Creating a Four-State Button with Flash Catalyst CS5

Posted: Mar 19, 2011 |Comments: 0 |

Flash Catalyst CS5 is a brand-new addition to Creative Suite. And Flash Catalyst is all about workflow.

In my book , I introduce Flash Catalyst by noting that one audience for Catalyst is illustrators who are "designing in a large environment with a rigid division of labor and an army of programmers and database geeks." In that situation, Catalyst artwork is handed off to Flash Builder 4 coders, who can integrate illustrations seamlessly into their applications.

But Catalyst can fit into another workflow: You can use Catalyst to generate interactive Flash objects—such as a four-state button—and pop those Flash objects directly into a Dreamweaver website. The vast army of small scale web designers will appreciate that side of Catalyst.

In the book, I explore in detail the dynamic synergy between Illustrator, Photoshop, and Catalyst. For this article, we want to focus on adding interactivity in Catalyst, so we'll skip the process of integrating Illustrator artwork. Instead, we'll create a simple button right in Catalyst, using Catalyst's essential drawing tools. Then we'll make that button display differently in the four states—normal, hovered, clicked, and active (or some variation of those states)—and we'll embed that button into a Dreamweaver web page. This process isn't quite as intuitive as you might wish, so I've included some detailed steps to guide you.

Again, we're going to bypass the Illustrator/Photoshop part of the workflow I just described, in order to focus on creating interactivity with Catalyst. But in a more real-world situation, you'd likely create button artwork in Illustrator (video tutorials) and then pop it into Catalyst for activation.

Generating the Four-Step Flash Button

Let's begin by using Catalyst's minimalist toolset to create artwork—a button and textvideo tutorials. I can dispense with a quick intro to the Catalyst interface, because the learning curve for acclimating to the Catalyst environment is a short, flat line, and navigating through Catalyst's very limited toolset is easy.

Here are the steps:

  1. On the Flash Catalyst splash screen, choose New Project from Illustrator AI File or From Adobe Photoshop PSD File. If you don't have a button graphic handy in either of those programs, click the Adobe Flash Catalyst Project button in the Create New Project section of the splash screen. Name the project (I'm using 4-state_button as a filename). For the Artboard size, enter 200 in the Width box and 50 in the Height box. Click OK in the New Project dialog to launch Flash Catalyst.
  2. Press U on your keyboard to activate the rounded rectangle tool. (This tool is also available from Catalyst's very limited drawing toolbar, which is always visible.) Draw a rounded rectangle large enough so that you can type a bit of text on it. After you draw the rounded rectangle, the Properties panel displays parameters for this shape. Use the following values or invent your own (video tutorials):
    • fill color: yellow
    • stroke color: red
    • stroke weight: 6
    • width: 200
    • height: 50

Questions and Answers

Ask
200 Characters left
Rate this Article
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 0 vote(s)
    Feedback
    Print
    Re-Publish
    Source:  http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/creating-a-four-state-button-with-flash-catalyst-cs5-4439170.html

    Article Tags:

    flash catalyst

    ,

    dreamweaver website

    ,

    illustrator

    ,

    photoshop

    Right from performing countless decisive tasks to playing games, from watching movies to surfing the Internet, computers open up new windows for us all.

    By: Maahi bizzl Computers> Softwarel Sep 19, 2011

    Adobe Creative Suite CS5 Master Collection |32&64bit;+Keygen[WL]

    By: weshil Computers> Softwarel May 15, 2010 lViews: 3,678

    Discount software Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium buy cheap! Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium software gives you powerful new creative tools for crafting artwork that stands out.

    By: Nikoll Computers> Softwarel Nov 05, 2010
    Softsquatch

    Below are 17 reasons why every student/educator should upgrade to Adobe CS5 today via Adobe.

    By: Softsquatchl Computers> Softwarel Nov 23, 2010

    Discount computer software Adobe Creative Suite 5 Master Collection buy cheap! Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 Master Collection software enables you to design and develop amazing work, collaborate effectively, and deliver virtually anywhere. Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 Master Collection software delivers a comprehensive toolset for designing across media.

    By: Nikoll Computers> Softwarel Sep 28, 2010

    This article is about learning. The way of learning how to use these powerful tools to dominate or just have fun online.

    By: thomasl Arts & Entertainment> Artl May 25, 2012

    Painting for sale and Art reproduction are in demand from different occasion period. Besides that there is a special time and appeal ,to network with all of them. There is no preplanned to obtain them:- On line or form a shop . You have to be keep in touch with some pointers that can directly lead you there and must provide the relevant material for which you are searching.

    By: robertmoore1l Arts & Entertainment> Artl May 23, 2012
    Ton Pascal

    "Leda And The Swan", by Leonardo da Vinci, is one of history's great art losses. From the surviving copies we can see its beauty, the masterly composition, and the complex emblematic symbolism. Leonardo went beyond the sexual act portrayed until then about this mythic story. The great popularity of this subject in the sixteenth century was due to the fact that it was then more acceptable to depict a woman having an act of copulation with an animal than with a man.

    By: Ton Pascall Arts & Entertainment> Artl May 23, 2012

    Art Reproduction tend to be terrific concept for decorating as they'll immediately provide beauty, add color and can enhance the actual overlook associated with home, office or even library whilst admire the very best quality duplication of unique artwork.

    By: architecturepaintingsl Arts & Entertainment> Artl May 23, 2012

    Oil paintings comes in all shapes and sizes and generally based on a variety of themes that appeal to all tastes. For oil painting, different painting materials are used like canvas and cardboard. Original oil paintings are most valuable art among other existing art, out of them some are valued at millions of dollars.

    By: robertmoore1l Arts & Entertainment> Artl May 22, 2012

    You're welcome to reprint these articles on your website and in your e-newsletters free of charge, provided: you don't change the article in any way you include the byline (including a link to our website ) in doing so you agree to indemnify Marketing Scoop and its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all losses, claims, damages and liabilities which arise out of their use TIP: By viewing and copying the source, you'll be able to retain all formatting.

    By: waqas ahmedl Arts & Entertainment> Artl Jun 23, 2011

    If you're a big fan of Alexa rankings, you may have noticed some significant changes during the last few weeks. In fact, every website's Alexa ranking has changed based on a new and improved ranking methodology.

    By: waqas ahmedl Education> Online Educationl Jun 19, 2011

    As I continue to work with companies seeking to improve the return of their Internet marketing dollars, I've gained a new appreciation for the marriage of search engine marketing and search engine optimization

    By: waqas ahmedl Arts & Entertainment> Artl Jun 17, 2011

    As someone who makes a living improving search engine rankings, I can tell you that there is a lot of bad information out there about SEO. What if I were to tell you that the road map for achieving top rankings was within your grasp? The holy grail of rankings is not imaginary. As is true with any major success, it leaves clues.

    By: waqas ahmedl Arts & Entertainment> Artl Jun 16, 2011

    Do I have your attention? Anyone trying to make a living online is interested in one thing, improving conversions. As an Internet marketing veteran, I've seen plenty of web sites and blogs miss one their biggest opportunities for growth. The answer is actually quite simple, making the most of your list.

    By: waqas ahmedl Arts & Entertainment> Artl Jun 14, 2011

    Discuss this Article

    Author Box
    Articles Categories
    All Categories
    Quantcast