FlashICT.net

I was searching this morning to try and find a solution for an image resizing problem. Basically I’m looking for a way to import and replace and existing image in Flash. Using the same solution I use for my ContentGenerator.net applications I can easily import and replace images, but the problem comes if the new image is a different size from the original one. My idea is to somehow track / read the image properties and then get Flash to resize the new image accordingly.

Anyway I couldn’t find much to help, but I did come across a Flash site that I’d never seen before - Oddhammer.com. The page I initially arrived at was about resizing the Flash stage with a feature that appeared in Flash 6. As I explored the site further I found some really great ideas and suggestions - and lots that is closely linked to things I experiment with in Flash. The site is great!

The Actionscript performance tests are quite interesting - shows why scripts slow up when working with complex arrays. They also demonstrate that the newer versions of the Flash player seem to take longer to work with arrays - I had thought that things had become quicker. Then again, the improvements in other, more significant areas, are much more useful. Pleasingly the array.sort command that I use to randomize an array has a massive performance boost with the new Flash 8.5 player. This bodes very well for the next version of Flash.

One thing I’ve been delighted to find is a Flash extension that automatically backs up your Flash file within a specified time limit - the Auto Snapshot extension. This is a great tool. Up until now I keep saving my Flash files with file01.fla, file02.fla, file03.fla - and it becomes a bit of a hassle to keep remembering to do this. It is also always the way that just when I need to go back and recode something it is the one time that I haven’t bothered to save it. So, I’m going to download this extension and give it a try. I’ll certainly be donating if it works

So, have a look at Oddhammer.com.