What’s New In Flash MX 2004?
Flash MX 2004 is a step above previous versions. Not only does it offer a plethora of enhancements and new features, but the software comes in two “flavours”: Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004. Your needs will determine which version is right for you. Flash MX 2004 is the ideal instrument for developing multimedia content, or adding video, audio, graphics, or data to your projects. Flash MX 2004 Professional, on the other hand, contains additional features such as forms-based programming (much like Microsoft Visual Studio), data connectors for binding XML and Web Services to your projects, and project management tools.
If you intend to create projects that contain anything more than a modicum of ActionScript, you require connection to external data sources, or want to harness the power of advanced components, then I would strongly advise you to buy Flash MX Professional 2004. The day will come—probably sooner than you expect —when you’ll need the extra horsepower it delivers. Don’t get caught short!
Flash MX 2004 Features at a Glance
Let’s take a look at the major improvements and new features offered by the 2004 releases. Those features marked (PRO) are available in the professional edition only.
ActionScript 2.0
A major object-oriented improvement to the ActionScript model,
ActionScript 2.0 allows for strong typing and inheritance in accordance
with the ECMA specifications. Don’t worry if these terms are new
to you—we’ll discuss them in detail later.
Performance
The new version of the Flash Player has been substantially overhauled
to increase playback speeds and responsiveness.
Error Reporting
The error reports generated when a Flash movie is previewed internally
have been much improved in this release of the software. The reports provide
more descriptive information, which makes it easier to fix show-stopping
errors. See Chapter 9 for more information.
Security Model
The Flash Player security model has been improved significantly, and now
provides even tighter security for your applications.
Importing
Flash developers can now import several new formats, including Adobe PDF
and Adobe Illustrator 10. Flash MX 2004 also includes a Video Import Wizard
to make importing video formats easier. See Chapter 6 for details on this
functionality.
Spell Checking
A fantastic new feature, spell check allows you to search text within
your movies for typographical errors.
Help Panel
The Help Panel includes context-based help as well as a full ActionScript
reference that updates at the click of a button with the latest content
from Macromedia.
New Templates
A list of new templates designed to aid the rapid development of Flash
applications is available with the 2004 release of Flash.
The templates include:
• Advertising
• Form Applications (PRO)
• Mobile Devices
• Photo Slideshows
• Presentations
• Quiz
• Slide Presentations (PRO)
• Video (PRO)
To access the templates, select File > New, and click the Templates
tab.
Timeline Effects
Timeline Effects allow you quickly to create editable common effects such
as exploding text, blurred animation, and opacity transitions. Due to
the extended API of Flash in the 2004 editions, many third-party software
vendors now create these effects for use in Flash. An excellent range
of third-party Timeline Effects is available from Macromedia’s online
store[1], and includes Distort FX, Pixel FX, and Text FX, developed by
Red Giant Software[2]. These allow you to create some mind-bending visuals
from within Flash.
Behaviors
Behaviors allow you to quickly add basic ActionScript commands to your
movies. They can form building blocks for your code, or you can simply
use them to add interactivity without getting your hands dirty with ActionScript.
To access the Behaviors Panel, select Window > Development Panels > Behaviors.
Advanced Components (PRO)
Flash MX 2004 Professional includes a new series of components that facilitate
the development of complex applications.
Flash Form Presentation (PRO)
Flash Form Presentation reflects a new development system much like that
of Microsoft Visual Studio. It allows for the rapid creation of, for example,
contact and registration forms. See Chapter 7 for more.
Flash Slide Presentation (PRO)
Creating slide-based applications has never been easier, thanks to the
inclusion of built-in navigation to help users move through the slides.
Data Binding and Data Connection Objects (PRO)
Flash MX 2004 Professional introduces built-in data connectors to external
data sources such as Web services and XML. With the introduction of Data
Binding, components such as ComboBoxes can be populated with external
data relatively easily.
Source Control (PRO)
You can now easily leverage source control in your Flash projects by integrating
Flash with Microsoft Visual SourceSafe. This ensures you don’t overwrite
work by other team members on critical projects via the ‘Check-In/Check-
Out’ methodology.
