The Creative Toolbox: For Flash, MX Means Most eXcellent

George Penston

I can’t quite remember exactly when I heard about Macromedia Flash and started to tinker around with it. It was somewhere around the time of Flash 2 and 3. What I do remember is revisiting the documentation and tutorials several times as I struggled to grasp the concepts and learn the proper steps to accomplish the simple task of tweening an object. This cryptic application was a bear to learn but once I broke the magic code, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.

With a few Flash projects notched in my belt, I began to get comfortable using Flash 3. Just about this time, Macromedia seemed to sense my comfort and released Flash 4, which introduced ActionScripting, a totally new scripting language derived from JavaScript. This new language made it possible to control just about anything in a Flash movie. Although it was hard to argue the sheer power ActionScript afforded, I was overwhelmed and a bit put off of having to learn something that smacked of hard-core coding. Needless to say, I took a vacation from using Flash.

Now three versions later, I’ve taken the new version, Flash MX (6.0), out for a spin, and all I can say is, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” MX is the surname given to the entire product line recently rolled out by Macromedia. The substance of this upgrade is more than a flashy new moniker, however. If you’re a fulltime Flash user, this upgrade is chock full of niceties to make your life easier and allow you to simply do more in Flash. Those of you who pound out bunches and bunches of ActionScript code will find many improvements to make your coding experience easier and even give you help in debugging your scripts. Flash MX now includes much better video support, perhaps enticing those last refuges who use Director to consider adopting Flash as the modern interactive presentation tool of choice. Mac OS X users get a native version and Windows XP users can benefit from better stability. In this review I’ve done my best to detail the more compelling new features in this release. Continue reading to see what they are.

Are You MXperienced?
So what is all this MX hubbub about anyway? Well, Macromedia is pretty coy about what the MX signifies: I’ve heard it isn’t meant to represent anything, but I’ve also heard it stands for Macromedia Experience. But whatever the subtext, the appendage appears to signify an improved user interface that’s shared across the family of Macromedia’s Web development products. Not only does the entire MX family include native support for the latest operating systems, Mac OS X and Windows XP, it includes a new interface scheme that emulates an IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Hardcore coders work in IDEs everyday to develop true applications in Java, C++, etc.

The improved interface has done away with the tabbed panel that was comparable to Adobe’s tabbed-palettes. Instead we are presented with single panels that can be expanded and collapsed by simply clicking its title bar (see figures 1 and 2). Similar panel controls show up in Windows XP and Mac OS X themselves, so it makes perfect sense for Macromedia to choose this type of control. Panels can easily be moved, grouped together, and panel layouts can be saved as a set. Various presets are included for both designers and developers. Windows users enjoy an additional feature that lets Flash MX to overtake your entire desktop and divides the workspace up into draggable sections of panels similar to a framed Website.

Figure 1: Flash MX has a redesigned interface consisting of single panels rather than tabbed palettes.

Figure 2: Panels now include a gripper section, collapsible title bar, and an options menu. This is the redesigned Color Mixer panel.

The new Properties palette — borrowed from Dreamweaver — reduces the excessive amount of panels found in Flash 5. Instead you are presented with contextual controls and tools for whatever it is you have selected at the time. I have to commend Macromedia for deciding on something different for the user interface that doesn’t get Adobe’s lawyers in a tizzy and that make tremendous strides to clean up the once cluttered interface of before.

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