From now on all tutorials will be found at www.thornyeternity.com (in the Downloads secion).
The ActionScript 3 guides will be in pdf format only, doing an html version takes too long and the formatting is a pain.
Photoshop tutorials will move (and hopefully multiply) there shortly.
ActionScript 3 basics in plain speak, for those coming from earlier versions of Flash. And who still like to use Flash not Flex or some other tool. And who are not programmers.
[Download a pdf version of this document]
Part 3
‘Object’ classes and creating new items with code.
duplicateMovieClip and attachMovie no longer exist. Neither does createEmptyMovieClip.
The downside of these were, mainly, the stacking order. Managing depth – or using getNextHighestDepth, became very cumbersome. Adding ‘new (instance) names’ for them also became tiresome.
The new method allows for a lot of dynamic control over what and how these new movie clips or sprites will behave. I am here talking to designers who want to have movie clips in the Library that are called by code when needed.
For now, I will not be looking at drawing object with code, nor using components. The word object refers to many things – color, date, etc. Here I am limiting the topic to good old Movie Clips.
We will need to consider 3 things for adding new movie clips to our movies.
1. Class Definitions
All things in Flash have classes attached to them. Strings and Math have pre-built Flash classes, and as we have seen in some cases we need to import the classes in order to extend their usage in the movie we are working on; and in some cases it is a ‘top level’ class that is automatically included into any Flash movie.
Although Flash now gives one a great deal more error outputs if code is not correct – at times very helpful, at time very obscure - it handles classes in what I find to be a very peculiar fashion.
[Here’s an interesting if typically long-winded article by Colin Moock which covers error messages, amongst other things: http://www.insideria.com/2008/07/the-charges-against-actionscri.html ]
ActionScript 3 basics in plain speak, for those coming from earlier versions of Flash. And who still like to use Flash not Flex or some other tool. And who are not programmers.
[Download a pdf version of this document]
Part 2
This is where we left off:
package{
import flash.display.*;
import flash.events.*;
public class StartPoint extends MovieClip{
function StartPoint(){
trace(”StartPoint started”);
} //initialiser
} //class
}//package
When you test in now, all that should happen is it should trace the string we asked it to.
Variables
Variables should have data types (you may have been doing this already). For example:
var myText:String;
var myNumber:Number;
or an object type
var myNewMC:MovieClip;
The data type comes after the variable name, and is only done once – when you declare the variable.
ActionScript 3 adds in a few new ones, notable:
var myNumber:uint;
ActionScript 3 basics in plain speak, for those coming from earlier versions of Flash. And who still like to use Flash not Flex or some other tool. And who are not programmers.
[Download a pdf version of this document]
Part 1
ActionScript 3 can exist within the Adobe Flash timeline, but not on buttons or movie clips.
In the past one could link to ActionScript (.AS) files on compiling – this has now become the more standard way to include code.
One can either link to an AS file (or multiple) or have code in the movie’s timeline, but not the two methods combined. It is still permissible to have stops in the movie (or more likely the movie clips in the movie).
Remember – the swf needs to be recompiled (Test Movie or Publish) each time the code changes.
Also, keep in mind that in this new coding way means that an object that appears at 2 different frames with the same instance name will be seen as 2 distinct (separate) objects, causing code issues.
The Document Class.
This is the first ActionScript that the Flash file uses. If we were thinking html and style sheets, it is like redefining a tag, such as the body tag, and telling it what colour and size and font it should utilise. Objects in the movie – however you create them – will/may have their own classes. Again, think of html-orientated style sheets, where a custom class tells a specific bit of text what it should look like, or an object how it should behave.
The Structure of a Class.
package {
class FileName{
function FileName{
}//closes function
}//closes class
}//closes package
The explanation of this basic version of the structure follows.
Finally did the Flash & Photoshop CS3 (recertification) exams. I know that testing is underway for CS4 so the relief should be brief. Flash was easy-ish (obsession with ink bottle and 1 spelling error - “from” instead of “frame”). Photoshop was a horror, not sure how many people would really edit video in it; and they sure do find the obscure sometimes - but makes one feel a bit more intelligent to pass it and adds a spark to the day. Was considering the skull-hoodie I bought when I first passed Photoshop just the other day.
Best Bowie compilation released - ever. His choice songs often correspond with my favourties. Read his comments about classics such as Sweet Thing/Candidate, The Bewlay Brothers, Life on Mars, Time Will Crawl and more here. Now will someone please release ‘Baal’ on cd. Please.
I am not writing at the moment. Anymore. No one here. I live in an evil, mean, cruel, twisted little country that poisons everyone who lives here, destroys dreams, hopes, ambitions, skills.
Please let me out of here, soon.
Sulk may be over for a while. I surrender. Posts wil be about music rather than tuts for now. My lifeblood.
You can save the following image, open it in Photoshop, select all and go to the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. The following tutorial loks at a way to create it, and how it can be utilised (see images below).
So, my first 6 visitors got here due to searching for Anna-Varney Cantodea. So I thought I would at least give them something worth looking at. It’s a long story, but really its my special story - the upshot of which is:
a/ very few images from ‘Les Fleur Du Mal‘ are on-line - the booklet and comic for the special edition release of this Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows cd is one of the most beautifully packages items I have ever seen, I take it out the cupboard and sniff and stroke it occasionally. No photos can do it justice, and the humour of the booklet design shows that Anna Varney is no ‘gloomy goth’ but a talented designer/artist as well as singer/musician (earlier covers did not suggest this, sorry to say). When I really wanted to see what the accompanying comic - illustrated by Moor Lee - would look like, searches yielded nothing. So here is one picture from each, which I have water-marked so people do not do bad things with them.
b/ Anna-Varney is a kind soul - so here is my name as inscribed by her silver pen on the inside of the box’s lid - the rest of the message and the reason why it is there is not going to be revealed, as I fear misuse of the information. And no, I have neither met nor spoken to her.
(Oh, my name is Andrew by the way!)
Here’s another of those small things that can waste a lot of time and are worth remembering:
If one has a sprite/movie clip and you have added its event listener and set
spriteOrMc.buttonMode = true;
but it does not work, check if you have a dynamic text field (even non selectable text fields) in the sprite or movie clip. If so, you will need to add the following code -
spriteOrMc.mouseChildren = false;
which solves the issue.
Thanks to Maohao for the solution.