Adobe Certified Professional - Adobe Animate key terms

The setting chosen when a file is created that determines the output technology, such as HTML5 Canvas, ActionScript 3.0, WebGL, or AIR. It controls which features and publish options are available.

The number of frames the animation plays each second, set in document properties. Higher values give smoother motion but demand more processing power and can produce larger files.

The width and height of the visible drawing area, measured in pixels and set in document properties. It defines the canvas area viewers actually see in the finished piece.

The browser, device, app store, or playback environment where the finished animation will run. It guides choices about document type, dimensions, frame rate, audio, and interactivity.

A series of rough sketches laid out in order that shows each scene, camera move, and key action, usually with timing notes. It lets a team agree on the plan before production.

The proportional relationship between width and height, written as a ratio such as 16:9 or 1:1. Matching it to the delivery screen prevents stretching or unwanted cropping.

Artwork described by mathematical paths, curves, and fills rather than pixels. It stays crisp at any size, and Animate's drawing and shape tools mainly produce this kind of art.

Artwork made from a fixed grid of pixels. Enlarging it reveals soft or blocky edges, so imported photos and painted bitmaps need care with size and compression.

A limited, deliberate set of colors chosen for a project. Reusing the same swatches across scenes keeps the work consistent, supports branding, and speeds up production.

The choice and arrangement of type, including typeface, size, weight, leading, tracking, and alignment. In animation, text must also stay legible while it moves or scales.

The ordering of elements so a viewer looks at the most important thing first. Size, contrast, placement, color, and motion are the usual tools for building it.

A reference document stating an organization's approved logos, colors, fonts, and voice. Following it keeps published animations recognizable and consistent with other marketing material.

The panel where time runs left to right in frames and content stacks in layers from top to bottom. Frames, keyframes, and animation spans are created and rearranged there.

One unit of time on the timeline. A plain frame simply continues whatever the previous keyframe holds, so a run of them keeps content visible without redrawing it.

A frame where the content of a layer is explicitly defined, shown as a filled dot. It is where you place a new drawing or set new property values that start or end a change.

A keyframe that holds no content, drawn as an empty circle. Inserting one hides everything on that layer from that point until new content is added.

A horizontal track on the timeline that holds its own content and stacking position. Layers keep objects separate, so one element can be edited or animated without affecting others.

The storage area for a document's reusable assets: symbols, bitmap images, sound, and video. Items are dragged from it onto the stage to create instances.

A context-sensitive panel that shows settings for whatever is selected, or for the document when nothing is selected. Position, size, color, filters, and tween options appear there.

The toolbar holding selection, drawing, painting, text, and transformation tools, plus color controls. Each tool has modifier options that appear in the Properties panel.

The gray work area surrounding the stage. Objects placed there are visible while editing but are cropped out of the published animation, so it works as scratch space.

A self-contained section of a project with its own timeline, used to organize long animations. Playback normally moves from one scene to the next in order.

A reusable object stored in the library that has its own small timeline and can be placed on the stage many times. Editing the symbol updates every copy.

A copy of a symbol placed on the stage or nested inside another symbol. Each copy can carry its own size, color effect, and alpha without changing the original.

A symbol type whose timeline is tied to the main timeline, so it pauses when the parent pauses. It suits short, self-contained animations that do not need independent playback.

A symbol type with a timeline that runs independently of the main timeline. It suits looping animation and interactive content, and its motion is only seen when the movie is tested.

A tween that animates position, scale, rotation, or color between keyframes, drawing the in-between frames automatically. It also supports a motion path that can be edited on stage.

A tween that morphs the outline and fill of one shape into another, useful for melting, blobs, or morphing silhouettes. It works on raw shapes, not on symbols or grouped objects.

The earlier tween style that needs a keyframe at each end and a symbol, text, or group in between. Settings such as easing and rotation live in the Properties panel.

Animation drawn one keyframe at a time, so each pose is created by hand. It offers total control but takes more labor and usually produces heavier files.

A setting that changes speed across a tween so motion accelerates, decelerates, or both instead of staying constant, which makes movement look more natural.

The line an object follows during a motion tween. It can be curved and reshaped directly on the stage, and the object rotates to match the direction of travel if desired.

A layer whose filled shapes reveal the layers beneath it and hide everything else. Animating the mask's shape or position creates effects like spotlights and wipes.

The transparency level of a fill, stroke, or symbol instance, set from fully transparent to fully opaque. Animating it produces fades and ghosting effects.

The dialog where output formats and their options are chosen, including HTML5 Canvas or SWF, image and audio quality, and which files are written.

A single image file containing many frames of an animation, arranged in a grid. Game engines and web code show one region at a time, cutting down file requests.

A short animation displayed while the main content is downloading. It reassures viewers that something is happening and can show progress on slow connections.

A command that plays the project in a preview window or browser. It reveals timing problems, broken buttons, and missing assets before the file is published.

Publish options and code that let an animation resize, letterbox, or reflow to fit different screens. They keep content usable on phones, tablets, and desktops.