As soon as you create a symbol of any kind — movie clip, graphic, or button — that symbol will appear in the Library panel. All imported raster images (GIF, JPG, TIFF, etc.) also appear in the Library panel.

Items in the library are not necessarily added to the published SWF file, so just having them there isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The only time symbols or images increase the SWF’s weight is when they appear in the timeline or are configured to export for ActionScript (by default, they’re configured not to export for ActionScript).

So your GIFs will indeed appear in the library, and they have to be there if they’re used anywhere on the stage, even inside other symbols. I usually throw my imported images into a library folder, just to keep the library tidy.

To trapper08,

Glad to hear it. Thanks!

Thank you,
Maia

I’m sorry to hear you’re frustrated with the changes! If I used Flash for animation full time, I might have a stronger first-hand grip on understanding the complaints since CS4. So far, though, my own projects have continued to roll along just fine. Maybe I should count myself lucky!

I’m not sure how accurate it is to assert that folks like Adam Phillips have “abandoned” Flash for alternatives like Toon Boom — maybe you know something I don’t — but it’s always good to know that alternatives are indeed available. Presumably, the competition will put healthy pressure on all involved companies, which should spell improvements for everyone.

To Kaandittb …

True, you can use Split Motion to split a given motion tween span, but that obviously breaks the tween into two parts. Naturally, each part works on its own and allows for a change in the displayed Graphic symbol frame, but the split changes how easily a person can adjust the duration of an animated sequence. (Single motion tweens scale duration neatly with a simple click-and-drag of their right sides. When a sequence is animated over more than one tween, that benefit is diminished.)

To JJ …

A lot of people do — myself included, for traditional character animation — so I’m glad classic tweens are still around. I do find, however, that new-style motion tweens are great for user interface animation (making buttons, panels, and other UI assets bounce and wiggle). And fortunately, all three types of tweens — shape, classic, and motion — can be used in the same timeline.

You’ll find the looping properties in an area called “Looping” in the Property inspector, just below “Position and Size” and “Color Effect” — but looping is only available for graphic symbols. I wonder if you’re looking at a movie clip symbol?

To Champion …

Heh, it’s a gotcha, for sure!

To Juan …

I used Camtasia to make this tutorial, and my headset is the Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset. I also have a standard cheap mic plugged in near the keyboard, which picks up occasional typing or incidental audio, such as system errors, timeline audio, and the like.

To Honey, Jake, Mustafa, Ryan, and Kaan …

Thanks so much! Glad to hear it!