01. Introduction to Timeline Effects 02. Timeline Helpers 03. Assistants 04. Effects 05. Transform/Transition

06. Applying multiple effects  07. Behaviors: controversial interactivity 1  08. Behaviors: controversial interactivity 2  09. Behaviors: controversial interactivity 3  10. Wrap up

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06. Effects Tip: Applying Multiple Effects

One of the limitations you will notice when using these effects is that it is not immediately clear how you can apply multiple effects to one object. For example, if you create some text and apply a Shadow Effect to it, you can no longer apply other Effects to it. Here is the work-around I found:

1. Create a new Flash Document.
2. Create a Text Field and enter some text in it. Turn that field into a Movie Clip symbol by selecting the field and selecting Modify->Convert to Symbol... Name the Symbol "Shadow&Blur".
3. Edit the Symbol you just made and select the text field. Apply the Drop Shadow Effect to it ( Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Drop Shadow )
4. Return to the main timeline and select the Shadow&Blur symbol on your stage. Select Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Blur and click the "OK" button after you've adjusted the settings to your liking.
5. Now Test your movie.
   
   

You should have something very similar to the SWF you see above. What's more, you can adjust the Blur effect parameters by selecting the symbol on the Stage. to adjust the Shadow Effect parameters, edit the Shadow&Blur symbol you created in the Library and select the symbol contained inside it.

Although this somewhat solves the problem of applying multiple Effects to one object, this work-around requires some pre-planning because if you apply the first Effect to a symbol and THEN convert it to another Symbol to apply the second effect, you can no longer edit the first effect you applied. If editing the parameters of the first effect is not consideration for you, then you can try this method:

1. Create a new Flash Document.
2. Create a Text Field and enter some text in it. Apply the Drop Shadow Effect to it ( Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Drop Shadow )
3. Select the symbol on your stage and Convert it to a Symbol ( Modify->Convert to Symbol... ).
4. Select Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Blur and click the "OK" button after you've adjusted the settings to your liking.
5. Now Test your movie.

You should see virtually the same output as the previous work-around, however, you can no longer adjust the parameters of the Drop Shadow Effect.

Here's one last work-around: to have exploding text with a drop shadow under each letter, do this:

1. Create a new Flash Document.
2. Create a Text Field and enter some text in it. Apply the Explode Effect to it ( Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Explode )
3. Select the symbol on your Stage and change its Symbol Behavior drop down from Graphic to Movie Clip.
   
   
   
4. With the Symbol selected, convert it to a Symbol ( Modify->Convert to Symbol... ).
   
5. Select Insert->Timeline Effects->Effects->Drop Shadow and click the "OK" button after you've adjusted the settings to your liking.
   
6. Now Test your movie.
   
   

Hopefully these work-arounds come in handy for you as you experiment with the Effects. You should be able to mix all the different Timeline Effects using similar work-arounds.

Now that we've covered Macromedia's new helpers for the Timeline, lets dive into Behaviors, which will focus more on ActionScript functionality for items on the Stage.

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