Flash CS3 Documentation

Learning ActionScript 2.0 in Adobe Flash > Working with Images, Sound, and Video

Working with Images, Sound, and Video

If you import an image or a sound while you author a document in Flash CS3 Professional, the image and sound are packaged and stored in a SWF file when you publish it. In addition to importing media while authoring, you can load external media, including other SWF files, at runtime. You might want to keep media outside of a Flash document for several reasons.

Reduce file size By keeping large media files outside of your Flash document and loading them at runtime, you can reduce the initial downloading time for your applications and presentations, especially over slow Internet connections.

Modularize large presentations You can divide a large presentation or application into separate SWF files and load those separate files as needed at runtime. This process reduces initial downloading time and also makes it easier to maintain and update the presentation.

Separate content from presentation This theme is common in application development, especially data-driven applications. For example, a shopping cart application might display an image of each product. By loading each image at runtime, you can easily update a product's image without modifying the original FLA file.

Take advantage of runtime-only features Some features, such as dynamically loaded Flash Video (FLV) and MP3 playback, are available only at runtime through ActionScript.

This section describes how to work with image files, sound files, and FLV video in your Flash applications. For more information, see the following topics:

Flash CS3