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Macromedia Flash Article

Jonathan Kaye, PhD
amethyst-research.com

This tutorial has been excerpted from the book Flash MX for Interactive Simulation by Jonathan Kaye and David Castillo, published by Delmar Learning in November 2002.

Macromedia Flash MX Components introduce a powerful new tool for the Flash developer, expanding the application of Macromedia Flash 5 SmartClips. This tutorial walks you through the creation of a simple isosceles triangle component.

This article covers the following topics:

·	Using new ActionScript syntax, such as #initclip and registerClass, to create a simple component with a custom icon.
·	Using new ActionScript methods, such as addProperty to insulate your code better and _targetInstanceName to create components that affect the behavior of other stage elements.
·	Understanding the mechanism that allows component inheritance.
·	Creating an enhanced (custom user interface) Property inspector.
·	Making a live preview movie.

While it may be possible to complete these tutorials using the Normal mode of the Actions panel, it is highly recommend that you use the Expert mode when following along with this tutorial.

·	What is a component?
·	Building a simple triangle component
·	Using _targetInstanceName and setting inheritance
·	Creating a custom user interface for the component
·	Making a live preview movie for the authoring environment

About the author

Jonathan Kaye, PhD is the President of Amethyst Research LLC, an award-winning interactive design firm specializing in the development of realistic, interactive simulations and performance-based training. He has recently coauthored the book Flash MX for Interactive Simulation: How to Construct and Use Device Simulations, published by Delmar Learning in November 2002, and will appear at DevCon 2002, among other conferences, to speak on this subject. A Macromedia Flash MX evangelist wannabe, Jonathan enjoys developing meaningfully-interactive content a little too much, but he attributes that zeal to mental imbalances probably caused during his Computer Science PhD program on modeling cardiopulmonary interactions in trauma.