Avoid using transparency when (Web host) you don t need
Avoid using transparency when you don t need it. Using transparency doesn t make your Flash file bigger, but it can slow down playback because of extra calculation required. (On the other hand, sometimes transparency effects make your movie look really great.) See Chapter 7 to find out about changing the transparency of the elements in your movie. Use solid fills rather than gradients. Gradients are more complex and make the Flash Player file bigger. Optimizing text Text can consume lots of bytes. Here s what you can do to reduce the byte bite: Reduce the number of fonts and font styles (bold, italic) as much as possible. Use simpler sans serif fonts if you can. You get the best results file-size-wise with the device fonts (sans, serif, and typewriter), although you might find these device fonts boring. Flash doesn t need to store the outlines of device fonts in the .swf file, so these take up fewer bytes. (See Chapter 5 for more information on fonts.) If you create text fields, limit the text and specify any restrictions that you can in the Character Options dialog box. (Choose Window. Property.Properties to open the Property inspector if it s not already open, and then click Character in the Property inspector to open the Character Options dialog box.) For example, exclude unnecessary character outlines, such as numbers. Using shared libraries If you re using some of the same elements in more than one movie, you can put them into a shared library, and then your audience will need to download them only once. This can be especially useful for items that can be large, like music and fonts. Check out Chapter 12 for the details on shared libraries. Compressing sound You can compress sounds to reduce file size. When you compress individual sounds in the Sound Properties dialog box, you can fine-tune settings for each individual sound in your movie. Later in this chapter, we review how to compress sound when you publish a Flash movie. Use the MP3 format whenever possible because it compresses well. If you need more information on compressing sounds, check out Chapter 11. Chapter 13: Publishing Your Flash Files 287
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