With the new Flash^R Professional CS6, we have an easy way to export a Flash animation as a png sequence. One very popular use of a png sequence is in a mobile application such as a game or storybook. A png sequence, along with sprite sheets, are the two most popular ways to create animation in iOS and Android devices. It is possible to export movie clips, graphic symbols and button symbols as png sequences from the Flash Library or stage.

Your choice between using a sprite sheet and a png sequence in your game depends on several factors. For example, it may be easier to use a png sequence for a simple animation as opposed to writing the extra code needed to read the information in the sprite sheet's XML file.

1. Select the movie clip in the Library.
   
   
2. Right-click and choose Export PNG Sequence.
   
   In the dialog box we have some information and several options.
   
   
3. At the top of the dialog box, we can see that the movie clip will be exported as 10 frames, which is the same number of frames in the movie clip.
   
   
4. We can also see the Width and Height in pixels and the Resolution in dpi. We have the option to change these settings and use the drop-down menu to set the Color to 8, 24 or 32 bit.
   
   

After clicking the Export button, the result is 10 individual png images numbered in sequence, each png is a copy of the corresponding individual frame in the movie clip sequence.

We can also export the Up, Over, Down and Hit states of a button as a png sequence.

1. This time, we will select the button on the stage.
   
   
2. Right-click and Export PNG Sequence from the menu.
   
   
3. We get the same dialog box as before.
   
   

The result this time is 4 individual png images numbered in sequence as before. However, this time each png corresponds with one of the button states: Up, Over, Down and Hit.

Another feature in Flash CS6 is the Flash JavaScript API. If you wish to have more detailed control over the sprite sheet or png sequence export, you can code your own scripts to perform these tasks at your own specifications. Once you have coded the script, you can use it via the Commands menu.

*Adobe provided a copy of this software to me for review purposes.

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