The Workspace

Flash's workspace consists of five main components: the menu bar, the tool box, the stage, the panels, and the Timeline. This is just an overview of the elements on the workspace. Check the other curriculum pages to find more help on using the library panel and Timeline.
This is the default setup for the Workspace on a Mac:

The menu bar contains controls for common functions such as opening and saving files, as well as specific functions, such as copying and pasting, calling up specific windows or panels, and controlling the Flash workspace.

Flash's toolbox contains a collection of tools for creating, selecting, and manipulating your vector graphics.

The Stage is the working space in flash. Think of the stage as an actual performance stage. Anything in the white area will be seen by someone watching and anything offstage is invisible to the viewer. The stage is also the size of your final document. The stage is set to 550x400 pixels by default. The stage can be re-sized using the Properties panel.

Panels contain additional controls for features such as colors, actions, and behaviors, as well as other features that can be found in the program manual. The design panels can be found to the right of the stage and below the stage. Be aware that the layout of panels below the stage is different on Macs and PCs. On a Mac, the action and help panel are not opened by default.

There are four panels on the right (color mixer, components, component inspector, and behaviors) that you may want to open when you start working in flash, as they do not open by default.

The TimeLine is the area where we organize and control time based animation in Flash. For a more in depth look at the Timeline visit the Timeline curriculum page.