Analysis: Google Swiffy: Convert Flash to HTML

About a month ago we had from Google this extension presumely to transform Flash to HTML easily.

If you go to the website you can download it as an .mxp. I shall remind you that if you have more than one Flash version installed you could have a conflict with the Adobe Extension Manager. I had to unistall the previous version of it so as to run this extension.

Easy to install

Download the Swiffy Extension (.mxp file) and open it.Adobe Extension Manager will install the Swiffy Extension, making it immediately available to use from Flash Professional.

Export to HTML5 with one command

The new “Export to HTML5 (Swiffy)” item in the “Commands” menu exports your file to HTML5 and opens the result in your default web browser. Assigning a keyboard shortcut to this command makes it even easier!

Quick feedback

Information about the conversion process, such as features that are not supported by Swiffy, is shown in the “Output” panel, immediately after the export finishes.

So, you have it installed! And now?

Let´s make a simple banner with no Code, only timeline animation, with Actionscript 2 and exported as a .swf, you will have this:

Now, if you go to Flash > Menu> Commands > Export as HTML5 (Swiffy) you will have this advice first:

Later, your brower will open a new Tab, so if your .swf route was this:

whatever/300x250_timeline_animation_as2.swf

In my case: http://www.fernandocomet.com/blog/300x250_timeline_animation_as2.swf

Now you will have this:

whatever/300x250_timeline_animation_as2.swf.html

In my case: http://www.fernandocomet.com/blog/300x250_timeline_animation_as2.swf.html

And if you upload to a server and embed it

So, there´s no difference by now.

Let´s do this in Actionscript 3. You won´t have the Warning, and about the results:

Exported as .swf:

Exported with Swiffy as HTML5:

There´s no difference. I would even say that it´s easier in Actionscript 3 as there are no warnings.

So let´s try now with some code:

Do not try to do it in Actionscript 3, you will have this Warning:

Swiffy Flash Extension for Win v1.0.13 [Swiffy v3.6.1]

- Warnings -

Scenes are not supported.

ActionScript 3.0 is not supported.

In Actionscript 2 you can´t use blend modes.

The good news is that you can use Greensock library

For example in a banner in Actionscript 2 with this code:

[CODE]

import com.greensock.*;

import com.greensock.plugins.*;

function infiniteMovement()

{

textbanner._alpha=0;

TweenLite.to(textbanner, 1, {delay:1, _alpha:100});

TweenLite.to(textbanner, 1, {delay:3, _rotation:360, overwrite:false});

TweenLite.to(textbanner, 1, {delay:7, _alpha:0, overwrite:false, onComplete:onFinishTween, onCompleteParams:[4,bg]});

TweenLite.to(textbanner, 1, {delay:6, _rotation:0, overwrite:false});

}

function onFinishTween(parameter1:Number,parameter2:MovieClip)

{

infiniteMovement();

}

infiniteMovement();

stop();

[/CODE]

The result in HTML5 once exported is this:

2010 Actionscript Future

Please, just take a look to this stats:

Two Thousand and Ten Digital Marketing Outlook

Perhaps you´d better see this screenshots related to Actionscript technology:


Well, I cannot say if it´s the same in every country. I think the survay was taken in USA, anyway they are a big influence and tendence in online ads.

Good news from Social Media and new technologies cos they are using Acstionscript (advergaming in Social Media, the upcoming boom of mobile devices, widgets, Augmented Reality, RichMedia, etc.)

If we have also the launching of the new FlashCS5 I see clear future for all of us the Actionscript community

is the crisis over?

At least that´s what they say about more powerfull countries (in terms of economy).

Probably in the online area and specially in Actionscript platform, has there been a crisis? Is it finished?

I strongly think January is gonna have a big movement in job offers, you know companies making budgets and all those things.

I was laid off last year in January, it just cost me 10 days to find another job. But perhaps now it´s a good time to see this trailer about the topic I´ve seen on Twitter.

See more about the movie Lemonade here.
Seen on AdBrandEtc.

Comet & Actionscript Photo Slideshow

This is the photo gallery of this blog after three years bloggin. It is curious to see how fast web changes.



Also embedded in a HTML

Comet&Actionscript, last 20 posts

1- Thoughts on Infographics websites
2- Thoughts on Flash Analytics and indexing
3- Iñaki Villuendas Lagunas
4- The internet mapping project
5- New iPhone features, Flash unlikey support
6- Google Wave Coming
7- BooneOakley.com a Youtube website
8- Interactive Credo
9- Can´t stop surfing
10- Microsoft 2019 Lab Visions
11- Yes we can, Comunica+A
12- Flash on the iPhone Comic
13- Augmented Reality: levelHead v1.0, 3-cube speedrun...
14- Los Peces Making Of
15- Web Trend Map 04
16- What´s the meaning of Advertising?
17- Revising Web 2.0 Congress
18- Banners with one frame, Recursive Call with TweenLite
19- Demystifying Interaction Design
20-Web Design FlashFolios

Banners with one frame, Recursive Call with TweenLite

So, this is an example of how to make a banner in Actionscript 3.0 with no timeline animation.
You can see it here. You can download the .fla here.

The code:

import gs.TweenLite;

function infiniteMovement()
{
cuad_mc.x=0;
TweenLite.to(cuad_mc, 5, {x:250, onComplete:onFinishTween, onCompleteParams:[4,tracker_mc]});
}

function onFinishTween(parameter1:Number,parameter2:MovieClip)
{
infiniteMovement();
}

infiniteMovement();

stop();

tracker_mc is just a movieclip out of the stage. This way, after five seconds of animation I use this movieclip as a reference just to call again to the function infiniteMovement()

More about tweenlite in GreenSock

CLICKTAG ACTIONSCRIPT 3

Problem: Making a clicktag for a banner in Actionscript 3

In AS2 I would do:

buton_mc.onRelease=function(){
getURL(_root.clickTag,"_blank");
}

So, it didn´t work all that I found in jumpeye, KirupaForum, Ultrashock, Actionscript.org, or in Google Forums.

Besides, in Google Adwords they don´t say nothing about it, and in the help of Adobe CS4 they still have old methods of AS2 (getURL), watch it here.

I found some interesting info in AdForm you can even check it online.

I talked to someone from EyeBlaster and fromEyeWonder, they have their own classes, but I don´t know where the banners are going.

Even more, I find some information in this post where they say "the HTML tags on your movie must have AllowScriptAccess set to always. If AllowScriptAccess is set to never or sameDomain, the call will fail".

Not all is negative, there is something in Adobe Developer Center, here:

try
{
var url:String;
var paramObj:Object = LoaderInfo(this.root.loaderInfo).parameters;
url = String(paramObj["url"]);
}
catch (error:Error)
{
trace(error);
}
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(url);
navigateToURL(request,"_self");

I opened a discussion also in ASNativos.

So, by the time I was making some trials with this all my work had to be changed cos they wanted Flash 8 as much. So I had to return to AS2...

Conclusions:
- Programmers don´t make banners, there´re no good or clear tutorials... Desinformation
- Collin Moock was right when he said getURL shouldn´t have been removed.
- Banners are still made in Flash 8
- Evangelist should think also in these things besides of thinking in RIA development.

The Aquent Orange Book

Aquent, a global firm specialising in staffing solutions for the marketing, communications and creative industries, has just published'The Salary Survey and Industry Monitor for the Marketing, Communications and Creative Industries'.

They make a study out of 7 countries: The Nederlands, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, UK and Czech Republic. This is a very interesting study of different aspects such as salaries, rotation, freelance, profiles, market perspectives.

I strongly recommend you to have a look at it.

Front programmer. How much do you earn?

One ot the things we´ve posted about in this blog is the Actionscript job market, not only in Spain, but also in the rest of the world. In fact, we support this from Linkedin.

So, last weekend I was surfing on the web in some of the marketing links I have. I discovered "el libro blanco de los contenidos digitales", it is a spanish publication about digital contents. Also I came up with the "Estudio de Honorarios de Marketing Directo e Interactivo 2008", I would translate it as "The Direct and interactive marketing wages research". We posted about the Coroflot, la Design Salary Survey some time ago. If you want you can participate, I think it´s until last day of december, and look forward to hearing from the results.

Back to the pdf, there´s a big mistake cos they´re talking about money in Euros per day when everypeople here talks about thousand Euros per year. There are also huge differences between for example a 'front programmer' and an 'advanced front programmer'. So, which is the limi? Actionscript 3? Flex? The server side? We shall ask them...

Comet, last twenty posts

1- No Flash for the iPhone
2- Adobe Flash Catalyst: Yes they can!
3- My brother is Han Solo: Framerate experiments
4- Actionscript vs. Timeline Animation
5- Actionscript Bad Habits
6- Pixel Awards
7- Google Street in Madrid
8- Shakleton: Todo se va a la mierda
9- Fantastic infographic animation: Desktop vacation
10- Nikestore new look
11- Issuu: The simplest and easiest way to make an online portfolio
12- Comet slideshow video
13- Photoshop.com vs. Sliderocket
14- Fifty people one question
15- MadInSpain 08: Critics
16- Linkedin Actionscript Group
17- MonaLisa in 80 miliseconds
18- RevistaFaz + Interacción
19- Java vs. Actionscript: We feel fine!
20- Andy Gilmore Art

Actionscript vs. Timeline Animation

Why is it better to animate with code?

In most of the cases I find the following reasons:

- There are not 1500 frames as I´ve found in timeline animation.
- There are not 50 layers or so.
- There are not 100 movieclips. I make script animations with 2 frames or just one, and two layers (content an Actions) or a Document Class. Sometimes more layers just to see it clearer.
- I don´t use masks, if I had to use one I´d do it by code.
- Animating by code I have more control of the film.
- This is much more better for maintenance, I have to make a change I won´t die in the try or diving into timeline.
- I can use tweens or similar libraries, so I can make movements that otherwise wouldn´t be possible.
- I can use bitmapData.
- It is clearer, more organized and more effective.

Actionscript bad habits

Hereby a list of things I find daily in my job:

- Malicious code: Code in lots of items such as buttons, movieclips, etc. It takes a long time to see all the code. It should be nested in classes or just in some frames as much, but I find files with code in more than 50 places.

- Using variables instead of arrays. They usually use "Eval" instead of "for in". Using a lot of boolean variables.

- Bad terminology: Something like this: mc_car instead of car_mc. Same for buttons.

- Thousands of movieclips and items in the library instead of using dinamyc creation of them.

- Library Caos: It is not so difficult to make folders: img/sound/mc/buttons

- Excesive use of timeline instead of code. One frame is enough, a bit more depending on your preload (if it´s AS2)

- No version control. So you find files names like: car_definitive.fla, car_definitive2.fla, etc.

- Magic numbers instead of using constants or stage proportions

- Code not tabbed.

- Unnecessary spaces in the code.

- Nule documentation or no comments at all.

Linkedin Actionscript Group

I created some months ago a group called "Actionscript Group" for those of you who use this application. This a summary about the group:

"This is a group for Actionscript Developers professionals to expand our network of people and ideas.

The mission of the Actionscript Group is to help us to be more effective in our daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships we already have."

So, as I have posted a lot about Actionscript job market I decided to create this group. The main aim is to make connections between people related to Actionscript. The only requirements to join us are:

1- To be in LinkedIn
2- To be related to Actionscript

If you want to take part just follow the invitation, or check my profile at Linkedin.