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Adobe Flash
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Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a cross-platform multimedia and software platform used to embed animations, video, and interactive applications into web pages and desktop and mobile applications and games. Flash displays text, vector and raster graphics to provide animations, video games and applications. It allows streaming of audio and video, and can capture mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera input. The ActionScript programming language allows creation of interactive animations, video games, web applications, desktop applications and mobile applications.
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I have found that much of my time doing support ends up being a constant repetition of the same steps to different people. Early on I stated using web pages with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to alleviate most of the burden. Sometimes this just wasn't enough. I've played with various different ways of augmenting this over the years and a couple of years back found one solution that topped the rest.
I've tried apps like AviScreenPortable (files were way too large), screencastr (limited time) and screenr (limited time). The best so far has been Wink by Debugmode. The tutorial can be as long as you wish, you can add all sorts of elements, including voiceover. You can also link from either a main menu to other tutorials or from one wink to another. The end product is in interactive flash (swf file) so although it is extremely small in size it cannot be played on devices like an iPad (can't play flash).
In order to make a wink project you first need to download and install wink from the link above. I have tested it on windows xp sp2 and 3, windows 2003 r2 server, and windows 7. Once the program is installed, first start the program you wish to capture, like IE. Start wink and click the first icon - a blank page, to start a new project.
At this point you see the "New Project Wizard"
Make sure "Hide Wink Window" is checked then if you wish to only capture the window …
I've tried apps like AviScreenPortable (files were way too large), screencastr (limited time) and screenr (limited time). The best so far has been Wink by Debugmode. The tutorial can be as long as you wish, you can add all sorts of elements, including voiceover. You can also link from either a main menu to other tutorials or from one wink to another. The end product is in interactive flash (swf file) so although it is extremely small in size it cannot be played on devices like an iPad (can't play flash).
In order to make a wink project you first need to download and install wink from the link above. I have tested it on windows xp sp2 and 3, windows 2003 r2 server, and windows 7. Once the program is installed, first start the program you wish to capture, like IE. Start wink and click the first icon - a blank page, to start a new project.
At this point you see the "New Project Wizard"
Make sure "Hide Wink Window" is checked then if you wish to only capture the window …
1 Comment
While working over numerous projects I often had the requirement for doing a screen capture in AS3.0. Unfortunately I found no "ready made" solutions in google search that suited my requirements. But I did come across some great resources which helped me to develop a component for screen capture, and thought I would share my experience (and code) with you.
With a hope that this will appeal and help someone else out there, I have posted it here:
The Solution :
Below is the Main mxml page developed using Adobe Flash Builder, SDK 4.1, Flash Player version 10.1.0. In this example I am doing a screen capture of the stage.
I have added a video and placed 3 buttons, Record, Stop and Play.
On clicking on the Record button, the recording of the page starts. Once you click on stop, it stops recording.
Then click on Play button to see the recorded version. You may have other things/animations on stage for recording too, I have just tried with an flv.
The recording play is basically bytesArray of an FLV created on run-time. You can save it to your server by passing this binary data to any back-end technology - ASP.Net or PHP, etc.
//Main.mxml
With a hope that this will appeal and help someone else out there, I have posted it here:
The Solution :
Below is the Main mxml page developed using Adobe Flash Builder, SDK 4.1, Flash Player version 10.1.0. In this example I am doing a screen capture of the stage.
I have added a video and placed 3 buttons, Record, Stop and Play.
On clicking on the Record button, the recording of the page starts. Once you click on stop, it stops recording.
Then click on Play button to see the recorded version. You may have other things/animations on stage for recording too, I have just tried with an flv.
The recording play is basically bytesArray of an FLV created on run-time. You can save it to your server by passing this binary data to any back-end technology - ASP.Net or PHP, etc.
//Main.mxml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<s:Application xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
width="955" height="600"
addedToStage="onInit();"
frameRate="24" >
<fx:Script>
<
I have been doing hardcore actionscripting for some time; and needless to say I have faced a lot of problems in just understanding others' code rather than understanding what the code executes. A programmer's life can become hell when there are a lot of developers working together in a team without a consistent framework for terminology.
Each developer uses his/her own way of coding which adds to the complexity in understanding code rather than what the code actually performs. In such scenarios, a guideline will always help a team to work without getting confused on what others have coded previously. From my experience and learning from different articles, I have tried to set up some coding guidelines for any type of ActionScript projects; these guidelines have helped me in my projects till now. The coding standard will help to streamline the Flash/Flex development structure and will lean to better performance of RIA projects. The coding guidelines should be used by any developer doing ActionScript coding.
Added to the Naming Guidelines Article, here is the list of general guidelines for any type of flash actionscripting projects.
These guidelines do not directly improve in the application performance, but definitely make the code proper, easily readable format and indirectly improves development process.
1.01 Copyright notice
Include a copyright notice at the top of every .as file in the framework. The format for the 2010 code copyright is given below.
Each developer uses his/her own way of coding which adds to the complexity in understanding code rather than what the code actually performs. In such scenarios, a guideline will always help a team to work without getting confused on what others have coded previously. From my experience and learning from different articles, I have tried to set up some coding guidelines for any type of ActionScript projects; these guidelines have helped me in my projects till now. The coding standard will help to streamline the Flash/Flex development structure and will lean to better performance of RIA projects. The coding guidelines should be used by any developer doing ActionScript coding.
Added to the Naming Guidelines Article, here is the list of general guidelines for any type of flash actionscripting projects.
These guidelines do not directly improve in the application performance, but definitely make the code proper, easily readable format and indirectly improves development process.
1.01 Copyright notice
Include a copyright notice at the top of every .as file in the framework. The format for the 2010 code copyright is given below.
In my long career of working as an actionscript developer, I had spent sleepless night often working hard to solve some small problems which actually took a lot of my development time; later found out the solutions to be a line or two.
Here are some of the common mistakes and some quick code tricks and snippets I used, which can help other developers avoid sleep-less nights.
Problem/Solution #1
This is an easy mistake to make when new to AS3.
I set up a for loop, to count backwards through an Array. But for some strange reason the loop was never terminating! It was simple, here's the original code:
Problem/Solution #2
Once I needed was a strict abstract class in AS3, again, public only constructors, and the absence of the "abstract" keyword from ActionScript meant a workaround.
Problem/Solution #3
As class constructors in ActionScript 3.0 must be public, there's not a really clean way to force a class to be a singleton as there is in ActionScript 2.0 or Java say.
Here are some of the common mistakes and some quick code tricks and snippets I used, which can help other developers avoid sleep-less nights.
Problem/Solution #1
This is an easy mistake to make when new to AS3.
I set up a for loop, to count backwards through an Array. But for some strange reason the loop was never terminating! It was simple, here's the original code:
var i:uint;
for( i=arr.length-1; i>=0; i-- )
{
}
Problem/Solution #2
Once I needed was a strict abstract class in AS3, again, public only constructors, and the absence of the "abstract" keyword from ActionScript meant a workaround.
package
{
import flash.utils.getDefinitionByName;
import flash.utils.getQualifiedClassName;
public class AbstractExample
{
public function AbstractExample()
{
if( Class( getDefinitionByName( getQualifiedClassName( this ) ) ) == AbstractExample ) throw new Error( 'AbstractExample must be extended' );
// rest of constructor here...
}
}
}
Problem/Solution #3
As class constructors in ActionScript 3.0 must be public, there's not a really clean way to force a class to be a singleton as there is in ActionScript 2.0 or Java say.
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I come across a lot of question about how to access things in the document class from a movieclip, or accessing something from a movieclip in the document class.
It took me a while to figure this out but once I did it makes life so much easier.
By creating a CustomEvent class and placing it in your own utils folder and setting up your AS3 class path, once you import the Custom Event, this is how you'd go about it.
your class would look something like this ...
package whatever.utils //change your package name as required
{
import flash.events.Event;
public class CustomEvent extends Event
{
public static const NOTIFY:String = "notify";
public var data:*;
public function CustomEvent(type:String, data:*, bubbles:Boolean = false, cancelable:Boolean = false){
super(type, bubbles, cancelable);
this.data = data;
}
}
}
to implement
say you have a nested movieclip that when it hits frame 5 you want to execute a function in the document class called callSomething();
when you add the movieclip in your document class
addChild(nameOfMovieClip);
//add the dispatcher
nameOfMovieClip.addEventLi
//note the CustomEvent.NOTIFY part - you can add items in your CustomEvent class
Create a handleNotifyRoot method in your document class
function handleNotifyRoot(e:CustomE
{
trace(e.data.myData.toStri
}
in the movieclip …
It took me a while to figure this out but once I did it makes life so much easier.
By creating a CustomEvent class and placing it in your own utils folder and setting up your AS3 class path, once you import the Custom Event, this is how you'd go about it.
your class would look something like this ...
package whatever.utils //change your package name as required
{
import flash.events.Event;
public class CustomEvent extends Event
{
public static const NOTIFY:String = "notify";
public var data:*;
public function CustomEvent(type:String, data:*, bubbles:Boolean = false, cancelable:Boolean = false){
super(type, bubbles, cancelable);
this.data = data;
}
}
}
to implement
say you have a nested movieclip that when it hits frame 5 you want to execute a function in the document class called callSomething();
when you add the movieclip in your document class
addChild(nameOfMovieClip);
//add the dispatcher
nameOfMovieClip.addEventLi
//note the CustomEvent.NOTIFY part - you can add items in your CustomEvent class
Create a handleNotifyRoot method in your document class
function handleNotifyRoot(e:CustomE
{
trace(e.data.myData.toStri
}
in the movieclip …
Thanks for your feedback Jakob - much appreciated by all of us I'm sure.
When I first started with AS3 I couldn't figure out how to achieve this and eventually arrived at this solution which worked well for me thus far. I should have mentioned it's how I do it but not necessarily the best way. Usually in the posts I do that but I was repeating myself so many times that I ended up doing this article.
1. explain #1 to me please
2. the get/set option sounds familiar from my Java days. My OOP knowledge and experience is limited.
3. making data null optional would make this much more generic thus better I agree.
4. why?explain.
When I first started with AS3 I couldn't figure out how to achieve this and eventually arrived at this solution which worked well for me thus far. I should have mentioned it's how I do it but not necessarily the best way. Usually in the posts I do that but I was repeating myself so many times that I ended up doing this article.
1. explain #1 to me please
2. the get/set option sounds familiar from my Java days. My OOP knowledge and experience is limited.
3. making data null optional would make this much more generic thus better I agree.
4. why?explain.
Hi Blue-Genie,
The reason why I like the whatever.events namespace structure
is that it matches the one used by flash - making it easier to remember.
import flash.events.Event
import whatever.events.CustomEvent
About the clone and toString overrides:
Event.clone() is used when re-dispatching an event (dispatchEvent(e)). If you don't add
all the properties then the properties of the re-dispatched event won't have the right values
when listeners handle the re-dispatched event. In our case data will be lost.
An example:
// Add two listeners:
stage.addEventListener(Cus
button.addEventListener(Cu
// Dispatch the CustomEvent on the first
stage.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(CustomEvent.NO
private function firstDispatchHandler(e:Cus
trace("First: "+e.data.name) // traces "John Doe"
// Re-dispatch event to the second listener
dispatchEvent(e)
}
private function secondDispatchHandler(e:Cu
trace("Second: "e.data.name)
// Without the clone override you'll get an error:
// TypeError: Error #1034: Type Coercion failed: cannot convert
// flash.events::Event@54122a
}
Event.toString() is not required but I find it useful when unsure about what properties is
passed thru the event.
If you don't override Event.toString() tracing your CustomEvent will show:
[Event type="notify" bubbles=false cancelable=true eventPhase=2]
When overriding you'll get this:
[CustomEvent type="notify" data=[object Object] bubbles=false cancelable=true eventPhase=2]
Now we know that the event is a CustomEvent with a data property (in this case an object).
Tracing events becomes even more useful when dealing with more "advanced" types - like the MouseEvent:
[MouseEvent type="mouseOver" bubbles=true cancelable=false eventPhase=2 localX=38 localY=41 stageX=265.95
stageY=123 relatedObject=null ctrlKey=false altKey=false shiftKey=false buttonDown=false delta=0]
Hope it makes sense :)
Best,
Jakob E
This is intended to introduce all collision detection principles in flash, their strengths, weaknesses and workarounds. The main method for Collision Detection in flash is using hitTestObject. But unless you'll be pushing rectangular shapes without any rotation into each other, it won't do much work. It's mainly oriented to flash game developers, but anyone who bumps stuff in flash can find use of it.
But what if you rotate the rectangles or replace them with circles or any other irregular shape? Let's try.
…
1. hitTestObject
Simple and Easy Its strength-it's light and doesn't really require much math and as such is barely noticeable processor-wise. This means you can have many objects using this hitTest-ing at frame rate. It's weakness-it's mostly useless on its own.Let's take a look at some examples.First,let's start with two rectangular shapes and push them together.A new file,two rectangles converted to symbols,given instance names of rect1 and rect2 and a dynamic text field named txt_hit.Frame 1 gets this code:stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE, rectMove);
stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, hitTest);
function rectMove(event:MouseEvent)
{
rect1.x = mouseX;
rect1.y = mouseY;
}
function hitTest(event:Event)
{
if(rect1.hitTestObject(rect2))
{
txt_hit.text = "HIT!";
}
else
{
txt_hit.text = "";
}
}
Crackpack,
This seems like a quality and useful Article, so I didn't mind going beyond the scope of my usual review, in order to make some helpful comments.
1. Check the following for typo's or spelling. (something I always point out)
"t's mainly oriented to flash game..."
"Depending on how much presion..."
Use of the following suggestions is up to you. I think you have a very interesting and helpful article, but it's "headlines" won't grab as much searcher attention as it could.
2. See tips to title and first sentence at http://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/Community_Support/Article_Tips/SEO-Tips-for-Articles.html
I suggest deleting the first sentence and rearranging the first paragraph, as follows:
"This is intended to introduce all collision detection principles in flash, their strengths, weaknesses and workarounds. The main method for Collision Detection in flash is using hitTestObject. But unless you'll be pushing rectangular shapes without any rotation into each other, it won't do much work. It's mainly oriented to flash game developers, but anyone who bumps stuff in flash can find use of it."
If there are there more "key words" you want to insert in the title or first sentence then do so. For example, do you want use the word "shapes" and say "code examples in the either the title and/or first sentence?
I'm keeping this to Author Review so can edit it. Let me know when you are ready to go, and I will change it to Published.
This seems like a quality and useful Article, so I didn't mind going beyond the scope of my usual review, in order to make some helpful comments.
1. Check the following for typo's or spelling. (something I always point out)
"t's mainly oriented to flash game..."
"Depending on how much presion..."
Use of the following suggestions is up to you. I think you have a very interesting and helpful article, but it's "headlines" won't grab as much searcher attention as it could.
2. See tips to title and first sentence at http://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/Community_Support/Article_Tips/SEO-Tips-for-Articles.html
I suggest deleting the first sentence and rearranging the first paragraph, as follows:
"This is intended to introduce all collision detection principles in flash, their strengths, weaknesses and workarounds. The main method for Collision Detection in flash is using hitTestObject. But unless you'll be pushing rectangular shapes without any rotation into each other, it won't do much work. It's mainly oriented to flash game developers, but anyone who bumps stuff in flash can find use of it."
If there are there more "key words" you want to insert in the title or first sentence then do so. For example, do you want use the word "shapes" and say "code examples in the either the title and/or first sentence?
I'm keeping this to Author Review so can edit it. Let me know when you are ready to go, and I will change it to Published.
I know the transition can be hard. We got used to the ease of use ActionScript 2 had, but honestly, it became problematic later on, especially if designers were involved in the project and found it easy to add code as they saw fit.
So, this article takes the basic operations we all did in AS2 and brings them to AS3.
So what happened to my on(release) or something.onRelease statements?
The on(EVENT) clause was an AS1 relic, but AS2 kept it for backwards functionality. The biggest problem with this is that it made the code appear all over the project and finding it could prove to be a big challenge. The Object.ONEVENT clause proved to be better but people could still define the function afterwards and if it was big enough it could be difficult to read the code.
For AS3, we need listener objects, the listener objects are "listening" to the object they are assigned to, waiting for them to execute an event. If the listener is expecting a certain type of event, it will fire the function assigned to it.
Undefined Variables?
AS2 was extremely forgiving. You could not define any variable and the code would still work. This was useful but was also a nightmare when a project grew too much. It's not the case anymore for AS3, where you must define the variable and it's type (although, there's still the wildcard "*" for any type).
So, this article takes the basic operations we all did in AS2 and brings them to AS3.
So what happened to my on(release) or something.onRelease statements?
The on(EVENT) clause was an AS1 relic, but AS2 kept it for backwards functionality. The biggest problem with this is that it made the code appear all over the project and finding it could prove to be a big challenge. The Object.ONEVENT clause proved to be better but people could still define the function afterwards and if it was big enough it could be difficult to read the code.
//AS1
on(release) {
trace(this); //would return _level0.myButton (or _level0.instanceXX if it didn't have a name)
}
//AS2
myButton.onRelease = function() {
trace(this); //would return something like _level0.myButton
}
For AS3, we need listener objects, the listener objects are "listening" to the object they are assigned to, waiting for them to execute an event. If the listener is expecting a certain type of event, it will fire the function assigned to it.
//AS3
myButton.buttonMode = true; //makes the cursor a hand, otherwise it shows the default arrow
myButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, buttonPressed);
function buttonPressed(event:MouseEvent):void {
trace(event.currentTarget); //returns "[Object MovieClip]"
trace(event.currentTarget.name); //returns "myButton"
}
Undefined Variables?
AS2 was extremely forgiving. You could not define any variable and the code would still work. This was useful but was also a nightmare when a project grew too much. It's not the case anymore for AS3, where you must define the variable and it's type (although, there's still the wildcard "*" for any type).
Adobe Flash
29K
Solutions
13K
Contributors
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a cross-platform multimedia and software platform used to embed animations, video, and interactive applications into web pages and desktop and mobile applications and games. Flash displays text, vector and raster graphics to provide animations, video games and applications. It allows streaming of audio and video, and can capture mouse, keyboard, microphone and camera input. The ActionScript programming language allows creation of interactive animations, video games, web applications, desktop applications and mobile applications.
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