The Open Screen Project is working to enable a consistent runtime environment – taking advantage of Adobe® Flash® Player and, in the future, Adobe AIR™ — that will remove barriers for developers and designers as they publish content and applications across desktops and consumer devices, including phones, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and set top boxes. The Open Screen Project will address potential technology fragmentation by allowing the runtime technology to be updated seamlessly over the air on mobile devices. The consistent runtime environment will provide optimal performance across a variety of operating systems and devices, and ultimately provide the best experience to consumers.

Specifically, this work will include:

• Removing restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications
• Publishing the device porting layer APIs for Adobe Flash Player
• Publishing the Adobe Flash® Cast™ protocol and the AMF protocol for robust data services
• Removing licensing fees – making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free

WOW!!! That may be the best news I have heard about Flash in a long time! An open platform will not only help developers but should certainly bring more people to the Flash table.

* source

Rounded Corners

To set the corner radius visually, draw your rectangle and without releasing the mouse button — press the up and down arrows on your keyboard to alter the roundness or the corners. This also works in Fireworks!

Bitmap Fills

You can use a bitmap as a Fill, and paint with it just as you can paint with a gradient or solid color. Import a bitmap into the current scene and select it. Go to Modify > Break Apart, then choose the Eyedropper tool and click on the bitmap. The current fill is changed to the selected bitmap.

All Inclusive

ActionScript can be stored as external text files with an .as extension. To use them in a movie, you’ll need to place an ‘include’ in the file that points to the file. This enables you to reuse the complex routines in movies, or build up a library of common scripts.

Also to keep things organized, I would encourage you to place your .as files in folders that relate to what the file is all about. For example, I may have a folder called Actions and inside that folder several different .as files that relate to actions. Then just import them by calling import actions.flyout; (flyout is the name of the .as file and actions is the name of the folder.)

Report It

Always generate a report detailing the impact that various objects in your movie have on the size and performance of the finished movie. To do this, you should check the box labeled Generate Size Report in the Flash Publish Settings dialog (File > Publish Settings > Flash tab).

Stage Manage

You can control the size of the current movie with the stage.height and stage.width commands.

Hope that helps someone and remember to only use Flash when it’s the right tool for the job.

Over the years we have posted some great Flash articles. Perhaps you missed a few and wish to catch up now?

• 3 Flash Masters Answer 5 Flash Questions
• The Best Structure for your Flash Site
• How to Optimize Flash
• Faster Flash in 12 Steps
• Fast-Track Your Flash Site
• Why Flash Will Never Die

As someone who has worked with Flash for many years I have witnessed the love / hate dichotomy that circumvents the web. There’s one thing that stands out to me - Flash is the most misunderstood software platform around.

So I decided to contact three of the biggest Flash Gurus around and get some answers from them. We’ll meet our three Flash masters and then look at their answers to these questions: “What do you see as Flash’s key asset(s)?”, “What do you think is Flash’s biggest weakness?”, “If you could change one thing about Flash what would it be?”, “Has Flash’s popularity peaked?” and “What will Flash look like in 3 years?”

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Check out the 3D Bumpmapped objects demo - I have never seen this kind of realtime 3D in Flash before. Wowzers!

[ more PaperVision3D demos ]

Search-This welcomes Louis Simpson to the team!

Often times when you belong to a forum you start stalking certain people. Every time the person you are stalking post and you notice it, you go read what they have to say because you know it’s going to be good. Well, Louie was the first person I ever stalked

So when I was putting together the Search-This team I knew that I had to get him on board, it makes it easier to stalk him that way! We’re glad to have you on the team Louie.

Enjoy Louie’s bio below:

User Name: louissimps

• childhood ambition: marry a rich woman
• fondest memory: going to my grandpa’s ranch
• favorite music: a little something from every genre
• retreat: the ocean
• proudest moment: the path I have lead so far
• biggest challenge: not going to college
• alarm clock: 6:50(snooze until 7:45)
• perfect day: coffee, surfing, lunch with my wife, afternoon nap, head to my favorite bar
• first job: busboy at a banquet hall
• indulgence: Belgian Ale
• favorite movie: too many to name, Super Troopers, Napolean Dynamite, Platoon
• inspiration: accomplishment

This month Flash enthusiast gathered in Brighton in the UK to talk about Adobe Flash and its future at “Flash On The Beach“.

Geoff Stearns, the man who brought us the SWFObject shared these thoughts with the BBC:

“Flash to be more accepted developers and designers need to be more careful about when and how they use it… There’s a lot of people who have been abusing Flash in the past. They’ve been using it for everything, and that’s not really the way to do it. As with any web technology, you should always use it for what it’s best for.”

That’s well said! Just one more thing - how come we can’t get “Flash on the Slopes” for us Colorado people? Ski in the mornings and talk Flash in the evenings! Good times, good times!