Scriptaculous Actions

Freeway 5 Pro includes Actions which use the Scriptaculous JavaScript library to create JavaScript effects.

Transition FX and Attention FX

These Actions allow you to apply effects Blind Up and Down, Slide Up and Down, Fade In and Fade Out, Pulsate, Shake and Highlight to items on your page. You can set these effects to run when the page loads or when triggered by clicking or rolling over the item the Action is applied to.

To add an "On Page Load" effect to an item:

1. Open the Actions palette, by selecting it from the Window menu or from the toolbar.
2. Select the Layer or in-flow item you want to apply the effect to.
3. Click on the plus button in the Actions palette and choose either the Transition FX or Attention FX Action from the list of Actions.
4. In the Actions palette check the On Page Load checkbox. Choose the effect you want the item to use from the Effect popup and whether you want the item to be hidden when the page opens. The Duration and Delay options dictate how long the effect runs for and how much of a delay there is before it runs.
5. When you are ready click Preview to see the effect run.

To add an "On Trigger" effect to an item:

1. Open the Actions palette, by selecting it from the Window menu or from the toolbar.
2. Select the Layer or in-flow item you want to use as the trigger.
3. Click on the plus button in the Actions palette and choose either the Transition FX or Attention FX Action from the list of Actions.
4. In the Actions palette check the On Trigger checkbox. Choose the effect you want the item to use from the Effect popup and whether you want the effect to toggle (Transition FX only). The Duration and Delay options dictate how long the effect runs for and how much of a delay there is before it runs. Choose item you want to trigger from the Item popup and whether you want it to be hidden when the page opens. Finally, choose the trigger type from the Trigger popup, the choices are On Click or On Mouse Over.
5. When you are ready click Preview and click or rollover the item to see the effect run.

Sound FX

This Action allows you to make an item in Freeway trigger or stop a sound. This handy for providing feedback on links or buttons, or using custom graphics for audio files.

To add a sound to an item:

1. Open the Actions palette, by selecting it from the Window menu or from the toolbar.
2. Select the item you want to add the sound to.
3. Click on the plus button in the Actions palette and choose the Sound FX Action from the list of Actions.
4. In the Actions palette choose Play from the Function popup. Choose the audio file you want the item to use from the Audio File popup and the type of trigger you want to use in the Trigger popup.
5. When you are ready click Preview and click or rollover the item to hear the sound.

Target Show/Hide Layer

There is a new version of the Target Show/Hide Layer Action, which uses the Scriptaculous library to create fading transitions. This can be used with the Sequence Timer Action to create fading slideshows.

To create a fading slideshow:

1. Create a layer item (HTML or graphic) and add some content.
2. Open the Actions palette, by selecting it from the Window menu or from the toolbar.
3. Click on the plus button in the Actions palette and choose the Target Show/Hide Layer Action from the list of Actions.
4. In the Actions palette, set Initially to Hidden, Restore to Sticky, and Effect to Fade.
5. Duplicate the item and change its content. In the Actions palette, change the Slave # to 2. Repeat this step to add any further items, incrementing the Slave # each time.
6. Select the page by clicking on a blank area.
7. Click on the plus button in the Actions palette and choose Sequence Timer from the list of Actions.
8. Use the Actions palette to change the following Sequence Timer settings: set Speed to 1000 and Trigger # to Yes for the total number of target items. E.g. if you have three target items that have the Target Show/Hide Layer Action, set Trigger 1 to Trigger 3 to Yes.

To see your slideshow, click the Preview button. The speed of the slideshow can be changed by altering the Speed setting for Sequence Timer, and the fade duration can be changed with the Duration setting for Target Show/Hide Layer.

Note: You will need to enable JavaScript in your browser for these Actions to work. If you find the effects are not working then try deleting the contents of your Site Folder or creating a new Site Folder in the Document Setup dialog.

NB - this page describes Freeway Pro functionality. Features shown may differ in Freeway Express.