FlashTips #6: Debug refresh issues in your swf

Most of us know that Flash Builder makes it easy to debug a swf on a server by creating a custom debug configuration. Recently, I had a problem where I needed to be able to debug issues that happened when the browser window was refreshed.
Jeffry Houser, the brains behind Flextras.com, apparently had this very same problem, and resolved it by starting a new debugger session that points to about:blank and then connecting that to the swf after the window has been created.
That's a great solution, but the issue I was having was happening pretty much immediately after the window was refreshed--if I went through his steps, I'd "miss the window." So, after limping along for several hours, trying to figure out the problem without having the direct debug information, I finally figured out that the problem was amazingly simple:

1. Create a new "refresh" debug configuration that doesn't point to a page with a swf in it (I didn't yet know that about:blank was an option).
2. Start the original debug configuration, that points to the swf as normal.
3. Get to the problem point in the application.
4. Launch the "refresh" configuration.
5. Refresh the window.
6. Voilà, we are connected, from the very beginning of the bootstrapping process.

Enjoy!

FlashTips #5: Copy Variables in Flash Builder

Have you ever wanted to copy all the values of the member variables of a Class instance you were debugging in Flash Builder? If the data types of those variables are simple, you can do this pretty easily by right-clicking on the variable name in the variables panel and selecting "Copy variables." This will copy the name of each member property and its value to the clipboard. Values that are Strings, Numbers and Boolean work, but XML does not--it just copies "XML" as the value--and I suspect that other complex types will not work well either.

As an example of how to use this, today I wanted to copy the contents of the loaderInfo.parameters (a.k.a. FlashVars) so that I could remind myself of what values are incoming. I right-clicked on the parameters object, copied the variables, and pasted into Notepad for future reference.

FlashTips #4 Turn off AutoSave on reference projects

When a Flash Pro project is not set up to save automatically, it will prompt you to enable autosave when it has unsaved changes. I usually say yes, because I don't like to lose work. However, Flash considers a file to be "changed" even if you've just popped open a MovieClip to see where that button is so you can duplicate its position elsewhere.

This can make it inconvenient to have a file open to use it for reference as you work in another file, especially if you use version control. Fortunately, I discovered a way to get around this behavior recently.

Simply click the "wrench" icon in the file Properties panel. This will open a dialogue with a check box you can uncheck the Autosave option while you have the file open, using it for reference. If you don't save the file when you close it, your explorations in the file won't be saved and cause your file to show as edited in version control. Since you didn't save the Autosave change either, next time you open it to edit it, it will Autosave as usual.

FlashTip #3: What color is that thing in Photoshop

If you've ever searched on "Photoshop for Developers," you've probably noticed that most results are either really shallow or should more aptly be titled Photoshop for people who can't read the help and figure it out. So, I thought I'd post every once in a while when I find something that helps me with my real workflow as a working developer. It will probably still be shallow, but at least I know it fills a real need.

Today, I want to talk about what to do when you get a file where you need to find out what color something on a layer is, but it is so covered up in effects that the eyedropper tool won't work. If you're lucky, the designer has included a palette, but somehow that brand of luck and I seldom meet.

Recently, I discovered this simple tip to find out what color that object is (assuming it's a solid color underneath). All you need to do is click the dropdown to the right of the "fx" in the layers panel, then click the eye icon to turn off the effects.

FlashTip #2: Changing the view on audio folders

I deal with audio files nearly every day. These files are ones that have been recorded by our voice talent, so all the track information that is wonderful when you've downloaded a music file or ripped it from CD isn't useful.

What is useful is knowing how big the file is and when it was last modified. You know, like you can easily see in directories that do not contain audio files.

Not long ago, I found a way to change the view on the folder all at once, instead of having to remove all of the unneeded columns and replace them with the ones I want. All you do is right click on the folder, then select properties. Select the "Customize" tab, and you will see that "Optimize this folder for:" is set to "Music."

Now select either "General Items" or "Documents." Here is what it looks like set to "Documents."

FlashTip #1: Center on Stage

One of the things I find most frustrating about Flash CS5.5 is that checking the "Align to Stage" check box in the Align panel seems to yeild results that are not even remotely what I was expecting. For example, if I want to center an object on the stage horizontally and I have this box checked, the center of the object will align with the left edge of the window.

A quick fix I've found for centering objects on stage is simply to cut them and paste them back in. Unlike other applications, Flash doesn't paste objects at the coordinates where they started, but in the center. To paste them at their original coordinates, use Paste in Place (Ctrl-Alt-V). I normally find this annoying, but it turns out to be a great workaround to a feature that doesn't seem to be working correctly.

Is this fixed in CS6? I don't know, but I should be installing CS6 today, so I may update this post later with the answer.

Change of Direction

I haven't said much lately on this blog. Mostly that's because I am not doing Flex very much, and haven't been for a while. I did a short stint with Captivate, but now most of my work is in Flash. And, actually, I am doing more these days in AS2 than AS3. Hopefully that will change, since I am rewriting our codebase to a consistent AS3 framework.

I've decided to shift the focus of this blog away from pure Flex and more to "anything vaguely to do with the Flash Platform that I think is interesting." One of my plans is to add a new tag, FlashTips. This is a double entendre, because many if not most of them won't directly be about Flash, but all of them will be very short, like flash fiction. I am finding that Flash offers huge scope for productivity improvements for small changes in workflow that take minutes to learn.

I hope you like the change.