A Byte-Size Bitmap Gallery

Abstract

There are a multitude of reasons that you might want to display pictures on your Flash site. Graphical elements add color and interest to your online content, whatever its subject matter, and while Flash’s vector graphic capabilities are impressive, there are times when only a bitmap will do. What’s more, there are many sites that aim to sell a product that the user needs to see before they would buy. In some cases, you may even be designing a site whose main purpose is to display or sell photos or other artwork. However, too often in Flash, using bitmapped images poses a problem in terms of bandwidth, as a few pictures can push the file size of your project through the roof. Accordingly, this chapter aims to show you how you can successfully produce Flash files and bitmaps that will overcome the bandwidth limitations that may have plagued your projects in the past.