How do you make .swf files? - Photoshop Tutorials | Photoshop Contests

Fozzy the bear · 06-09-2009, 06:52 PM

About two years ago I had the trial version of CS2, and it have the option where you could make .swf instead of .gif. Well I forked over some money for CS3 (thinking it had the same options) and now I'm clueless how to make them or what to click.

It seems everyone is into animated gifs, but they are horrible in file size and there is always some level quality loss when you create one. So that's why I'm more a Flash guy.

I did some Googling and the other forums say you need Flash, Fireworks, Illustrator and blah blah, is this true? If it is, which is a better program to export a PSD to?

treehugger · 06-09-2009, 07:56 PM

Flash is part of CS3 isn't it?
It's in my Adobe Creative Suite 3 anyway.

Fozzy the bear · 06-09-2009, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treehugger

Flash is part of CS3 isn't it?
It's in my Adobe Creative Suite 3 anyway.

I know CS2 had Image Ready but I don't seem to see it in CS3 unless they they named something differently. hmmmm

treehugger · 06-09-2009, 08:06 PM

Maybe there's more than one variety of CS3?
Like bog-standard, Premium, Extended or whatever.

(Ignore Premiere Elements 3.0, I moved that in there myself)

Fozzy the bear · 06-09-2009, 10:26 PM

Can I move over my psd with the frames into Flash to make swf? If so, is it easy and the layers stay intact?

treehugger · 06-09-2009, 10:35 PM

Yeah you can open a psd in Flash, you just have to change the file types listed on the Open dialogue box to All Types.
You'll get another dialogue box appearing asking to check which layers you want to remain separate.

So it's pretty straight forward.

I didn't know you could do this but I just tried it with the psd of my Beaver Waterskiing animation and it worked fine (well, the layers were fine, the actual animation frames were gone though).
Once you've opened it you can convert each Photoshop layer into a symbol or whatever you need. But you'll need to redo the animation itself.

Fozzy the bear · 06-10-2009, 01:41 PM

Another question I have. If you make flash files, are they smaller in size compared to an animated gif?

treehugger · 06-10-2009, 01:56 PM

An SWF file will almost certainly be smaller than an equivalent animated GIF.
Large GIF's can be a bitch to try and maintain quality without the filesize skyrocketing.

I'd say filesize is the main advantage Flash has over alternative methods. Plus you can have sound effects or music.

DrayeArt · 06-10-2009, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treehugger

I'd say filesize is the main advantage Flash has over alternative methods. Plus you can have sound effects or music.

Sound is looming in the horizon for GIFs. Several sites are working on a process.

rob170 · 06-11-2009, 07:51 AM

Another big advantage of flash is that every sprite has it's own time line which allows the speed of objects to differ from the frame rate of the main movie.

Fozzy the bear · 06-12-2009, 08:42 PM

Thanks guys for your help. I have this bad ass idea of some WW2 video underneath a border I made. But when I made the .gif, the damn file size was 6 megs. =[ To top that off, CS3 doesn't let you make .swf files anymore because they took out Image Ready. SOBBBBB!!!!

So I guess the only real option I have is to use Photoshop and transfer my work over to Flash for animating? I'm just a little stressed right now because I'm absolutely clueless what to do. And I have no experience in Flash.