Adobe Flash Professional CS6 Adobe Flash Professional CS6 Classroom In A Book | Page 98

about image Formats
Flash supports multiple image formats for import. Flash can handle JPEG, GIF, PNG,
and PSD (Photoshop) files. Use JPEG files for images that include gradients and
subtle variations, such as those that occur in photographs. GIF files are used for
images with large solid blocks of color or black and white line drawings. Use PNG
files for images that include transparency. Use PSD files if you want to retain all the
layer, transparency, and blending information from a Photoshop file.
Converting a bitmap image to a Vector graphic
Sometimes you’ll want to convert a bitmap image to a vector graphic. Flash handles
bitmap images as a series of colored dots (or pixels); vector graphics are handled
as a series of lines and curves. This vector information is rendered on the fly, so that
the resolution of vector graphics is not fixed like a bitmap image. That means you
can zoom in on a vector graphic and your computer will always display it sharply
and smoothly. Converting a bitmap image to a vector often has the effect of making
it look “posterized” because subtle gradations are converted to editable, discrete
blocks of color, which can be an interesting effect.
To convert a bitmap to a vector, import the bitmap image into Flash. Select the
bitmap and choose Modify > Bitmap > Trace Bitmap. The options determine how
faithful of a trace the vector image will be to the original bitmap.
In the following figure, the left image is an original bitmap and the right image is a
vector graphic.
Exercise caution when using the Trace Bitmap command, because a complicated
vector graphic is often more memory- and processor-intensive than the original
bitmap image.
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