[Coach]

Greetings:

I'm looking for an inexpensive and simple Flash developing program.

Of course Adobe's Flash CS3 looks appealing, but too expensive.

I'm looking for a way to animate simple charts and graphs to import into Keynote.

Thanks

[TETENAL]

Keynote can animate simple charts and graphs by itself. No need for Flash.

[Coach]

Really?

Ok, for example I can animate the movement in a graph from year to year? So, I can show the price of oil moving up from 2004 to 2005 and then stop and then animate the movement from 2005 to 2006?

When attempting to use the action option in Keynote I cannot select individual data points, only the whole graph can be animated.

Let me know if I'm missing anything.

Thanks

[TETENAL]

You can put the graphs on two different slides (manually set the scale) and use the wipe transition upwards to the next slide to animate the appearance of the next bar.

[Coach]

Ok, I'm not following you. Adjust the scale in as an effect in the "Action" option?

[TETENAL]

On slide 1 you have a bar graph with the values 1998: $1.5 and 2008: $0.0 and on slide 2 you have the same bar graph with the values 1998: $1.5 and 2008: $3.5. Use a fixed height of the y-axis on both graphs. Then you use the wipe upwards transition for slide 2, and you get the optical impression that the bar for 2008 builds upwards.
The slide transitions are in the "Slide" section of the Info palette, not the "Build" section.

[moonmonkey]

Or you Could make a few charts with data in between the two main charts and fade between the them all in order.

[Coach]

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for your help.

One last question. Any way to make a curved line? I thought I could select a line shape and bend it in the middle but no luck.

I played with the shape option, but I'm not very coordinated into making something I like.

[TETENAL]

To create a curve use the free form shape tool (or whatever it's called in English - the line with the fountain pen), then click somewhere and drag (you won't see anything) at the startpoint of the curve and then click and drag at the endpoint of the curve. You need to drag to add the bezier handle to the points. I haven't found a way to add them after the fact. To finetune your curve select Format->Shape->Make object editable. You can click on each point in the shape to enable its bezier handles. Move those until you like the shape. You can add a point by option clicking the outline of the shape.

Obviously if you just wont a line you need to remove the fill and add a line in the Graphics section of the Info palette.