Adding Sound > Importing sounds |  |

Importing sounds

You place sound files into Flash by importing them into the library for the current document.

Note: When placing a sound on the Timeline, it is recommended that you place it on a separate layer. See Adding sounds to a movie for more information.

You can import the following sound file formats into Flash:

| WAV (Windows only)
| AIFF (Macintosh only)
| MP3 (Windows or Macintosh)

If you have QuickTime 4 or later installed on your system, you can import these additional sound file formats:

| AIFF (Windows or Macintosh)
| Sound Designer II (Macintosh only)
| Sound Only QuickTime Movies (Windows or Macintosh)
| Sun AU (Windows or Macintosh)
| System 7 Sounds (Macintosh only)
| WAV (Windows or Macintosh)

Flash stores sounds in the library along with bitmaps and symbols. As with graphic symbols, you need only one copy of a sound file to use that sound in any number of ways in your movie.

If you want to share sounds among Flash movies, you can include the sounds in shared libraries. See Working with common libraries. To use a sound in a shared library, you assign the sound file an identifier string in the Symbol Linkage Properties dialog box. The identifier can also be used to access the sound as an object in ActionScript. For information on objects in ActionScript, see Understanding the ActionScript Language.

Sounds can use considerable amounts of disk space and RAM. However, MP3 sound data is compressed and smaller than WAV or AIFF sound data. Generally, when using WAV or AIFF files, it's best to use 16-bit 22 kHz mono sounds (stereo uses twice as much data as mono), but Flash can import either 8- or 16-bit sounds at sample rates of 11 kHz, 22 kHz, or 44 kHz. Flash can convert sounds to lower sample rates on export. See Compressing sounds for export.

Note: Sounds recorded in formats that are not multiples of 11 kHz (such as 8, 32, or 96 kHz) are resampled when imported into Flash.

If you want to add effects to sounds in Flash, it's best to import 16-bit sounds. If you have limited RAM, keep your sound clips short or work with 8-bit sounds instead of 16-bit sounds.

To import a sound:

1 | Choose File > Import to Library.
2 | In the Import dialog box, locate and open the desired sound file.
| Note: You can also drag a sound from a common library into the library for the current document. See Working with common libraries.