To create an animation, start by selecting New from the File menu.
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The work area of an animation can be modified under the Edit Menu.
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Actors, props and sound can be added from the library, or you can create or insert them from the toolbox.
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The library is accessed from the Library button at the bottom of the screen.
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From the library's flyout, you can start a new library or open an existing one. This is what you would use to open the libraries on the CD-ROM.
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The toggle buttons at the top of the library control the display. For example, by deselecting actors and sound, only the props will display.
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You can then scroll through the props until you've found the one you would like to place in your animation.
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The desk appears on top of the background because it was placed last.
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The Arrange Menu provides options to re-order your props and actors.
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Actors and props always appear in the middle of your animation when they are first placed. Just press and drag them to the proper location.
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Actors are placed exactly the same way as props. They can also be moved to the right location.
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Actors, however, can follow a path. By selecting the Edit Path tool, you'll be able to add, delete and move points in a path.
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Notice that a single point appears by the actor. This is the start of the path. You can continue the path by clicking away from this point.
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By stepping through the animation, you'll see that the dollar sign will jump on the desk and move forward a bit.
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You can add as many props as you like to an animation. Here, we'll place a bullet character and a text string that we'll introduce halfway through the animation.
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In the timelines Roll-up, you can control when an actor or prop is introduced. Let's modify the timelines slightly so as to stagger the text's appearance.
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Stepping through once again displays the result.
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Once you've completed an animation, you can save it... or you can export it as a movie, a sound file or export each frame as an individual file.