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Community MX: Content by Robert Reinhardt

Since October 2004, Robert has been a partner at Community MX, writing about new techniques in Flash development. He's written the following 50 pieces of content:

Extending the AS3 FLVPlayback Component in Flash CS3: Part 1 - Adding a Background Color
September 2007
In this FLVPlayback component series, you'll learn how to enhance the capabilities of the AS3 FLVPlayback component that ships with Adobe Flash CS3 Professional. Over the next several tutorials, you'll learn how to create an arbitrary class called FLVPlaybackPro and add custom methods and properties to accomplish common Flash Video tasks. The FLVPlaybackPro class extends the FLVPlayback class. In this tutorial, you learn how to create the FLVPlaybackPro class and build a background and backgroundColor property.

NOTE: This series augments the material discussed in my book, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Studio Techniques (Adobe Press). Some of the ActionScript 3.0 (AS3) custom classes I built and included on the book's DVD-ROM are discussed and expanded in this series....
Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 2 - Preventing Quality Loss
August 2007
In this Flash Video series, you learn how to process source video files before you encode the content to the Flash Video (FLV) format or the AVC/H.264 format*. Source video can be saved in a wide range of formats across Windows and Macintosh platforms, and each format can use specific audio and video codecs. In this tutorial, you learn how to retain the original quality of source footage after you've edited or applied effects to the footage in a tool such as Adobe After Effects.

*On August 23, 2007, Adobe announced its intention to support the popular industry standard AVC/H.264 codec in Flash Player 9 update 3. Currently, Flash Player 9 update 3 is available as a beta 2 version on Adobe Labs.

NOTE: All of the tutorials in this series require Apple QuickTime Player. I recommend purchasing Apple QuickTime Player Pro directly from Apple. The Pro version enables you to export audio and video files. This series augments the material discussed in my book, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Studio Techniques (Adobe Press).

Approximate download size: 18.9MB

The Preparing Source Video for Flash Video Series:
Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 1 - Converting MPEG Files
Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 2 - Preventing Quality Loss...
What AVC/H.264 Means for the Future of Flash Video
August 2007
During the week of August 20th, Adobe announced its plans to support the AVC/H.264 video standard in the final release of Flash Player 9 update 3. You can currently download beta 2 of Flash Player 9 update 3 on the Adobe Labs site. This beta contains the AVC/H.264 codec, which enables you to test MPEG-4 files using the H.264 codec right now! I won't recap the information already provided by Adobe, but I'll provide a context for this announcement with existing Flash Video codecs and the world of Internet-delivered video. ...
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 2: Displaying a Loaded Font in a TextField Instance
August 2007
In this tutorial series, you learn how to use the new Font class in ActionScript 3.0 and Flash Player 9. The Font class enables you to embed one or more fonts in a Flash movie (SWF file), and reuse the font with other SWF files. In this tutorial, you learn how to utilize a font from a loaded font SWF file with a dynamically-created text field.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you need to use Adobe Flash CS3 Professional. The font sharing techniques discussed in this series require ActionScript 3.0 and Flash Player 9.

The Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 Series:
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 1: Creating a Font SWF
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 2: Displaying a Loaded Font in a TextField Instance...
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 1: Creating a Font SWF
July 2007
In this tutorial series, you learn how to use the new Font class in ActionScript 3.0 and Flash Player 9. The Font class enables you to embed one or more fonts in a Flash movie (SWF file), and reuse the font with other SWF files. In this tutorial, you learn how to create a font SWF file and load it into another Flash movie.

The Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 Series:
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 1: Creating a Font SWF
Sharing Fonts in ActionScript 3.0 - Part 2: Displaying a Loaded Font in a TextField Instance...

Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 1 - Converting MPEG Files
July 2007
In this Flash Video series, you learn how to process source video files before you encode the content to the Flash Video (FLV) format. Source video can be saved in a wide range of formats across Windows and Macintosh platforms, and each format can use specific audio and video codecs. In this tutorial, you learn how to prepare an MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 file for Flash Video encoding.

NOTE: All of the tutorials in this series require Apple QuickTime Player. I recommended purchasing Apple QuickTime Player Pro directly from Apple. The Pro version enables you to export audio and video files. This series augments the material discussed in my book, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Studio Techniques (Adobe Press).

The Preparing Source Video for Flash Video Series:
Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 1 - Converting MPEG Files
Preparing Source Video for Flash Video: Part 2 - Preventing Quality Loss...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream
May 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to record a live publisher stream directly to a Flash Media Server application.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you should have a webcam and microphone compatible with Flash Player 6 and higher. Just about any webcam and microphone works with the Flash Player.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial series to send me an e-mail via the feedback link on this tutorial will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX. (There are still accounts available as of May 24th, 2007!)

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
May 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to control the audio quality and bandwidth usage of the Microphone class used with a live publisher stream.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you should have a webcam and microphone compatible with Flash Player 6 and higher. Just about any webcam and microphone works with the Flash Player.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial series to send me an e-mail via the feedback link on this tutorial will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX. (There are still accounts available as of May 20th, 2007!)

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
April 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to control the image quality and bandwidth usage of the live publisher stream.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you should have a webcam and microphone compatible with Flash Player 6 and higher. Just about any webcam and microphone works with the Flash Player.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial series to send me an e-mail via the feedback link on this tutorial will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX. (There are still accounts available as of April 21st, 2007!)

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
April 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to use the Microphone class to add audio from the user's microphone to a live stream.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you should have a webcam and microphone compatible with Flash Player 6 and higher. Just about any webcam and microphone works with the Flash Player.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial series to send me an e-mail via the feedback link on this tutorial will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX. (There are still accounts available as of April 1st, 2007!)

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...

Flash Video: Move Over?
March 2007
In November 2006, I wrote an article title "Flash Video: Why the Other Players Don't Get It", wherein I made a case for Flash Video on the web. Indeed, Flash Video is everywhere on the web, from Google to YouTube to Blip.tv. However, within the last couple of weeks, Flash Video suffered a casualty: ABC.com replaced Flash Video as the video player technology on their showcase Full Episode Streaming site. I initially blogged about the event, chiding Adobe for not moving faster to address widely known concerns about Flash Video streaming on the web, especially by providers who want to protect their content. After my post received over 1000 web views within 12 hours, I got the feeling that I should write more about my thoughts on Flash Video, and how it might suffer more casualties if Adobe doesn't take their customers (especially their big customers, like ABC.com) more seriously. (Or should I be so bold as to say they shouldn't take them for granted?)

NOTE: This article is an editorial reflecting my personal concerns about Flash Video technology, and does not reflect the views and opinions of any other entity....
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
March 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to use the NetStream.play() method to receive a live video feed from a Flash Media Server application.

NOTE: In order to follow along with the tutorials in this series, you should have a webcam compatible with Flash Player 6 and higher. Just about any USB or Firewire webcam works with the Flash Player.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial series to send me an e-mail via the feedback link on this tutorial will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX. (There are still accounts available as of March 8th, 2007!)

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
February 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to use the NetStream.publish() method to send an audio and video feed from your webcam to a Flash Media Server application.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first twenty readers of this tutorial to send me an e-mail either via the feedback form at the end of this tutorial or to robert@communitymx.com will receive a free time-limited Flash Media Server account at Influxis. You can use this account to publish live video streams. Please allow one to three days for me to verify your subscriber (or pay per use) status with Community MX.

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
January 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to use the Camera.onActivity event handler to detect motion in the video feed.

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
January 2007
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to use the Camera class in Flash Player. The Camera class has been available in Flash Player since version 6, yet many Flash designers and developers don't know much about it. The Camera class gives you access to the user's webcam, to do everything from publishing a live video stream to detecting movement in the camera frame. In this tutorial, you learn how to test a webcam connection and watch live output in a Flash movie.

The Working With the Camera Class Series:
Working with the Camera Class - Part 1: Viewing Live Output
Working with the Camera Class - Part 2: Detecting Motion
Working with the Camera Class - Part 3: Publishing a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 4: Subscribing to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 5: Adding Audio to a Live Stream
Working with the Camera Class - Part 6: Controlling Image Quality and Bandwidth Usage
Working with the Camera Class - Part 7: Controlling Audio Quality
Working with the Camera Class - Part 8: Recording a Stream...

My First MacWorld (with Flashforward!)
January 2007
Whoah. As in a Joey Lawrence, "whoah." Cheesy, but it's pretty much how I felt as a Macworld newbie this week in San Francisco. Lynda Weinman had asked me back in October if I was interested in presenting a Flash Video session at Macworld. Since I had never been to a Macworld conference, I took the opportunity to go. I arrived Sunday night and prepped my slides and sample files on my brand new black MacBook, packing a sweet Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Little did I know that night just how rewarding the following two days were going to be. ...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components
December 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project. In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to use CSS files with shared fonts. In this tutorial, you learn how to create a shared library for Flash UI components. Components can require many kilobytes (KB); if you're using the same component across several Flash movies on the same web site, you should consider using a runtime shared library to store the components.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components ...
Flash Video: Why the Other Players Don't Get It
November 2006
Flash Video has taken over the web video industry. There should be little doubt by now that Flash Video is a major player?in any sense of the word?with online distribution of video. I've personally worked on several high-profile Flash Video deployments, and you can see the evidence of Flash Video on just about every major video-enhanced web site. ...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts
November 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project. In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to reuse fonts with dynamic text fields created in ActionScript. In this tutorial, you learn how to use a CSS file (cascading stylesheet file) to format ActionScript-generated text fields. Sharing fonts is one of the best ways to trim down SWF file sizes for large projects involving many SWF files.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
November 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project. In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to reuse fonts with dynamic text fields in other Flash movies. However, those text fields were placed in the movie at authortime, not with ActionScript at runtime. In this tutorial, you learn how to reuse shared fonts with dynamic text fields created in ActionScript. Sharing fonts is one of the best ways to trim down SWF file sizes for large projects involving many SWF files.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts Coming Soon
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...

Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
October 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project.

In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to create a runtime shared library (RSL) file and share its font assets with static text in other Flash movies. In this tutorial, you learn how to reuse the fonts with dynamic text fields in other Flash movies. Sharing fonts is one of the best ways to trim down SWF file sizes for large projects involving many SWF files.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts Coming Soon
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
September 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project.

In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to create a runtime shared library (RSL) file and share its graphical assets with other Flash movies. In this tutorial, you learn how to create a runtime shared library containing font symbols, to reuse the fonts with static text fields in other Flash movies. Sharing fonts is one of the best ways to trim down SWF file sizes for large projects involving many SWF files.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts Coming Soon
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
September 2006
In this "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project. In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how to create an authortime shared library file and add it to the Common Libraries menu in the Flash 8 authoring environment. In this tutorial, you learn how to create a runtime shared library.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts Coming Soon
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
August 2006
In this new "Working with" series, you learn how to create and use shared libraries with your Flash movies. Shared libraries can help you optimize your workflow, making it easier to update assets across several Flash movies used for any type of project. I just finished a large DVD-ROM project for UCLA's Center for International Emergency Medicine, and the use of shared fonts dramatically decreased troubleshooting font issues between Mac and Windows versions of Flash 8.

The Working with Shared Libraries Series:
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 1: Sharing Symbols in Authortime Libraries
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 2: Sharing Symbols in a Runtime Shared Library
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 3: Sharing Fonts with Static Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 4: Sharing Fonts with Dynamic Text
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 5: Sharing Fonts with Runtime-Created Text Fields
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 6: Using CSS with Shared Fonts Coming Soon
Working with Shared Libraries - Part 7: Sharing Components Coming Soon...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects
August 2006
In the last installment of this series, you added alpha and color mode effects to the printable certificate. In this tutorial, you learn how to print filter effects added to the certificate, enabling you to create more enhanced graphics. During the process, you learn how to use the new BitmapData class to create a pixel-by-pixel copy of the CourseCert clip. You can preview the finished version of the Flash movie here.

Approximate download size: 1.4MB

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects ...

Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
August 2006
In the last installment of this series, you created a color toggle to the preview window for a printable certificate. In this tutorial, you learn how to correctly print alpha and color mode effects added to graphic elements of the certificate. During the process, you learn how to use the printAsBitmap feature of the PrintJob class to faithfully reproduce your certificate on the printed page. You can preview the finished version of the Flash movie here.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
June 2006
In the last installment of this series, you created a preview window for a printable certificate. In this tutorial, you learn how to add a color toggle to the preview window, enabling the user to preview a black & white (or grayscale) version of the certificate before it is sent to a black & white laser printer. During the process, you learn how to use the new filters property of the MovieClip class in Flash Player. You can preview the finished version of the Flash movie here.

Approximate download size: 887k

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
June 2006
In the last installment of this series, you built a Flash form that passed information to a dynamically created certificate you could print. In this tutorial, you learn how to create a preview window for the certificate. During the process, you learn how to use the Window component. You can preview the finished version of the Flash movie here.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
May 2006
Once you have a component that can accept dynamic parameters, you'll want to make a user interface that can easily accept new certificate details and pass the information to the certificate clip. In this tutorial, you learn how to add Label, TextInput, and DateField components to your Flash movie.

Approximate download size: 717k

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
April 2006
In the last installment of this series, you learned how to print a certificate template that was created in Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Flash 8. In this next installment, you learn how to specify the name, title and date of the certificate using ActionScript.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...

Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
April 2006
In the last installment of this series, you learned how to create a certificate template in Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Flash 8. In this next installment, you learn how to add the appropriate ActionScript to your Flash movie to send output to a printer.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
April 2006
More and more Flash content creators are discovering the power of printing from the Flash Player. Since Flash Player 4, you've had the tools to print content from a Flash movie. Starting with Flash Player 7, a powerful ActionScript class named PrintJob has been on the scene to enable exacting control over printed output from a Flash movie. In this multi-part series, you learn how to build a printable certificate from a Flash movie. In this first installment, you learn how to create the certificate template in Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Flash 8.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 7: Printing Alpha and Color Mode Effects
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 8: Printing Filter Effects Coming Soon ...
Mixed Thoughts on Microsoft Mix 06
March 2006
From March 20th to 22nd, the Microsoft Mix 06 conference was held in Las Vegas. The forthcoming Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and WinFX application layer were widely touted as the enablers for the next generation experience of Windows Vista, the successor to the Windows XP operating system. ...
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 4 - Adding Cue Points with Sorenson Squeeze 4.3
March 2006
When Flash Professional 8 was released in 2005, the only tool available to add embedded cue points to Flash Video (.flv) files was Macromedia's own Flash 8 Video Encoder tool. Now, Sorenson Squeeze 4.3 adds a powerful cue point creation feature to the mix. Read this tutorial to learn how to add navigation cue points to your Flash Video files.

The Flash Video Cue Points Series:
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 1 - Overview of Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 2 - Embedded Navigation Cue Points with Flash Pro 8
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 3 - Building a List of Embedded Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 4 - Adding Cue Points with Sorenson Squeeze 4.3

Approximate download size: 4.6MB...
Flash Video Deployment: A Case Study with TEACHnow.org, Part 1: Video Requirements
March 2006
Since the release of Flash Player 8, a lot of buzz has been generating about the new and improved quality of Flash Video, thanks to the On2 VP6 codec that is part of the Flash Player 8 plug-in. In Part 1 of this series, the process of deploying a 35-minute documentary with Flash Video is examined....

Flash Video Cue Points: Part 3 - Building a List of Embedded Cue Points
January 2006
Are you looking for a way to read cue point data from an FLV file you created with the Flash 8 Video Encoder or the Flash Pro 8 Video Import wizard? In this tutorial, learn how to populate a List component with cue point names from a sample FLV file, as shown in the completed Flash movie below. As the video plays, the appropriate cue point highlights in the List component.
This text is replaced by the Flash movie.

The Flash Video Cue Points Series:
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 1 - Overview of Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 2 - Embedded Navigation Cue Points with Flash Pro 8
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 3 - Building a List of Embedded Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 4 - Adding Cue Points with Sorenson Squeeze 4.3 Coming Soon

Approximate download: 3MB
...
The Future of the Adobe Flash Player
January 2006
Web designers and developers alike have been speculating wildly about the fate of the Flash Player, now that Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia is history. The most popular rumor is that the Flash Player will become one with Adobe Reader. If you've been flying solo with Macromedia products and never touched Adobe's line, you've probably still used the Adobe Reader, formerly known as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Reader can open, display, and print PDF files. PDF stands for Portable Document Format, and accomplished very similar feats for the printing industry as SWF did for the web industry. ...
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 2 - Embedded Navigation Cue Points with Flash Pro 8
January 2006
In the last tutorial of this series, you learned how cue points can be used to enhance video in Flash. In this installment, you learn how to add navigation cue points to a video source clip that will be compressed as a Flash Video file (flv).

The Flash Video Cue Points Series:
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 1 - Overview of Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 2 - Embedded Navigation Cue Points with Flash Pro 8
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 3 - Building a List of Embedded Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 4 - Adding Cue Points with Sorenson Squeeze 4.3 Coming Soon...
FAQ: Flash Video
January 2006
Looking for answers to your Flash video questions? Review our Flash Video FAQ to learn more about using the Flash platform to deliver your web video content....
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 1 - Overview of Cue Points
December 2005
Flash Professional 8 makes the process of adding cue points to your video content easier than ever before. In this introductory article for a new Flash Video series at Community MX, you learn the in's and out's of cue points for Flash Video.

The Flash Video Cue Points Series:
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 1 - Overview of Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 2 - Embedded Navigation Cue Points with Flash Pro 8
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 3 - Building a List of Embedded Cue Points
Flash Video Cue Points: Part 4 - Adding Cue Points with Sorenson Squeeze 4.3 Coming Soon...

Working with SMIL, Part 4: Creating a Video List with XML, SMIL, and the FLVPlayback Component
November 2005
Learn how to create multiple SMIL files for several pieces of video content, played within the new FLVPlayback component shipping with Flash Pro 8. Use the List component with XML data to specify each clip, which in turn loads a SMIL file responsible for the FLV files associated with the video content.

The Working with SMIL Series:
Working with SMIL - Part 1: The FLVPlayback Component and Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 2: Detecting Bandwidth with Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 3: Real-time Streaming FLVs with the FLVPlayback Component
Working with SMIL - Part 4: Creating a Video List with XML, SMIL, and the FLVPlayback Component...
Working with SMIL, Part 3: Real-time Streaming FLVs with the FLVPlayback Component
November 2005
In this tutorial, you learn how to take advantage of SMIL to easily integrate data-rate specific Flash Video content with your Flash Media Server (or Flash Communciation Server) applications. These server technologies take the guesswork and hassle out of determining the Flash client's available bandwidth.

The Working with SMIL Series:
Working with SMIL - Part 1: The FLVPlayback Component and Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 2: Detecting Bandwidth with Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 3: Real-time Streaming FLVs with the FLVPlayback Component
Working with SMIL - Part 4: Creating a Video List with XML, SMIL, and the FLVPlayback Component...
Working with SMIL, Part 2: Detecting Bandwidth with Progressive FLV Files
October 2005
If you use a SMIL file to list a variety of specific data rate FLV files for the FLVPlayback component, you need to know how to determine the Flash client's available bandwidth. Once the bandwidth is calculated, the FLVPlayback component can select the appropriate FLV file to play. This tutorial enhances the Flash movie you created in Part 1 of this series.

The Working with SMIL Series:
Working with SMIL - Part 1: The FLVPlayback Component and Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 2: Detecting Bandwidth with Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 3: Real-time Streaming FLVs with the FLVPlayback Component
Working with SMIL - Part 4: Creating a Video List with XML, SMIL, and the FLVPlayback Component...
Working with SMIL - Part 1: The FLVPlayback Component and Progressive FLV Files
October 2005
One of the most talked about features of Flash Professional 8 is the new FLVPlayback component. In this tutorial, you learn how to use SMIL files with the FLVPlayback component to enhance the quality of the video playback experience for a range of target data rates.

The Working with SMIL Series:
Working with SMIL - Part 1: The FLVPlayback Component and Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 2: Detecting Bandwidth with Progressive FLV Files
Working with SMIL - Part 3: Real-time Streaming FLVs with the FLVPlayback Component
Working with SMIL - Part 4: Creating a Video List with XML, SMIL, and the FLVPlayback Component...
SWF Metadata in Flash 8
September 2005
Starting with Flash 8, you can now include metadata within your Flash movies (SWF files). By adding a title and description to your Flash document, search engines have the potential to index more of your Flash content on the web....

Choosing a Video Codec for Your Flash 8 Movie
September 2005
By now, you've probably heard about--and seen--the new On2 VP6 codec featured in Flash Player 8. While the codec offers image quality that is far superior to Sorenson Spark, On2 VP6 is not always the best choice for your video content. In this article, you learn how to determine which codec will offer the best experience to your audience....
Pushing Flash Player 8 Technology
September 2005
Whenever a new version of the Flash Player is released, Flash content creators need to decide how soon they'll start building content for the new player. In this article, you learn more about Flash Player adoption trends....
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 4: Creating a Button Class
September 2005
Do you think components are evil? The work of crazy people who intentionally want to bloat your Flash movie file sizes? This tutorial shows you that you can create your own style of Button component that doesn't eat eat up 20 or more KB in your Flash movie. Learn how to take the frame script from the previous tutorial and convert it into a full-blown ActionScript 2.0 class associated with a component clip in the library.

The Better Practices for Flash Designers Series:
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 1: Coding Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 2: Using Shared Fonts
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 3: Building Better Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 4: Creating a Button Class...
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 3: Building Better Buttons
August 2005
In this tutorial, you learn how to create Movie Clip buttons with tweening transitions between over and out states, and how to write Movie Clip button handlers in ActionScript. Get a sneak peek at Flash 8's Glow filter in the works as well!

The Better Practices for Flash Designers Series:
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 1: Coding Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 2: Using Shared Fonts
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 3: Building Better Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 4: Creating a Button Class...
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 2: Using Shared Fonts
August 2005
In this tutorial, you learn how to setup a runtime shared library, or RSL, to reuse font assets with several Flash movies. RSLs can greatly optimize your Flash workflow and reduce the file size of font-heavy Flash projects.

The Better Practices for Flash Designers Series:
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 1: Coding Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 2: Using Shared Fonts
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 3: Building Better Buttons
Better Practices for Flash Designers - Part 4: Creating a Button Class...