Symbols

A symbol is a reusable object with its own timeline. Place it as many times as you like; edit it once and every instance updates.

Creating symbols

Select objects and press F8, or right away draw inside a symbol you're editing.
Pick the type: Graphic, Movie clip or Button. You can change it later in the Library.
Drag a symbol from the Library onto the stage to place another instance.

The three types

Type	Its timeline…	Use it for
◇ Graphic	…follows the parent's frames. Choose Loop, Play once or Single frame, and the First frame, per instance.	Lip-sync, walk cycles you scrub with the main timeline, reusable art.
🎞 Movie clip	…runs on its own clock from the moment the instance appears, looping. Scripts can `stop()`, `play()` and `gotoAndPlay()` it.	Ambient loops (a bee's wings), anything scripted, characters.
⏺ Button	…has four frames: Up, Over (pointer over it), Down (pressed) and Hit (the clickable area, never shown).	Clickable controls; wire them up with `onClick`.

In the editor, movie clips show where they'd be if everything played straight through. Press ▶ to see them on their real clocks, with buttons responding and scripts running.

Editing in place

Editing the Flower symbol in place; the rest of the scene is dimmed and the breadcrumb shows Scene 1 › flower B (Flower)

Double-click an instance (or ⌘E) to edit its symbol in place. The rest of the scene dims, and the breadcrumb above the stage shows where you are.
Double-click a symbol in the Library (or ✎) to edit it on its own.
Esc, or a click on the breadcrumb, goes back up.

Instance properties

Name: the instance name scripts use (bee.x = 10). Names must be unique on a timeline to be useful.
Symbol: swap the instance to another symbol while keeping its position and transform.
Transform, opacity, blend and tint apply to the whole instance, including everything nested inside.

The Library

Each entry shows a thumbnail, the type, its length in frames and how many times it's used. The buttons edit (✎), add a symbol script ({ }), duplicate (⧉) and delete (🗑; only when unused). Double-click a name to rename it.