Samuel Neff

1
Flash for CFers

• Samuel Neff
• B-Line Express

2
Flash for CFers

• Flash anatomy
• Creating applications
• Communications

3
Timeline

• Lay out content
• Define motion
• Create animations

• Ignore the timeline

4
Library

• Organize assets
• Folders contain symbols
• Different types of symbols
• Movie clips
• Buttons
• Graphics
• Components

5
Movie clips

• Visual containers for content
• Use as forms or windows
• Can be nested
• Have their own timeline

6
Buttons

• Define custom rollover states
• Take longer to create and integrate than button
  components

7
Graphics

• Contain shapes or other graphic symbols
• Can not be scripted
• Share timeline with their owner

8
Components

• Parameterized movie clips
• Drag and drop functionality
• Easy to integrate into applications
• Varying quality

9
Creating Applications

• Arrange visual assets into movie clips
• Create ActionScript classes
• Create server components
• Publish

10
Creating Movie Clips

• Add text fields, graphics, sub clips, and
  components
• Set properties
• Name, begins with space
• Identifier, no spaces

11
ActionScript Classes

• Use external ".as" files
• One file per class
• Function declaration
• Inherit from MovieClip
• Register class for the symbol

12
Create Server Components

• Several options
• Flash Remoting
• XML
• LoadVars

13
Flash Remoting

• Call CFC methods as easily as local methods
• Send and retrieve complex data
• Binary format reduces bandwidth

14
Tying it all Together

• FLA one line of ActionScript
• include
• Root AS file includes all classes
• Root AS file then starts the application

15
Example Address Book

• Multiple forms
• Flash Remoting
• Security
• Model-View-Controller

16
Questions

• sam_at_blinex.com