Flash CS3 Documentation

Using ActionScript 2.0 Components > Customizing Components > About themes > Switching themes

Switching themes

Flash installs two themes: Halo and Sample. You'll notice that the component reference information for each component contains a table of style properties you can set for either (or both) themes. So, when you read a style properties table, like the one for the Button component in Using styles with the Button component in the ActionScript 2.0 Components Language Reference, notice which theme supports the style you want. The table indicates Halo, Sample, or Both (meaning both themes support the style property).

The Halo theme is the default theme for components. So, if you want to use the Sample theme, you need to switch the current theme from Halo to Sample.

To switch to the Sample theme:

1. Select File > Open and open the document that uses version 2 components in Flash, or select File > New and create a new document that uses version 2 components.
2. Select File > Import > Open External Library, and select SampleTheme.fla to apply to your document.

   This file is located in the application-level configuration folder. For the exact location on your operating system, see About themes.

3. In the SampleTheme.fla theme's Library panel, select Flash UI Components 2/Themes/MMDefault and drag the Assets folders of any components in your document to the Library panel of your Flash document.

   For example, drag the RadioButton Assets folder to your library.

   
   
   

   If you're unsure about which components are in the document, drag the entire Sample Theme movie clip to the Stage. The skins are automatically assigned to components in the document.

   NOTE

   The Live Preview of the components on the Stage will not reflect the new theme.

4. If you drag individual component Assets folders to the Library panel of your document, make sure the Assets symbol for each component is set to Export in First Frame.

   For example, the Assets folder for the RadioButton component is called RadioButton Assets. Open the RadioButtonAssets folder, and you'll see a movie clip symbol called RadioButtonAssets. The RadioButtonAssets symbol contains all of the individual asset symbols within it.

   Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the RadioButtonAssets symbol in the library of your document, and select the Linkage menu option. Check Export in First Frame, so all individual asset symbols will also export in the first frame. Then, click OK to save the settings.

   
   
   

5. Select Control > Test Movie to see the document with the new theme applied.

Flash CS3