another Flash MX 2004 wallet-loosener

4. Custom tools

I've only had a brief play with this, but its one of the things that makes you say "wow!" when you realise what you can do with it. To create a custom tool, you make a jsfl file (containing a JSAPI script, the javascript language that can be used to script the IDE) and define handlers for different events such as mouse events or to initialise the tool. You can write an XML configuration file, so that you can have a custom settings panel to go with it.

JSAPI can also be used to create your own reusable timeline effects or to perform common tasks. For example, I made a custom command to add a new timeline layer (two lines of JSAPI code). Although that sounds useless, it actually allows me to assign the command to a keyboard shortcut, which wasn't possible before.

more nice little things about Flash MX 2004

2. Streaming emulation in the bandwidth profiler

The bandwidth profiler will now emulate the time it takes for movies, video, audio, XML and any other data to load.

3. No need for #include or #initclip

Flash now just notices that you are using a class and looks to see if it can find it in one of your classpaths. It intelligently knows not to include the same class twice. All the classes are declared globally, at the start of your movie. The compiler works out which classes depend on each other for you, so out with #initclip! The compiler even saves on compile time, by storing the compiled class in a file and and re-using it until you change the original.

some stuff I like about Flash MX Pro 2004

Since I really am busy at the moment, I thought of a way to post reasonably regularly and informatively without much thought. I'm going to try to tell you about one feature of Flash MX Pro 2004, that I really like, each day...

1. new getter/setter syntax in classes

You probably know by now that Flash 2004 supports class declarations in an improved version of AS, known as AS2, based on te ECMA v4 spec. Macromedia have added this nice feature, which lets you create a getter/setter property without having to use the awkward addProperty method.

// declare a new class 
  class MyClass { 
 
     // constructor 
     function MyClass () { 
     } 
 
     // declare a getter
     public function get x () : Number { 
       return __x; 
     } 
 
     // declare a setter 
     public function set x (value:Number) { 
       __x = value; 
     } 
 
     // declare the internal property 
     private var __x:Number; 
 
  } 


before you pre-order Flash MX 2004, there's something you should know...

You probably already know the benfits of pre-ordering; you get a one-off numbered t-shirt; you get it as soon as it is released; you feel smug and important; while everybody else is downloading you can be playing with your new best friend. But did you know the benefits to me of pre-ordering by clicking the link from my site? No? Then I'll explain. By going through that link i will get a small piece of Macromedia's pie. It will make up for the fact that three people ever have donated to peterjoel.com (btw thanks guys).

So go on, get pre-ordering!

Flash MX 2004 announced

Today Macromedia announced Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX 2004. For fear that even the slightest display of enthusiasm could rapidly build into a very un-British display of exuberance, I am staying deliberately passive on the subject. I'm calm. It's just another day...

update: Ok, so I'm a little excited.

update: woohoo!