Hands-On: Flash MX 2004 the Basics

Exercise 3: Convert Bitmaps Images To Vector Images

After you import a bitmap image into Flash MX, you can convert it into a vector image so you can use the Flash tools available. This could reduce the image weight as well.

1. Import an image to the Flash stage.
2. Select the black arrow tool to select the image.
3. Click Modify.
4. Click Trace Bitmap and its dialog box will open. (See below).
5. Color Threshold: ranges from 0 to 500, and specifies when Flash will consider one pixel the same color as a neighboring pixel.
6. M inimum Area: ranges from 1 to 1000, and specifies the number of surrounding pixels Flash will consider when assigning a color to a pixel.
7. C urve Fit: specifies how smoothly you want Flash to trace the curves of the image. The optional curves are: Pixels, Very Tight, Tight, Normal , Smooth, and Very Smooth.
8. Corner Threshold: specifies how closely you want Flash to trace the corners of the image. The options are: Many corners, Normal , and Few Corners.

The image above was traced and turned into a Vector image from a GIF Bitmap image. Notice all the line tracings that define the image.

Resizing this image usually does not affect the file size of the image, and certainly the image on the right is fairly small.

Be careful of your JPG images with many objects and color changes. Tracing these could actually increase the ultimate file size and defeat the purpose.