Solving technology problems, one at a time
If your flash file works correctly when you test the movie in Flash, but not once it is published, check your Publish Settings. While modifying a flashcard example application I downloaded from Flashkit.com, I noticed
Continue readingI had a particularly sticky flash problem where a MovieClip worked perfectly when run on its own, but when loaded into a container clip using a loader, would give:
Error #1056: Cannot create property someProperty on loaded clip myLoadedClip
At first I thought it was some kind of timing problem or failure to declare the items in the clip, but it turned out, simply adding the word dynamic to the class definition fixed the problem. Dynamic classes can have properties added at runtime. The MovieClip class is already dynamic, but apparently, the dynamic property is removed in some other part of my code.
A new security setting in Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 has been causing problems with requests between iframe and parent. There is a security setting in the Internet options called “Navigate sub-frames across different domains”, which in IE6 was set to “Enabled” under Medium security, but is set to “Disabled” in IE7 by default.
An example of the type of communication that is blocked is shown here:
The container page sends a message to Page 1, in Domain A: “Change your location to Page 2”. In IE6, this is not a problem. But in IE 7, it is allowed.
Continue readingIf you want to create widgets that control Captivate files with new functions, other than the standard playbar functions, you will need to develop them in flash. Here’s how to figure out what is going on in a Captivate movie file:
Create a Captivate movie, and publish it (Captivate 2) or export it to Flash (Captivate 3). To create my faster-slower widgets, I had to decompile it into an .fla (I used SWFdecompiler )
Open it in Flash, and start exploring the structure. If you are using version 3, by far the best tool you can use include the “debug movie” command.
Continue readingThe trace() function in flash is used much like alert() in Javascript. You can use it to print the contents of a variable or the result of an expression. For example var theNumber = 2
Continue readingSome examples of using a motion-tweened shape as a particle. Click here to see some variations. This is based on a particle fire example created by Anton Volkov To use, simply drag the symbols from
Continue readingI have a flash file which loads an external SWF (call it external.swf) into the main timeline, on level 10. In this case, using _root or _parent to call the symbols on the main timeline will not work, since _root or _parent would refer to items on _level10.
The main timeline also contains a movie clip called “swapColors_mc” with two frames called “red” and green”.
To control the color change of swapColors_mc by clicking a button in external.swf once it is loaded, open “external.fla” (the original flash file from which external.swf is created) and add this actionscrip to the button:
Continue reading
on (release) {
_level0.swapColors_mc.gotoAndPlay("green");
}
I’ve been working on a simulation of a fire extinguisher in Flash. One necessary feature is the ability for the viewer to aim the end of the hose at different targets. I had seen plenty
Continue readingNewbie Flash Tip #2: you can only test and play your movies after saving them. Why Flash isn’t consistent with Dreamweaver and Fireworks on that point (previewing using a temporary file) I don’t know.
Continue readingFlash experts can skip this, for sure.
OK – this is so I don’t forget again!
The key to getting things to work in Flash is simply: Everything MUST be named!
Every instance, scene beginning, significant frame, movie clip, etc. must have a name, and hopefully one that makes sense to you a week after creating the project.
Continue reading