New symbol icons in Flash CS4
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One of the cool things that I just noticed is the new icons that show up in the library for different symbol types. You can see what I mean in the screenshot at the left. If you convert a MovieClip into a Flex component using the component kit you will see the Flex icon in the library. If you create a MovieClip and then change the base class to Sprite, you will see a green version of the MovieClip icon. This is a great for when you’re scanning for specific symbol types. |
Lee
Wow, first screenshot I have seen from Flash CS4….unfortunately no trial available yet. As I am writing my thesis about Rich Internet Applications I would like to show the most current version of my tools
Any idea, when trials will be available?
Its great! I find it is a little bit easier with these icons.
Harry.
Still waiting for my copy, but I asked if a Sprite was added at FOTB and was told ‘no’, so this is a pleasant surprise. What does the timeline look like when u go inside a Sprite?
Looks nice…
Do you have some more details about the component kit for cs4? Are there any changes in contrast to cs3?
On http://www.adobe.com/go/flex_ck_en I can only find the kit for cs3. Is it also working with the cs4 version?
thx
interesting…
Hi Lee, I followed your blog and gotoAndLearn website for several months. I learned a lot from them. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences.
What’s the difference between the MovieClip symbol and Sprite Symbol? If my MovieClip symbol does not have timeline animation, I can convert to Sprite symbol. The Sprite symbol’s size is smaller than MovieClip’s, is that correct?
Could you create a tutorial for how to create component? That will be helpful.
Can’t wait for my copy of CS4….
Nice little addition…there are just minor things that I am discovering about CS4 everyday that make me enjoy using it.
Here’s another question for your “What was Adobe thinking?” list.
Why did they not just include a radio button with the choice “Sprite” as a symbol type? Just like the Button creates a SimpleButton with a limited timeline, the Sprite could create a timeline with one frame and allow no more frames to be added.
As a Designer/Developer, I know the difference and how to change it (and what I’m not allowed to do with a Sprite), but try explaining it to a designer over the phone.
That being said… the icon change is handy.
–Rich
I can’t wait to update! CS3 has been crashing on me lately, it’s a feather on my eager belly yo. I’m just waiting for the trial-downloads so I can punch my license in and see the freshness.
Are you saying that setting the base class to Sprite on a MovieClip symbol in the library does anything more than change the icon?
This would be new functionality because in CS3 it doesn’t actually convert it into a Sprite. It’s still a MovieClip according to the player (if you say this is MovieClip you’ll get true) and the performance of those linked library symbols is worse than of actual Sprites. Setting the base class to Sprite doesn’t seem to do anything other than limit your access to the MovieClip functions without casting it.
So when you create a new symbol, can you choose Sprite as well as MovieClip, Graphic and Button?
@Steven Not entirely sure but if I decompile a SWF it is indeed still a Sprite. No you can’t choose Sprite from the create symbol dialog. You choose MovieClip but then set the base class to Sprite. Look for better UI support for Sprites in the next version.
Adobe could still stand to do a lot of other things as far as library organization goes. This is a step in the right direction, but I have gripes with the way folders behave not just in the library, but also the Actions panel toolbox.
For example, why is it that collapsed folders arbitrarily open when I start creating new symbols or messing with unrelated actions? When you’re dealing with large applications, this makes it unnecessarily difficult to navigate to other sections of the FLA that need to be modified.
Also, why can’t library items be sorted by type and then alphabetically? It seems like if I sort by type the various symbols are grouped together in a completely random order.
New icons are nice, but in terms of usability it seems to me that there are more important things to address.
Only the icon in the Library changes – the icon at the top of the screen is the same when you double-click to enter, and you can still use the timeline. Nice to have the icon though.
Nice findings Lee, keep it up
This along with the new library searching functionality will REALLY help when it comes to sorting through long libraries.
Andrew Christensen | Geek.Blog | http://blog.728media.com
Well the issue is that a Sprite symbol is actually a MovieClip still. Even though you’re setting the base class to Sprite, that’s the same as casting a MovieClip to Sprite. You can do it, but it’s still a MovieClip. Technically, you can add frames to a “Sprite” symbol in the IDE, so it’s not really a Sprite. There is a performance difference between a “Sprite” in the Library and a Sprite purely as a class, even if they have the same thing in them (say, a vector shape). The reason for this difference is that the Library symbol is still actually a MovieClip, regardless of what you set the base class to.
I used to set my base classes on single frame MovieClip symbols to Sprite until I realized it didn’t make a difference, they were still MovieClips.
wow,that is cool
Bastian:
The Flex Component Kit does not work i Flash CS4, I have found no clue as to when a new version will emerge.
I don’t know about CS3, but in CS4… when I create two duplicate symbols (with timeline animation) and make one a MovieClip and one a Sprite, several things happen.
First. When placed on the stage, the MovieClip runs through it’s timeline while the Sprite does not.
Second. If I try and use MovieClip specific methods like gotoAndPlay() etc., they fail with a compiler error.
Third. When I trace tests to see what type of object they are…
The MovieClip traces…
MovieClip : true
Sprite : true
Object : true
The symbol defined as Sprite in the library traces…
MovieClip : false
Sprite : true
Object : true
It would seem to me this is more than just casting as a Sprite. I’m not sure what flash does with assets placed after frame 1 in the Sprite, or if there is a significant change in memory with a large number of instances; but I plan to check it with a particle monster I have on my home system.
Anybody else tested this?
–Rich
It’s great that they added new sub type icon for Sprite based library items.
Now if they would just add Bitmap, DisplayObject, etc. we’d be good to go (and add it to the Instance Behavior and Symbol Type drop downs too).
Ian, above, just NAILED it. There are other things Adobe has’t addressed since running the show.