Posted by brandonthedeveloper at June 23rd, 2011

Figured this out earlier today and definitely seemed worth sharing!
Ever needed to make a change to a large group of Flash library assets?

Here’s how:
In Flash choose New > Flash JavaScript File.
Insert the code below and selected library items in any other open Flash files will be scaled. You don’t even need to save the JSFL command.

var dom = fl.getDocumentDOM();

// loop through the array
for(var i =0; i // open the item for editing
dom.library.editItem(selItems[i].name);
// select all the items on the stage
dom.selectAll();
// scale the selection
// scaleX, scaleY, "Corner to resize from"
dom.scaleSelection(.75,.75, "top left");
}

You can make all kinds of property changes, scaling was what I needed to do.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at April 4th, 2011

If Flash Builder deletes your swf from the bin-debug folder on a crash you get a message saying “initial content not found” and you can no longer compile your project.
The solution is to start to export a release build. Once the swf has been created in the bin-release folder you can navigate to the directory and copy it into your bin-debug folder and it will work!

If anyone knows of a better way to handle this situation please let me know.
And before you say “use a repo copy”, it didn’t like the repo copy.. so there.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at November 22nd, 2010

I have quite a few Flex SDKs set up for different devices but set up for the BlackBerry SDK has got to be the easiest!

To get the SDK and Playbook simulator visit: http://us.blackberry.com/developers/tablet/ and sign up for a developer account. Once you are signed up you can download and install the SDK and Playbook simulator. To run the simulator you will either need VMWare Fusion (Mac) or the VMWare player (Windows and Linux). Unfortunately, Virtual Box cannot be used to run the simulator but maybe that will change at some point.

Getting started, BlackBerry offers a lot of good documentation at http://us.blackberry.com/developers/tablet/devresources.jsp including a great webcast series on BlackBerry development using AIR. Another helpful resource I found was this blog post by Michaël Chaize. He also has a great video tutorial on setting up a project and testing with the simulator – http://www.riagora.com/2010/11/your-first-blackberry-playbook-air-app/.

BlackBerry is also offering an incentive to create apps for their tablet – Every developer that gets an app approved before the tablet launch will recieve a free BlackBerry Playbook! I’m already working on a couple of applications. I’ll try and post some tutorials ASAP to help anyone interested get started. You can find more information about the BlackBerry developer promotion here – http://devblog.blackberry.com/2010/10/blackberry-playbook-developer-promotion-information/.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at September 9th, 2010

Today Apple announced that changes to their Terms of Service that would allow non Apple development tools to be used to create iOS apps!

“In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.”

That means what you think it means. You can now use Flash to create iOS apps!

Read the announcement here

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at September 7th, 2010

Attest 3.0 is a Flex 4 mock exam and study guide for the Flex 4 certification. The free/trial version contains one mini exam with 30 questions and 99 days of study material. The paid version is 20.00 USD and contains full 50 question exams as well as 25 question mini exams. You can also randomize your questions so you never take the same exam twice. Another great feature is the ability to see answers when you answer a question and know immediately if you got the question correct. Attest 3 also offers links to important resources supporting the questions/answers within the Flex 4 practice exams.

I personally used Attest 2 and passed the Flex 3 exam easily. I highly recommend this software!

More info here. Download it here

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at May 17th, 2010

A few months back I was trying to think of a way to explain Robotlegs to my local Adobe Flash user group. I’ve always been a big believer that telling stories is the most effective way to teach and to retain information. So while trying to think of a cast of characters to use in my story, I realized that an ad agency in 1963 was the perfect environment and would provide the all the necessary characters.

Check out the presentation and tell me what you think. I’m still fairly new to Robotlegs but after using it for a few months I think its and excellent MVCS framework. Remember this preso was meant to give just a basic understanding of Robotlegs so it’s shown at a fairly high overhead view.

View it here.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at April 9th, 2010

“We intend to still deliver this capability in CS5 and it is up to Apple whether they choose to allow or disallow applications as their rules shift over time.”

http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2010/04/cs5_countdown_is_on.html

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at March 22nd, 2010

Today Adobe released Flash Builder 4, the successor to Flex Builder 3. The name change reflects the move to move all Flash related products under one brand, the Flash Platform.

“Adobe® Flash® Builder™ 4 (formerly Adobe Flex® Builder™) software is designed to help software developers rapidly develop cross-platform rich Internet applications (RIAs) and content using the open source Flex framework. It includes support for intelligent coding, debugging, and visual design and features powerful testing tools that speed up development and lead to higher performing applications.”

More info on the Adobe Flash Builder 4 home page.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at October 20th, 2009

******* UPDATE *******
Sorry I missed this the first time. You have to have purchased CS4 after Sept. 15, 2009.
***********************

Own a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium or Master Collection? If so you are eligible to get a free copy of Flex Builder 3. Details here.

Posted by brandonthedeveloper at October 18th, 2009

Pal Joey

Some of you might remember in July of 2008 someone stole our 10 year old Boston Terrier Petey from our backyard. We looked for him for months following that with no luck. We did manage to find three other Bostons though. Good for them, not so good for us. Still, if someone contacted us with info about Petey we felt like we had to follow up.

During the second week of October, 2008 we received a message off Craigslist that said, “your dog is at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter.”. While I was certain it wasn’t Petey I couldn’t not check to make sure. So during my lunch break the next day I drove to the animal shelter to check this dog out. It wasn’t Petey (no surprise there) but an extremely malnourished Boston that drooled constantly and was losing hair. I took him out of the cage and he was very friendly. I walked him around and pet him for a while before putting him back. I sat in the car and thought about that dog and the immediate connection I felt with him. The next day, we all came back so the rest of the family could meet this pup and see how he was around children. When they brought him out the waiting area was full of people of all ages and this dog was friendly to everyone. Our biggest concern at that point was “how would a new dog behave around our other dog Alex, our two cats and the Angora bunny that lives in the house like a cat”? Yeah. I know. A zoo. We decided to take this pup home and give him a try.

That was October 17, 2008. Yesterday was Joey’s first full year with us. We named him after two of my favorite music heroes that are no longer with us, Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. He’s never been a replacement for Petey but has been perfect fit in this family from the very first day. We’re so glad to have him.