EDOBE XDOM EM User Manual download pdf (Page 54)

Create animations using the Timeline

Last updated 6/15/2014

The strengths and weaknesses of each format are important when you’re working with images. Bitmaps are better for

photorealistic images with lots of colors and shades. Vector graphics are better for line art, charts, diagrams, and images

that you’re going to scale to different sizes. Animate can import four types of graphics files—JPG, GIF, PNG, and SVG—

however, there are a couple of gotchas that might surprise you.

JPG files, also known as JPEGS, are the familiar bitmap format used on the web and in many cameras. The format was

loped by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, hence the acronym. JPEGs use what is known as a lossy

compression technique to create smaller file sizes. Image editors that work with JPEGs usually let you choose the degree

of compression. If your image will only be viewed on a screen, you can crank up the compression. If it’s headed to a

photo printer and you want it poster size, you’re going to need all those pixels.

GIF files were developed by CompuServe, one of the early online services. The acronym comes from Graphic

erchange Format. GIFs’ popularity seems to be fading compared to JPEGs and PNGs, but you’ll still find them on

many websites. GIFs are bitmaps stored with a lossless compression technique, but use a limited color palette. The result

is that an image with big swaths of solid colors, like a company logo or a bar graph, might result in a very small file. On

the other hand, a photographic image won’t compress as well and may not look as good in GIF as, say, in JPEG because

of the limited number of colors. GIFs provide a couple of neat tricks. You can create animated GIFs using simple frame-

by-frame animation. Programs like Adobe Fireworks and

Flash make the process fairly easy. GIFs also let you designate parts of the image as transparent. That’s great if you’re

pla

cin

g an irregular shape, like an animated character, over an already developed background, like a room’s interior.

PNG files were developed at a time when there were patent issues regarding GIF. Pronounced “ping,” this abbreviation

sta

nds for Portable Network Graphics. The PNG format was designed to be used on the Web (as opposed to print

graphics) and to improve upon features already popular in GIFs. PNGs use a lossless compression technique, provide

a bigger color palette, can display animated sequences and can include transparency within the image. PNGs are well

supported among modern web browsers, but there are probably still some older browsers out there that don’t handle

the format. The PNG format works well with Animate, in part because both were developed with the Web in mind.

SVG files are vector-based. The name stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. That means rather than recording a pixel-

by-pixel map of an image, SVG files contain formulas that describe the lines, curves, shapes, and other details of an

image. All modern web browsers support the SVG format, but older browsers’ support for SVG is inconsistent.

If you resize an SVG image when you're working in Animate, it'

s likely to start looking pixelated—that jagged stair-step

appearance that graphics get when they're enlarged. When this modified image is viewed in a browser, the pixelation

shows. It's interesting to note that if you don't change the image within Animate, it resizes gracefully in a browser

window, when it gets larger and smaller.

Animating text (Video)

Create nested animations with symbols

Create nested animations with independent timelines and interactive capabilities. Symbols are elements that contain

their own timeline. You can animate a symbol as a regular element on the Stage -- for example, move it from left to right.

You can also animate the individual elements that make up the symbol. In other words, you can create an animation

within another animation.

Symbols are reusable and can be controlled with APIs and pre-built code snippets.

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EDOBE XDOM EM User Manual Page 54

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