Working with Frames

Basics	Image Maps	Slices	Rollovers	Animation

Introduction	Introduction	Introduction	Introduction	Introduction
Jumping	Creating	Creating	Creating	Working with Frames
File Formats	Modifying	Modifying	Previewing	Working with Layers
Optimization	Image Map Palette	Slice Palette	Matching Layers	Animation Palette
Saving				Saving Animations

How do I
create a frame?

Adding frames is the first step in creating an animation. When you add a new frame, you can use the layers palette to make graphic changes to it. (See the next lesson, Working with Layers, to learn more.)

Frames are created in a simple process:

1) Go to the Animation palette. Pull down the Window menu and select Show Animation. The Animation palette shows you a thumbnail of the first (and initially, only) frame for the image:

2) Decide when you want the animation to occur. If you want the animation to happen when the web page is first loaded, make sure that the Normal state is selected in the Rollover palette. If you want the animation to happen only when a certain rollover effect occurs, select that rollover state in the Rollover palette.

3) Create a new frame. Click on the New Frame button at the bottom of the Animation palette:

A new thumbnail representing the new frame will appear next to the first. The new frame will be a duplicate of the one before it, until you modify it (see the next lesson for details).

How do I
select a frame?

To work with a frame, you must first select it. Selected frames have a blue background. Once selected, the contents of the frame appear in the window and you can edit it. You can also select multiple frames if you want to make changes to them all at once.

To select a frame, click its thumbnail.
To select a series of frames that are next to each other ("contiguous"), click on the first frame's thumbnail, then hold down the Shift key and click on the last frame in the series. It and all the frames in between will be selected.
To select frames that aren't next to each other ("discontiguous"), click on the first frame's thumbnail, then hold down the Control key and click one at a time on the other frames you wish to select. All of the clicked-on frames will be selected, while those in between will not.
To select all the frames at once, choose the Select All Frames command from the Animation palette menu:

If multiple frames are selected and you want to de-select one, hold down the Control key and click on it.

Tip: When more than one frame is selected, the contents of the current frame will appear in the document window. The current frame is the first frame selected, and it has a black outline:

How do I
delete a frame?

To delete a frame, select the frame (or frames) you want to delete, then click on the Delete Frame button at the bottom of the Animation palette:

To delete the entire animation, choose the Delete Animation command from the Animation palette menu: