Copying graphic elements and pasting them—into the same frame, into another frame, or even into another document—is much faster than drawing new objects from scratch. It's also the most familiar. If you've ever copied text in a word processing or spreadsheet document and pasted it somewhere else, then you know the drill.
A simple copy-and-paste is the best way to go when you're experimenting—for example, when you want to see whether the blue-eyed wallaby you drew for one animation looks good in another. But if you're trying to keep your animation's finished file size as small as possible, or if you plan to include more than one copy of that wallaby, copying and pasting isn't the best way to go. Instead, you'll want to look into symbols (Symbols and Instances).
To copy and paste an image:
On the stage, select the image you want to copy.
Selecting Objects on the Stage gives you an overview of the selection tools. In Figure 2-26, Freddy Flash is selected.
Choose Edit→Copy (or press Ctrl+C in Windows, ⌘-C on the Mac). Then select the keyframe into which you want to paste the image.
You can paste the image in the keyframe you're in, or you can select another one. Flash doesn't restrict you to the document you currently have open; you can open another document to paste the image into.
Choose one of the Paste commands. Here are your options:
Edit→Paste in Center. Tells Flash to paste the image in the center of the viewing area.
Edit→Paste in Place. Tells Flash to paste the image in the same spot it was on the original stage. (If you choose this option to paste an image to the same stage as the original, then you need to drag the pasted copy off the original to see it.)
Figure 2-26. Copying and pasting is the easiest way to try out a look. If you're copying a complex image, as shown here, you may want to group the selected image first by choosing Modify→Group. (There's much more detail on grouping objects on page 181.) For additional copies, simply choose Edit→Paste in Center or Edit→Paste in Place again.
Edit→Paste Special (Windows only). Displays a Paste Special dialog box that lets you paste an image as a device-independent bitmap (an uneditable version of your image with a fixed background the size and shape of the selection box).
Flash pastes your image based on your selection, leaving your original copy intact.
Note
If all you want to do is make a quick copy of an image on the same stage as the original, then Flash gives you an easier way than copying and pasting. Select Edit→Duplicate (or press Ctrl+D in Windows, ⌘-D on the Mac). When you do, Flash pastes a copy of the image just a little below and to the right of your original image, ready for you to reposition as you see fit. For the fastest duplication method of all, with the Selection tool, just Alt-drag (Option-drag) the item you want to copy. The original stays put, and you have a duplicate attached to your cursor. You can then drag the duplicate wherever you want on the stage.