SWiSH v2.0 is a huge upgrade from SWiSH v1.5. Here are a few of the major differences.
New User Interface
The SWiSH v2.0 User Interface consists of a collection of Panels and Toolbars. Each Panel displays a different view of the SWiSH Movie or properties of the selected object. Panels include: Layout, Outline, Timeline, Movie, Scene, Shape, Text, Transform, Color, Actions and Export. You can float or dock Panels, or group them together into a tabbed Panel, to create an overall layout that works best for you. You can also float or dock Toolbars. You can configure the Toolbars and Menus, and assign keyboard shortcut keys for any Menu command.
Drawing Tools
You can draw lines, rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, circles, and Bezier shapes. Shapes can be open or filled and both the outline and fill color can be partially transparent. You can fill shapes with a flat color, a linear or radial gradient, or a clipped or tiled image. You can also change the outline line style.
Note:Image objects from SWiSH v1.5 are no longer supported in SWiSH v2.0 and are replaced automatically by rectangular shapes with an image fill
Handles and Editing Tools
You can resize objects uniformly or asymmetrically using the Select tool. You can also skew and rotate them using the Rotate tool. You can change the shape of a vector graphic and even add or remove vertices and control points using the Reshape tool and edit gradient fills using the Fill Transform tool.
Four-state (Rollover) Buttons
SWiSH v2.0 lets you easily create 'Rollover' Button Objects. A Button Object has four states: Up, Over, Down and Hit. When you play the Movie, the Up State is displayed first. Whenever you move the mouse pointer over the button, the Over State is displayed. If you press the mouse button while it is over the Button Object, the Down State is displayed. Each of these button states is a special kind of Group and can contain any number of any type of object (including Sprites, but not another button). The Hit State is never actually displayed while the Movie is playing, but specifies the active area for the button. The eye icon in the 'Outline' Panel can be used to display just the selected button state or all states at the same time.
Sprites (Movie Clips)
A Sprite is a Movie within a Movie. A Sprite has its own Timeline that plays independently of the main Timeline. You can put any kind of object inside a Sprite, including another Sprite. These objects can have Effects and Actions applied to them. You can make a Sprite either loop or play continuously. You can control how the background appears when you are editing a Sprite, the default being a checkerboard pattern. You can dynamically load another .swf file into a Sprite when the Movie is playing using the Load Movie Action.
Multiple-selection and Grouping
You can select multiple objects using Shift+click, Control+click or by dragging a rectangle to enclose the objects you want to select. These objects may then be grouped. You can select objects within a Group using Control+Shift+Click or the Outline panel, and you can edit them without breaking the Group apart. Similarly, you can select multiple Effects or Actions.
WYSIWYG Display with Zooming and Panning SWiSH v2.0 displays all objects, including text, graphics and images, exactly as they appear in the Flash Player. You can scroll, pan and zoom in the Layout Panel.
Preview Frame Mode and Motion Paths
'Preview Frame' mode shows how the Movie will look at the current Frame. If the current Frame is a Keyframe at the end of an Effect, you can use the resizing handles to visually position/scale/rotate the object at that Frame. SWiSH v2.0 automatically 'tweens' (or interpolates) between the Keyframes. SWiSH also displays a Motion Path in the Layout Panel. This shows the movement of the selected object over time. The Motion Path can have either sharp corners or smooth curves. You can double-click in the 'Layout' panel while in 'Preview Frame' mode to add a new Keyframe to the Motion Path, or you can use the Motion Path drawing tool to simply click and draw the path for an object.
Make Changes while the Movie is Playing
You can do most editing 'live' while a Movie is playing. You rarely need to start and stop the animation in order to make changes.
SWF File Size Optimization
SWF export code now reuses font and shape definitions more efficiently and optimizes character glyphs, so they are not defined more than once in the .swf file. This results in smaller .swf files.
New Effects - Snake and Repeat Frames
There are two totally new Effects in SWiSH v2.0. These are the Snake Effect and the Repeat Frames Effect. The Snake Effect lets you specify the Motion Path and the Transform on an Effect using a repeating waveform, like a sine wave. You can use it to make objects follow, orbit, grow, shrink and so on. It is probably the most powerful of all the Complex Effects. The Repeat Frames Effect lets you repeat a given series of Effects a number of times, without having to copy and paste.
More Effect Options
Most Effects now include cascading options, where the Cascade can be in or out from the center, as well as forward and backward. You can also cascade based on x or y position and can choose whether the animation is continuous, freezes, or adds and removes components. All Complex Effects have more options, which give you greater variety and flexibility.
Color Transforms for All Effects
All Effects, including Complex Effects, include a color Transform. This allows the color of an object to change over the course of the Effect.
Save/Load Effect Settings
You can compile your own library of Effect settings. For example, you may save some explode settings under the name "Slow explode with fade and zero gravity". You can reuse these settings in another Movie, or send them to your friends.
Easing for Motion and Transform Effects
All object movements and Transforms have easing controls to accelerate/decelerate the object at the start and end of the Effect. This is reflected in the Motion Path when in 'Preview Frame' mode, giving you a visual indication of the speed of movement.
Complex Effects Applied to Groups of Objects
You can apply Complex Effects (such as Explode, Wave, Squeeze) to any Group of objects, in addition to text. For example, a Group consisting of a Bezier shape, a Text Object and an Image Object can be 'exploded'. You can also apply a Complex Effect to a Simple Object, such as a shape.
Import Vector Artwork, Animations and Images
You can import .wmf, .emf and .swf files as static-vector artwork. The artwork is imported as a Group, which can then have a Complex Effect applied to it. For example, you can import a logo and explode it. SWF files with more than one Frame can be imported as a Sprite. You can import animated .gif and .swf files as animated Sprites. Sounds and Actions are not currently imported from an external .swf file. You can import .bmp, .dib, .gif, .jpg and .png images. These become the fill patterns for vector shapes. Any file, including text files, can be imported by dragging it from Windows Explorer and dropping it on the Layout Panel.
Timeline Enhancements
All Effects now include a Keyframe mark that can be activated for visual editing with a single click. You can drag the Keyframe forward or backward, and SWiSH will automatically adjust the duration of adjacent Effects. Icons are used to differentiate Actions, and single-frame Effects, such as Place Effect and Remove Effect. The Timeline Panel also indicates the length of the Scene, the duration of Effects, and shows the Frames where objects are actually visible (i.e. if the object is invisible, the Frames are dimmed). You can adjust the vertical and horizontal scale of the 'Timeline' Panel.
Insert/Delete Frames in the Timeline
The F5 function key inserts a Frame at the selected Frame in the Timeline Panel. Shift+F5 deletes the current Frame. You can also select multiple Effects for an object and drag them backward and forward on the Timeline to change the timing and flow of the Effects.
New Color Selector
There is a vastly improved Color Selector, which displays a much larger range of websafe colors. The Color Selector includes an eyedropper to select a color from anywhere on your screen. You can also specify the Alpha transparency value.
Masks
You can specify a Sprite to be masked. The bottom-most object in the Sprite become a mask. This is a bit like watching the Sprite Movie through a cardboard cut-out. Because it is part of the Sprite, you can apply Effects and motion to the mask itself.
Convert to Button
You can convert an object into a button. The object is duplicated in the three visible states and a bordering rectangle inserted in the Hit State. You can select multiple objects and convert all of them into individual buttons. This is a quick way of creating a new button from existing objects, rather than starting from an empty button with the Insert Button command.
Convert to Sprite
You can convert any object into a Sprite. The original object is moved into the newly created Sprite maintaining its Actions and Effects.
Convert to Shapes and Convert to Letters
You can convert any object into a group of shapes. Text objects are split into individual shapes for each letter. Complex graphic objects are split into their basic elements. The Effect settings of the original object are retained and applied to the Group. You can edit the resultant shapes and even recombine them into a complex shape. In Convert to Letters, you can also split text objects into a group of letters. You can then independently change the font, color and other properties for each letter.
Group and Group as Sprite
You can group selected objects into a Group or Sprite. Any Effects applied to the original objects are maintained. If you group as a Group, then you can apply Complex Effects to the Groups as a whole. If you Group as a Sprite, the Effects of the object inside run independently of the main Timeline.
Group as Shape
You can group multiple selected objects into a complex shape. However the original Effects are lost. You can Ungroup back to separate shapes.
Sound Effects
You can control the overall volume of sounds and apply simple fade Effects. There is no envelope editor in SWiSH v2.0.
Frame Labels
Any Frame can be given a label and used as a target for Goto Frame Actions.
FS Command Action for Calling JavaScript
You can use the FS Command Action to send information to, or control the host application (typically JavaScript in a browser).
JavaScript Action
You can directly enter Javascript to execute in the host application.
Mailto Action
You can send email directly from within your Movie.
Tell Target
The Tell Target Action lets you control the main Movie or a Sprite from within another Sprite or the main Movie itself.
Scene Background Color
You can specify the background color for each individual Scene. This can be a solid color, or be partially transparent to tint the Movie background. If no color is specified, or the Scene background is 100% transparent, SWiSH v2.0 uses the Movie background instead.
Alignment Grid and Ruler
You can display an alignment Grid in the Layout Panel. You can configure the Grid color and spacing from the Movie Panel. You can also choose to display a Ruler on the edge of the 'Layout' Panel.
Grid and Object Snapping
You can select Grid or Snap to Grid to help you align to other objects.
Multiple Document and Window Support
SWiSH v2.0 can have multiple 'SWiSH' windows open at the same time, each showing a different SWiSH document.
Rename Objects in Outline Panel
Objects and Scenes can be renamed by clicking on the object name in the 'Outline' Panel or pressing the F2 function key.You can also edit the names of text, Scenes and Sprites in their corresponding Panels.
Object Reordering
Pressing Control+arrow keys in the Outline, Timeline, or Layout Panels moves objects up and down the stacking order. You can also drag objects up and down to reorder in the 'Outline' or 'Timeline' Panels.
Right-click Context Menus
You can select from a Menu of the most useful commands by right-clicking on an object in the Outline, Timeline, or Layout Panels.