CoffeeCup Firestarter Online Help
Tips and Tricks | General Options and Settings | Advanced Features

 

The Main Toolbar





1 New This starts a new Firestarter project.
2 Save This saves the current project.
3 Text This adds a new Text object to the current project. (more)
4 Image This adds a new Image object to the current project. (more)
5 Sound This adds a new Sound object to the current project. (more)
6 Link This adds a new Link object to the current project. (more)
7 Shape This adds a new Shape object to the current project. (more)
8 GIF Converts an animated GIF file to Flash.(more)
9 Action This inserts an Action to the current project.(more)
10 Effects This will add a new effect to the selected object.
11 Delete This deletes the selected object.
12 Upload This can Upload your movie to your Website. (more)
13 Test This is how you can test your movie as you are making it.

The Preview Window



The Preview window is where you will build your movie.This is where you will be able to put objects where you want them to appear in your movie, preview fonts, colors and change the overall layout of your movie.

At the top left corner of the Preview window is the filename of your movie. If you have not yet saved your movie, this will be Untitled.swf.

The View HTML button in the upper right corner will allow you to see the HTML code necessary to put your movie into a webpage and allow you to copy that code to your clipboard. From there you can paste it into your webpage.

The Grid Options Button in between the View HTML button and the X button opens the menu to adjust and change your Grid specifications.

The X in the upper right corner closes the current project.

NOTE: In order to see your movie play, you will need to click the Play Movie Button (number 11) on the main toolbar.


The Object Properties Window


Main Movie Properties

This is where you will edit the properties of almost everything you make in your movie. Shown to the right is the Object Properties window for the entire movie. This window changes depending on what type of Object is selected. You can see details about each Properties Window below.

Movie Properties
Text Properties
Image Properties
Sound Properties
Link Properties
Shape Properties

 


The Cutting Room and Timeline




Cutting Room


This is where you can see the labels and order of the Objects in your movie. You can do basic things like change layer order, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete using the buttons at the bottom.

 

 

Timeline

This is where you can adjust the lenght and position of yout Effects. Different types of effects have different colors on the Timeline. You can Zoom in and Out on the Timeline using the Magnifying Glasses on the far right.

Action Effect
Motion Effect
Advanced Effect
Image Action Effect
Blankspace

Effects and blankspace can be easily resized, moved and aligned by right-clicking with your mouse then and choosing from the available options. You can Snap to Left or Right to close the gaps between effects and blankspaces, and use the Grow commands to expand them to fill the timeline. You cannot drag them to other objects, but you can copy them and paste them to other objects.

Grid Options

 

Grid Options Menu


This is where you can change the characteristics of your grid such as the visiblitity and size. Also you can have your objects snap to the grid for easy alignment.

 

 


Tips and Tricks | General Options and Settings | Advanced Features
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