Window

This menu is Command Central for opening and closing the many windows you use when working in Flash. Checkmarks appear next to the names of currently open windows. Clicking next to the name opens or closes the window.

Windows: Ctrl+Alt+K

Mac: Option-⌘-K

Creates a second program window. Use this command when you want more than one view of your animation or timeline. It's useful for side-by-side comparisons of two separate frames or other aspects of your Flash animation.

Leads to a submenu with the following commands:

Windows: Ctrl+Alt+T

Mac: Option-⌘-T

Displays the timeline in your program window, which you use to work with frames and layers in your animation.

Opens the Motion Editor panel, which you use to fine-tune motion tweens. The Motion Editor uses graphs to show how properties change over time. In particular, the Motion Editor gives you greater control over the easing applied to property changes.

Windows: Ctrl+F2

Mac: ⌘-F2

Shows and hides the Tools palette, which holds tools for selection, drawing, shape creation, text, color application, and color picking.

Windows: Ctrl+F3

Mac: ⌘-F3

Opens the Properties window, where you view—and edit—various aspects of objects in your animation.

Windows: Ctrl+L

Mac: ⌘-L

Opens the Library window, which stores objects used in your animation, like graphics, movie clips, buttons, and sound clips.

Opens the Common Library windows, which include Buttons, Classes, ContentHolder and Sounds.

Opens a panel with predesigned motion tweens like Fly-in, Fly-out, and Bounce. You can use Adobe-designed presets or store your own custom-designed presets using this panel.

Windows: F9

Mac: Option-F9

Opens the Actions panel, where you define and edit actions used in your animation.

Opens a panel with dozens of chunks of code that you can use in your ActionScript programs. Snippets are organized in these groups: Actions, Timeline Navigation, Animation, Load and Unload, Audio and Video and Event Handlers.

Windows: Shift+F3

Mac: Shift-F3

Opens the Behaviors panel, which automates the process of applying actions to objects in your animation. (Behaviors aren't available with ActionScript 3.0.)

Windows: Alt+F2

Mac: Option-F2

Opens the Compiler Errors window, where Flash displays the problems that may happen during the compilation of your animation.

Opens the Debug panel, which you use to find errors in your ActionScript programs. The Debug panel displays the lines of your code, variables, values, and properties, while giving you the opportunity to execute code a line at a time. The Debug subpanels are Debug Console, Variables, and ActionScript 2.0 Debugger.

Windows: Alt+F3

Mac: Option-F3

Displays the Movie Explorer window, where you see a hierarchical representation of your Flash animation, breaking it down into scenes and objects.

Windows: F2

Mac: F2

Opens the Output window, which is used in combination with trace() statements to debug ActionScript code.

Windows: Ctrl+K

Mac: ⌘-K

Displays the Align window, which you use to align, distribute and position objects on the stage. The Align commands are identical to those in the Modify→Align submenu, except the window displays icons that visually indicate the alignment command.

Windows: Alt+Shift+F9

Mac: Shift-⌘-F9

Opens the Color window, from which you pick stroke, fill, and gradient colors. The Color window provides several tools to identify colors, including color pickers, swatches, and RBG color tools.

Windows: Ctrl+I

Mac: ⌘-I

Opens the Info panel, which provides details on the position of the mouse cursor and the colors at that location. The Info panel also provides height, width, and location information for selected objects on the stage.

Windows: Ctrl+F9

Mac: ⌘-F9

Opens the Swatches panel, where you can pick colors to apply them to objects in your animation. You use the Swatches panel to create and save custom colors for your animation.

Windows: Ctrl+T

Mac: ⌘-T

Opens the Transform window, which you use to resize, rotate, and skew objects in your animation.

Windows: Ctrl+F7

Mac: ⌘-F7

Opens the Components window, where you choose components to add to your animation. Components are grouped in these categories: Flex, User Interface and Video.

Windows: Shift+F7

Mac: Shift-F7

Displays the Component Inspector window, which you use to set parameters, bindings, and XML schema for components you add to your animation.

Leads to a submenu with additional panels, including the following:

Leads to a submenu with additional Adobe services and community-based tools.

Leads to a submenu of commands that let you customize the Flash workspace and save your favorite workspace layouts for use with later projects. You can also use the Workspace menu on the main menu bar.

Windows: F4

Mac: F4

Hides all panels and toolbars, leaving only the main program window visible. This command works like a toggle.