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We have discussed three of the six Image Buttons. They were the three located in the top row. The button with the silhouette of a walking man is the Animation Button.

What will it do?

By clicking this button, you will be able to add a Flash animation to the Image area of any page in your book.As a result, and the Image portion of any page in your book is not limited to being a static image.

Not all Flash animations can readily be added to your book. As a result, here are a few things that you should keep in mind when adding animation to your book.

1. Your animation must be in the form of a Flash (or SWiSH Max2) animation, a SWF file.
2. Your animation should fit in the area normally occupied by the photo. (450 pixels wide by 510 pixels high). If it is larger, part of it will be hidden from view. If it is smaller, it will appear to be off-centre to the top left.
3. Your animation should be totally self contained. That means it should not call other files. The SWF file should be a complete animation.

You CAN include sound, movement, and even a button bar (e.g. start, stop, rewind) to control your animation.

If you want to try your hand at making your own animations, I recommend using SWiSH Max2 (it’s what I use). It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than Flash, has a 15 day free trial period and it is about a thousand times easier to use.

If you decide to use SWiSH Max2, you should also check out the kwikstartguide for SWiSH Max2. It’s a complete course in how to use SM2 that I developed. It uses webcasts to help you to learn everything you need to know to get started with SM2.