Dropdown Menu in Flash MX 2004

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Dropdown Menu in Flash MX 2004

NEW Flash Tutorials in Video Format - Powered by LearnFlash.com: 45 minutes of flash tutorials now available in streaming format or download. Topics Include flash for beginners, text effects, actionscripting, audio/video, flash 8 and more.

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by Oleg Lazarenko
www.metamorphozis.com

Before using this tutorial it is strongly recommended to read "Creating basic buttons in Flash MX 2004" lesson as many things about buttons in this tutorial are not explained as good as they explained there.

a. Launch Flash MX 2004

b. Create new Flash file. Click File > New...

c. Select Flash Document in a new window

d. With the "Rectangle Tool"

draw a simple shape

e. Click with a left mouse button on the shape to select it then click the right mouse button to open a menu. Select "Convert to Symbol" option

f. Convert it to Movie Clip and name it "button"

Double click the "button" movie to enter it. Convert first layer to button. (see "Creating basic buttons in Flash MX 2004"). Rename first layer "Layer 1" to "Menu" and create 2 keyframes of that layer.

g. Add another blank layer and call it "rollout". Create 2 blank keyframes in that layer. Important Note! The layer called "rollout" MUST be under the "menu" layer!

h. Select the second frame of the "menu" layer and draw a couple of other rectangle buttons using different colors. Set "Hit" area to the button size and "Over" frame so that on rollover buttons changed color.

i. Select the second frame of the "rollout" layer and draw the rectangle shape. Note the shape must be bigger then anything drawn in the second frame of "menu" layer. Color of the shape does not matter.

j. Now convert shape from the second frame of "rollout" movie to button and then make only keyframe in the "Hit" area and delete the rest from the button. We need to get invisible button after that. The purpose of such buttons is that we can treat it as a button but it will not be visible to users.

k. We are done with the drawings. The only thing left is to put some ActionScript coding. Select the first frame of the "menu" movie and add the following line in "Actions Panel"

stop();

l. Select a button from the first frame of the "menu" movie and write this code:

on (rollOver) {
gotoAndStop(2);
}

m. Select an invisible button from the second frame of “rollout” layer and add ActionScript code:

on (rollOver) {
gotoAndStop(1);
}

Now the dropdown menu is ready to use. Press "Ctrl+Enter" and enjoy the dropdown menu you just created.

About the Author: Oleg Lazarenko
Production manager of
Metamorphosis Website Design Studio -
Custom design, Website Templates,
Web design Articles and Tutorials.

(Added: 02-11-2005, Hits: 0, Rating: 2.92, Votes: 107, Reviews: 14)

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	Reviews: (10)

This does not really concern the menu, but it does concern most of the complains about the URL!
To get your button clickable using action script-

In the actionscript panel (on the left side):
Browser Network > Get URL!

Hope it's helpful!!
(Added: 12-16-2006 User: Guest)

after u create the movie clip save it and selecy ur layer and convert to button to link to URL
(Added: 11-26-2006 User: Guest)

this tutorial sucks
(Added: 11-23-2006 User: Guest)

thanks for your guide
(Added: 10-01-2006 User: Guest)

I liked it! thanks
(Added: 09-29-2006 User: Guest)

This tutorial helped me a lot, its excellent!

The author is great, he stated at the begining that this tutor needs some prev. knowledge of Flash...

Big up for Oleg Lazarenko!
(Added: 09-01-2006 User: Guest)

had to sit and experiment in like 1,5
HOURS just to get this crap working

ended up changing the rollover to rollout in last bit and that worked fine
(Added: 08-25-2006 User: Guest)

well I've just spent 40 mins perfecting my personalized version - I'm also a novice at flash - and I agree with the first person. What's the ** point if you can't connect it to URL's??

This is rubbish!
(Added: 08-22-2006 User: Guest)

I learned a little bit about flash and... well... I figured this stuff out on my own. This tutorial was really confusing and I couldn't really do it until i started experimenting on my own. But even though I know where everything is now, this still confuses me. It is a great tutorial, but I think it would be much better if it had more detail in it for the new people.
(Added: 08-15-2006 User: Guest)

Nice tutorial, but as a novice flash user, how on earth do you add or where do you add action script to make the menu of any use. I want to link the buttons so when pressed they do something?
(Added: 07-18-2006 User: Guest)

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