| ThingMaker Documentation Chapter 3) Introductory Tutorials

| Import a sequence of images as a new animated Thing You are now going to import a sequence of bit-mapped images from the Tutorial folder. You will turn these images into an animated Thing that you can use in the Dog Thing's MouseOver state. Here's how:

1. Click the Add to Gallery Button.

2. Choose Bitmap files (*.bmp) in the File Type Dialog.

3. If you aren't in the Tutorial folder, switch to the Tutorial folder.

4. Multiple select the files dog1.bmp, dog2.bmp and dog3.bmp.
To select several files at once, hold down the shift key, click on the first file, keep the shift key down, and click on the other files you want to select.

When you import multiple files, you can use the "blend/dither image" option. To learn more about blending, see "Blend Image" in the Reference.

5. Click the Create Animation Button.
ThingMaker will import the sequence of images as a single Thing.

If you click the Open Button instead of Create Animation, the program asks if you want to import the images as a single animation or to create three separate Things, each containing a single image. If you click the "Add to Gallery" Button instead of the Create Animation Button, the program will create three single image Things.

6. Click Cancel to close the Open Dialog.
Now you should see a second Thing in the Gallery labeled "dog1" with an animation Thing Type Icon attached.

Look in the Gallery. If you have three Things that each have an image icon instead of one Thing with an animation icon , then you probably pressed the "Add to Gallery" Button instead of the "Create Animation" Button. Drag the new Things to the Gallery Trash Can Icon and repeat steps 1 through 5.

Add the new Thing to the MouseOver state of the first Thing
Now you're going to add the new Thing "dog1" to the MouseOver state of the original Thing labeled "dog."

1. Open the Settings Palette, if it is not already opened.
Open the Settings Palette because you will be making adjustments to various Settings for the Thing.

2. Select the Thing in the Scene.
You should see a copy of the Thing labeled "dog" in the Scene. Click to select it.

3. Drag the "dog1" Thing to the MouseOver State Tab of the Settings Sheet for the "dog" Thing.
Remember to make this Drag Action in a single motion or the program will "misread" your Action, and the Settings sheet you see won't be correct.

Dragging the Thing to the MouseOver State Tab

4. Type "OK," when ThingMaker prompts you to Replace the existing visual.

5. Test the Thing out by pressing Play and moving the cursor over the Thing.
When you drag the cursor over the Thing, you should see an animation of a barking dog.

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