Dan's Little LiveMotion FAQ

Here are some answers to some of the most-frequently-asked questions ...

Can I use LiveMotion styles and shapes in Illustrator or Photoshop?

No and Yes. LiveMotion styles only work in LiveMotion--not in Illustrator or
Photoshop.

The shapes are a different story--TIFF, PSD, AI and EPS files can move between programs. No need to make duplicates ... just drag and drop (or access through the import or open dialog boxes. (Be careful not to wipe out a priceless original file!) LiveMotion created (LIV) shapes can be exported in PSD (or another bitmap format). Unfortunately, LIV shapes cannot be exported as AI vector objects.

Does LiveMotion specify Web-safe Color?

Yup. LiveMotion does have a Web-safe color specification option sitting in its Color palette--unfortunately, the option isn't all that obvious. Select the cube thingie at the left side of the Color palette to switch to Web-safe mode.

How do I create a preloader with LiveMotion?

Basically, you need to set a "wait for download" behavior, targeting two two labels (ie: "start" and "end"):

start          wfdownload                 end
|-looping TIG------|----all the content----|

The looping TIG will play until everything has downloaded (up to the "end" label).

(This is covered on pages 220-221 in AdobeLiveMotion f/x and design.)

Does LiveMotion 1 import MP3 files?

LiveMotion 1 does not import MP3 files. It only *exports* in MP3 format.

You must convert any exiting MP3s to a different format (AIFF, WAV, etc) before importing
into LM.

Why am I having difficulty creating custom rollover states?

The Rollovers palette can get a bit wierd at times--not allowing the out state to be renamed, etc.

There's a simple workaround ...

1. Click the new rollover state button to create the out, down, and over states. (these states will stay in the palette, but you won't use them) LiveMotion may like to see all of the default states before allowing you to add custom named states.
2. Click the new rollover state button to create the custom states and rename these custom states to "whatveryouneed" ...

(you *may* be able to delete the extra out/down/over states once this is complete)

Do I have to create a HTML container file for my SWF animation by hand?

No need to hand code ... LiveMotion can create the tags for you.

1. Select Edit|Composition Settings
2. In the Composition Settings dialog box, select Entire Composition
   from the drop down menu and click the Make HTML checkbox.
3. Select SWF in the Export palette.

When you export the file, LiveMotion will create the HTML file in addition to the SWF file. It will also create an export report HTML file (look for the R in the file name).

If the SWF is the only thing on the final page, you can use the HTML page that LiveMotion creates. If you want to combine the SWF with other content, you can cut and paste the code.

What's the best way to build a large LiveMotion file?

Use components! We pieced together some mega-files for Peter Bagge's "Shut-ins" cartoons for adobe.com. How did we do it? Drag and drop, baybee!

Check out the intro ...

http://www.adobe.com/motion/features/shutins/main.html

Each "scene" was created as a separate LIV file. We got each of the scenes working properly, then dragged 'n dropped them into a new LIV container. Using this method, each "scene" comes in as
a separate group. (Much easier to manage with groups, lemmetellya!)

We used Load Movie behaviors to swap in soundtracks and bring in the flipbook. That's explained here:

http://www.adobe.com/motion/features/shutins/howto.html

Can I send a LiveMotion SWF file as part of an email?

Sure! Try to avoid clogging up recipient in-boxes--don't send them the SWF file. Instead, link the email to the SWF file (and a HTML container file) that's sitting on a Webserver.

Here's how I do it with Netscape as the email client:

1. Export the SWF file from LiveMotion with an HTML container.
2. Upload the SWF file to your Webserver.
3. Edit the HTML container file to reflect the SWF files complete URL as it sits on the Webserver.
4. Preview the HTML container file in your browser to make sure that the SWF file downloads properly.
5. Attach the HTML file to your outgoing email message.

Please note that there are some email clients that will not display SWF files, most notably HotMail and YahooMail.

How do I make my exported SWF into an Executable (.EXE) or Projector file?

It's possible to turn your SWF file into a file that will run on its own--without the Flash Plug-in (in the browser) or in the standalone Flash Player. While Adobe LiveMotion does not provide the ability to do this, the Flash Player does.

The Flash Player comes with the full version of Macromedia Flash, as well as with the demo version of Flash. If you don't own the full version, you'll probably want to download the demo.

To create the Projector file, open the SWF with the Flash Player, then select File|Create Projector.

The Mac Flash Player creates Mac Projector files. The Windows Flash Player creates Windows Projector files. If you need a Projector file for each platform, you'll need to export from both platforms.

Can I import LiveMotion SWFs into Macromedia Flash?

You can, but you can't edit the LM SWFs. Don't try to import the LM SWFs into Flash. Use Load Movie actions, instead.

Can I add LiveMotion SWF files to a PowerPoint presentation?

Sure can! This page tells you how to do it.

more to come ...