I admit, I was still a bit wet behind the ears when it came to working with XML in AS3 – never did more then getting some images for a slideshow or loading some config-stuff out of a tiny 6-lines XML document. I thought, working with XML in Flash is still some myXML.firstChild.firstChild.firstChild.nodeValue bulls**t. For a recent project, I had the chance to actually dive into this E4X magic and do the tricks. And yes, although I would still prefer using everything as serialized AMF, working with XML in Flash makes sense … now. And it’s definitely fun.

I finally managed to install the FDT pureMVC code templates found here. Thanks for that pedr. However, I made some changes to make them fit 100% on our needs. I changed the syntax style (blanks before and after type and wrap braces) and added some more informations to the class comment. Also I changed the signature of the Proxy and Mediator constructor (no name is passed). Finally to shortcuts to the template now simply start with “p”.

Hiho. Been busy these last couple of weeks … For me it’s the first time looking deeper into this whole Flex stuff. And Aron is getting his hand dirty with iPhone development and Google Web Toolkit (GWT). But as the title already says, this post is all about Flex. Right now, I’m building some Flex-modules that are heavily data-driven – that’s basically why I chose Flex in the first place. After trying to build my own datagrids and excel-like tables in Flash/AS3 I quickly decided to turn to Flex and use the built-in components to get everything working. So …. after getting to know Flex a little better, I can say one thing for sure: I don’t really like it :) You got components for almost everything, but if your requirements differ just a bit from the features the flex-components offer, you are screwed. and especially the DataGrid – it’s very easy to get some rows out of your database and display them in the grid, but don’t event try to use complex data … then everything crashes and you have to write dozens ans dozens of ItemRenderers and work-arounds to display the data in the DataGrid. yadda yadda yadda … I’m still working my butt off to get everything as I want it to be – but I thought I’ll share my thoughts and especially my “tricks” with you.

Hi there. Just wanted to post that our new (second revision) Flash CS4 book is out and you can get it here: www.galileodesign.de www.amazon.de

… grab your super-early-bird-ticket now: FOTB. see ya in brighton!

Joshua Davis – Image by John via Flickr I’m back from the OFFF and had a wonderful time. First to say, that Lisbon is an amazingly pretty city. I actually plan to come back sometime later this year and recommend everyone to visit this city. Like always on conferences there are ups and downs. Besides the obvious facts like lame speakers and organization issues it’s sometimes hard (at least for me) to keep the pressure up a whole conference day especially since having loots of beers at night seems to be an integral element of those conferences… ;)

hi there. just returned from cologne where FFK09 took place for the 9th time. we met a lot of people and had a great time with the different talks – some i’d like to point out. so, if you’ll have the chance to check them out – don’t miss ‘em.

hi there … just wanted to share our schedule for the next weeks to come. so for all you flash- and design-lovers out there, here are the facts (not chronological).

We recently finished a pretty untypical project. The client wanted to have a portfolio site, where the “cases”-pages were so different, that they did not fit in any cms or xml structure. And since the client has their own flash developer (well, more of a designer type…) they wanted to be able to maintain the FLA files themselves. So we built the basic structure in an index.swf. The “cases” FLAs had a document class which inherited from a super class. So what if something in the superclass changes? Yes, you have to open every FLA and export it all over again. For this case we wrote a little JSFL script with a XUL user interface. Interestingly this feature exists since Flash MX 2004 without much notice.

hi there, long time no see … but we are very busy working on some interesting projects and writing the second edition of our “workshops for flash” book. the latter is also the reason why we are using flash cs4 …

Recently we had the problem to change the embed setting of tons of textfields instances inside of at least a gazillion MovieClips. We got the FLA-file from a designer (we maybe haven’t briefed enough… :) ) and wanted to use …

Great news from our favorite ActionScript Editor FDT. After we post the Unofficial FDT Buglist the Powerflasher (the Company behind FDT) came with an update to version 3.1 (which fixed some of the mentioned bugs and added new features). Some …

Monday I got back from the MadinSpain conference that took place in Madrid Spain. We had a wounderful time hearing some nice talks, drinking brilliant spanish beer and taking part in the strange madrid nightlife. The conference was anounced as …

Goal: Create a mailing list. How to: Install app Create a project Import some email addresses as csv file Sort email addresses Export csv file Done Background: I never had a mailing list inside my email app. I’m using Thunderbird for several years now, but i was always too lazy to create a proper mailing list. I know that sounds funny, but every time i want to send some birthday invitations I pick every email address one-by-one from the global address book (thats where Thunderbird puts all the addresses in, i ever wrote an email to or received an email from). Ridiculous! So if you ever have a lot of time to order all your email addresses, this tool might help you.

A couple of weeks ago i visited the entertainment trade fair IFA Berlin. And beside all the fancy LCD displays and strange looking MP3 players there was a huge multitouch display at the stand of the German Telekom. After 10 …