Click here to download all code and examples

Our Top 50 Flash Techniques feature in Issue 160 paves the way to dynamic success for designers, but we had so much code and content we simply couldn’t fill it all in the magazine. Here we exclusively reveal tips 41-50 with more must know techniques and resources to take your Flash skills to the next level.

No 41

Luke Whittaker
Director
www.stateofplaygames.com

Building a Flash Game - Create a simple prototype first
Playability should be the priority when you start developing a Flash game, and the best way to perfect this is to build a prototype with simple block graphics first. We did this with State of Play’s recent game Headspin: Storybook, a puzzle game based around a popup book, and were able to tweak the amount of popups, as well as their positions and size, so we knew exactly what artwork needed building.  If you get too much final artwork in the game too early it starts jeopardising the testing process, since you become less inclined to take out all that hard work, and you might end up with a weaker game as a result.  A simple block version also lets you get a better feel for how the game works, without being distracted by graphics. This work on a prototype won’t be wasted – in the case of Headspin: Storybook we ended up using it as our codebase for the main game, so the final product came together very quickly once we were happy with our gameplay.

No 42

Resource
How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
www.laurenceking.com

This is an excellent book for those looking to set up their own company or freelance business. The 160-page tome looks at the attributes needed by the modern designer, how and where to find a job, interview techniques, the benefits and pitfalls of going freelance, the in and outs of running a studio and how to promote yourself and get new business.

No 43

Andre Weier
Flash Developer
www.nalindesign.com

Free Flash extensions
Some free Flash extensions (MXP / JSFL) really helps creating a better workflow. one of my personal favorites is the free “Useful Instance Helper” / “Useful Timeline Helper” from Big Spaceship. “The “Useful Instance Helper” lets you batch modify movieclip instances that are on the stage in the IDE. The top field is handy when you have an instance of a movieclip that lives across many keyframes and you want to give them all the same name without clicking on every single frame, then selecting the instance, and then typing in its name. Just pick a layer, enter a name, and press “set”.”

No 44

Resource
Free Flash scripts
http://www.hotscripts.com/category/flash/

Hot Scripts is a comprehensive Web directory that has over 40,000 web development related resources. It’s Flash section includes an archive of flash source files, a database of individual Flash movies available on the net, a collection of online tutorials and guidelines on Web development in Flash and a listing of web sites offering various content for Flash developers. Check it out it’s good.

No 45

George Profenza
Flash Developer
www.disturbmedia.com

RegExr – Regular Expression Testing tool
Grant Skinner build a handy intuitive tool for learning and building ‘Regular Expressions’. I never quite understood what those weird collections of symbols meant, but Tooltips makes it easy to understand and learn. Download the desktop version of the online RegExr application to start testing.

No 46

Resource
Free Flash Templates
http://www.flashmo.com

Flashmo.com provides free flash templates or FLA flash source files (including flash templates, flash intros, flash effects, 3D thumbnail galleries, and flash photo galleries) to share with flash developers and designers around the world. It boasts an impressive seelction of over 200 Flash templates, all free to download.

No 47

Andre Weier
Flash Developer
www.nalindesign.com

Essential Flash shortcuts
If you’re tired of typing every single character into the Flash Actions panel or using the drop down menus to choosing an action than you can speed up your workflow with shortcuts.  A shortcut is – if you’re not already familiar with it – a single key input or a sequence of key inputs to invoking a command.

here are 2 examples:

a single key input shortcut example: open the Flash Actions panel with a single press on “F9″. this is much faster than open the panel from the drop down menu or clicking on it.

a sequence of key inputs shortcut example:
- open a new Flash file and press “F9″
- click into the Actions panel
- then press one after the other: “Esc” then “f” then “n”
- you should see now as an result of that shortcut sequence: function () { }

here is a list of some great time saving shortcuts:

ACTIONS:
01. function () { } = Esc + f + n
02. trace = Esc + t + r
03. gotoAndStop() = Esc + g + s
04. gotoAndPlay() = Esc + g + p
05. stop() = Esc + s + t
06. play() = Esc + p + l
06. getURL = Esc + g + u

FRAMES:
01. Add frame = F5
02. Delete Frame = Shift + F5
03. Add Key Frame = F6
04. Add Blank Key Frame = F7
05. Make Symbol = F8

SYSTEM STANDARDS:
Save = Ctrl + s
Undo = Ctrl + z
Cut = Ctrl + x
Copy = Ctrl + c
Paste = Ctrl + v

If you want to create some individual shortcuts than you can set up your own profile by opening > “Keyboard Shortcuts”  from the > “Edit” drop down menu.

No 48

Resource
ActionScript 3 resources
www.kirupa.com

Kirupa provides an impressive array of Flash and ActionScript tutorials and resources. The tutorials cover a host of Flash versions and are presented via step-by-step guides with screenshots, example code and the Flash code in action. Alternatively, many of the newer tutorials are presented via video.

No 49

Steven Jenkins
Features Editor
www.webdesignermag.co.uk

The CS4 Flash Accessibility panel
The Flash Accessibility panel allows users to add accessibility information for screen readers and set accessibility options for individual Flash objects or entire Flash applications.It can be found via Window>OtherPanels>Accessibility, the keyboard shortcut is Shift + F11.
The panel has a number of options including Make Object Accessible. This is activated by default and ensures that information is passed to a screen reader. Deactivate and no information is passed to a screen reader. Description is a very useful option as this will be read by a screen reader, so make it concise and relevant.

No 50

Resource
Buy & Sell Flash components
http://flashden.net/

FlashDen is an Envato Marketplace where developers and designers can buy and sell royalty-free stock files for use in Adobe Flash projects and general websites. The files sell for as little as a dollar and if you are a developer looking to make a little extra cash sign up and start selling.