Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Putting the "Application" in RIA
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Data Control: Data Binding Components
- Visual Control: CSS, Images, and Text
- User Control: Macromedia Flash Player 7
- Video Control: Quality and Delivery Options
- Project Control: Workflow, Custom Code, and Accuracy
- Extending Macromedia Flash: Customizing and Simplifying Your Work Process
- More, More, More: Starting a List of the Top 50 Features
User Control: Macromedia Flash Player 7
Although all the new authoring features are exciting, don't forget how you can make the apps you build more usable. Besides bug fixes and significant performance enhancements, Macromedia Flash Player 7 has a lot to offer the user. For example, browser users expect to be able to right-click and open links in a new window—and now they can, inside Macromedia Flash! The new options: Open, Open in New Browser, and Copy Link appear automatically with static text (using the link feature) or with dynamic HTML text.
Right-Click Navigation
Users also expect applications to support the right-click context menu. Now you can build an app with dynamically customized menus. For example, if you want to give the user a way to navigate by right-clicking, you can. Because they're dynamic, these menus can change depending on what a user clicks. The only catch is you'll always see "About Macromedia Flash Player."
Autoupdating
To help users keep up with the latest "dot release" patches, Macromedia Flash Player 7 now includes an autoupdate feature. Every seven days, the player checks for new releases and guides users through an easy update process in the most unobtrusive manner possible. This means users will get the latest performance and security enhancements without every developer coming up with his or her own way of updating users. Power users can control the frequency of checking for updates and more through other advanced settings.
Just right-click any Macromedia Flash movie in your browser, select Settings, click the Advanced button, and you can access a well-made mini-app hosted at Macromedia. Here you can select Global Privacy Settings to manage website-specific settings for camera and microphone access and the local shared object's disk usage.
