This week’s cooltopic:
Flash MX
Article by:The KROW   [Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3]

A View of Another Place

“Ahhh... a hot summer day. Straw brim hat, lucky fishin’ vest, cane pole tugged with bait, and a cooler o’cold drinks (emptied later and replaced with caught fish). What a great day this is!....”

Ok, so what’s wrong with this picture? There’s no water! And why is there no water? Because our good buddy Pappy Fisherman is afraid of the water! He’s afraid to jump right in and head out to the deep end where the really big fish are just begging to be caught!

Hmm...sounds kinda familiar doesn’t it? No? Well, relate it this way then...

“We’re Back in a Flash!”

Just like Pappy Fisherman, who happens to know all about fishing, but doesn’t quite take that “big” step to get the big ones, so it is with many of us and FLASH. (Eeek! There’s that word again)!

Okay, work with me here and you’ll get the “drift” of how jumping into the deep end of the water scenario fits perfectly with new Flash MX!

You see, it really all stems from our perception of Flash in the first place. And, that perception comes from our initial experiences with it.

Here at Coolmaps, we know we are devoted to Fusion. And, you’re probably wondering why we’re talking about a product made by the big “M” company. Well, it’s simply because the latest release of Flash, called “Flash MX”, is now completely integrated with Cold Fusion components! And, as you know, here at Coolmaps, we most certainly are interested in anything that has the word “fusion” in it anyway!

So, now that we understand “why” we’re here, let’s understand “who” is here...

Flash users (or non-users as they may be) fit into just a few certain categories:

• Regular use - These folks use Flash on a regular basis and are completely familiar with all of its features on both the des and dev sides. This includes building dynamic web sites complete with user-input forms/database updating.
   
• Sort of use - They use Flash for the cool movie effects but have no desire to get into tangling with the Action Scripting because it’s so confusing. They don’t want to “script” anything. Point and Click or Drag and Drop is the only way they’ll put any dynamic content into a web page.
   
• Never use - These folks have probably heard of Flash, have always had good intentions of checking in to it, but never get around to it. These users can be designers, developers or producers.
   
• Refuse to use - These are probably the most common group of Flash folks. They’ve tried Flash at some point, and threw it back in the water like a fish under five inches long! They figure, “I don’t need no stinking fish... err.... Flash anyway”.

Of all these user-types, most of us fit into the “Refuse to Use” group, and that’s how we relate to Pappy! Like him, we know how to “catch” the big fish, but there are just one or two issues which don’t let us go all the way to the deep end to get them! And in Flash, that’s usually scripting actions and creating dynamic pages! But, what if Flash came with a way to create dynamic pages with something as easy as Drag and Drop? Think you’d be willing to swim a little deeper now? Well, cast out a line and find out....

“What A Life-Saver!”

It’s true! All the excitement about this new version of Flash (MX) is *mostly* due to the smooth integration of Cold Fusion components right in the program! There’s no downloading of special plug ins, no requirement to have Cold Fusion on your system for coding and scripting, and it’s all neatly wrapped in a software package that is very easy to use. And believe it or not, using these new CF components is easier to learn than creating a movie in Flash. And, as if that’s not a big enough piece of bait for us, Flash now has more organized tools than ever before! Lined with that bit of info, you now should have no problem taking Flash for a spin(ner) to see what you snag out there! But, since you probably still don’t have your sea legs just yet, we’re going to go through the highlights of these new features up close. (Kind of like being nose-to-nose with a shark, but you find out it doesn’t have any teeth!)   :-D

“Dive Right In!”

Since you (should) already know how to install software, we’re not going to cover initial information like that in Flash. It can be noted however, that Flash does a better job at installation than Pappy does at “installing” his new reel with fresh line (but, don’t tell him I said that).

Anyway, the point of diving right into the “deep” stuff is so you can see for yourself how easy Action Scripting with Cold Fusion in Flash MX really is!

First, let’s cut to the chase and see what all is new in Flash MX. Even though we’ll mostly cover the CF components in this review, we’ll list all the newest goodies for you designers too!

For Designers:

• Enhancements to the Timeline like better pointer feedback, editing of multiple frames and even folders for organizing layers!
• Edit symbols right in the context of your movie
• Drag and Drop symbols or folders between documents or new library, AND...new... a “Resolve Library Conflict” dialog simplifies adding symbols in a library or document, which contains the same symbol with the same name!
• Better organized work space has put the most used features all in one “Properties Inspector”.
• Import video clips in a variety of formats (whoa)!
• “Distribute to Layers” command
• More!

For Developers:

• Dynamically load jpgs or MP3 files at runtime!
• Improved ActionScript Editor - access the full potential of ActionScript.
• Code hints
• Improved Debugger
• New Drawing API
• Conversion of String, Array and XML!
• More!

For All Users:

• Ability to save Flash MX documents in Flash 5 format allowing for better collaboration!
• Accessible Content - can be seen and heard by persons with disabilities
• Additional Languages support
  (Korean (kahm-sahm-nee-dah)! and Chinese)

Also in this latest version of Flash are some excellent tutorials and sample files (like dynamic forms) that you can use and edit as you need. Very handy!

Now, let’s swim a bit deeper and really see what’s in the ol’ shark’s belly....

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