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: Flash BlogMacromedia Releases Latest Installation of the DevNet Series
DevNet Resource Kit Volume 9 has been released by Macromedia, and includes some interesting Flash Components as well as extensions and applications for ColdFusion and Dreamweaver.
Enhanced DataGrid
Now contains draggable columns, PageControl component (for record navigation) all wrapped up in the ubiquitous halo theme
XHTML TableRenderer
Allows the creation of complex tables using HTML methodologies for markup for use in Flash, with control over borders, coloring either via inline or external CSS
Application Library 2
Containing over 40 icons and graphics for creating Flash applications, with a common XP theme
Definitely worth the purchase this one!!
What’s All The Excitement About? This…
A little late with this one, but I’ve been changing jobs over the past few weeks, so it’s been a little busy! Apologies
There’s something afoot, something so huge, it will change the way we work and create our Flash applications in the future, yep you guessed it, Macromedia have revealed a mini sneak preview of of the new features to be available in the next incarnation of the Flash Player (v8) at the Macromedia Flash conference in Tokyo, Japan, and I so wish I was there!
Here are some of the main points from Colin Moock’s Blog regarding a small cross section of the enhancements…
-saffron, a new type-rendering engine
-dramatic performance improvements (a sluggish calendar app jumps from 14fps to 125fps)
-real-time bitmap effects (blur, drop shadow, colour matrix etc)
-real-time video alpha channel
Looking at the image at the top of this blog, gives you a taster of the demonstration that was presented of the next generation player, and if you watch one of the video streams , you will be as shocked as I was to see the advances in just a single player version that they have planned in the next version. Just wait till you see the …
Article: Flash Panels: Inspiration, Creation and Implementation
Regarding my recent article on creating your very own Flash Panels, I’d be interested to see what you have managed to create using the article as a starting point for your own projects.
I’d love to see your creations, and what you have managed to accomplish using the article and included source files as a starting point, so why not mail them to steveg-at-phireworx-dot-com, and for the best 5 submissions, I’ll blog here on SitePoint with a review of them, and you’ll get a free copy of the Juno 1.0 and Foto 1.0 Fireworks MX extensions!
Get your coding fingers ready, on your marks…get set…go!
Quickie: Shared Object Fiddling
Personal Hit Counter Shared Object Example >>
Messing around with code in Flash MX / MX 2004 can produce some interesting results, some more useful than others, and in this case a quick and dirty personal hit counter for the number of times you have visited the site you implement the code on, along the lines of ‘You have been here xx times’ using the Shared Object.
Whilst displaying the result of the following code may seem a trite overboard, it does have uses and implementations; for example…
You could easily trigger functions to be called using a simple switch statement allowing you to conditionally display information based on the number of times a user has been to the site
You could change the navigation structure to suit the needs of the user based upon their click habits; the list goes on…so feel free to experiment
sObjVisits = SharedObject.getLocal(”userVisitsLocal”);
if (sObjVisits.data.visits == undefined) {
sObjVisits.data.visits = 1;
} else {
sObjVisits.data.visits = sObjVisits.data.visits+1;
}
howManyVisits = sObjVisits.data.visits;
sObjVisits.flush();
visits.text = “been here “+howManyVisits+” times”;
Interface Inspiration From Real World Devices
I tend to design a lot of interfaces for both Fireworks and Flash extensions, some can be simple, some are more complex with many different parameters that the user has the ability to control. Most of the Flash command panels that I’ve written for the SitePoint blog have had simple controls (such as dials and sliders) that the user can relate to as they have there feet firmly planted in the real world and have been designed based on controllers (knobs, dials and sliders) from my experience of products that I use on a daily basis
It’s easy to give the user basic input boxes to enter their data when designing an interface that the user will interact with, but I find the experience to be enhanced when ‘touchy-feely’ controls are used. After all, from switching on the TV to using the toaster there are a multitude of devices that we control around the home, so if you are looking for inspiration then there is often no need to step out of the front door, it could be looking you right in the face!
Take the following example, an interface for a free Fireworks MX command which is an overhaul of the …
Iris and Wipe Transition Panel for Flash MX 2004 Professional
Well, the last in a series of transitional based panel effects for Flash MX 2004 has arrived, and in this Flash Panel we have 2 more scripted effects that take advantage of the built in screen transitions and automatically writes all the code for you:
Download Iris / Wipe Transition Panel for Flash MX 2004 Professional >>
Iris: A simple Iris transitional effect for your Movie Clips, giving you control over the duration, easing, start location of the iris transition (’top center’, ‘bottom center’ etc), as well as the shape (’square’ or ‘circle’)
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View Staggered Iris Example >>
Wipe: The industry standard wipe, with control of duration, easing and start location.
View Staggered Wipe Example >>
Download Iris / Wipe Transition Panel for Flash MX 2004 Professional >>
Photo Flasher Effect Panel for Flash MX 2004 Professional
Another panel has been released today, this time taking advantage of further built in (but hidden) features of Flash MX 2004 Professional to produce a simulated ‘flash snapshot’ for your Movie Clips.
As before, multiple event handlers, duration, direction and easing are available within the interface to make adding the effect to your Movie Clips as easy as falling off a bike.
In this example, there is a preview screen where you can see a representation of the effect. The preview screen is updated whenever you change the duration, direction, or easing type; it can also be updated by clicking on the ‘preview’ button next to the preview image
Creating a series of virtual snapshots using the panel is a breeze, as can be seen in the example below
Download Photo Flash Effect Panel for Flash MX 2004 >>
View Photo Flash Effect Panel for Flash MX 2004 Example>>
Add Some Emphasis to Your Site
There are some days when an interesting technology just makes you sit up and think ‘Thats a really good idea!’, and today is one of those days.
Working with TelSim Software, to test their new ‘Noah’ technology which is essentially a web site enhancement device driven in Flash, I was astounded at how easy it is to create a more usable and emphasized experience of a series of pages within a site.
Take for example, the phireworx.com home page, there are many links and options, and after you’ve been there a few times, it’s easy to navigate around, but for the first time visitors who may not know what they are looking for, then why not have a friendly avatar that directs you around the screen pointing out the major sections / offers that you may have on.
I’ve noticed since the phireworx avatar has been present on the front page of the site for the past couple of days, that the amount of users who visit the home page of the site and click through from the links rather than clicking off to another site increased by 37%, no mean feat!
It certainly grabs your attention, and TelSim are looking for …
Next Major Flash Release Will Focus On…
…designers, according to Mike Chambers (Developer Relations Product Manager for Macromedia).
For the past couple of releases Macromedia have concentrated on developers as is more evident in Flash MX 2004 Professional than Flash MX 2004 with its bias towards data based components.
It’s good to see Macromedia giving some long overdue attention to the designers out there, let’s hope they spend some time on the drawing tools, and advanced gradient support so that complex gradients that aren’t just linear or radial can be created natively or imported from other vector apps such as Freehand or Fireworks.
I’m sure as time goes on, we shall see what cool features they have implemeted!
Click here to view the discussion
OT: How Cool Are Your Flash Projects?
I tend to work from home and office quite a lot, and transfer my IDE drive between the two places on a daily basis. My old 5.25″ IDE caddy was seriously in need of replacing due to damage and the fact the internal fan had packed in, so I replaced it with the beastie shown above.
Thermal alarms, temperature monitor and a good sized fan ensures my data and Flash projects remain at a nice consistent temperature, and it looks pretty damn cool too! Way off topic, but thought I’d share it with you
