Categories
AS3 AS3 migration Flash

From AS2 to AS3 – Where did it go – attachSound

Where did attachSound go in AS3?

It’s almost the same as attachMovie (I already covered attachMovie: read attachMovie post)

I was never very good in sound, and I didn’t use it a lot in my applications/animations. That changed with my new job. But for the people that remember attachSound in AS2, this is how its done in AS3…

This post is only handy when you link sound from the library, both AS2 and AS3. Dynamically loaded sound (MP3) is another story.

What has the ActionScript 2.0 Migration to say about this subject:

ActionScript 2.0  ActionScript 3.0  Comments
attachSound() Method Removed Create an instance of a Sound subclass that is associated with sound data; for example, by using new Sound() instead.

And I say again: Removed… wtf? ๐Ÿ˜‰

In AS2 it will work like this:

Categories
Uncategorized

FlashDevelop 3.0.0 Beta8 released

I normally don’t regurgitate information of the internet, but this is a program that I use every day.

First I worked with SE|PY, but that project never made it to AS3…. sadly, I really loved that program and one of the reason was that it was build in python and so it was possible to run on OSX, Linux and Windows.
When I started to program AS3, I needed a tool to help me code nicely: FlashDevelop. It runs on .NET so it works only on Windows, but I love this program!

So here a little info from its creator (Mika):

This release is long overdue but there were a few issues that we wanted to resolve and then there were summer vacations… ๐Ÿ™‚
There are quite a lot of new features and really nice stability improvements, we hope that all of you enjoy this release!

Read more about this release.

Categories
AS3 Extending Flash Flash

Shape 2 Array jsfl

For a project of mine: Custmm Grumm I needed to change a shape into an array, you could say that I needed to change a Illustrator/vector file into code.

As far as I know there is no other method then the one I created here with jsfl.

To make this happen I imported the .AI file (Illustrator) to the stage.
Flash import screen

This JSFL files has some restrictions, you can read it in the comments:

this script only works under certain conditions:
– everything that is selected must be shapes, if not, this doesn’t work (select all and ctrl+b (break))
– every shape has to be in a different layer, otherwise the script see it as one shape

The result of this jsfl is not always what you expect…
sometimes geometric shapes like squares/rectangles/triangles are all f#$%ed-up (it looks like curves are made to opposite corners)
I have no solution for that in this jsfl (in the code), it seems that Flash ‘reads’ the shape wrong (or in the wrong order)…
But you could try:

  • I used the straighten tool which worked in one case, but not in the other
  • rotated a square 90 degrees
  • both solutions

I’m not making an install file, so if you want to try this script you need to copy it in the correct directory (I’m sorry for the OsX users: I have no idea, but if you do, place a comment)
Windows (on my computer): C:\Documents and Settings\[here you name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Flash CS3\en\Configuration\Commands

here is the JSFL (if you need to give it a name; I have a suggestion: “[mck] shape2array 2.jsfl”)

/**
*
* this script only works under certain conditions:
*		- everything that is selected must be shapes, if not, this doesn't work (select all and ctrl+b (break))
* 		- every shape has to be in a different layer, otherwise the script see it as one shape 
*
* The result of this jsfl is not always what you expect...
* 		sometimes geometric shapes like squares/rectangles/triangles are all f#$%ed-up (it looks like curves are made to opposite corners)
* 		I have no solution for that in this jsfl (in the code), it seems that Flash 'reads' the shape wrong (or in the wrong order)... 
*		But you could try: 	- I used the straighten tool which worked in one case, but not in the other 
*						- rotated a square 90 degrees 
*						- both solutions 
*
*
* 
* based upon 		http://ericlin2.tripod.com/bugwire/bugwiret.html
* and			http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/main/wwhelp/wwhimpl/common/html/wwhelp.htm?context=LiveDocs_Parts&file=00003869.html
*
* <pre>
*  ____                   _      ____
* |  __| _ __ ___    ___ | | __ |__  |
* | |   | '_ ` _ \  / __|| |/ /    | |
* | |   | | | | | || (__ |   <     | |
* | |__ |_| |_| |_| \___||_|\_\  __| |
* |____|                        |____|
*
* </pre>
*
*
* @author			Matthijs C. Kamstra [mck]
* @version		1.1
* @since			10:00 5-5-2008
*
* Changelog:
* 		v1.1 [2008-05-09] - test movie after use of this jsfl
* 		v1.0 [2008-05-05] - Initial release
*
*
*/
var currentVersion = '1.1';

fl.trace ('[mck] shape2Array :: version ' + currentVersion);

// with a shape selected
var ptArray = [];
var doneEdge = [];
var exportString = 'var shapeArrayz:Array = new Array ();\n';
var selectionNumber = 0;

// fl.trace("// start ---------------------------");
function isDrawn(id) {
	for (var k = 0; k<doneEdge.length; k++) {
		if (doneEdge[k] == id) {
			return true;
		}
	}
	return false;
}


sel = fl.getDocumentDOM().selection;
for (var n = 0; n < sel.length; n++) {

	exportString += 'shapeArrayz['+n+'] = [';
	selectionNumber = sel.length;
	
	var elt = sel[n];
	if (elt.elementType != 'shape') {
		continue;
	}
	elt.beginEdit();
	for (i=0; i<elt.contours.length; i++) {
		var cont = elt.contours[i];
		var he = cont.getHalfEdge();
		var startId = he.id;
		var id = 0;
		while (id != startId) {
			var ed = he.getEdge();
			if (!isDrawn(ed.id)) {
				doneEdge.push(ed.id);
				for (var j = 0; j<3; j++) {
					var pt = ed.getControl(j);
					ptArray.push(pt.x, pt.y , j);
					exportString += '[' + pt.x + ',' + pt.y + ',' + j + '] , ';
				}
			}
			he = he.getNext();
			id = he.id;
		}
	}
	elt.endEdit();
	exportString += '];\n';
}
// fl.trace(ptArray);
// fl.trace("// end ---------------------------");


// I'm a lazy bastard, so paste the code in the as layer
// create or place code in 'as' layer
var tl = fl.getDocumentDOM().getTimeline();
if (tl.findLayerIndex("as") == undefined){
	tl.addNewLayer('as', 'normal' , true); 
} else {
	tl.currentLayer = tl.findLayerIndex("as")[0];
}
tl.layers[tl.currentLayer].frames[0].actionScript = exportString.split('] , ];').join(']];') + "\n";

// The following example tests the movie for the current document:
fl.getDocumentDOM().testMovie(); // if you don't want to export to swf after the jsfl is ready, comment this line


// end jsfl

It will create a layer named ‘as’ where the array will be placed that will look something like this:

var shapeArrayz:Array = new Array ();
shapeArrayz[0] = [[20.05,169.5,0] , [62.425,169.5,1] , [104.8,169.5,2] , [104.8,169.5,0] , [104.8,211.85,1] , [104.8,254.2,2] , [104.8,254.2,0] , [62.425,254.2,1] , [20.05,254.2,2] , [20.05,254.2,0] , [20.05,211.85,1] , [20.05,169.5,2]];
shapeArrayz[1] = [[189.55,0,0] , [189.55,42.35,1] , [189.55,84.7,2] , [189.55,84.7,0] , [147.175,84.7,1] , [104.8,84.7,2] , [104.8,84.7,0] , [104.8,42.35,1] , [104.8,0,2] , [104.8,0,0] , [147.175,0,1] , [189.55,0,2]];
shapeArrayz[2] = [[189.55,169.45,0] , [231.9,169.45,1] , [274.25,169.45,2] , [274.25,169.45,0] , [274.25,211.8,1] , [274.25,254.15,2] , [274.25,254.15,0] , [231.9,254.15,1] , [189.55,254.15,2] , [189.55,254.15,0] , [189.55,211.8,1] , [189.55,169.45,2]];
shapeArrayz[3] = [[189.55,84.7,0] , [189.55,127.075,1] , [189.55,169.45,2] , [189.55,169.45,0] , [147.175,169.45,1] , [104.8,169.45,2] , [104.8,169.45,0] , [104.8,127.075,1] , [104.8,84.7,2] , [104.8,84.7,0] , [147.175,84.7,1] , [189.55,84.7,2]];
shapeArrayz[4] = [[104.8,169.45,0] , [147.175,169.45,1] , [189.55,169.45,2] , [189.55,169.45,0] , [189.55,211.8,1] , [189.55,254.15,2] , [189.55,254.15,0] , [147.175,254.15,1] , [104.8,254.15,2] , [104.8,254.15,0] , [104.8,211.8,1] , [104.8,169.45,2]];
shapeArrayz[5] = [[104.8,338.95,0] , [104.8,296.55,1] , [104.8,254.15,2] , [104.8,254.15,0] , [147.175,254.15,1] , [189.55,254.15,2] , [189.55,254.15,0] , [189.55,296.55,1] , [189.55,338.95,2] , [189.55,338.95,0] , [147.175,338.95,1] , [104.8,338.95,2]];
shapeArrayz[6] = [[274.25,169.5,0] , [284.275,179.5,1] , [294.3,189.5,2] , [294.3,189.5,0] , [294.3,211.9,1] , [294.3,234.3,2] , [294.3,234.3,0] , [294.275,234.3,1] , [294.25,234.3,2] , [294.25,234.3,0] , [284.325,244.25,1] , [274.4,254.2,2] , [274.4,254.2,0] , [274.325,254.2,1] , [274.25,254.2,2] , [274.25,254.2,0] , [274.25,211.85,1] , [274.25,169.5,2]];
shapeArrayz[7] = [[0.1,189.45,0] , [10.1,179.45,1] , [20.1,169.45,2] , [20.15,254.2,0] , [20.125,211.825,1] , [20.1,169.45,2] , [20.15,254.2,0] , [20.1,254.2,1] , [20.05,254.2,2] , [20.05,254.2,0] , [10.025,244.2,1] , [0,234.2,2] , [0,234.2,0] , [0.05,211.825,1] , [0.1,189.45,2]];
shapeArrayz[8] = [[124.85,359,0] , [114.825,349,1] , [104.8,339,2] , [189.55,338.85,0] , [147.175,338.925,1] , [104.8,339,2] , [189.55,338.85,0] , [189.55,338.925,1] , [189.55,339,2] , [189.55,339,0] , [179.6,349.05,1] , [169.65,359.1,2] , [169.65,359.1,0] , [147.25,359.05,1] , [124.85,359,2]];
shapeArrayz[9] = [[274.25,254.15,0] , [274.25,254.2,1] , [274.25,254.25,2] , [274.25,254.25,0] , [264.3,264.275,1] , [254.35,274.3,2] , [254.35,274.3,0] , [231.975,274.3,1] , [209.6,274.3,2] , [209.6,274.3,0] , [199.575,264.25,1] , [189.55,254.2,2] , [189.55,254.2,0] , [231.9,254.175,1] , [274.25,254.15,2]];
shapeArrayz[10] = [[104.8,254.15,0] , [104.8,254.2,1] , [104.8,254.25,2] , [104.8,254.25,0] , [94.85,264.275,1] , [84.9,274.3,2] , [84.9,274.3,0] , [62.525,274.3,1] , [40.15,274.3,2] , [40.15,274.3,0] , [30.125,264.25,1] , [20.1,254.2,2] , [20.1,254.2,0] , [62.45,254.175,1] , [104.8,254.15,2]];
shapeArrayz[11] = [[189.6,169.5,0] , [199.625,159.475,1] , [209.65,149.45,2] , [209.65,149.45,0] , [232.025,149.45,1] , [254.4,149.45,2] , [254.4,149.45,0] , [254.4,149.475,1] , [254.4,149.5,2] , [254.4,149.5,0] , [264.325,159.475,1] , [274.25,169.45,2] , [274.25,169.45,0] , [274.25,169.5,1] , [274.25,169.55,2] , [189.6,169.5,0] , [231.925,169.525,1] , [274.25,169.55,2]];
shapeArrayz[12] = [[20.15,169.5,0] , [30.175,159.475,1] , [40.2,149.45,2] , [40.2,149.45,0] , [62.55,149.45,1] , [84.9,149.45,2] , [84.9,149.45,0] , [84.9,149.475,1] , [84.9,149.5,2] , [84.9,149.5,0] , [94.85,159.475,1] , [104.8,169.45,2] , [104.8,169.45,0] , [104.8,169.5,1] , [104.8,169.55,2] , [20.15,169.5,0] , [62.475,169.525,1] , [104.8,169.55,2]];

And if you need some help to convert this Array into a Flash generated shape ?
here is some code that could help you (AS3):

// draw the new extracted image
function drawArray (_arr:Array) {
	// trace ("drawArray ");
	var _shape:Shape = new Shape();
	_shape.graphics.lineStyle (1, 0x333333, 1);
	_shape.graphics.beginFill (0xcccccc);
	_shape.graphics.moveTo (_arr[0][0], _arr[0][1]); // starting point
	for (var i=1; i<=_arr.length; i+=3) {
		_shape.graphics.curveTo (_arr[i][0], _arr[i][1] , _arr[i+1][0], _arr[i+1][1]);
		// _shape.graphics.lineTo (_arr[i+1][0], _arr[i+1][1]);
	}
	_shape.graphics.endFill ();
	this.drawContainer_mc.addChild (_shape);
}

// jumpstart everything
function init (){	
	for (var j=0; j<shapeArrayz.length; j++) {
		// trace(shapeArrayz[j])
		drawArray (shapeArrayz[j]);
	}
}
init ();

have fun ๐Ÿ™‚

Categories
AS3 AS3 migration Flash

From AS2 to AS3 – Where did it go – attachMovie

Where did attachMovie go in AS3?

Once I started using attachMovie instead duplicateMovieClip my AS2 life became a lot easier.

What has the ActionScript 2.0 Migration to say about this subject:

ActionScript 2.0  ActionScript 3.0  Comments
attachMovie() Method Removed In ActionScript 3.0, use addChild() to add child display objects.

Removed… wtf? and you can read the documentation till you are old and gray, but you won’t find a answer there.

In AS2 I know 3 ways to attach a movie to the stage:

Categories
AS3 AS3 migration Flash Open source / Freeware

From AS2 to AS3 – Where did it go – setRGB

Update #1: It seems that .setRGB () has been deprecated in favor of the flash.geom.ColorTransform class. So a little as2 update.

In some cases I can’t help thinking that AS3 hasn’t made our live easier.
The same happened with the change that happened from the AS2 setRGB to AS3.

Specifies an RGB color for a Color object.

setRGB

This is what the ActionScript 2.0 Migration has to say about this:

ActionScript 2.0 ActionScript 3.0 Comments
setRGB() Method flash.geom.ColorTransform.color The RGB color value can be set by using the color accessor property of the ColorTransform class.

ActionScript 2 example code:
[as]
// AS2 Code
var my_color:Color = new Color(my_mc);
my_color.setRGB(0xFF0000); // my_mc turns red
[/as]

Another AS2 example because: “The Color class has been deprecated in favor of the flash.geom.ColorTransform class.”
[as]
// AS2 Code (The Color class has been deprecated in favor of the flash.geom.ColorTransform class.)
import flash.geom.ColorTransform;

var colorTrans:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
colorTrans.rgb = 0xFF0000;
var trans:Transform = new Transform( my_mc);
trans.colorTransform = colorTrans;[/as]

and the same code in ActionScript 3:
[as]
// AS3 code
import flash.geom.ColorTransform;

// Changes my_mc’s color to red.
var newColorTransform:ColorTransform = my_mc.transform.colorTransform;
newColorTransform.color = 0xff0000;
my_mc.transform.colorTransform = newColorTransform;
[/as]

More code to write, for something that I don’t use very much. The next time I need to change an Objects color I probably need to search the solution on the web…

No, I going to fix this in a neat little package:
Save this file into: ‘nl.matthijskamstra.utils’
[as]
/**
* Color (AS3), version 1.0
*
* Enter description here
*
*

*  ____                   _      ____ 
* |  __| _ __ ___    ___ | | __ |__  |
* | |   | '_ ` _ \  / __|| |/ /    | |
* | |   | | | | | || (__ |   <     | |
* | |__ |_| |_| |_| \___||_|\_\  __| |
* |____|                        |____|
* 
* 

*
* @class : Color
* @author : Matthijs C. Kamstra [mck]
* @version : 1.0 - class creation (AS3)
* @since : 11-5-2008 0:22
*
*/
package nl.matthijskamstra.utils {

import flash.display.*;
import flash.events.*;
import flash.geom.ColorTransform;

public class Color {

// Constants:
public static var CLASS_REF = nl.matthijskamstra.utils.Color;
public static var CLASS_NAME : String = "Color";
public static var LINKAGE_ID : String = "nl.matthijskamstra.utils.Color";

/**
* Constructor
*
* @usage import nl.matthijskamstra.utils.Color; // import
* var __Color:Color = new Color ( this );
* @param $targetObj a reference to a movie clip or object
*/
public function Color( $targetObj:DisplayObject=null, $colorValue:uint = 0xff3333) {
// trace ( LINKAGE_ID + ' class instantiated');
if ($targetObj == null) { return; }
var newColorTransform:ColorTransform = $targetObj.transform.colorTransform;
newColorTransform.color = $colorValue;
$targetObj.transform.colorTransform = newColorTransform;
}

//////////////////////////////////////// Static ///////////////////////////////////////

static public function setRGB( $targetObj:DisplayObject = null, $colorValue:uint = 0xff3333) {
return new Color ( $targetObj, $colorValue);
}

} // end class

} // end package
[/as]

And now I hope you will never have to look for it again
Happy AS3 ๐Ÿ˜‰

Categories
Design Flash Open source / Freeware

Print 2 PDF

I have been using this for some time now: sometimes you need to export something generated in Flash to a (vector) file. Another name for this post could be: Flash2PDF, Flash to PDF, SWF2PDF, SWF to PDF, Export2PDF, Export to PDF….. you catch my drift ๐Ÿ™‚
And the solution is very simple: just print a .PDF!

What is PDF?

Portable Document Format (PDF) lets you capture and view robust informationโ€”from any application, on any computer system.

from the creators: Adobe

Read the explanation from wikipedia

How does it work?

Windows
You need to download (and install) a program: PDFCreator. PDFCreator is opensource: which means a lot, but the only thing you need to know for now is that it’s free.

PDFCreator is a free tool to create PDF files from nearly any Windows application.

After you install it, you can print PDF files from every program: print a document, choose the printer with the name “PDF Creator” and print.
Print screen PDF Creator

Mac OSX
Apple doesn’t need a special program for that; it’s already build in: read more about that here
(can’t tell you much about Mac… I own one, but it’s old so I don’t work on it anymore)

Categories
AS3 Custmm Grumm Grumm Urban papercraft

Custmm Grumm – Selection tool

Custmm Grumm is a project that I will be working on in my spare time.
I will try to build a online tool for creating custom skins and modifying a Grumm.
It’s will be created in Flash (AS3).

The first research I did is selection, and how it works with shapes.
What it does:

  • select an item with one click
  • select an item by dragging (mouse down, mouse up)
  • select multiple items with dragging

What it doesn’t do:

  • shift add a selected item to the current selected items
  • shift click/drag deselect items

A direct link to the file: selectionTool v01

Categories
AS3 Custmm Grumm Grumm Urban papercraft

Custmm Grumm – The project

This will be my most ambitious project in my spare time: Custmm Grumm!

Custmm Grumm

What is Custmm Grumm?

When I created Grumm, I had no plans with the moody fellow. But after I got invited to participate in a book about papertoys I started to think about the future of papertoys (and Grumm).

Two of those thoughts about the future is the base of this project: you should be able to modify/create a papermodel without expensive software or specialized knowledge.

Papertoys are, more then vinyl toys, difficult to customize. You need knowledge of image or vector programs link Photoshop or Illustrator. Besides the knowledge of these programs, you also need the program them selfs, which is not cheap. Another bump in customizing is the flat version of the model: the simple papertoys are not that difficult to understand, but the more complex models with more parts, it’s difficult to know which part goes where and how it will look.
It would be nice that you could create a custom skin and modify the model yourself.

Creating a custom skin for a model is done before: papercritters but modifying the model to isn’t.

I will try to make Custmm Grumm in Flash (AS3) so that it’s possible to create a custom skin and modify the model (with some restrictions of course)…

I had a discussion about this project on Nice Paper Toys if you want to know some more about the rocky start of this project.

Categories
AS3

AS2 to AS3: get all objects in a movieclip

Sometimes you want a list of everything inside a movieclip. For example: you want to know the instance names of every movie in the root.

ActionScript 2

A little trick that I used a lot in AS2 is:

for(var i in _root){
   trace('key: ' + i + ', value: ' + _root[i]);
}

or

for(var i in target_mc){
   trace('key: ' + i + ', value: ' + target_mc[i]);
}

to find out which movies are in target_mc

It was not only a trick to trace everything, I also used it to reset movieclips (place them outside the stage, or delete them) or quickly make buttons out of them:

for(var i in target_mc){
	target_mc[i].id = i;
	target_mc[i].onRelease = function (){
		trace ("id = " + this.id); // onRelease the id will be called (the name of the movie)
	};
}

ActionScript 3

But in AS3 this doesn’t work any more!
And I know: AS3 should make my life easier…. well if I see the solution to the problem created by AS3, I have to disagree!

for (var i:uint = 0; i < target_mc.numChildren; i++){
	trace ('\t|\t ' +i+'.\t name:' + target_mc.getChildAt(i).name + '\t type:' + typeof (target_mc.getChildAt(i))+ '\t' + target_mc.getChildAt(i));
}

In AS3 you first have to get the "number of children" (numChildren) in a DisplayObjectContainer, then you have to say which child you want (getChildAt(i))...
A good thing about AS3 is, you get everything in a movieClip, even shapes you made there without a instance name.

I'm glad that I work with FlashDevelop, which has snippets so I don't have to type this constantly!

(For the people that use FlashDevelop too, here is my snippet:)

// $(Clipboard)is a DisplayObject
trace ('+ number of DisplayObject: ' + $(Clipboard).numChildren + '  --------------------------------');
for (var i:uint = 0; i < $(Clipboard).numChildren; i++){
	trace ('\t|\t ' +i+'.\t name:' + $(Clipboard).getChildAt(i).name + '\t type:' + typeof ($(Clipboard).getChildAt(i))+ '\t' + $(Clipboard).getChildAt(i));
}
trace ('\t+ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------');
Categories
AS3 AS3 migration Flash

From AS2 to AS3 – Where did it go – onRelease

Last year I started working with AS3, and after having some startup problems, I’ve made my first application in it (not online yet).
The strange thing is, I started a new project and when I had to make a button from a movieclip, I immediately wrote it in AS2… ๐Ÿ™

That AS2 is embedded deep into my brain and probably more people have this problem.
So I started this series of post about the stuff that’s changed in from AS2 to AS3.

I will probably regurgitate what other people already wrote something about, but it’s my “travel” trough AS3 land.

onRelease

One of things I use in every application that I build is onRelease.

This is what the ActionScript 2.0 Migration has to say about this:

ActionScript 2.0 ActionScript 3.0 Comments
onRelease() EventHandler flash.display.InteractiveObject dispatches event: mouseUp Replaced in the new event model by a mouseUp event.

In AS2 I know 3 ways to use it: