Adobe Certified Professional - Adobe Animate flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Document type selection

Chosen at File > New, it fixes the scripting language and publish targets: ActionScript 3.0, HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, or AIR for desktop and mobile apps.

Frame rate setting

Set once in Document Properties (Modify > Document). It applies to the whole FLA, so changing it after animating re-times every tween and frame-by-frame sequence already built.

Stage size

The pixel dimensions of the exported canvas, set in Document Properties. For HTML5 Canvas output it matches the intended viewport because the movie scales to fit.

Stage background color

Set in Document Properties; it becomes the SWF stage color and the HTML5 canvas background, so it is chosen deliberately rather than left at default white.

Document Properties versus Publish Settings

Document Properties control stage size, frame rate, and background color. Publish Settings control output format, file names, and quality. Both dialogs are separate and both stored in the FLA.

Delivery channel decision

The destination picks document type and export: browser gets HTML5 Canvas, legacy players get SWF, broadcast and social get MP4, and game engines get sprite sheets or GIF loops.

Vector versus raster

Vector art is stored as math paths and scales without losing edge quality. Raster art is a fixed pixel grid that softens or pixelates when scaled past its imported resolution.

RGB color model

The screen color model using 8 bits per channel: 256 red x 256 green x 256 blue, roughly 16.7 million colors, written in hex as #RRGGBB for HTML and CSS.

Graphic symbol behavior

A symbol whose timeline is locked to the parent timeline's frame count. It plays only as many frames as the parent allows, which suits synced lip-sync and walk cycles.

Movie Clip symbol

A symbol with an independent timeline that keeps running when the parent timeline stops. It is used for nested loops, interactive elements, and scripted instances.

Button symbol states

Four frames: Up for idle, Over for rollover, Down for pressed, and Hit for the invisible click area. The Hit state defines the clickable region and is never drawn.

Title-safe and action-safe

Broadcast framing guides. Title-safe covers about 80% of the frame and keeps text visible; action-safe covers about 90% and keeps key action clear of edge cropping.

Timeline keyframe shortcuts

F5 inserts a frame, F6 inserts a keyframe, F7 inserts a blank keyframe, Shift+F6 clears a keyframe, and F8 converts the current selection into a symbol.

Properties panel context

Its contents change with the selection: document properties when nothing is selected, instance or object properties for a selection, and tool options while a drawing tool is active.

Library panel

Holds every symbol, bitmap, audio clip, and video asset in the document. Dragging an item to the stage creates an instance that references that single library asset.

Actions panel shortcut

Opened with F9. It edits ActionScript 3.0 in AS3 and AIR documents, and JavaScript with CreateJS in HTML5 Canvas documents, so available syntax depends on document type.

Onion skin

A timeline toggle that ghosts frames before and after the playhead so positions can be compared. Edit Multiple Frames extends editing to those ghosted frames.

Motion tween property rows

Expanding a motion tween layer with the disclosure arrow reveals per-property tracks and keyframes, allowing position, scale, and color to be offset or eased independently.

Motion tween requirements

Create Motion Tween needs one symbol instance per tweened layer. If a raw shape is selected, Animate converts it to a symbol and moves it onto its own layer.

Classic tween

Insert > Classic Tween interpolates position, scale, rotation, and color of symbol instances and text between two keyframes, and can be attached to a classic motion guide.

Shape tween

Interpolates geometry and color between two raw vector shapes. Groups, symbol instances, text blocks, and bitmaps must be broken apart with Ctrl/Cmd+B before tweening works.

Easing value range

Easing runs from -100 to 100. Negative values start slow and accelerate, positive values start fast and decelerate. Motion tweens allow easing per property keyframe.

Motion guide layer

Right-click a classic tween layer and choose Add Classic Motion Guide. The object must be snapped to the path at the first and last keyframes to follow it.

Mask layer setup

Draw the reveal shape on an upper layer and right-click > Mask. The layer directly beneath becomes masked, and further layers join by being dragged under the mask layer.

Color Effect options

In Properties > Color Effect: Alpha for transparency, Brightness for black-to-white shift, Tint for single-color blend, and Advanced for per-channel multiplier and offset.

Publish Settings shortcut

Opened with File > Publish Settings or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F12. It stores target format, output file name, and per-format options inside the FLA file itself.

Publish versus preview

File > Publish (Shift+F12) writes final output using saved settings. File > Publish Preview (Ctrl/Cmd+Enter) builds a temporary version and opens it for a fast check.

HTML5 Canvas output files

Publishing creates an HTML file, a JS file, copies of the CreateJS library, and an images folder. All of them must be uploaded with the folder structure intact.

Animated GIF limits

GIF supports up to 256 colors, 1-bit transparency, and no audio. Publish settings control looping, dithering, and color count, so it suits short flat-color loops.

JPEG quality setting

A 0 to 100 value in Publish Settings controlling lossy compression of exported bitmaps. Higher values keep detail at larger file size, and 80 is a common photo compromise.

Video export route

File > Export > Export Video renders the timeline to H.264/MP4 through Media Encoder at the document frame rate. Stage size sets resolution and timeline audio is included.

SWF runtime end of life

Adobe Flash Player reached end of life on 31 December 2020 and browsers block SWF content, so new web deliverables are published as HTML5 Canvas or WebGL.