Importing Photoshop Graphic Files

Photoshop files have a special relationship with Flash, and the import process is very similar to importing Illustrator files, described on Importing Illustrator Graphics Files. The Import dialog box (Figure 10-5) has the same look and layout, but when you look closely at the options, you see some differences. That's not surprising, since Photoshop specializes in raster or bitmap images, while Illustrator focuses on vector graphics (sometimes called drawings).

The "Import to Stage" dialog box for Photoshop files shows you a scrolling list of Photoshop layers. Turn on the checkbox for each layer you want to include in the import process. Click the layer name to highlight the layer, and you see options listed on the right. The options differ depending on the content of the layer.

Here's the rundown on the import options you find in the Photoshop "Import to Stage" dialog box:

Figure 10-5. When you import Photoshop graphics, Flash gives you a boatload of control over the process. Using the "Import to Stage" dialog box, you can tweak the settings on individual layers of the Photoshop file so you get exactly the tools you need for your animation.

Import options for bitmaps

• Import this layer as. You have two choices for importing bitmap layers. Choose "Bitmap image with editable layer styles" if you want to tweak the layer settings in Flash. If all you need is a picture, choose "Flattened bitmap image."

• Create movie clip for this layer. Use this option to instantly turn the graphics in the selected layer into a Flash movie clip symbol. Turn on the box, and then give the clip an Instance name (which Flash uses for the copy of the movie clip symbol it places on the stage).

• Publish settings. You can adjust the quality of bitmaps as you import them into Flash. This option gives you control over the size of your Flash files, which is important when you're posting Flash movies on the Internet (better quality equals bigger files). Using the Compression drop-down menu, you can choose between Lossy and Lossless. If you choose lossy compression (similar to JPEG images), you get a compact file size at the risk of degraded image quality. Lossless compression retains all digital information, even when resized. As with JPEG images, you can adjust the quality of lossy compression images by setting them to match your Flash publish settings (Publishing as a Compiled Flash (.swf) File) or by entering a number in the Custom box.

Import options for text

• Editable text. Photoshop places text on separate layers from photographs so that the text can be edited, like it's in a word processor. Choose this option if you want to edit text after you've brought it into Flash.

• Vector outlines. The letters in text are drawn on the screen in the same way that circles and polygons are drawn. If you want to be able to modify those letters as if they were any other shape, choose "Vector outlines" as your import option. You'll be able to distort your letters in all sorts of fun ways, but you won't be able to edit it like "Editable text".

• Flattened bitmap image. This option turns your text into a bitmap picture, like a photograph. You can't do much more than tweak the color and resize it a bit.

Other Photoshop import options

The "Import to Stage" dialog box has several other options you can adjust before you import files:

• Create movie clip for this layer. Select one or more layers, and you can turn them into a Flash movie clip symbol.

• Merge layers. Below the scrolling list of layers is a Merge Layers button. Shift-click or Ctrl-click (⌘-click) to select multiple layers, and then click Merge Layers. Flash creates a new merged layer right in the scrolling list that you can import into your Flash document. (This process doesn't affect the original Photoshop file on your computer.)

• Convert layers to: Flash layers/Keyframes. This option tells Flash to keep the layering structure of the original file intact, to place the content of each layer in a separate layer or keyframe.

• Place layers at original position. This option keeps the different elements in a graphic positioned the same way they were in Photoshop.

• Set stage to same size as Photoshop canvas. Turn on this box to automatically change the Height and Width document settings in Flash to match the page settings in the Photoshop file you're importing.

Workaround Workshop: Importing Unimportable Graphics

If you're not importing Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Fireworks files, don't expect perfection when you're importing complex graphics. That's especially true if you're trying to preserve the ability to edit your graphics in Flash. Flash does the best it can, but there are an awful lot of variables involved, from the specific effects you applied, to the graphics, to the specific version of the program you used to create them.

If the graphics you import into Flash don't look or behave the way they do in the original program, try one or more of the following:

• Ungroup the imported image. You do this by selecting the image on the stage, and then choosing Modify→Ungroup.

• Try using the Clipboard. First, choose Edit→Preferences→Clipboard (Windows) or Flash→Preferences→Clipboard (Mac) to display the Preferences window. You can choose the color depth and resolution for the image you're cutting and pasting. Higher numbers are more likely to match the original artwork, while lower numbers reduce the file size.

• Return to the original program and see if you can simplify the image. Reduce the number of colors you're using, as well as the number of layers, and flatten (group) as much of the image as you can. Then try the import process again.