To change the color effect, select Modify-Instance-Color Effect and from the drop down menu, choose alpha and set it for 70%.  Using the same steps, you can make the other two colors into shadow graphics and place them in their proper places.

To create buttons in your flash design, you will insert a new layer and type your button text using the text tool.  Select your desired font size, select the layer and select Insert-Convert to Symbol and then name the layer the same name as your button text followed by the word “graphic” and select the “graphic” radio button in the symbol properties window.  Next, you’ll convert the graphic into a button.  Select the layer and select Choose-Insert-Convert to Symbol and name it the same name as the button text followed by the word “button” and click the radio button titled “button”.  Now double click the layer and rename it as the button title followed by the word “button”.  Create other buttons as needed using the same method and place them on the appropriate layers.

To avoid confusion, it is important to maintain your library.  After all of your buttons have been created, select Window-Library.  From the library, select Options-New Folder.  Name the folder “Buttons” and drag all of the buttons into that folder to keep them separated from the rest of the design features.

Now you are ready to add MouseOver effects to the button text.  Select Window-Library and click on the folder titled “Buttons” and select the individual button you wish to work with.  Double click the button and select frame ‘over’.  Then select Modify-Instance-Color Effect.  Select ‘tint’ in the drop down menu to create a tinting effect on the button and select your color specifications for the tint.  Make similar changes to the other buttons.

When working with the background on a flash layout, you can import background from any compatible format such as .jpg or .png and convert it into a graphic.  Place the background in the background layer in your layout.

Another feature of Macromedia Flash you may wish to use is MouseOver Animation.  Here you can move all three color panels by placing them into a movie clip.  Select the panels, then select Insert-Convert to Symbol.  Make them into a movie clip and name it ‘open panels’.  Place the clip in a layer and name the layer ‘open panels’.  Now select Window-Library-Panels-Open Panels movie clip and double click the movie clip.  Place the three-color panels on separate layers and name the layers appropriately.  For each layer, choose 10 for insert keyframe (F6).  At frame 10, you can move the panels to position them creating a blank shape among them.  Select any frame and select Modify-Frame.  In the frame properties, set tweening to motion, rotate to automatic and easing to out 100.  Insert a keyframe for all three layers and insert a blank keyfrome for all three layers placing the 3 graphics in their desired positions.  Assign frame properties from 12 to 22 for frames 1-10.  Create a new layer titled “actions”.  Assign the action “stop” to frames 1-100 and in the action layer, double click the first frame and assign it a “stop” action.  Assign frame 23 “Go to and stop (1)”.  From the scene, select the open panels lay and select Modify-Instance-Instance Properties-Instance Name-Open Panels.  Insert another layer over the open panels lay and draw a patch to cover the open panels movie clip.  Select the new layer and Modify-Layer.  Name the new Layer “mask” as a mask type.  Now select the open panels lay and select Modify-Layer.  In the layer property type select Masked and lock both layers. The mask will restrict animation to the masked area.  After this is done, the panel’s animations are complete and you can assign actions to the buttons.