Macromedia MAX 2005 - Anaheim, CA What’s New In Flash 8
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Using the New 9-Slice Scaling Feature
You can use 9-slice scaling (Scale-9) to specify component-style scaling for movie clips. This lets
you create movie clip symbols that scale appropriately for use as user interface components, as
opposed to the type of scaling typically applied to graphics and design elements.
The movie clip is conceptually divided into nine sections with a grid-like overlay, and each of the
nine areas is scaled independently. To maintain the visual integrity of the movie clip, corners are not
scaled, while the remaining areas of the image are scaled (as opposed to being stretched) larger or
smaller, as needed.
When a movie clip symbol has 9-slice scaling applied, it appears in the Library panel preview with
the guides displayed. 9-slice scaling is visible only in the Test Movie window; you cannot view 9-
slice scaling on the Stage.
Understanding how 9-slice scaling works
The easiest way to explain how 9-slice scaling works is to look at an example of how 9-slice scaling
works in Flash.
To understand scaling in Flash:
1. Create a new Flash document and save it as dynmask.fla.
2. Drag a copy of the Button component to the Stage from the Components panel (Window >
Components).
3. Increase the Stage's zoom level to 400% by using the Zoom tool.
By default, the Button component instance is 100 pixels wide by 22 pixels high.
4. Resize the Button component instance to 200 pixels width by 44 pixels high by using the
Property inspector.
