Flash tip of the day
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- IvI_130
yeah, I know what you are saying karl. I tried that same thing already as well haha.
A simple solution would be to just have all the images in the movieclip sit on top of one another and just have an alpha tween between them instead of a slide in, but fuck that! I want to get this right and figures out properly dammit!
I even tried placing all images on top of one another and changing the _x coordinates onLoad once the movie finished preloading, which I thought for sure would work, but alas as soon as the mc popped on stage it jumps way the fuck out of the 0,0 I want it at! It's maddening I tell you! :D
I guess that why I'm a designer and not an AS guy *shakes fist in air
- funkage0
Don't know if you guys know this, but I was taught of these shortcuts, which come in handy, quite a while back.
Pressing Esc, F, then N in quick succession writes this for you:
function () {
}Pressing Esc, F, then R in quick succession writes this for you:
for () {
}Experiment with different keys to get different stuff.
Esc, S, W gives you switch.
Esc, I, F, gives you an if statement.
Esc, W, H, gives you while.
- NONEIS0
Flash tips of the day.
Never use the timeline.
Never write code in the IDE.
- harlequino0
Gadzooks, this is a useful thread. Bookmarked.
- joyride0
eh... never trust a flash developer that won't develop in the IDE.
Having a balance of timeline and AS makes the best projects IMO
That being said, Flash Develop is a nice tool, but shouldn't be your only tool you use.
- what is Flash Develop?dbloc
- www.flashdevelop.org… PC (for now) based AS scripting editor, it's great for large projects!joyride
- flashDevelop is great, why fuck yourself with the flash IDE?maximillion_
- IvI_130
A question to the guys that are screaming "don't use the timeline": are you designers or developers? I'm assuming the latter, which makes your point a bit moot to guys like me (a designer with basically no dev people to go to at the moment), and to just get the stuff done so it looks good and functions accordingly. No offense of course, but I have had to rebuild so many files from the ground up all because the developer way over complicated things for ease of "the ability to update a site easilly without even opening flash" aka.for the biz guy or project manager to update. When in reality the site is only being updated once or twice a year, and often requires all new creative and layouts anyway.
Meh, what do I know.
- Sorry for the run-on sentences and no appreciation for sentence struture in general. Horrible. My fault.IvI_13
- i went to school for design, but now a Flex Developer... and i always hated the timelineakoni
- i'm with lvl_13 - most flash/flex stuff that passes through here is a one day job! - unless there's a huge project on the go using a development IDE is counter-productive...kingsteven
- development ide is counter-productive...kingsteven
- Designer / Animator here!
Don't use it.NONEIS
- ukit0
Having built sites both way, either is fine. Anyone who has strong feelings about this stuff is spending too much time in front of the computer IMHO:)
- ukit0
Speaking of 3rd party tools, the Gaia Flash Framework is worth checking out.
http://www.gaiaflashframework.co…
Provides a standardized platform for "agency-style" Flash sites, with scaffolding to auto-build your files, deep linking, and build in transition engine.
- www.puremvc.org is also worth a look for project architecture.joyride
- +1 for Gaia and PureMVCakoni
- fyoucher10
Re: Timeline
The timeline has it's uses. If you think using the timeline is pish, then you're really missing out on the capabilities of Flash. Flash isn't only for programming purposes. It's also a tool for animation and visual elements as well, that's why the IDE even has a timeline. If you're just making sites that mimic HTML, yeah....your tweening engines and external AS editors will work fine. But more complex things require the timeline. There's no way for a developer to visualize complex animations using only code, you really need to see it frame by frame, like an After Effects composition. Things like character animation, glass breaking, logo animations, complex screens transitions, and other things that require a true creative eye for motion. Not simple slides, color fades, and all the basic stuff that Tweener and other engines provide. So to put the timeline off to the side is a major mistake. If the project will benefit from timelined animation, then the timeline should be used.
As far as code goes, I agree that it should be in one central location or at least not scattered all over the timeline (although I'll be the first to say that I do that all the time). Whether it's in the IDE or in some external editor shouldn't make a difference. It's still compiled into SWF format.
- joyride0
I see the same issues as lvl, pure code developers almost always overcomplicate things.
And yes, fyoucher, the timeline should be used, many techniques cannot be done as well with pure code. Like i said before, it's a balance, the real trick is knowing how to get the best results.
- Cptn_Uncanny0
If you want to draw pixel art in Flash these are a life saver:
http://www.5etdemi.com/blog/arch…A quick and dirty way to clear out all the info from an array
myArray = [];Hack: If you have something load/appear (like a window) over a bunch of content and want all buttons to be disabled (user can't click on anything under it) then place an invisible button over everything and set it's useHandCursor to false.
- minsukito0
how about making a 'itunes' like cover flow - where u're transforming/distorting images - is it possible without actionscript? and timeline controlled?
- ********0
Users don't know whether you code in the IDE or not.
- GeorgesII0
stop();
can be used in real life and death situation
- ********0
- ********0
I would like to point out that I am not a troll, as this thread shows.
- NONEIS0
If you think that the timeline actually provides you with more control over your animation, you are way off; it provides far less, and takes more time to update / edit.
I am an animator, hardly a developer, and I will never use the timeline again (5 years now?). It might seem easier, but the performance is far worse than what you get with Tweener, it increases your file size, and generally, it just plain sucks as a "timeline" when compared to any other animation program.
I can do anything with Tweener that you can do with the timeline, in a quarter the time, and my code won't dissapear when the FLA goes corrupt. If you think that the Timeline is really more capable than flash at animating things, perhaps you just need to practice practice, because that statement shows a clear lack of understanding of properties, which can all be tweened in code in the exact same way...
- ********0
true scripted animation is superior, but for a lot of effects you need to use the timeline
- fyoucher10
True scripted animation is superior in terms of performance but not creativity. It's impossible for you to visualize those minuscule details in how somethings moves with JUST code. You may be able to generate code from an existing timeline animation, but I'm talking about initial creation and fine tuning.
Not saying Tweener is a bad thing but you just can't add in those subtle details that the timeline can offer (being able to view the animation frame by frame in slow motion, subtle detailed tweaks to movements). Yeah, you can change props over time with Tweener but it's impossible to fine tune small minute details without being able to see what's going on frame by frame. You can't visualize the subtle details in how something will move using just code. Movements look very similar in Tweener too, which is basically dictated by Penner's easing equations. Let's see Tweener do some character animation. Let's see Tweener do some complicated mask effects. It just can't. I love Tweener too. It does save the world. But it has it's limits. Trust me.
- exactly. this is the obvious difference between designers and developers. +1lvl_13
- I love the word impossible used here, certain things should not be done with Flash at all, like a complicated mask. I have been at this for 12 years now, trust me.NONEIS
- at this for 12 years now, trust ME.NONEIS
- You just got out of school in 2004, you have not been using it for 12 years. Cut the shit.fyoucher1
- I started using Flash when I was 16, professionally, cut your shit.NONEIS