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First of all, you can think of a Flash component as any other movie clip, except that certain features of the component can be adjusted, so that each copy of a component can potentially be a unique creation. (Components were known as "Smart Clips" in Flash 5.)

Our custom user interfaces make it very easy to make changes to our components, such that you don't need any programming knowledge -- all changes can be made with intuitive menus, sliders, color pickers, text fields, and other controls. For the more advanced users, all the ActionScript code is included in our components, so you can dissect, reverse-engineer, and learn the tiny details of how everything works.

Changing Component Parameters:
Start by opening the component's FLA file in Flash 5 or MX. In this example, I'll use the Springy Thingy component, available in the Flash Foundry membership area. The stage already contains a copy of the Springy Thingy, which is identified by the placeholder shown below. Opening the Parameters Panel depends on the version of Flash in use.

Component Placeholder

Flash MX: Click on the placeholder to select it. Find the Properties Panel. Click on its Parameters tab, and then click on the "Launch Component Parameters Panel" button.

Flash 5: Right-click on the placeholder to select it and bring up the context menu. Then, choose Panels, and then Clip Parameters.

Once the Parameters Panel is open, you can make changes to the component's behavior using our component interface. To the right is the actual interface that is used to modify this component within Flash. You can move back and forth through the pages of the interface, adjust contols, and get additional information on settings by using the question mark icons. Once you are done modifying settings in the Parameters Panel, close the panel and test the Flash movie to see your changes in action. Note that the interface shown on this page is not attached to a real component, and is only shown here as an example. You must use the Parameters Panel within Flash to make changes to a component.

Using Components from the Library:
Typically, you will want to bring a Flash component into your existing Flash movie. To do so, open the component FLA file in Flash 5 or MX by choosing "Open" or "Open as Library" under the File menu. In the library, you'll see symbols and folders related to the component. What we're most interested in is the actual component, which is identified with a component icon:
Flash MX icon     Flash 5 icon
Simply drag a copy of the component in the library into the desired Flash movie. You can even create multiple copies of a component, each with its own parameters -- the possibilities really are endless! Below is the Springy Thingy's library, as seen in Flash MX.

Springy Thingy library

Compatibility:
Most of our components are designed to work with Flash 5 as well as Flash MX, but some components take advantage of new features only available in Flash MX. Flash MX allows you to embed the component interface in the component itself, requiring only one file for the component and its interface. In Flash 5, however, the component's FLA file must be in the same directory as the component interface SWF file. Typically, the required SWF file has the same name as the FLA, plus "_ui". (For example, the UI file for "springy_thingy_flash5.fla" is "springy_thingy_ui.swf", both of which are included in the "springy_thingy.zip" file.)