Adding text, graphics, and animations

Customizing the user interface and content in the presentation can be as simple or complex as your presentation requires. There are several things you can do to customize the content on the screens:

• Change the background graphics and user interface
• Customize the text, graphics, and animations while the video plays
• Add and delete labeled frames containing content to match the cue points in your video
• Animate between labeled frames or within movie clip instances placed at labeled frames

Changing the background graphics and colors

You can add logos, background images or colors, borders, and anything else you want to display throughout the presentation. Aside from adding your own video, this is probably the quickest and easiest way to make the presentation truly look like your own.

Keep in mind that adding a large bitmap image increases the size of your presentation, so it will require more time to download. Instead, consider creating simple vector graphics using the drawing tools in Flash CS4 or an application such as Fireworks CS4. Or use a bitmap with a limited range of colors such as the background included in the sample.

To add your own graphics or colors:

1. Click the Title layer and edit the text field to add the title and formatting of your choice. Move the title anywhere you like if you'd like to experiment.
2. Add layers and frames containing graphics as you like. Usually, you will place graphics that are intended to appear throughout the movie on frame 1 without any keyframes following them on that particular layer.

To add a new background graphic:

1. Select the Background layer and delete the default graphic on the Stage.
2. Choose File > Import > Import to Stage.
3. Select the file to import in the Import dialog box and click OK. For some file types, you may see an additional dialog box with options you can set for that particular file.
4. Position the file where you want it to appear onscreen.

To resize the graphic, right-click (Control-click) the graphic and select Free Transform from the pop-up menu.

To add a background color or border, select the Background layer and use the drawing tools in the Tools panel to add a colored box, draw graphics, and so on. Anything you add to the Background layer appears throughout the movie.

Customizing text and graphics while the video plays

While the video plays, text and graphics appear on the screen. The text and graphics are carefully synchronized with the video so that they appear just as the video reaches specific cue points. You will probably want to update the text and graphics that appear when your own video plays.

Use labeled keyframes to place content in your presentation. By synchronizing the content appearance with your video at different labeled frames, you can control how the content appears alongside your video. When the video reaches a cue point, the frame with the corresponding label will appear.

To add your own text and graphics to an existing labeled keyframe, just edit the text and graphics on each labeled frame along the content layer in the template. Synchronize those locations with your video by changing the cue point names in the FLVPlayback component to trigger the frame label navigation at the right moment.

In the sample file, content animations are built in movie clip instances that appear at the labeled keyframes for synchronization. In most cases you will want to delete the existing content animation and add your own content and effects. You may find it easiest to delete the supplied labeled frames and start with empty ones.

Note that if you change the frame label names, you will have to update the associated cue point names in the FLVPlayback component parameters and the associated button instance names on the Buttons layer.

Adding and deleting labeled keyframes in your presentation

In this section, you learn how to add and remove labeled keyframes. Whenever you do so, you have to add or remove the corresponding cue point on the FLVPlayback component and update the associated button instance name on the Buttons layer.

To add a new content frame:

1. Click on the frame where you want to add a new label keyframe along the Actions & Labels layer.
2. Press F6 to add a keyframe to that frame on the Timeline.
3. Select the new keyframe by clicking it and enter a label name in the field at the upper left of the Property inspector. The label name should match the name of the cue point to which it corresponds.
4. Select the same frame on the Content layer and add a keyframe (F6).
5. Add your content to the new layer as desired.

Deleting a content frame is easy:

1. Click the keyframe in the Timeline.
2. Press Shift + F6 to remove the keyframe.

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