How long does it takes you to get ready for something?
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under AS Burst
Does getting ready to get things done get in the way of getting stuff done? Although this video emphasizes procrastination I would say that the person represented in the video was getting things done, but not the things that were supposed to get done.
Next time you start a new task ask yourself, Is this really going to help me accomplish my original goal?
Enjoy!
Tags: video
//TextMate: Tabbing through functions with macros
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under AS Burst
One of the features that I would like to have as a default for TextMate is the ability to navigate through functions with the keyboard rather than having move back and forth between the keyboard and mouse or scroll line by line with the down/up keys.
Since the feature is not available (or at least not that I know of) I created 2 simple macros that would allow you to jump to the Next or Previous function. Those macros are tied up to the keys as follows:
Next Function:
Shift+Apple+Down
Previous Function
Shift+Apple+Up
You can download the macros here
Please note that as default the key combinations noted above select all the text from the marker position. It is something that I rarely use so I was able to trade that in for the navigation ability.
//How to make sure your banners play only for a certain period of time
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under AS Burst
It is almost a standard to allow banners to play for only 15 seconds after they have been loaded into the browser. If you are creating your animations on the timeline you can very well know how long the banner is by looking at the frames you are using for a specific banner. But if you are creating a banner through code there are 2 ways to ensure that your banners last 15 seconds from creation.
The long way to ensure that your banners last 15 seconds is by using the Date object, and the short and easy way is to use the getTimer global function.
[code=as]trace("*****BANNER LENGTH IN SECONDS = " + getTimer ( ) / 1000 ) ;[/code]
The code above will produce something similar to :
[code=as]*****BANNER LENGTH IN SECONDS = 15.00[/code]
//TextMate current block folding
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under Productivity, Programming
Having the ability to fold blocks of code in TextMate can be a great time saver. Specially if you are working on a rather large file and you are trying to concentrate only in one area of your code.
You can activate block folding by pressing F1 and this is how the content is going to look like:
Unfolded
Folded:
One of my desires is to find out how to jump through blocks of code rather than using the arrow keys to navigate through them.
//Mike Chambers asks: Are you still using ActionScript 2? (or 1)?
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under ActionScript, Programming
Mike Chambers posted the question on his site: Are you still using ActionScript 2? (or 1)?
Many people have placed their 2 cents to answer and I wanted to take a stab at it:
Short Answer : AS1 = No, AS2 = Yes.
Long Answer: I haven't touched AS1 for years now and I haven't had a reason why or at least the company I am working for and my freelance clients haven't requested it. In regards to AS2 I still use it continuously. I would say that AS2 is 20% of my work while the other 80% is AS3. The reason being is because there are clients that they still need to reach broad audiences and we need to compile movies compatible with older players. Granted a lot of people have upgraded their plug in but when your marketing package has to reach the most people possible then you have to do your best to provide the proper services.
Many times when we think of Flash/Actionscript development we think of Website or Application development but one big item that uses flash heavely is banner development, some banners are almost micro sites and the requirements for banner deployment are still very rudimentary. Most sites that serve banner ads still require Flash 6, 7 or 8. Some are taking the leap to Flash 9 but under test/beta environment so if you have a game/micro site that will be loaded into a banner you still have to write your code in AS2.
//Flash Player 9 Debugger “solution to random crashing”
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under AS Burst
My main Flash Player for testing content online is always the latest debugger version (in this case the current player is flash 9). For some odd reason it always crashes on random sites on PPC but Intel it works flawlessly. After many installing, uninstalling, reinstalling, installing again.. I figured I would give a try to the flash player 10 debugger version and so far so good.
So if your browse keeps on crashing with the flash player 9 debugger version, give flash player 10 a try:
http://opensource.adobe.com/svn/opensource/flex/sdk/trunk/in/player/10/mac/
Remember to treat this player as any other Beta software, in another words use with caution.
//Hug a developer today…
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under videos
YouTube - Hug a developer today...
//Papervision AS2 reflected bitmap
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under ActionScript, Programming
I have been working on a paper vision in AS2, as you know the AS2 version was dropped as soon as AS3 was out so many of the PPV2 features were never applied to the first version. Anyways, if you ever wanted to portrait a bitmap on one side reflected directly from the library, this should help you:
- private function simpleSkin (source : BitmapData ) : MaterialObject3D
{
var tbmp = tar.createEmptyMovieClip("tbmp", tar.getNextHighestDepth() );
tbmp.attachBitmap(source, tbmp.getNextHighestDepth(), "auto", true);
var tw : Number = tbmp._width ;
var th : Number = tbmp._height ;
tbmp._x = -100;
tbmp._y = -100;
var myM : Matrix = new Matrix();
myM.a = -1;
myM.tx = tw;
var myBitmapData:BitmapData = new BitmapData(tw, th)
myBitmapData.draw(tbmp, myM);
tbmp.removeMovieClip();
var mat = new MaterialObject3D();
mat.bitmap = myBitmapData;
mat.oneSide = true;
mat.smooth = true;
return mat
}
When is it a good time to learn AS3?
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under Articles
I see this question pop once in a while in different places in the internet or similar questions such as...
Should I start learning AS3 yet?
Is it worth it to make the switch from AS2 to AS3?
I have never used flash, should I start with AS3 or learn AS2 and then AS3?
I am surprised that these kind of questions still come up and once and for all I want to give you an answer. YES!
Why yes? well for starters if you mean to stay in the interactive world of the internet you need to start Today. Not tomorrow... or next week... or with the next project, start learning AS3 today.
Once you understand the way you program in AS3 it not only will make sense to you but other similar languages will also make sense. Imagine the possibilities on that.
You will be able to improve on your coding skills and make better reusable software, given that you are paying attention on what you are doing and not just copy-and-paste type of coding.
"But I am a designer not a coder" Great! Then talk to your boss and explain him/her that you don't want to code and the earlier you admit that you want to dedicate your life at designing rather than coding the better it will be for everyone. Hopefully your boss will understand and find the perfect match to your design skills.
//Silverlight creating ZIP files in MAC
Posted by Helmut Granda | Filed under Programming, Silverlight
If you are creating a Silverlight document in a MAC be aware that if you create a ZIP file from the Finder context menu "Create Archive of..." every time you try to access the files inside the ZIP file with Silverlight it will fail. Why? Not sure but I would assume something to do with the way MACs compress files compared of how PCs do. One way to get around this issue is by creating your ZIP files with "DropZip", you might be able to create ZIP files with a different program that will run fine with Silverlight.
