Create, modify, or delete a storyboard
In Microsoft Expression Blend 2, storyboards are managed from a Storyboard picker. You create new storyboards by clicking the New .png "Cc295300.86937695-03dd-44ea-aa30-28d4029b3ad0(en-us,Expression.10).png")
button under Objects and Timeline. When open, storyboards can be modified by using the drop-down menu next to the New button that includes options for creating, renaming, duplicating, reversing, and deleting.
Note
You might find it easier to work with storyboards by using the Animation Workspace because the Interaction panel is displayed under the artboard instead of next to the artboard. Press F6 to switch between the Animation Workspace and the Design Workspace.
To add a new storyboard
Under Objects and Timeline, click the New
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The Create Storyboard Resource dialog box appears.
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In the Name (Key) field, type a name for the storyboard, and then click OK. The new storyboard opens in recording mode.
Tip
By default, any new storyboard created in the root of your document will cause an event trigger to be added under Triggers for the Window.Loaded event. This trigger causes your storyboard to start as soon as your application starts. If you want to create some simple interactivity, you can select the event trigger and then modify it (in the lower half of the Triggers pane) to specify the following:
When object .PreviewMouseDown is raised
In this case, object is the name of an object in your application. (The object must be selected for it to appear in the lower half of the Triggers pane when you modify the trigger.) This causes your animation timeline to begin when you click the object.
To modify storyboard
Select the timeline from the Storyboard picker by clicking the Open a Storyboard
.png "Cc295300.d4531c86-5048-481c-a1ca-29af202d28e7(en-us,Expression.10).png")
button under Objects and Timeline and then selecting a storyboard.To modify the storyboard, you can do any one of the following:
To rename the selected storyboard, double-click the storyboard name or use the pop-up menu under Objects and Timeline.
To animate an object on the artboard, create keyframes or move keyframes to record property changes for the object over time. For more information, see Make a keyframe or Create simple animation.
To set the selected storyboard to repeat a specified number of times or to play forward and backward, modify the storyboard properties. For more information, see Modify a storyboard to repeat or reverse at the end of its cycle.
To create a new storyboard that is a duplicate or a reversed duplicate of the selected storyboard, use the pop-up menu under Objects and Timeline. For more information, see Duplicate or reverse a storyboard.
To add a motion path timeline to the selected storyboard, use the Convert to Motion Path tool. For more information, see Create, modify, or delete a motion path.
To add a video or sound timeline to the selected storyboard, add the media file to your project and then use the Insert command. For more information, see Insert an image, audio, or video file into the active document.
To configure the storyboard to play when an event occurs or when a property changes, create an event trigger or a property trigger on the object or template that will trigger the storyboard. For more information, see Add or remove a trigger, Try it: Add animation to a button, or Try it: Create a rollover button.
To programmatically configure the storyboard to play, call the storyboard from your document's code-behind file. For more information, see Create a new event handler method.
To delete a storyboard
Under Objects and Timeline, click the Open a Storyboard
button to view the storyboards that are in scope. The Storyboard picker appears..png "Cc295300.f487c801-ef77-4ecc-911c-c794c45b6144(en-us,Expression.10).png")
Select the storyboard that you want to delete from the Storyboard picker.
Expression Blend 2 opens the storyboard and enters timeline recording mode.
Click the drop-down button next to the New
button, and then click Delete..png "Cc295300.74b1f5aa-10f5-40fc-b786-c9de76cb87ca(en-us,Expression.10).png")
The storyboard is deleted. Expression Blend 2 exits timeline recording mode, leaving no storyboards open. If any triggers modified the deleted storyboard, they are also updated.