Flash CS3 Documentation 
Using ActionScript 2.0 Components > Customizing Components > About themes > Applying a new theme to a document

Applying a new theme to a document

To apply a new theme to a document, open a theme FLA file as an external library, and drag the theme folder from the external library to the document library. The following steps explain the process in detail, assuming you already have a new theme (for more information, see Creating a new theme).

To apply a theme to a document:

  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 the FLA file of the theme you want to apply to your document.
  3. In the theme's Library panel, select Flash UI Components 2/Themes/MMDefault and drag the Assets folders for any components you want to use to your document's library.

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


    Drag the RadioButton Assets folder to your library

    If you're unsure which components are in the document, drag the entire theme movie clip (for example, for the SampleTheme.fla, the main theme movie clip is Flash UI Components 2 > SampleTheme) 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 dragged individual component Assets folders to the ThemeApply.fla library, 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; it has a symbol called RadioButtonAssets, which contains all of the individual asset symbols. If you set Export in First Frame on the RadioButtonAssets symbol, all individual asset symbols will also export in the first frame.


    Export RadioButtonAssets' symbols in the first frame

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

Changing export settings

When you apply the Sample or Halo theme to your document, many of the skin assets are set to export in the first frame in order to make them immediately available to the components during playback. However, if you change the publishing export setting (File > Publish Settings > Flash tab > ActionScript Version Settings button > Export Frame for Classes) of your FLA file to a frame after the first frame, you must also change the export settings for the assets in the Sample and Halo themes. To do this, you must open the following component assets in your document's library and deselect the Export in First Frame check box (right-click > Linkage > Export in First Frame):

Sample theme

Halo theme

Flash CS3