## Animation

The actions in this section allow you to create dynamic, animated effects on your Web pages.

### To set up a timed sequence

The Sequence Timer action lets you trigger up to 20 slave actions in sequence at a specified speed.

- Open the Page menu, choose Actions, then choose Sequence Timer from the submenu.
- In the Actions palette set Loop to Yes to play the sequence repeatedly, or No to play the sequence once when the page is opened.
- Choose a group from the Slave Group pop-up menu.
- For each of the triggers you want to use set the corresponding trigger item to Yes:

- In the Speed box, specify the delay between triggers in thousandths of a second. The default value, 500, gives a delay of half a second between triggers.
- Set an appropriate slave action on each of the images; for example, Slave Show/Hide Image.
- Preview the page to see the effect of the sequence timer.

### To display a random sequence

The Random Sequence action is identical to the Sequence Timer action, except that the triggers are performed in a random sequence.

### To trigger several events after a specified delay

The Blast Timer action is similar to the Sequence Timer action, except that it triggers up to 20 slave actions simultaneously after a specified delay. For example, it can be used to cause several graphics to appear on the page simultaneously after a delay of five seconds.

- Open the Page menu and choose Blast Timer from the Actions submenu.
- In the Actions palette specify the delay in the Speed box in thousandths of a second, and set each of the triggers you want to use to Yes:

### To animate a layer

The Move Layer action animates an HTML item, graphic item, or table defined as a layer. It can be used to add visual interest to a page, and the moving object can have other actions, such as a rollover, applied to it.

- Select the graphic item.
- Select the general settings icon at the top of the Inspector palette to display the item’s general settings, and select Layer in the Properties section:

- Open the Item menu, choose Actions, then choose Move Layer from the submenu.
- In the Actions palette specify the following parameters to determine how the layer moves:

Parameter | Description
Speed | The time interval between each movement in thousandths of a second.
X | The distance the layer moves horizontally, at each step, in pixels. Put a negative number to move left.
X-Limit | The maximum distance moved horizontally, in pixels.
Y | The distance the layer moves vertically, at each step, in pixels. Put a negative number to move up.
Y-Limit | The maximum distance the layer moves vertically, in pixels
Loop | Set to Yes to repeat the movement or No to stop after one movement.

Contents