where components of an object move independently (typically letters of a text object).  Example: Explode

All Effects can be combined with a simple Transform which changes the position, scale, rotation or alpha of the object over time.


Camera Transforms

Any 3D effect in Swish can be combined a Camera Transform. The Camera Effect is a projection transform. By adjusting the parameters of the camera, the Camera Effect allows users to observe an object in a 3D world from different angles or positions over time.

Below is a screen shot of the Camera Settings Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you click on the "Camera..." button from the Effect Dialog.

•	Perspective Projection -- Determines whether 3D points are projected onto the view window using perspective rendering.

•	Start Rotation Angle -- Specifies the angle the camera is rotated around the view vector at the start of the effect.

•	End Rotation Angle -- Specifies the angle the camera is rotated around the view vector at the end of the effect.

•	Start Zoom Factor -- Specifies the zoom factor of the camera at the start of the effect.

•	End Zoom Factor -- Specifies the zoom factor of the camera at the end of the effect.

•	Start Position -- Specifies the position of the camera at the start of the effect, where X axis points left, Y axis points down, Z axis points front, 1 unit is equal to 1 pixel and the origin is at the center of the object.

•	Mid-X-Y-Z - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (X, Y, Z).

Mid-X-Y - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (X, Y, none).

Mid-X-Z - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (X, none, Z).

Mid-Y-Z - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (none, Y, Z).

Mid-X - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (X, none, none).

Mid-Y - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (none, Y, none).

Mid-Z - Midpoint of the camera's motion track = (none, none, Z).

None - Camera moves straight from Start Position to End Position.

•	End Position -- Specifies the position of the camera at the end of the effect.

•	Start Target -- Specifies the look-at point of the camera at the start of the effect.

•	Mid-X-Y-Z - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (X, Y, Z).

Mid-X-Y - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (X, Y, none).

Mid-X-Z - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (X, none, Z).

Mid-Y-Z - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (none, Y, Z).

Mid-X - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (X, none, none).

Mid-Y - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (none, Y, none).

Mid-Z - Midpoint of the look-at point's motion track = (none, none, Z).

None - Look-at point moves straight from Start Target to End Target.

•	End Target -- Specifies the look-at point of the camera at the end of the effect.


Effect Transforms

Any effect in Swish can be combined an Effect Transform.  The transform can be a change in position, scale, rotation, alpha or any combination of these variables.  For example, a Squeeze Effect can be combined with a rotation and a re-scale.

Below is a screen shot of the Effect Transform Dialog.  This dialog can be displayed by pressing the "Transform..." button on any effect dialog, or right-clicking on an effect in the timeline, and choosing "Transform..." from the context menu.

In the example below the object will fade in to 100% opaque, move right by 30 pixels and increase scale by 20%.

Common Fields

•	The Description field is the display name of the effect.  This is the name that appears on the timeline.

•	The Number of Frames field is the duration of the effect.

•	The Reset Character Positions check box instructs Swish to reset the positions of any characters previously modified by a Complex Effect.  For example, if a typewriter effect follows an explode effect, the Reset Character Positions option will reset the positions of the characters before the typewriter effect begins.

The Transform Tab

The Transform Tab specifies what happens to the object over the course of the effect.  Transform changes can be described in relative terms or absolute terms.

•	Alpha Fade -- describes the alpha transform of the object.  The alpha can be increased, decreased or faded to a specified value.

•	Move -- describes the change in position of the object.  The object can be moved along either axis of both axes simultaneously.  The change in position can be relative, or the object can be moved to a specific (x,y) co-ordinate.

•	Scale -- describes the change in size of the object.  The object can be resized vertically or horizontally, or you can choose a uniform re-scale, where the object maintains its aspect ratio.  The scale can be increased, decreased or changed to a specific scale value (e.g. 50% of the original size)

•	Rotate -- describes the change in angle of the object.  The rotation can be clockwise (CW), counter-clockwise (CCW) or rotated to a specific angle (e.g.45 degrees).  The rotation may be uniform, or the vertical and horizontal axes can be rotated independently.  If only the vertical axis is rotated, the object will skew to the left or right. If only the horizontal axis is rotated, the object will skew up and down.

The Start At Tab

The Start At Tab determines the starting condition of the object when the effect begins.

•	Start Alpha -- the initial alpha value of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Position -- the initial position of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Scale -- the initial size of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Angle -- the initial angle of the object at the start of the effect.

Note: The Start At Tab is rarely used, but occasionally, you might want to set the initial alpha of an object to 0%, so that it can be faded in.  The Start At tab can also used in conjunction with the Show Effect, to move objects in a single frame.


Simple Effects

Simple effects are where all elements of an object move in unison.

Simple Effects include:

•	Show

•	Hide

•	Transform

•	Fade In

•	Fade Out

•	Slide In

•	Slide Out

•	Blur


Blur

The Blur Effect creates many copies of an object with each copy having a smaller alpha value. By changing the position, scale or alpha value of each copy over time, it can create a kind of "motion blur" effect.

Below is a screen shot the Blur Effect dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Blur Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Slide Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The duration of the effect.

•	Begin with -- Controls the initial state of an object. If Invisible option is selected, the object is completely blurred out at the beginning and turned into clear at the end of the effect. If Visible option is selected, the object is clear at the beginning and completely blurred out at the end of the effect.

•	Blur Mode -- Determines the style of the blur effect.

Zoom Blur - Duplicates of the object are displayed at progressively larger scales, with smaller alphas. When the object is focused in. the duplicates are faded in and squeezed into the size of the original object. When the object is blurred out, the duplicates are faded out and stretched outward.

Mirror Blur - When the object is blurred out, two sets of duplicates are moved away from its reference position to the opposite directions. When the object is focused in, two sets of duplicates are moved closely to its reference position from the opposite directions. The further away the duplicates are, the smaller the alpha value.

Slide Blur - Duplicates of the object follow the object from off-screen (the objects reference position) to the objects reference position (off-screen). Each duplicate is displayed with progressively smaller alphas. As the object approaches its reference position the duplicates catch-up with the object so they all finish at the same place.

•	Direction -- Controls the direction of squeeze/stretch, moving in/away or slide in/out.

•	Blur Amount -- Determines how many copies of the object are duplicated to carry out the blur effect.

•	Blur Scale Factor -- Specifies the maximum scaling change or offset between two duplicates.


Show

The Show Effect simply displays an object that was previously hidden.  A show effect is always one frame only, and is indicated  by a green frame in the timeline.

Note: You can also use the Show Effect move objects that are already dispayed.  You do this by right-clicking on the Show Effect in the timeline, and selecting "Transform..." from the context menu.  Here you can set in position, scale, rotation and alpha of the object when it is shown.


Hide

The Hide Effect simply removes an object that was previously visible.  A hide action is always one frame only, and is indicated  by a red frame in the timeline.


Transform

The Transform Effect is a simple generic transform.  The Transform Effect can change an object's position, scale, rotation, alpha (or any combination of these variables) over time.

Below is a screen shot of the Transform Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Transform Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Transform Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

In the example below the object will fade in to 100% opaque, move right by 30 pixels and increase scale by 20%.

Common Fields

•	The Description field is the display name of the effect.  This is the name that appears on the timeline.

•	The Number of Frames field is the duration of the effect.

•	The Reset Character Positions check box instructs Swish to reset the positions of any letters previously modified by a Complex Effect.  For example, if a typewriter effect follows an explode effect, the Reset Letter Positions option will reset the positions of the letters before the typewriter effect begins.

The Transform Tab

The Transform Tab specifies what happens to the object over the course of the effect.  Transform changes can be described in relative terms or absolute terms.

•	Alpha Fade -- describes the alpha transform of the object.  The alpha can be increased, decreased or faded to a specified value.

•	Move -- describes the change in position of the object.  The object can be moved along either axis of both axes simultaneously.  The change in position can be relative, or the object can be moved to a specific (x,y) co-ordinate.

•	Scale -- describes the change in size of the object.  The object can be resized vertically or horizontally, or you can choose a uniform re-scale, where the object maintains its aspect ratio.  The scale can be increased, decreased or changed to a specific scale value (e.g. 50% of the original size)

•	Rotate -- describes the change in angle of the object.  The rotation can be clockwise (CW), counter-clockwise (CCW) or rotated to a specific angle (e.g.45 degrees).  The rotation may be uniform, or the vertical and horizontal axes can be rotated independently.  If only the vertical axis is rotated, the object will skew to the left or right. If only the horizontal axis is rotated, the object will skew up and down.

The Start At Tab

The Start At Tab determines the starting condition of the object when the effect begins.  These settings are rarely used, but occasionally, you might want to set the initial alpha of an object to 0%, so that it can be faded in.

•	Start Alpha -- the initial alpha value of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Position -- the initial position of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Scale -- the initial size of the object at the start of the effect.

•	Start Angle -- the initial angle of the object at the start of the effect.


Fade In

The Fade In Effect fades up an object until is 100% opaque.

Note: If the object is already 100% opaque, this effect will appear to do nothing.


Fade Out

The Fade Out Effect fades out an object until is 100% transparent.

Note: If the object is already 100% transparent, this effect will appear to do nothing.


Slide In

The Slide In Effect moves an object from outside the movie (any corner or side) to its reference position.

Below is a screen shot the Slide Effect dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Slide In Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Slide Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

In the example below, the object will slide in from the left side over ten frames.


Slide Out

The Slide Out Effect moves an object from its reference position to outside the movie (any corner or side).

Below is a screen shot the Slide Effect dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Slide Out Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Slide Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

In the example below, the object will slide out to the bottom right over 15 frames.


Complex Effects

Complex Effects can only be applied to complex objects that have more than one component.  An example of a complex object is a Text Object, where the components correspond to letters.

Note: A component is sometimes referred to as a character.

Complex Effects include:

•	Squeeze

•	Explode

•	Typewriter

•	Wave Letters

•	Scale Letters

•	Alternate Letters

•	Revert Text

•	3D Spin

•	Vortex

Q. Why are they called Complex Effects and not Text Effects?

A. We anticipate that future versions of Swish will support grouping of objects, and these effects will be applicable to any group, not just a group of letters (i.e. a Text Object)


Vortex

The Vortex Effect spins the components of a complex object in a 3D space and pulls them down into a gravitation point (or blows them out from a gravitation point) over time.

The Vortex Effect can be applied to a Text Object to attract the characters of a text into a gravitation point (or blows them out from a gravitation point). Characters can be made to spin, change size and fade out. The locations of gravitation point and the midpoint of motion track are configurable. The character animations can follow one after another, or they can overlap. The Vortex Effect can be applied forwards or backwards.

Below is a screen shot of the Vortex Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Vortex Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Vortex Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The duration of the effect.

•	Start Scale Factor -- How much the character is scaled at the start of the effect.

•	End Scale Factor -- How much the character is scaled at the end of the effect.

•	Alpha Fade -- The amount of fade (in or out) that is applied to the character.  A value of zero means the alpha of the character is unaffected.  A value of 100% means the character is completely faded-out at the end.

•	Begin with -- Controls the initial state of characters. If Invisible option is selected, the characters of a text are blew out from a gravitation point over time. If Visible option is selected, the characters are attracted into a gravitation point over time.

•	Gravitation Point -- Specifies the location of gravitation point.

Custom - Gravitation Point = (X, Y, Z), where X axis points left, Y axis points down, Z axis points front, 1 unit is equal to 1 pixel and the origin is at the center of the text object.

Left - Gravitation Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, Y, Z).

Right - Gravitation Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, Y, Z).

Top-Left - Gravitation Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Top - Gravitation Point = (X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Top-Right - Gravitation Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom-Left - Gravitation Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom - Gravitation Point = (X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom-Right - Gravitation Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Cur. X-Y - Gravitation Point = (character's x + X, character's y + Y, Z).

Cur. X - Gravitation Point = (character's x + X, Y, Z).

Cur. Y - Gravitation Point = (X, character's y + Y, Z).

•	Mid-Point -- Specifies the midpoint of motion track.

Custom - Mid-Point = (X, Y, Z).

Left - Mid-Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, Y, Z).

Right - Mid-Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, Y, Z).

Top-Left - Mid-Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Top - Mid-Point = (X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Top-Right - Mid-Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, top of text - character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom-Left - Mid-Point = (left of text - character width/2 + X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom - Mid-Point = (X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Bottom-Right - Mid-Point = (right of text + character width/2 + X, bottom of text + character height/2 + Y, Z).

Cur. X-Y - Mid-Point = (character's x + X, character's y + Y, Z).

Cur. X - Mid-Point = (character's x + X, Y, Z).

Cur. Y - Mid-Point = (X, character's y + Y, Z).

Cur. X-Y only - Mid-Point = (character's x + X, character's y + Y, none).

Cur. X only - Mid-Point = (character's x + X, none, none).

Cur. Y only - Mid-Point = (none, character's y + Y, none).

Custom X-Y - Mid-Point = (X, Y, none).

Custom X-Z - Mid-Point = (X, none, Z).

Custom Y-Z - Mid-Point = (none , Y, Z).

Custom X - Mid-Point = (X, none, none).

Custom Y - Mid-Point = (none, Y, none).

Custom Z - Mid-Point = (none, none, Z).

None - No Mid-Point (the motion track is a straight line).

•	Rotation Order/Angles -- Specifies the order and the angles to rotate around the spin axes during the effect. For example, if the order was set to Y-X-Z, the character would first rotate Y degrees around Y-axis, then rotate Y degrees around Y-axis and finally rotate Z degrees around Z-axis.

•	Overlap between characters -- The number of frames that adjacent character animations overlap.  For example, if the overlap was set to 3 frames, the second character animation would begin 3 frames before the first character animation finishes.

•	Include spaces and new lines -- Determines whether the Cascading Spin is applied to space and new line characters.

•	Forward/Backward -- Determines whether characters will move from the start or end of the line of text.  For example, if Forward order was selected for a Text Object, the first animation would be applied to the first character in the line of text.  if Backward order was selected, the first animation would be applied to the last character in the line of text.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Vortex Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Vortex Effect in the View Window.

•	Camera -- Shows the Camera Settings Dialog for combining the Vortex Effect with a camera transform.


3D Spin

The 3D-Spin Effect spins the components of a complex object on the vertical or horizontal axis in a 3D space over time.

The 3D-Spin Effect can be applied to a Text Object to change the orientations of the characters over time. Characters can be made to face left, top or front at the beginning and turn a specific degrees around the vertical or horizontal axis for the duration. The character animations can follow one after another, or they can overlap. The 3D-Spin Effect can be applied forwards or backwards, and can also scale and fade characters.

Below is a screen shot of the 3D-Spin Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the 3D-Spin Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a 3D-Spin Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The duration of the effect.

•	Spin Axis -- Specifies the direction of the spin axis.

•	Begin with -- Controls the initial orientation of characters. If Invisible option is selected, at the beginning, the characters with vertical spin axis are face left and the characters with horizontal spin axis are face up. If Visible option is selected, the characters are face front at the start.

•	Rotate by -- Specifies the angle to rotate around the spin axis during the effect.

•	Cascading Spin -- Determines whether each character spins one after another with an optional overlap between characters.

•	Overlap between characters -- The number of frames that adjacent character animations overlap.  For example, if the overlap was set to 3 frames, the second character animation would begin 3 frames before the first character animation finishes.

•	Include spaces and new lines -- Determines whether the Cascading Spin is applied to space and new line characters.

•	Forward/Backward -- Determines whether characters will spin from the start or end of the line of text.  For example, if Forward order was selected for a Text Object, the first animation would be applied to the first character in the line of text.  if Backward order was selected, the first animation would be applied to the last character in the line of text.

•	Start Scale Factor -- How much the character is scaled at the start of the effect.

•	End Scale Factor -- How much the character is scaled at the end of the effect.

•	Alpha Fade -- The amount of fade (in or out) that is applied to the character.  A value of zero means the alpha of the character is unaffected.  A value of 100% means the character is completely faded-out at the end.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the 3D-Spin Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the 3D-Spin Effect in the View Window.

•	Camera -- Shows the Camera Settings Dialog for combining the 3D-Spin Effect with a camera transform.


Squeeze

The Squeeze Effect squeezes or stretches the components of a complex object over time.

The Squeeze Effect can be applied to a Text Object to change the kerning over time.  Words can be made to squeeze inward or stretch outward.

Below is a screen shot of the Squeeze Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Squeeze Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on a Squeeze Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The duration of the effect.

•	Start Squeeze Factor -- How much the object is squeezed or stetched at the start of the effect.  A value greater than 100% means the object is stretched beyond its normal state.  A value less than 100% means the object is squeezed closer togerther than its normal state.

•	End Squeeze Factor -- How much the object is squeezed or stretched at the end of the effect.

•	Alpha Fade -- The amount of fade (in or out) that is applied to the object.  A value of zero means the alpha of the object is unaffected.  A value of 100% means the object is completely faded-out (when stretching) and completely faded-in (when squeezing)

•	Allignment -- Controls the center point of the Squeeze Effect.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Squeeze Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Squeeze Effect in the View Window.

Note:  At present Swish only supports horizontal squeezes, but future versions will support vertical squeezes, and a combination of both.


Explode

The Explode Effect explodes or implodes the components of a complex object.

The Explode Effect can be applied to a Text Object to blow apart the letters of a word.  Letters can be made to spin, change size, fade out and fall to the ground.  The strength and speed of the explosion is configurable, as is the position of the "bomb".

Below is a screen shot of the Explode Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Explode Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on an Explode Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The duration of the explosion.

•	Explosion Style -- Specifies an explosion or an implosion.

•	Velocity of Explosion -- A value of 1 will produce a slow, weak explosion that is quickly overwhelmed by gravity.  A value of 20 will produce a fast, powerful explosion that blows the fragments off the movie in a few frames.  A value of 5-10 is a good approximation for a "real" explosion.

•	Random Seed -- This number is used as a seed for the random number generator.  Changing this number will produce slightly different results.  You can keep changing this value until it produces an explosion that is aesthetically pleasing.

•	Position of Bomb -- This is the center point of the explosion relative to the center of the object.  The default is 60 pixels below the center of the object, so the object appears to explode upwards.

•	Scale components by -- This controls the amount of scaling applied to components as they move away from the bomb.  Fragments that began nearer the bomb with grow faster.  A scale value of zero means the fragments do not change size.

•	Rotate components by -- This controls the amount of rotation applied to components as they move away from the bomb.  The X and Y axis of the fragments are rotated idependently (resulting in skewing) unless Uniform Rotation is checked.  A rotation value of zero means the fragments will not be rotated.

•	Fade components by -- This controls the amount of fading applied to components as they move away from the bomb.  A value of zero means the alpha value of the fragments remains unchanged.  A value of 100% means the fragments will be completely fadedout at the end of an explosion, or completely faded in at the end of an implosion.

•	Strength of Gravity -- This is the strength of the force pulling the fragments downward.  A value of 5 will quickly overwhelm a moderate strength explosion.  A value of 0.5 will have little effect on a moderate strength explosion.  A value of 1 is a good approximation for "real" gravity.

•	Direction of Gravity -- Controls the direction of gravity.  Gravity may pull the fragments up, down, left, right, or any in any direction.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Explode Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Explode Effect in the View Window.

•	Camera -- Shows the Camera Settings Dialog for combining the Explode Effect with a camera transform.

Note: for Text Objects components correspond to letters.


Typewriter

The Typewriter Effect shows the components of a complex object one after another, with an optional cursor character.

The Typewriter Effect can be applied to a Text Object to show the letters of the text one after another, much like someone typing text onto the screen.

Below is a screen shot of the Typewriter Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Typewriter Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on an Explode Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Show character every -- Controls the speed at which characters are displayed.  A value of 1 will produce the fastest "typing" possible.

•	Flash cursor every -- Controls the speed at which the cursor flashes.  A value of 1 will produce the fastest flashing possible.  The cursor will only flash at the start and end of lines.

•	Flash cursor at start of line -- Number of times the cursor flashes at the start of a line.  A value of zero means the cursor will not flash at the start of a line.

•	Flash cursor at end of line -- Number of times the cursor flashes at the start of a line.  A value of zero means the cursor will not flash at the end of a line.

•	Cursor Character -- Lets you choose the cursor character for the Typewriter Effect.  Choosing a space will result in no cursor being displayed.  If the Typewriter Effect is being applied to a text object, the cursor font will be the same as the text object font.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Typewriter Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Typewriter Effect in the View Window.


Wave

The Wave Effect applies a rolling wave through the components of a complex object.

The Wave Effect can be applied to a Text Object to produce waving banners.  The Wave Effect can move letters up and down or side-to-side.  Letters can be rotated to follow the wave, and the scale and alpha of each letter can be varied at the wave passes through.

Below is a screen shot of the Wave Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Wave Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on an Wave Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Direction -- Controls the direction of the rolling wave.  If Forward is selected the wave begins at the first component.  If Backward is selected the wave begins at the last component.

•	Duration -- The total duration of the Wave Effect in frames.  You should make sure this is long enough to include one complete wave, otherwise the wave will be truncated.

•	Period -- The number of frames it takes for one complete wave to pass through a particular component.  For example, say a Text Object contained the letter "T".  The Period is the number of frames it takes for the letter T to move through one complete cycle and return to its original position.

•	Length -- The distance in pixels from the start of the wave to the end of the wave.

•	Movement -- Controls the direction of movement of the components.

•	Move by -- Controls the maximum distance each component moves from its original position.  For up/down movement, a negative value is up and a positive value is down.  For side-to-side movement, a negative value is left, and a positive value is down.

•	Rotate components to follow wave -- If checked the components will rotate so they follow the direction of the wave.

•	Horizontal Scale -- The amount by which each component is scaled horizontally as the wave passes through.  Maximum change in scale will occur when the wave is farthest from its original position.  A Horizontal Scale of zero means the scale will not be varied.  A negative value will shrink the component horizontally as wave passes through.

•	Vertical Scale -- The amount by which each component is scaled vertically as the wave passes through.  Maximum change in scale will occur when the wave is farthest from its original position.  A Vertical Scale of zero means the scale will not be varied.   A negative value will shrink the component vertically as wave passes through.

•	Alpha Fade -- The amount by which each component is faded out as the wave passed through.  Maximum fade out will occur when the wave is farthest from its original position.  An Alpha Fade of zero means the alpha will not varied.  A negative value means the alpha will be increased (i.e. made more opaque) as the wave passes through.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Wave Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Wave Effect in the View Window.


Scale Characters

The Scale Characters Effect applies a sequence of scaling animations to each component of a complex object.

The Scale Characters Effect can be applied to a Text Object to introduce each letter of a word with the same animation.  The letter animations can follow one after another, or they can overlap.  The Scale Characters Effect can be applied forwards or backwards, and can be used to add or remove letters.  The Scale Characters Effect can also rotate and fade characters.

Below is a screen shot of the Scale Characters Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Scale Characters Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on an Scale Characters Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Frames per character -- The number of frames that each character animations takes.  For example, a Scale Characters Effect applied to a Text Object with five letters, and 10 frames per character, and no overlap, would take 50 frames to complete.

•	Overlap frames between characters -- The number of frames that adjacent character animations overlap.  For example, if the overlap was set to 3 frames, the second characters animation would begin 3 frames before the first character animation finishes.

•	Scale characters by -- The amount by which each character is scaled.  Characters always begin or end at a scale of 100% depending on whether characters are being added or removed.

•	Fade characters by -- The amount by which each character is faded.  Characters always begin or end with an alpha value of 100% depending on whether characters are being added or removed.

•	Offset characters by -- The amount by which each character is moved.  Characters always begin or end at their reference position depending on whether characters are being added or removed.

•	Animation Style -- Determines whether characters are being added to the object or removed from the object.  If Add Characters is selected the Scale Characters Effect will begin with the object being completely invisible, and each character will be added over the course of the effect. If Remove Characters is selected the Scale Characters Effect will begin with the object being completely visible, and each character will be removed over the course of the effect.

•	Character Order -- Determines whether characters will added or removed from the start or end of the object.  For example, if Forward order was selected for a Text Object, the first animation would be applied to the first letter in the text object.  if Backward order was selected, the first animation would be applied to the last letter in the text object.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Scale Characters Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Scale Characters Effect in the View Window.


Alternate Characters

The Alternate Characters Effect applies alternating animations to every second component of a complex object.  Unlike the Scale Characters Effect, all the components of the object move at the same time.

The Alternate Characters Effect can be applied to a Text Object to move every second letter of a word in different directions.  Characters can be made to move towards their current positions, or away from their current positions.  The Alternate Characters Effect can also rotate, scale and fade characters.

Below is a screen shot of the Alternate Characters Effect Dialog.  This dialog is displayed when you first create the Alternate Characters Effect. It can also be displayed by right-clicking on an Alternate Characters Effect in the timeline, and choosing "Properties.." from the context menu.

•	Number of Frames -- The total duration of the Alternating Letters Effect.

•	Offset Characters by -- This is the  maximum distance the first character will move from its current position.  The 3rd, 7th, 11th... chararacters will move in the opposite direction.  The 5th, 9th, 13th... characters will move in the same direction as the first character.  Negative values will move the first character left and up, rather than right and down.

•	Scale Characters by -- The amount by which the scale changes when each character is farthest from its current position.  A value of 100% means the scale of each characters remains unchnaged.  A value of 200% means each character will be twice as large.  A value of 50% means each character will be half size.

•	Rotate Characters by -- The amount by which each character is rotated when it is farthest from its current position.  A value of zero means each character will not be rotated.

•	Fade characters by -- The amount by which each character is faded-out when it is farthest from its current position.  A value of zero means the alpha value of each character will be unchanged.  A value of 100% means each character will be completely faded out when it is farthest from its current position.

•	Animation Style -- Determines the direction of the Alternate Characters Effect.

•	Transform -- Shows the Transform Dialog for combining the Alternate Characters Effect with a simple transform.

•	Preview -- Previews the Alternate Characters Effect in the View Window.


Revert Characters

This Revert Characters Effect moves all the components of a complex object back to their original positions, scale, rotation and alpha value.

The Revert Characters Effect can be applied to a Text Object to move letters back to their original state after some Complex Effect has modified the Text Object.  For example, a Revert Characters Effect can be applied after an Explode Effect to restore the original character positions.

There is no properties dialog for the Revert Characters Effect.  The only variable is the duration of the effect.


Events

Events can be used to trigger actions such as sending the browser to another URL or jumping to another part of the movie.  Events are the key to creating interactivity in a Swish Movie.

Events come in two flavors:

•	Frame Events -- which occur when the movie reaches a certain frame in a scene.

•	Mouse Events -- which occurs when the mouse interacts with an object in a scene.


Frame Events

This event occurs when the movie reaches the specified frame.

You can insert a Frame Event either by:

•	using the Timeline -- selecting the scene row and pressing Add Action.

•	using the Action Tab -- selecting a scene and pressing Add Event, and selecing "At Frame".


Mouse Events

Mouse Events occur when the mouse interacts with an object in a scene.  More than one event can trigger the same action as is illustrated in the picture below.  Here, both a "Press" and "Roll Over" action will send the movie to frame zero.

Possible mouse events include:

•	On Press -- the mouse button is pressed while the cursor is over the object.

•	On Release -- the mouse button is released while the cursor is over the object.

•	On Roll Over -- the cursor is moved from outside the object to inside the object with the mouse button up.

•	On Roll Out -- the cursor is moved from inside the object to outside the object with the mouse button up.

•	On Drag Over -- the cursor is dragged from outside the object to inside the object with the mouse button down.

•	On Drag Out -- the cursor is dragged from inside the object to outside the object with the mouse button down.

•	On Release Outside -- the mouse button is released outside the object after it was pressed inside the object.


Actions

Actions can be used to control the flow of a Swish Movie or issue instructions to the browser.  All actions are triggered by some event.

Actions supported by Swish include:

•	Stop Movie -- Stop the movie at the current frame.

•	Play Movie -- Start playing the movie again if it has stopped.

•	Goto Frame -- Goto the specified frame (and scene) in the movie.

•	Goto URL --  Tell the browser to load a URL into the specified target HTML frame.


Stop Movie

This action stops the movie at the current frame.


Play Movie

This action starts the movie playing if it has stopped.


Goto Frame

This action tells the Swish Movie to jump to another frame.  The destination frame may be in the same scene or another scene.  To jump to a new scene, simply select the scene name, and set the frame number to zero.  Checking "Goto and Play" option tells the movie to keep playing after the jump has been made, otherwise the movie will stop.

In the example below, the movie will jump to frame 22 of scene "Scene 1" when the mouse button is pressed inside the current object.  The movie will keep playing after the jump.


Goto URL

This action tells the browser (or whatever program is playing the movie) to load a URL into the specified target frame.  The frame is not a frame in the Swish Movie, but an HTML frame.  You can leave this blank if you don't understand HTML frames, or simply want to replace the page that contains the movie with the specified URL.

In the example below, the browser will load the URL "http://www.swishzone.com" into the HTML frame "contents"  when the mouse button is pressed inside the current object.


Play Sound

This action tells the Swish Movie to play the selected sound.  Only sounds that have been imported can be selected.  You can press the Import... button to import a WAV or MP3 file.

Sounds can be played in response to Frame Events and certain Mouse Events.  Due to a limitation in the Flash Player sounds will only play in response to Press, Release, Roll Over and Roll Out events.  Sounds cannot be played in response to Drag Over, Drag Out or Release Outside events.

In the example below, the sound called "Windows Logon Sound" is played when the movie reaches Frame 17.

Play Sound Options

Clicking the Options button on the Play Sound dialog shows the Play Options dialog.  The Play Options dialog can be used to make a sound play over and over, or loop.  In the example below, the sound called "Windows Logon Sound" is played 10 times.

Note: Due to a limitation in the Flash Player there is no "infinite loop" option.  If you want your sound to loop for a very long time, enter a large number such as 50,000 (fifty thousand).

See Also: Importing and Playing a Sound.


Stop Sound

This action tells the Swish Movie to stop playing the selected sound.


Stop All Sounds

This action tells the Swish Movie to stop playing all sounds that are currently playing.


If Frame is Loaded

This action can be used to create "Preloaders".  That is, looping animations that play while the rest of the movie downloads.

Note: The effect of this action is only apparent if the movie is playing inside a browser on a slow connection.

In the example below, the Swish Movie is instructed to jump to Frame 0 of Scene 2, only when Frame 0 of Scene 2 has been downloaded.  In the meantime, Scene 1 could display a looping animation.

See Also: Creating a Preloader


Preload Content

This action instructs the Swish Movie to download (or define) a piece of content before it is used.  For instance, you may want to make sure a sound is ready to be played before you issue a Play Sound action, or an image has been downloaded before it is displayed.

Note: The Preload Content action is not required to use content.  For example, If a sound has not been preloaded when a Play Sound action is encountered, the sound will be automatically downloaded.

In the example below, the Swish Movie is instructed to preload the sound "oblivia" at Frame 10.  The sound can then be played with a Play Sound action at a later frame.

See Also: Creating a Preloader


Load Movie

The Load Movie action loads another SWF movie into the Flash Player without loading another HTML document. The Unload Movie action removes a movie previously loaded by Load Movie.

Note:  The Load Movie and Unload Movie actions will only work while running in the browser or standalone Flash Player.  They will not work while playing inside the Swish application.

URL specifies an absolute or relative URL for the SWF file to load. For use in the Flash Player or for testing in the browser, all the SWF files must be stored in the same folder and listed as file names without folder or disk drive specifications.

Level specifies a level for the Load Movie action. In the Flash Player, movie files are assigned a number according to the order in which they were loaded. The movie that was loaded first is loaded at the bottom level, level 0. The movie in level 0 sets the frame rate, background color, and frame size for all other loaded movies. Movies are then "stacked" in higher numbered levels above the movie in level 0.


Unload Movie

The Unload Movie action unloads the movie that was loaded at the specified level.  See the Load Movie action.


User Interface

The Swish user interface is comprised of:

•	The Main Window

•	The View Window


The Main Window

The Main Window is where you create and edit properties of the Swish Movie.

Its is comprised of the following elements:

•	The Main Window

•	The Toolbar

•	The Scene List

•	The Property Tabs


The Main Menu

The Main menu consists of the following options:

•	The File Menu

•	The Edit Menu

•	The View Menu

•	The Control Menu

•	The Samples Menu

•	The Help Menu

•	The Purchase Menu


File Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the File Menu:

File | New (Ctrl+N)

Creates a new Swish Movie

File | Open... (Ctrl+O)

Opens a SWI (Swish Movie) file.

Note: Swish cannot open FLA files becuase it is not a public format.

File | Save (Ctrl+S)

Saves the current Swish Movie.  If it is a new movie, Swish will ask you for a name.  There is no need to type in the .swi extension.

File | Save As...

Saves the current Swish Movie under a new name.  There is no need to type in the .swi extension.

File | Import Content... (Ctrl+I)

Imports content such as sounds, images and artwork into the Swish movie.  See the Content Tab.

File | Export to SWF... (Ctrl+E)

Exports the current Swish Movie to a SWF file.  If you are using the demonstration version, the text will be scrambled.  You can import the text into Flash by choosing File | Import and selecting Files of Type: Flash Player (*.swf, *.spl) on the Flash Import dialog.

File | Publish (Ctrl+P)

Creates an HTML and SWF file for uploading to your web site.  Both the HTML and SWF will have the name you enter on the Publish Swish Movie dialog.  There is no need to enter a .HTML or .SWF extension.

Once these files have been created, simply upload to your web server (using FTP or similar).  That's it.  No other files are neccessary to play your Swish Movie over the internet.

Note: If you wish to insert your Flash movie into an existing web page, open the HTML file created by Swish in a text editor.  Select the HTML code beginning "<OBJECT classid=..." thru to "</OBJECT>".  Copy this code and paste it into your existing web page.

File | Test in Player (Ctrl+T)

Plays the current Swish Movie in the Flash Player.

Note: You must have the standalone Flash Player installed on your system, and .SWF files must be associated with the Flash Player.

File | Test in Browser

Creates temporary HTML and SWF files, launches the default browser, and plays the current Swish Movie in the browser.

Note: You must have at least one browser associated with .HTML files.

Below the Test in Browser option and above the Exit option you will see a list of the four (4) most recently used files.  Select any of these menu options to open the file.

File | Exit

Exits the Swish application.


Edit Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the Edit Menu:

Edit | Undo (Ctrl+Z)

Undoes the last change made to the current Swish Movie.  Swish supports unlimited undo/redo.  Almost all changes can be undone.

Edit | Redo (Ctrl+Y)

Redoes the last change made to the current Swish Movie.  Swish supports unlimited undo/redo.  Almost all changes can be undone.

Edit | Cut (Ctrl+X)

Deletes the currently selected object or effect and copies it to the clipboard.  If no effect is selected the object will be copied, otherwise the selected effect will be copied.

Edit | Copy (Ctrl+C)

Copies the currently selected object or effect to the clipboard.  If no effect is selected the object will be copied, otherwise the selected effect will be copied.

Edit | Paste (Ctrl+V)

Pastes the object or effect on the clipboard to the current Swish Movie.  If an object is being pasted it is added to the current scene in the center of the movie at the top of the stacking order.  If an effect is being pasted, it is inserted at the current frame of the selected object.

Edit | Delete

Deletes the currently selected object or effect.


View Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the View Menu:

Preview

Shows or Hides the View Window


Modify Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the Modify Menu:

Modify | Insert Scene

Adds a new scene to the end of the Swish Movie.

Modify | Insert Text

Adds a new Text Object to the center of the current Scene.  The new Text Object is created with the default text "Text" and the current font, size, style and color on the Text Tab.  The new Image Object is placed at the top of the stacking order.

Modify | Insert Image

Adds a new Image Object to the center of the current Scene.  The new Image Object is created by selecting a GIF, JPEG or PNG image from a file selection dialog.  The new Image Object is placed at the top of the stacking order, and the image file is added to the Content Tab.

Modify | Bring to Front

Brings the currently selected object to the top of the stacking order.  That is, it will obscure all other objects.

Modify | Bring Forward

Moves the currently selected object up one layer in the stacking order.

Modify | Send Backwards

Moves the currently selected object down one layer in the stacking order.

Modify | Send to Back

Sends the currently selected object to the bottom of the stacking order.  That is, all other objects will obscure it.


Control Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the Control Menu:

Control | Play Movie

Plays the current Movie in the View Window

Control | Play Scene

Plays the current Scene in the View Window

Control | Stop

Stops whatever movie is play and returns the View Window to edit mode.


Samples Menu

The Samples menu contains a list of sample SWI movies that demonstrate various features of Swish.

See Samples


Help Menu

Below are descriptions of options on the Control Menu:

Swish Help Topics...

Shows the Table of Contents for this help file.

Purchase Swish...

Shows the Swish Purchase Dialog.  The demonstration (free) version of Swish will scramble text when you export to SWF.  See Purchasing.

Go to www.swishzone.com...

Launches the default browser and shows the Swishzone.com homepage.

Go to Swish Support Forum...

Launches the default browser and shows the Swish support forum hosted by Flash Kit.

About Flash...

Launches the default browser and shows the About Macromedia Flash page.

About LAME MP3 Encoder...

Shows the About LAME MP3 Encoder Box.  Swish incorporates the LAME MP3 Encoder.  LAME is distributed under the GNU Library General Public License.  The LAME source code can be downloaded here.

About Swish...

Shows the Swish About Box.  The About Box includes version information and credits.


Purchase Menu

The Purchase Menu displays the Purchase Dialog when clicked.


The Toolbar

The toolbar provides shortcuts to commonly used options on the main menu.

 New Movie

Creates a new Swish Movie

 Open Movie

Opens a SWI (Swish Movie) file.

Note: Swish cannot open FLA files becuase it is not a public format.

 Save Movie

Saves the current Swish Movie.  If it is a new movie, Swish will ask you for a name.  There is no need to type in the .swi extension.

 Cut Selection

Deletes the currently selected object or effect and copies it to the clipboard.  If no effect is selected the object will be copied, otherwise the selected effect will be copied.

 Copy Selection

Copies the currently selected object or effect to the clipboard.  If no effect is selected the object will be copied, otherwise the selected effect will be copied.

 Paste from Clipboard

Pastes the object or effect on the clipboard to the current Swish Movie.  If an object is being pasted it is added to the current scene in the center of the movie at the top of the stacking order.  If an effect is being pasted, it is inserted at the current frame of the selected object

 Delete Selection

If no object is selected in the scene, the scene is deleted, other wise the selected object is deleted.

 Undo Last Change

Undoes the last change made to the current Swish Movie.  Swish supports unlimited undo/redo.  Almost all changes can be undone.

 Redo Last Change

Redoes the last change made to the current Swish Movie.  Swish supports unlimited undo/redo.  Almost all changes can be undone.

 Insert Scene

Adds a new scene to the end of the Swish Movie.

 Insert Text

Adds a new Text Object to the center of the current Scene.  The new Text Object will be created with the default text "Text" and the current font, size, style and color on the Text Tab.  The new Text Object will be placed at the top of the stacking order.

 Insert Image

Adds a new Image Object to the center of the current Scene.  The image can be any GIF, JPEG or PNG file. The new Image Object will be placed at the top of the stacking order.

 Move Object Up

Moves the currently selected object up one layer in the stacking order.

 Move Object Down

Moves the currently selected object down one layer in the stacking order.

 Play Movie

Plays the current Movie in the View Window

 Play Scene

Plays the current Scene in the View Window

 Stop Movie

Stops whatever movie is play and returns the View Window to edit mode.

 Export to SWF

Exports the current Swish Movie to a SWF file.  If you are using the demonstration version, the text will be scrambled.  You can import the text into Flash by choosing File:Import and selecting Files of Type: Flash Player (*.swf, *.spl) on the Flash Import dialog.

See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash.

 Test in Browser

Creates temporary HTML and SWF files, launches the default browser, and plays the current Swish Movie in the browser.

Note: You must have at least one browser associated with .HTML files.


The Scene List

The Scene List is located on the left side of the Main Window and shows an overview of the Swish Movie.

•	The Movie name is at the root of the tree.

•	Scenes are on the next level of the tree.

•	Objects are shown as children of Scenes.

Both Scenes and Objects can be selected by clicking on the Scene List.

•	If you double-click on the root of the tree, the General Tab will be shown.

•	If you double-click on a scene the Scene Tab will be shown.

•	If you double-click on a text object the Text Tab will be shown.

To reduce clutter objects can be temporarily hidden by clicking on the eye icon.


Property Tabs

The Property Tabs allow you to edit the properties of the scenes and objects that make up the Swish Movie.

There are eight Property Tabs:

•	The General Tab

•	The Content Tab

•	The Scene Tab

•	The Timeline Tab

•	The Text Tab

•	The Image Tab

•	The Actions Tab

•	The Export Tab


The General Tab

The General Tab contains properties that are common to the entire movie.

Movie Width and Movie Height

Lets you change the size of the movie in pixels.  You can also resize the movie by resizing the View Window

Frame per Second

Lets you change the speed of the movie in frame per second.  The greater the number of frames per second, the faster the animation will play.

Background Color

This control lets you change the background color of the movie.  The background color is common to all the scenes in a movie.  If you change the background for one scene, you change the background for all scenes.

Loop Preview Animation

Checking this option causes the preview replay itself over and over when you press the Play button on the Toolbar.  Unchecking this option will make the preview play only once.

Note: In version 1.01 the Clip Objects to Window and Export SWF with Origin at Center  have been moved to the Export Tab.  The Export SWF with Origin at Center has also been renamed Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip.


The Content Tab

The Content Tab displays a library of all the content (sounds, images and artwork) that have been imported into a Swish movie.

Import...

Imports new content from an image or audio file.  File formats that are supported include: JPEG, GIF, PNG, WAV and MP3.

Tip: If you are having problems importing WAV files try downloading and installing the latest Windows Media Player from Microsoft.

Delete

Deletes the selected content from the content library.  If the content is in use, the content will no longer be available in any scene where it is used.

Warning: Changes to the content library cannot be undone.

Options...

For imported WAV sounds, the Sound Compression dialog is displayed, allowing you to choose MP3, ADPCM or no compression.

For imported 24-bit images, the Image Compression dialog is displayed, allowing you to set the JPEG compression level for the image.

MP3 sounds and 8-bit images (such as GIFs) do not have any options.

Tip: For best MP3 compression, install the latest Windows Media Player from Microsoft.

Reload

Reloads the content from the original content file (if it is present on your system).

Add to Scene

Adds the selected content to the current scene.

For sounds, a play sound action is inserted in the first frame of the scene.

For images, the image is placed in the center of the current scene.


The Scene Tab

The Scene Tab contains properties for the current scene.

Scene Name

This is the name of the Scene that appears in the Scene List.  It can also be used to identify the scene in Goto Frame Actions

Scene Link and Target Frame

Lets you set a URL for the entire scene.  If the scene is clicked while the movie is playing the browser will display this URL in the specified Target Frame.  Note that if an object in the scene includes an event handler for On Release this will override the Scene Link, if the mouse is clicked inside the object.


The Timeline Tab

The Timeline Tab contains time-based properties for the current scene.

Number of Frames

This is the maximum number of frames in the current scene.  The scene can be lengthened and shortened as desired.  If you attempt to shorten the scene such that some effects (or frame actions) are after the last frame, Swish will set the Number of Frames to the last frame of the last effect (or last frame action).  When the Scene is played or exported Swish will not include any "empty" frames at the tail of the scene.  That is the movie will move to the next scene after the end of the last effect (or frame action)

The Timeline Window

This is the most complex control in Swish, and is the key to combining and co-ordinating animations.

Timeline components:

•	The Object List is on the left side of the timeline and is used for selecting objects in the scene.  The top-most row is always allocted to the Scene.  The rows following the scene represent each object in the scene in stacking-order.  That is, objects at the top of the list will obscure objects at the bottom of the list in the View Window.

•	The Frame Ruler runs along the top of the timeline window, and indicates the current scrolling position in the scene

•	The Scene Row is always present and is always the top-most row in timeline.  This is where Frame Actions can be added, moved or edited.  A frame action is automatically executed when the movie reaches the frame it is placed in.

•	The Object Rows follow the Scene Row (in stacking order) and correspond to the Object List.  This is where Effects can be added, moved or edited.

•	The Current Frame is indicated by a highlighted frame in both the Scene Row and Object Rows.

Using Frame Actions:

Adding Frame Actions

Frame Actions can be added by either pressing Add Action (while the Scene Row is selected) or right-clicking on an empty frame in the Scene Row.  Any of the available Actions can be placed as a Frame Action.  After the action has been added a small 'a' will appear in the frame.  When you move the mouse over the action a tooltip shows which actions are executed at this frame. Note: A frame action is automatically executed when the movie reaches the frame it is placed in.

Moving Frame Actions

Frame actions can be moved simply by clicking and dragging the frame to a new position.

Editing Frame Actions

Frame Actions can be edited by double-clicking the frame, or right-clicking and choosing Properties from the context menu.  The Action Properties dialog is identical to the Actions Tab.  This dialog allows you to add, delete or re-order actions at the selected frame.

Deleting Frame Actions

Frame actions can be deleted by either selecting the desired action and then pressing Delete Action, or right-clicking the desired action and selecting Delete from the context menu.

Object Effects

There are two types of Object Effects:

•	Simple Effects where all components of an object move in unison.  Example: Slide In

•	Complex Effects where components of an object move independently (typically letters of a text object).  Example: Explode

Using Object Effects:

Adding Effects

Effects can be added by either pressing Add Effect (while an Object Row is selected) or right-clicking on an empty frame in an Object Row.  The effects menu is divided into Simple Effects (above the separator) and Complex Effects (below the separator).  When an effect is chosen from the menu an effect properties dialog will be displayed.

After the properties dialog has been OKed, a rectangle extending for the duration of the effect will appear, with the name of the effect inside the rectangle.  If the effect is short, and the name of the effect is partially obscured, a tooltip will appear showing the full name of the effect when you move the mouse over the effect.

Moving Effects

Effects can be moved simply by clicking and dragging the frame to a new position.

Resizing Effects

Most Effects can be lengthened and shortened by clicking and dragging the ends of the effect rectangle.  Note:  Some effects (such as Typewriter) cannot be resized and must be edited using the Properties dialog.

Editing Effect Properties

The property dialog for an effect can be opened by double-clicking the effect rectangle, or right-clicking on the effect rectangle and selecting "Properties" from the context menu.  The property dialog is different for each type of effect.  See Effects for a list of available effects.

Deleting Effects

Effects can be deleted by either selecting an effect and then pressing Delete Effect, or right-clicking on an effect and choosing Delete from the context menu.

Copying and Pasting Effects

Effects can be copied by right-clicking on an effect and choosing Copy from the context menu.  Similarly effects can be pasted by right-clicking on an empty frame in an Object Row and choosing Paste from the context menu.  See Edit menu.

Previewing Effects

Effects can be Previewed by right-clicking on an effect and selecting Play from the context menu.  You can stop the preview by pressing the stop button on the Toolbar.

Effect Transforms

All Effects can be combined with a simple Transform -- Position, Scale, Rotation and Alpha.  The Transform dialog can be opened by right-clicking on an effect and choosing Transform from the context menu.  See Transform.


The Text Tab

The Text Tab contains properties for the current text object.

Font Selection Combo Box

Lets you choose the font for the current text object.  Only TrueType and Postscript fonts can be used with Swish.

Font Size Combo Box

Lets you choose the size of the font (in points) for the current text object.  You may choose from a list of preset sizes, or type the size into the editbox.

Bold and Italic Buttons

Let you set the style of the text to Plain, Bold, Italic or a combination of both.

Justification Buttons

Lets you set the text justification to left, right or centered.

Text Color

Lets you choose the color of the text object.  You can choose from a selection of preset colors, or press "Other..." to select a color from the Windows Color Dialog.

Note: Swish version 1.5 only supports a single font, style, color for each text object.  Future versions of Swish will support different text styles for each letter.

The Text Window

The text window is the large window immediately below the Font Selection Combo Box.  This is where text is entered and edited.  New lines can be added by pressing Enter.  Changes in the text window are updated in the View Window as you type.

Align Combo Box

This allows you to specify which corner or side the Text Object will be aligned to.  For instance, if you select "Top Left" the X, Y position will refer to the top-left corner of the text object.  The alignment point is indicated by a small cross (x).

X, Y Position

The is the X,Y co-ordinate of the Text Object's alignment point.  The alignment point can be the center of the object or any corner or side.

Kerning

The Kerning control adjusts the horizontal distance between characters in a word.  A negative number will move the characters closer together, a positive number will move the characters further apart.  A value of zero resets the kerning to the standard distances defined by the font.  Swish does not support kerning pairs currently.

Leading

The Leading control adjusts the vertical distance between lines in a mult-line Text Object.  A negative number will move the lines closer together, a positive number will move the lines further apart.  A value of zero resets the leading to the standard distance defined by the font.

Show PS Fonts

Check this option to display PostScript fonts in the Font Selection Combo Box.

Warning: Due to a bug in Adobe Type Manager for Windows NT Swish may not function correctly when you attempt to play (or export) movies that contain PostScript fonts.  This workaround explains how to avoid the problem.  This bug only affects Windows NT4.  You can use Adobe Type Manager and PostScript fonts without problems on Windows 95, 98 and 2000.

Export as Shapes

Check this option if you would like the characters of this text object exported as shapes (symbols) rather than as fonts and text.  This option can be useful if you wish to import non-letter fonts (e.g. Wingdings) into Flash.  Due to a bug in Flash, it will always import fonts such as Wingdings as letters.


The Image Tab

The Image Tab contains properties for the current Image Object.

Image Name

The is the name of the current image.  You can re-assign the current image object to any of the images available in the Content Tab.

Reload

Reloads the image from the image file, so any changes made to the image file are reflected in the Swish movie.

Change...

Imports a new image, stores it in the Content Tab, and re-assigns the current image object to the imported image.

Align Combo Box

This allows you to specify which corner or side the Image Object will be aligned to.  For instance, if you select "Top Left" the X, Y position will refer to the top-left corner of the text object.  The alignment point is indicated by a small cross (x).

X, Y Position

The is the X,Y co-ordinate of the Image Object's alignment point.  The alignment point can be the center of the object or any corner or side.

Notes:

•	Transparent images are displayed on a checkerboard pattern in edit mode.

•	Only the first frame of a GIF animation is imported.

•	Only Simple Effects can be applied to Image Objects.


The Actions Tab

The Actons Tab contains event and action properties for the current Scene or Object.  The Event/Action List is on the left side of the Actions Tab, and properties of the selected event or action are shown on the right side of the Actions Tab.

The Event/Action List

This shows a list of events and actions for the current Scene or Object.  All Actions are triggered by some kind of Event.  For Scenes, events occur when the movie reaches a certain frame.  For Objects, events occur when the mouse interacts with the object, such as rolling over the object or clicking on the object.  Events are shown at the root of the tree, and Actions are shown as children of events.  More than one action can be performed for any given event.  For example, when the mouse rolls over an object, the movie can be stopped (with a stop action) and the browser can be told to load a URL into another frame (with the GotoURL action).

The Add Event/Add Action button

This button serves a dual purpose.  When no event or action exists, or an event is selected, it can be used to add a new event.  When an action is selected, or when an event with no actions is selected, it can be used to add a new action.  (This might sound slightly confusing, but in practice the Add Event/Action button is easy-to-use and switches modes intuitively).  When the Add Event/Action button is pressed a menu of possible events/actions is displayed.  See Events and Actions for definitions of all events/actions.

Deleting events and actions

Events and actions can be deleted by selecting an event/action and pressing the button with the cross icon.  Note that if you delete an event its actions will be deleted as well.

Reordering events and actions.

Events and actions can be re-ordered using the up and down arrows, but generally this has little effect.

Frame Event Properties

When an "At Frame" event is selected for a Scene, the Frame Event Properties are shown on the right side of the Actions Tab.  This consists of a simple edit box, where you can change the frame where the event occurs.

Mouse Event Properties

When a mouse event is selected for an Object, the Mouse Event Properties are shown on the right side of the Actions Tab.  This consists of a list of checkboxes showing the various events.  You can select a combination of events, such as Roll Over and Roll Out so that the same list of actions can be performed for different events.

Action Properties

Actions Properties are differ depending on the type of action selected.  See Actions for details.


The Export Tab

The Export Tab allows you to control export options for the Export to SWF and Publish options on the File Menu.

When a movie is published (using File | Publish) SWiSH generates a SWF file and an HTML file.  When a movie is exported to SWF (using File | Export to SWF) SWiSH generates a SWF file only.

The options below affect how the SWF file is generated:

Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip

Check this option of you want to export your Swish animation to a Flash movie clip, otherwise your animation will be shifted down and to the right when you import it into the movie clip.  See Importing a Swish Movie into Flash.

Note: This option was previously on the General Tab and was called Export SWF with Origin at Center

Clip Objects to Movie Window

Checking this option will result in a smaller SWF filesize for some effects.  Certain effects, such as Explode, will move letters that are outside the movie "window".  When Clip Objects to Window is checked, these letters are not moved because they are off screen.  If you intend to import the Swish SWF into Flash, you should uncheck this option, otherwise letters will appear to "stick" when they reach the edge of the movie window.

Export All Text as Shapes

Check this option if you would like characters of all text objects exported as shapes (symbols) rather than as fonts and text.  This option can be useful if you wish to import non-letter fonts (e.g. Wingdings) into Flash.  Due to a bug in Flash, it will always import fonts such as Wingdings as letters.

The following options affect how the HTML file is generated:

Show Menu

Show Menu sets the MENU parameter of the OBJECT tag to TRUE, making a shortcut menu available to users when they right-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) on the movie. Show Menu is on by default. Deselect the Show Menu option if you want About Flash to be the only available option in the shortcut menu.

Loop Movie

Loop sets the LOOP parameter of the OBJECT tag to TRUE and repeats the movie when it reaches the last frame. Deselect this option to stop the movie when it reaches the last frame. Loop Movie is on by default

Window Mode

Sets the WMODE parameter of the OBJECT tag, which lets you take advantage of the transparent movie, absolute positioning, and layering capabilities available in Internet Explorer 4.0 (or later). This option works only in the Windows version of Internet Explorer with the Flash Active X control.

•	Window sets the WMODE parameter value to WINDOW and plays the movie in its own rectangular window on a web page. This setting normally provides the fastest animation performance.

•	Opaque Windowless sets the WMODE parameter value to OPAQUE. Use this setting if you want to move elements behind Flash movies (for example, with dynamic HTML) and don't want them to show through.

•	Transparent Windowless sets the WMODE parameter to TRANSPARENT. Use this setting to make the background of the HTML page on which the movie is embedded show through all the transparent potions of the movie. Animation performance might be slower when you use this setting.

Quality

Sets the value of the QUALITY parameter in the OBJECT and EMBED tags and determines the level of anti-aliasing performed. Because anti-aliasing requires a faster processor to smooth each frame of the movie before it is rendered on the viewer's screen, the QUALITY parameter assigns priorities to appearance and playback speed.

•	Low gives priority to playback speed over appearance. With this setting, anti-aliasing is never used.

•	Autolow emphasizes speed at first, but improves appearance whenever possible. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned off. If the Flash player detects that the processor can handle it, anti-aliasing is turned on.

•	Autohigh emphasizes playback speed and appearance equally at first, but sacrifices appearance for the sake of playback speed if necessary. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned on. If the actual frame rate drops below the specified frame rate, anti-aliasing is turned off to improve playback speed. Use this setting to emulate the View > Antialias setting in Flash.

•	High gives priority to appearance over playback speed. With this setting, anti-aliasing is always used. If the movie does not contain animation, bitmaps are smoothed; if there is animation, bitmaps are not smoothed. High is the default setting for Quality.

•	Best provides the best display quality and does not consider playback speed. All output is antialiased and all bitmaps are always smoothed.

HTML Alignment

Specifies the ALIGN attribute for the OBJECT, EMBED, and IMG tags and determines how the Flash movie window is positioned within the browser window.

•	Default centers the movie in the browser window and crops edges if the browser window is smaller than the movie.

•	Left aligns the movie along the left edge of the browser window and crops the top, bottom, and right sides as necessary.

•	Right aligns the movie along the right edge of the browser window and crops the top, bottom, and left sides as necessary.

•	Top aligns the movie along the top edge of the browser window and crops the bottom, left, and right sides as necessary.

•	Bottom aligns the movie along the bottom edge of the browser window and crops the top, left, and right sides as necessary

Copy HTML to Clipboard

Copies the HTML code containing the OBJECT and EMBED tags to the clipboard.  This allows you to paste the movie into an existing HTML file.


The View Window

The View Window is used to both edit the Swish Movie and preview what the movie will look like when it is playing.

Editing Mode

While in Editing Mode you can use the View Window to arrange objects in the current scene.  Clicking on an object will select it.  Clicking and dragging and object will move the object's reference position.  Right clicking an object will show a context menu that lets you cut/copy/delete the current object, or paste an object that is on the clipboard.  See the Edit Menu.

Playing Mode

While in Playing Mode the View Window previews the movie, scene or effect as it would appear on a web page.  Right-clicking on the View Window while a movie is playing will show a context menu with information about the Flash Player.

Use the Control Menu or the Play/Stop buttons on the Toolbar to switch between Editing and Playing Mode.


Tutorials

These tutorials provide step-by-step instructions to get you started with Swish:

•	Creating your first Swish Movie.

•	Using Actions.

•	Importing a Swish Movie into Flash.

•	Importing and Playing a Sound.

•	Importing and Displaying an Image.

•	Creating a Preloader.


Creating your first Swish Movie

This is a step-by-step tutorial for creating your first Swish Movie:

(This tutorial is saved as "first.swi" in the Samples Menu)

1. Start the Swish application.

2. Press the Insert Text button [image] on the Toolbar.  (You should see the word Text appear in the center of the View Window)

3. Click on the word text in the View Window and drag it over to the right side of the view window.

4. Select the Text Tab on the Main Window and replace the word "text" with the word "squeeze" in the text window.

5. At the bottom of the Text Tab, select a font size of 28 points, press the [B] button for bold text.

The View Window should now look something like this:

6. Now select the Timeline Tab and click on the word squeeze on the left hand side of the timeline.

7. Press the Add Effect button and select Squeeze, just below the separator line in the menu.

8. You should now see the Squeeze Effect dialog.  Choose "Squeeze to Left" from the Alignment options and press OK.

The Timeline should now look like this:

9. Now press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.  You should now see the word "squeeze" squeezing towards the left side of the word over and over.  The text will also be fading in as it squeezes.  Press stop [image] on the toolbar.

10. Right-click on the Squeeze Effect in the timeline and choose Properties... from the context menu.

11. You should now see the Squeeze Effect dialog.  Select Squeeze to Center from the Alignment options and press Preview.

12. You should now see a preview of the text squeezing to the center.  Press Stop on the Squeeze Effect dialog, and select Squeeze to Right from the Alignment options, and press OK.

13. Press the Play Movie button [image] again.  You should see the text squeezing to the right.

14. Now press the Insert Text button [image] again (You should see the word Text appear in the center of the View Window)

15. Select the Text Tab and type the words "type text" into the text edit window, and insert a new line between the words.

16. Choose the font "Courier New" from the Font selection box.

17. Click on the "type text" object in the View Window and drag it over to the left side.

The View Window should now look something like this:

18. Now select the Timeline Tab and click on the left-most frame (frame zero) in the row beginning with "type text".  This should highlight the frame.

19. Press the Add Effect button and select Typewriter, three below the separator line in the menu.

20. You should now see the Typewriter Effect dialog.  Enter 0 (zero) for Flash cursor ... times at start of line.  Also enter 0 (zero)

for Flash cursor ... times at end of line.  Then press OK.

The Timeline should now look like this:

21. Now press the Play Movie button [image] again. You should now see the words "type text" being typed out onto the screen at the same time as the word "squeeze" is squeezing towards the right.  The animation will repeat forever.  Press stop [image] on the toolbar.

22. Click on the Squeeze Effect in the timeline and drag to the right so that the Squeeze effect starts after the Typewriter effect, like below:

21. Press the Play Movie button [image] again. You should now see the words "type text" being typed out onto the screen followed by the word "squeeze" is squeezing towards the right. Press stop [image] on the toolbar.

22. Now move your mouse over the right end of the Squeeze Effect until you see a resize cursor [image].  Click and drag the right side of the Squeeze effect inwards until the effect finishes just before frame 25 (a gray column).

23. Press the Play Movie button [image] again. You will now see the squeeze animation runs much faster because you have shortened its duratiion.   Press stop [image] on the toolbar.

24. Now press the Save Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.  You should now see the Save Swish Movie dialog.  Type "first" into the File name edit box and press Save.  Your movie has now been saved as a .swi file and can be opened at a later time.

25. Press the Test in Browser button [image]  on the Toolbar.  This should launch you default browser and play your movie in the browser.  If nothing happens, it means you don't have HTML files associated with any application.

26. Close the browser and select Publish... from the File Menu.  You should now see the Publish Swish Movie dialog.  The default name should be "first.html".  Change to a folder where you would like to publish your Swish animation and press the Save button.

The Publish Swish Movie command will create two files in the folder you selected; start.html and start.swf.  Upload these two files to your web server (using FTP or similar) and your Swish movie is now ready to play over the internet.


Using Actions

Here are step-by-step instructions for adding actions to your Swish Movie.

(This tutorial is saved as "actions.swi" in the Samples Menu)

1. Start with the movie you created in the first tutorial or open "first.swi" from the Samples Menu.

2. Select the Timeline Tab and select frame 17 in the row labelled Scene 1.

3. Press Add Action and choose Stop from the actions menu.  Press OK on the Action Properties menu.

(when you move your mouse over the action you should see a tooltip indicating a "Stop" action)

The timeline should now look like this:

4. Now select the type text object and click on the Actions Tab.

5. Press Add Event and choose On Release from the menu.

The Add Event button should change to Add Action, and the On Release properties should appear on the right side of the Actions tab.

6. Press Add Action and choose Play from the menu.

The Action list should now look like this:

7. Press Play [image] on the Toolbar.  The type text object will be typed out onto the screen then the movie will stop because of the stop action at frame 17.  Now move your mouse over the type text object and click and release the mouse button.  When the mouse is released the movie continues playing because of the Play Action that is triggered On Release. Press stop [image] on the toolbar.

8. Now go back to the Timeline Tab and select frame 24 in the row labelled Scene 1.

9. Press Add Action and choose Stop from the actions menu.  Press OK on the Action Properties menu.

10. Now select the squeeze object and click on the Actions Tab.

11. Press Add Event and choose On Press from the menu.

12. Press Add Action and select Goto Frame from the menu.    You should now see the Goto Frame properties on the the right side of the Actions Tab.

13. Select "Scene 1" and Frame Number 0 (zero) in the Goto Frame properties.  Also check the "Goto and Play" option.

The Actions Tab should now look like this:

14. Press Add Action again and choose Goto URL from the menu.  You should now see the Goto URL properties on the the right side of the Actions Tab.

15. Enter "http://swishzone.com" into the Link edit box.

The Actions Tab should now look like this:

16. Press Play [image] on the Toolbar.  The type text object will be typed out onto the screen then the movie will stop.  Click and release the mouse button over the type text object.  The movie will continue playing and run the squeeze animation.  Now move the mouse over the squeeze object and press the mouse button.  The movie will now goto frame zero of Scene 1 and start the typewriter animation again.  At the same time the default browser is launched and displays the URL "http://swishzone.com". Close the browser and press stop [image] on the toolbar.


Importing a Swish Movie into Flash

This is a step-by-step tutorial for importing effects into a Flash movie.

There are three possible techniques for importing Swish movies into Flash:

1. Importing a Swish movie into a Flash layer

This is the simplest way to import a Swish movie, and is appropriate method if you do not want to reposition the Swish animation after you have imported it into Flash.

Exporting from Swish:

1. Start with the movie you created in the first tutorial or open "first.swi" from the Samples Menu.

2. Uncheck the Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip option on the Export Tab.

3. Press the Export to SWF button [image] on the Toolbar.  You should now see the Export to SWF dialog.

4. Choose a folder when you want to export the SWF file, enter a file name of "first.swf" (without quotes) and press the Save button.

Importing the Swish movie into Flash:

1. Start the Macromedia Flash application and open the Flash Movie (FLA file) you would like to add the Swish movie to.

2. Select Import from the File Menu.  You should now see the Flash Import dialog.

3. Select "Flash Player (*.swf, *.spl)" from the Files of type combo box.

4. Change to the folder where you exported the SWF, choose "first.swf", and press Open.

5. You should now see a new layer in the Flash timeline.  This layer will contain the entire Swish movie.

Notes:

•	SWF files do not contain keyframe or tweening information.  Flash will import every frame as a keyframe.

•	This does not mean SWF files made with Swish are larger than SWFs made with Flash. No SWF file made with any application contains keyframes or tweens.

•	This is not really a problem unless you want to edit the tweens on individual letters in Flash.  It is much easier to do your edits in Swish and import the whole thing into Flash.

•	Swish cannot export a FLA file directly because FLA is a closed format.  Only Macromedia Flash can read and write FLA files.

2. Importing a Swish movie into a Flash movie clip

When a Swish movie is imported into Flash it can be difficult to select and move around the stage.  The Swish movie is much easier to manipulate if you import the SWF into a movie clip first and then place an instance of the movie clip on the stage.

Exporting from Swish:

1. Start with the movie you created in the first tutorial or open "first.swi" from the Samples Menu.

2. Check the Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip option on the Export Tab.

3. Press the Export to SWF button [image] on the Toolbar.  You should now see the Export to SWF dialog.

4. Choose a folder when you want to export the SWF file, enter a file name of "first.swf" (without quotes) and press the Save button.

Importing the Swish movie into Flash:

1. Start the Macromedia Flash application and open the Flash Movie (FLA file) you would like to add the Swish movie to.

2. Select "New Symbol..." from the Insert menu.  You should see the Symbol Properties dialog.

3. Call the symbol "first.swi" (without quotes), select the Movie Clip behaviour and press OK.

4. Select Import from the File Menu.  You should now see the Flash Import dialog.

5. Select "Flash Player (*.swf, *.spl)" from the Files of type combo box.

6. Change to the folder where you exported the SWF, choose "first.swf", and press Open.

7. You should now see a new layer in the movie clip's timeline.  This layer will contain the entire Swish movie.

8. Now select the Flash scene where you would like to add the Swish Animation.

9. Select Library from the Window Menu if the Library is not already open.

10. Drag and drop "first.swi" from the Library window onto the stage.  You can now select and move the Swish animation as a single object.

11. Select Control | Test Movie or File | Publish Preview to play the complete animation.

Notes:

•	Unless instructed otherwise, the Swish movie clip will begin playing at the frame where you dropped it.

•	You can stop and start the Swish movie clip by giving it an instance name and using TellTarget to control the Swish animation.

3. Importing a Swish movie using the Load Movie action

Due to a bug in Flash, it will not import sounds and actions from a SWF file, regardless of whether the SWF file was made with Swish,  Flash or any other application.  You can work around this problem by using the Load Movie action.

Exporting from Swish:

1. Start with the movie you created in the first tutorial or open "first.swi" from the Samples Menu.

2. Uncheck the Offset Movie to suit Movie Clip option on the Export Tab.

3. Press the Export to SWF button [image] on the Toolbar.  You should now see the Export to SWF dialog.

4. Choose a folder when you want to export the SWF file, enter a file name of "first.swf" (without quotes) and press the Save button.

Note: The Swish movie should be exported to the same folder as the Flash movie, otherwise the Load Movie action will fail.

Importing the Swish movie into Flash:

1. Start the Macromedia Flash application and open the Flash Movie (FLA file) you would like to add the Swish movie to.

Flash2. Click the Add Layer button in the bottom left of the Flash timeline.

3. Double-click on the frame where you would like the Swish movie to begin.

4. Select the Actions tab on the Frame Properties dialog.

5. Click the [+] button and choose Load/Unload Movie.

6. In the URL box type "first.swf" (without quotes)

7. Select Control | Test Movie or File | Publish Preview to play the complete animation.

Notes:

•	The Swish movie should be exported to the same folder as the Flash movie, otherwise the Load Movie action will fail.

•	The Flash Output window will display an error message when it cannot load a movie.

•	Flash uses the Windows Temporary Folder when you select the Control | Test Movie option.

•	Flash uses the Flash installation folder when you select File | Publish Preview.


Importing and Playing a Sound

These are step-by-step tutorials for importing and playing sounds.

Tip: If you are having problems importing WAV files try downloading and installing the latest Windows Media Player from Microsoft.

How to play a sound when the movie reaches a certain frame:

1. Select the Timeline Tab.

2. Select the Frame where you want the sound to begin playing.

3. Press Add Action and choose the Play Sound option (The Play Sound dialog will be displayed)

4. Press the Import... button and choose the MP3 or WAV file you want to play.

5. Press OK on the Play Sound dialog.

6. Press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.

How to play a sound in response to a Mouse Event:

1. Create or select the object that responds to the Mouse Event.

2. Select the Actions Tab.

3. Press Add Event and Choose On Press.

4. Press Add Action and Choose Play Sound. (The Play Sound dialog will be displayed in the right-hand pane)

5. Press the Import... button and choose the MP3 or WAV file you want to play.

6. Press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.

How to play a looping sound in the background:

1. Select the Timeline Tab.

2. Select Frame 0 in the timeline.

3. Press Add Action and choose the Play Sound option (The Play Sound dialog will be displayed)

4. Press the Import... button and choose the MP3 or WAV file you want to play.

5. Press the Options... button and enter a large number in the Loop Sound edit box (such as 50,000)

Due to a limitation in the Flash Player there is no infininte loop option.

6. Press OK on the Play Sound dialog.

7. Press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.


Importing and Displaying an Image

This is a step-by-step tutorial for importing and displaying an image.

1. Start the Swish Application.

2. Select Insert Image from the Modify Menu or press [image] on the Toolbar.

3. Select a JPEG, GIF or PNG file from the File Selection dialog.

4. The image is displayed in the center of the current scene.

Notes:

•	The image will also appear in the Content Tab.

•	Use the Image Tab to change the properties of the imported image.

•	Transparent images are displayed on a checkerboard pattern in edit mode.

•	Only the first frame of a GIF animation is imported.

•	Only Simple Effects can be applied to Image Objects.


Creating a Preloader

This is a step-by-step tutorial for creating a Preloader.  A preloader is a looping animation that plays while the rest of the movie downloads.

(This tutorial is saved as "Preloader.swi" in the Samples Menu)

1. Start the Swish Application.

2. Select the Scene Tab and enter "Preloader" into the Scene Name editbox.

3. Press Insert Scene [image] on the Toolbar.

4. Select the new Scene and enter "Main Movie" into Scene Name editbox.

5. Select the Preloader Scene and press Insert Text [image] on the Toolbar.

6. Select the Text Tab and enter the word "Loading" in the text window.

7. Select the Timeline Tab, press Add Effect and choose the Squeeze option.  (The Squeeze Effect dialog is displayed)

8. Press OK on the Squeeze Effect dialog.

9. Select the last frame (20) of the row labelled "Preloader" and press Add Action.

10. Choose the Goto Frame option and select "Preloader" from the Scene combo box, and enter a Frame Number of zero.

11. Press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.

You will see a looping squeeze effect on the word "Loading".  This is what visitors to your page will see while the rest of the movie is loading.

1. Select a frame after the frame when you inserted the Goto Frame action.  For example, Frame 21.

2. Press Add Action and choose the Preload Content option. (the Preload Content dialog is displayed)

3. Press Import...  and choose some sound file you would like to play in the Main Movie scene.

4. Press OK on the Preload Content dialog.

5. Select Frame 0 of the "Preloader" scene, press Add Action and choose the If Frame is Loaded option. (the If Frame is Loaded dialog is displayed)

6. Select "Main Movie" from the Scene combo box, and enter a Frame Number of zero.  Don't close the dialog yet.

7. Press Add Action and choose the Goto Frame option.

8. As before, Select "Main Movie" from the Scene combo box, and enter a Frame Number of zero.

9. Press OK and close the Dialog.

Move your mouse over the action [a] in the first frame of the timeline.  The popup tooltip should read:

   "If Frame 0 of Main Movie is Loaded (then) Goto Frame 0 of Main Movie"

1. Select the "Main Movie" Scene from the Scene List.

2. Select Frame 0 of the "Main Movie" Scene.

3. Press Add Action and choose the Play Sound option (The Play Sound dialog will be displayed)

4. Choose the same sound that you preloaded in the "Preloader" scene and press OK.

5. Press Insert Text [image] on the Toolbar.

6. Select the Text Tab and enter the word "Main Movie" in the text window.

7. Select the Timeline Tab, press Add Effect and choose the Squeeze option.  (The Squeeze Effect dialog is displayed)

8. Press OK on the Squeeze Effect dialog.

9. Press the Play Movie button [image] on the Toolbar.

You will notice that the Swish Movie jumps straight to the Main Movie scene.  This is because your entire movie is loaded instantaneously when you preview the movie inside the Swish application.  To see your preloader in action you will need view your movie over a slow connection.

You can view this preloader online here.


Troubleshooting

This section contains workarounds for common problems:

•	Using Adobe Type 1 PostScript Fonts with Windows NT


Using Adobe Type 1 PostScript Fonts with Windows NT

Due to a bug in Adobe Type Manager for Windows NT Swish may not function correctly when you attempt to play (or export) movies that contain PostScript fonts.

This bug also affects Macromedia Flash.  Read this technote from Macromedia.

When you click the Show PostScript Fonts option on the Text Tab Swish will display the warning below if you are running Windows NT4.

To workaround this problem you should use the Windows NT control panel to convert Adobe Type 1 fonts to TrueType fonts.  To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select Settings | Control Panel from the Windows Start Menu

2. Double click on the Fonts Folder.

3. Select File | Install New Font... and choose the Type 1 font you wish to use in Swish.

4. Make sure "Convert Type 1 Font to TrueType" is checked and click Yes.

This procedure will convert the Type 1 font to True Type and avoid any problems with Adobe Type Manager.  You may want to remove the Type 1 version of the font to prevent duplication.

Note:  This bug only affects Windows NT4.  You can use Adobe Type Manager without problems on Windows 95, 98 and 2000.


This is the default position of an object.  A slide in effect will slide to this position. A slide out effect will slide from this position.  Otherwise this is the initial position of the object.


Perspective Projection is a technique for depicting the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional image plane. The farther objects are from the camera, the smaller they display on the image plane.


View Vector is the direction the view point or camera is pointing relative to a 3D world. Also known as the Look-At Vector.


Zoom Factor is directly proportional to the magnification of the scene being viewed.


Kerning is the horizontal distance between letters in a word.


The orientation of an object is the direction it faces.


Leading is the vertical distance between lines in a text object.


The Alpha value controls the transparency or opacity of an object.  The greater the alpha value the more opaque it appears.  The smaller the alpha value the more transparent it appears.  An alpha value of 100% means the object will be completely opaque.  An alpha value of 0% means the object will be invisible.


A Simple Object has only one component, such as a single shape or picture  Complex Objects are made up of more than one components.


A complex object is an object that has more than one component. An example of a complex object is a text object, where the components correspond to letters.


A character is a single element of a complex object.  An example of a character is a letter in a text object.  Characters are also known as components.


A component is a single element of a complex object.  An example of a component is a letter in a text object.  Components are also known as characters.