CMX
A CMX Milestone - 3000 Articles
by Ray West - 18-Feb-09
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Today, Community MX published our 3000th article. I can remember when we celebrated the 250 and 500 milestones and it was almost unbelievable to think we would one day be in the thousands.
For the last 6 years Community MX has published 2 articles every single business day. I am not aware of anyone else that has this much content targeted at the Adobe and web development community. We have been through several versions of Macromedia/Adobe products and revolutions in the ways we use and program for the web.
Happy Thanksgiving!
by - 28-Nov-08
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Happy Thanksgiving!
The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!
So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. Don't despair, we will be back on Monday with two fresh new pieces of content. :-)
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
Happy Thanksgiving!
by - 27-Nov-08
Reader Level:
Happy Thanksgiving!
The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!
So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. Don't despair, we will be back on Monday with two fresh new pieces of content. :-)
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
Help Wanted - Again
by Ray West - 09-Oct-08
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Community MX is looking for Web Designers and Developers with something to say. We currently have room for contributing authors who can generate content for one of several series of articles and eBooks that we are planning to serve as nuts and bolts references to the products we all use.
Many Community MX subscribers and readers are medium and advanced users who could easily handle the much needed task of providing high quality content to beginning users. Turn your knowledge into extra cash. Contact us today at iwantin@communitymx.com
One Month Until TODCon
by Ray West - 09-May-08
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We just wanted to take the opportunity to remind you that it is only one month until TODCon 2008 in beautiful Orlando, FL. TODCon is a unique and intimate web development conference sponsored by Adobe.
Help Wanted
by - 19-Dec-07
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Thanks to all of our readers and subscribers, Community MX has grown over the past several years, and we plan to grow more in 2008. With the new year right around the corner, we have been discussing several initiatives to expand the services we offer our subscribers and we have discovered something. We need more help!
Happy Thanksgiving!
by - 23-Nov-07
Reader Level:
The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safevand joyous Thanksgiving! So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. Don't despair, we will be back on Monday with two fresh new pieces of content. :-)
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
Happy Thanksgiving!
by - 22-Nov-07
Reader Level:
The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safevand joyous Thanksgiving! So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. Don't despair, we will be back on Monday with two fresh new pieces of content. :-)
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
We Need Your Help
by Ray West - 08-Oct-07
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Community MX is approaching 5 years of service and almost 2500 articles, tutorials and extensions. We have covered everything from Dreamweaver to CSS to SQL Server and now are extending our subjects to include more and more of the Adobe family of products. And we need your help.
In trying to cover all of the new features of so many products and the cool new technologies that keep appearing, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are a lot of more basic things that you might want more information about. We might be missing things that we are taking for granted but that you need help with. And we want you to tell us about it.
How are we doing?
by Ray West - 04-Jun-07
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As we enter our 5th year here at Community MX we want to hear what you have to say about how we're doing so far. Anything you'd like us to do that we aren't? Something you'd like to see covered that isn't? A topic we cover that you'd like to see more on?
Now's your chance to let us know exactly what you'd like to see and what you think. We want to hear what you have to say, the good...the bad....and yes, even the ugly. :-)
CMX Font Size Changer Extension
by Paul Davis - 15-Mar-07
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Change the font size on your webpage with the JavaScript code from this handy extension. Enter the font sizes you want and then click OK, everything else is done for you ... it really is that easy!
From Fireworks to Photoshop - Traverse City PNG to PSD Conversion
by Jim Babbage - 07-Mar-07
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Recent enquiries from one of our loyal subscribers was the inspiration for this, the fourth in my series of CMX JumpStart PNG's conversion articles. I supply you with the Traverse City PNG file as a fully editable PSD file. Much like the Venice conversion (Hmm, The Venice Conversion . . sounds like a new John Grisham novel . . .) the Traverse City JumpStart, designed by Linda Rathgeber-Stewart and coded by Zoe Gillenwater, has two complete layout designs, each on its own frame. The advantage to doing this is you only have to deal with a single PNG file.
Currently, one can't save a multi-framed Fireworks PNG file as a PSD and expect it to display properly in Photoshop. Each frame must be saved as a separate PSD file, then the user must combine the elements of both files into one, using Layer Comps to emulate the multi-frame design method.
For detailed information and steps on converting flattened vector objects into editable Shape Layers be sure to read Fireworks to Photoshop - Rebuilding the CMX Vienna JumpStart PNG as a PSD file. For details on creating and working with Smart Objects, or working with an exported Adobe Illustrator file see Converting the CMX Orlando JumpStart PNG to a PSD and AI file. An in-depth description of working with Photoshop Layer Comps can be found in Fireworks to Photoshop - Converting the CMX Venice JumpStart PNG to a PSD File. The main purpose of this article is to supply you with a fully editable - and sliced - Photoshop version of the Traverse City PNG. For the actual conversion, I used exactly the same steps as I did with the Venice JumpStart.
Approximate download size: 1MB
Putting the Sting into the CMX San Francisco JumpStart
by Jim Babbage - 23-Feb-07
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I was recently contacted by a small, family run business who wished to update their website. They wanted to make some content changes and have the overall look of the site be more contemporary. Being a small business, their budget was limited as well. I took on the project, thinking that a CMX JumpStart would be the perfect solution.
I see many questions on our forums about the CMX JumpStarts and how to make them work for one's own specific needs. As you may be aware, the JumpStarts are designed and tested to work based on specific layout concepts - that's why we have so many and continue to create more.
But I'd like to share with you my own personal experience in customizing one of our recent JumpStarts: San Francisco. San Francisco is based on Gordon Mackay's CMX Design Element: Gold PNG file. My customizations include:
Fireworks PNG
- Color alterations
- Changing dimensions of the background image for the innerwrapper div
- Altering export format of slices
CSS
- Adjusting rules to change the position of the navigation
- Adding a custom bullet image
- Creating a secondary modified style sheet and web page for a pop up window requirement.
So what are you waiting for? Hop on that trolley and follow me from San Francisco to Sooke, British Columbia.
Happy New Year from Community MX!
by - 01-Jan-07
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Happy New Year from all of us at Community MX!
Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and prosperous 2007!
Recipe For A Happy New Year
Author Unknown
To leave the old with a burst of song
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;
To forget the thing that binds you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that's past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worthwhile of the days grown old,
To dare to go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that's new;
To help your brother along the road
To do his work and lift his load;
To add your gift to the world's good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.
Happy Holidays from Community MX!
by - 25-Dec-06
Reader Level:
The partners at Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a joyous and happy holiday season.
So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Monday, Christmas Day. However, we will be back Tuesday with two new articles.
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Tuesday!
Happy Labor Day
by - 04-Sep-06
Reader Level:
Community MX is taking the day off to spend with our families and will return with fresh content tomorrow.
Fireworks to Photoshop - Rebuilding the CMX Orlando JumpStart as a PSD (and AI) File
by Jim Babbage - 14-Jul-06
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I love Fireworks. As I progress through these articles on converting FW PNG files to PSD files, I am quickly learning just how versatile and powerful Fireworks is for design, creation and optimization. The Orlando JumpStart is a perfect example. As you will see, depending on the design you need either Photoshop or Illustrator (and sometimes both) to do what Fireworks does easily in one application. That's not to say either of these other Adobe products is weak; they are designed to do specific things and they do them quite well. You can certainly add vectors to Photoshop or Bitmaps to Illustrator. It just seems to me that this workflow is handled best by Fireworks.
In this continuing series, I supply you with an editable PSD version of the main Orlando JumpStart PNG file. For details on most of the conversion process, make sure to read Fireworks to Photoshop - Rebuilding the CMX Vienna JumpStart PNG as a PSD file .
NOTE: These articles are based on using the most current versions of Fireworks, Photoshop and Illustrator. Older versions of the software may behave differently or may not even include some of the features/tools listed here.
As with any of these conversions, there will be some differences to how I approach the process. In the case of Orlando, it's all about vectors. Complex, custom vectors.
In my first conversion (Vienna), I ungrouped all my grouped objects, made sure each object had a name, then saved as a PSD. From there, I tweaked several things in Photoshop, including the re-creation of a few vector shapes. You may recall that saving as a PSD in Fireworks rasterized all vectors except for fonts.
With Orlando it is very easy to do the same thing. And assuming your aren't going to use/edit any of the amusement park vector art, clouds or the paths that make up the words Orlando JumpStart, the conversion is quite simple. The PSD file includes all the artwork as flattened bitmaps by default.
However, for those of you who still want scaleable vector art, a different approach was taken. Not only did I save the file as a PSD, but I also saved it as an AI file. This preserves all the vector paths. Once both files are created, (PSD and AI), I can work in either Photoshop OR Illustrator. We're going to look at both options here and in fact, you will find both a PSD file and an Illustrator file in the support documents. With this particular JumpStart, there are pros and cons to working in either program. A big part of the decision factor is your comfort level with Photoshop or Illustrator. So let's have a look at both scenarios.
Fireworks to Photoshop - Using Fireworks to Rebuild the CMX Vienna JumpStart PNG as a PSD File
by Jim Babbage - 30-Jun-06
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I'm sure that most people will agree, JumpStarts can be a great way to get a new site up and running quickly; these template pages are ready to roll, CSS is done and commented to death; just add content and away you go! From the graphics side, you've got a structured and sliced PNG file. All you need to to is change the graphic objects and you're good to go. IF you have Fireworks.
As you may have discovered the hard way, opening a native FW PNG file in Photoshop gives you a flattened bitmap. Not much use when you are trying to customize the design to your own needs.
Fireworks does give you the ability to save as a PSD file, though. So if you have clients or other team members who need or prefer to work in Photoshop, this tutorial may be for you.
In this, the first of several articles in the series, I will convert a native Fireworks PNG file to a useable Photoshop PSD file, ready for slicing.
By following along with this article you will learn how to:
- Prepare a Fireworks PNG file for save/export as a Photoshop PSD file to maximize its editability
- Build a layer structure similar to the layer/object model of Fireworks by creating Layer Groups
- Recreate vector shapes and editable Photoshop Shape Layers
- Accurately control the size and position of Shape Layers
- Work with Layer Styles to create gradient fills and strokes for the Shape Layers
- Create Layer-Based and User slices in Photoshop
- Use Save for Web to optimize the sliced images and save only the slices we created
You will also learn about some of the limitations of a Fireworks generated PSD.
Included with the article is a Photoshop format version of the Vienna design. For all other articles relating to JumpStart Vienna, make sure to download the Vienna JumpStart.
Approximate download size: 1.1MB
Introducing CMX Design Element Iodine
by Sheri German - 22-Jun-06
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Our CMX design sorcerer, Gordon Mackay, is back with another CMX Design Element in our series of fully developed Fireworks design comps that you can slice and code in any way that fits your page specs. This time we offer you element Iodine in our CMX Design Element Iodine.
Introducing CMX Jumpstart Orlando
by Sheri German - 15-Jun-06
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Orlando, Florida. It's every kid's dream vacation spot. It's warm and sunny, and makes the world of school seem galaxies away. It's got theme parks galore that take them to galaxies far away. When most people think of Orlando, they probably think of Disney, Epcot, MGM Studios, and Sea World. Now there is also CommunityMX JumpStart Orlando to add to the list of Orlando attractions.
Orlando was designed by Chris Flick and coded by Zoe Gillenwater. Orlando uses valid XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.1 markup and follows WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for any design for which you may wish to use it. Orlando is a two-column elastic layout that also features a subhead area, a styled list as a navigation menu, and floated images.
Introducing CMX Jumpstart San Francisco
by Sheri German - 01-Jun-06
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We are pleased to introduce CMX JumpStart San Francisco, a great first CSS layout for students and experienced developers alike. Structured to be as hack free and straightforward as possible, this may be just the JumpStart for you if you have been holding back on CSS layouts so far. Like all JumpStarts, it uses valid XHTML and CSS as its foundation and is 508 and WAI compliant. This two-column, fixed-width layout, described rule by rule in the documentation article, makes a great learning tool.
Introducing CMX Design Element Mercury
by Sheri German - 25-May-06
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Our CMX design sorcerer, Gordon Mackay, is back with another CMX Design Element in our series of fully developed Fireworks design comps that you can slice and code in any way that fits your page specs. We leave elements Carbon, Krypton, and Gold, and this time offer you element Mercury in our CMX Design Element Mercury.
Introducing CMX Design Element Gold
by Sheri German - 11-May-06
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I am sure you remember that the symbol for Gold, Au, comes from the Latin word "Aurum". No? You don't remember that? Well, then maybe you remember this: gold is one of the most valuable commodities in the world of commerce. And a good design is also one of the most valuable commodities on the Web. It catches your visitors' eyes and encourages them to stay and explore - and perhaps even to buy. There is almost no price tag for a great design, and fortunately you don't have to come up with one all by yourself. Gordon has done the creative work for you in our latest CMX Design Element Gold. Read all about it in this article.
Introducing CMX Design Element Krypton
by Sheri German - 27-Apr-06
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It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's super design CMX Design Element Krypton!
Join me as I unveil the latest Gordon MacKay Fireworks design element. We'll look at what the package includes, what articles come bundled with it, and at some possible ways you might implement it as a Dreamweaver CSS-based layout.
Introducing CMX JumpStart Modifications
by Sheri German - 30-Mar-06
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With our growing repertoire of JumpStarts, there are now layouts to fit a wide range of design requirements. Still, sometimes a particular JumpStart is just what you are looking for - if only you could fix one or two little details. If only the navigation had been on the right instead of left. Or what if that left DIV had been floated rather than set to position absolute? And what if instead of a fixed-width, centered layout, the JumpStart had been fluid?
We often see such sentiments on the forums, and thought it might be helpful to respond with articles that show how to modify some of our existing JumpStarts to give you a wider variety of options without having to go in and code the tweaks yourself. Towards that end, we give you CMX JumpStart Playacar, Mexico.
Changing Continents and Layouts - Modifying the Paris Jumpstart to Make Playacar, Mexico
by Jim Babbage - 30-Mar-06
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Community MX is pleased to announce the release of a modified Paris CMX JumpStarts. Based on Web standards, these versatile layouts employ valid CSS2 and XHTML 1.0 Transitional markup and pass WAI and 508 accessibility checkpoints. This makes it easy for you to quickly create new sites that work on a variety of browsers and platforms. You are only a few simple edits away from your own look and feel.
This article covers the following:
- A list of what is included in the CMX JumpStarts: Playacar download
- A list of the bundled tutorials that teach the theory behind the layout
- Directions for creating the effects in the Fireworks PNGs
- Demos of live pages
Approximate download size: 9.3MB
Introducing CMX Jumpstart Minneapolis
by Sheri German - 03-Mar-06
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What city has the biggest shopping mall in America? What city has a full-sized theme park inside its mall? What city is one of the most popular destinations for shopping-based vacations in the United States? Why, Minneapolis, Minnesota, of course! Home to the Mall of America, tourists flock there to shop till they drop. But there is one bigger mall in America, and indeed the world, and that is the Mall of the World Wide Web. More and more people do their shopping there, and eCommerce is hotter than ever. When we were planning our next JumpStart, we decided to do something a little different, a little out of the ordinary. We decided to do an eCommerce template and call it CommunityMX JumpStart Minneapolis.
Designed and coded by Gordon Mackay, Minneapolis is a fluid, three-column design with hidden layers. The pages are constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 markup and formatted using valid CSS 2.1 styling. Minneapolis also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for any design.
JumpStart Comparison Chart
by Heidi Bautista - 02-Mar-06
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CMX JumpStarts are a quick and sure way to get your new site up and running fast. But how do you decide when there are so many great choices?
The JumpStart Comparison Chart lists all the JumpStarts available at Community MX. The QuickPick Feature table
provides a thumbnail of the main JumpStart page, a short list of features and techniques demonstrated in JumpStart, the cost (always free to members), the layout, including the number of columns, and a link to full JumpStart description.
The full descriptions include everything from the QuickPick Feature table plus thumbnails of all pages, links to download the JumpStart and to related articles, the publish date and author(s), and the list of tutorials included with each JumpStart.
Since each of us absorb information different ways, please also check out The Complete JumpStart Catalog. It also describes each of the JumpStarts but in a much more conversational manner. It's especially valuable if you need more information about the features listed in the Comparison Chart.
Redesigning the Inverness JumpStart
by Heidi Bautista - 23-Dec-05
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All JumpStarts boast flexibility and the Inverness Blog JumpStart is no exception. In this article you'll see how I reskinned the site with only minor modifications to the CSS and source PNG and NO changes to the original html file at all! A true reskinning operation. Check out how I changed the feel of the site: from cool Scottish Highlands to warm tropics at sunrise.
All my CSS changes are commented (the majority of which are simply color changes). The source PNG continues to use the original slice names (okay, I did add a couple of new slices). And the article takes you step by step through my changes.
Introducing CMX Jumpstart Inverness
by Sheri German - 21-Dec-05
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We are pleased to announce Community MX JumpStart Inverness, a design you can use to create your own Web blog. CMX JumpStart Inverness was designed and coded by new CMX partner Gordon Mackay. It is a centered, two-column, fixed-width design that makes use of background images to achieve its faux column appearance. The page is constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 Strict markup and formatted using valid CSS 2.1 styling. Inverness also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for any design. Read on to find out what the Inverness package includes and how you can make it your own.
The Complete JumpStart Catalog
by Sheri German - 20-Dec-05
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We now have a healthy portfolio of JumpStarts, and sometimes so much choice can be overwhelming. This article outlines the features of all the JumpStarts, offers guidance in choosing the right JumpStart for your project, and provides a complete catalog of our first thirteen JumpStarts.
Happy Thanksgiving from Community MX!
by - 25-Nov-05
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The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!
So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. However, we will be back Monday with two new articles.
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
Happy Thanksgiving from Community MX!
by - 24-Nov-05
Reader Level:
The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!
So that our partners can enjoy the holiday with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content Thursday or Friday. However, we will be back Monday with two new articles.
Enjoy your holiday, and we'll see you on Monday!
Show and Hide Content Based on User Access Levels
by Danilo Celic - 23-Nov-05
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Dreamweaver's native Log In User server behavior combined with the Restrict Access to Page server behavior can help you protect your pages from prying eyes. However, when it comes to more fine grained control of content on pages viewable by users from multiple access levels, Dreamweaver doesn't have anything built in to offer any assistance to you.
Read on to learn how to show and hide content on a page based upon the access level (user group) of a logged in visitor.
Introducing CMX JumpStart Cairo
by Sheri German - 17-Nov-05
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We are excited to announce CMX JumpStart Cairo, Egypt. It was designed and coded by Adrian Senior, and makes extensive use of lush gradients and glows. It is a centered, two-column, fixed-width design, and, like all CMX Jumpstarts, is constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 markup and CSS 2.1 styling. Cairo also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for any design. This article will introduce you to what Cairo includes in its bundle, as well as show you an example site created from its source PNG and CSS/XHTML files.
Structured Forms using CMX AJAX Form Submit
by Rob Williams - 04-Nov-05
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One of the biggest problems with conventional HTML forms is that they can only send "flat data" to the webserver; HTML provides several ways to add structure to your form, but once the form is submitted the structure of the information is lost. If you're using the CMX AJAX Form Submit extension to handle your forms though you can now overcome this limitation, and in doing so better prepare yourself for the next generation of web forms. In this article we'll explore what "flat data" is, why it's a problem, and some of the benefits of "structured forms" from both a user and developer point of view.
Introducing CMX Jumpstart Traverse City
by Sheri German - 27-Oct-05
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Traverse City, Michigan is one of those hidden gems that tourists sometimes stumble across by lucky chance. With over 180 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline as well as a host of lakes and bays, beach lovers can enjoy lots of sailing and sunbathing.
Traverse City was designed by Linda Rathgeber-Stewart and coded by Zoe Gillenwater. It is a centered, fixed-width design with both a two-column and three-column page from which to choose. The two-column layout also includes a styled data table. The pages are constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 markup and formatted using valid CSS 2.1 styling. Traverse City also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for any design.
CMX AJAX Loader: Beyond the Basics
by Rob Williams - 24-Oct-05
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The CMX AJAX Loader Extension, out of the box, provides a quick and easy means of loading document fragments into the current page without requiring a refresh. It's important to be aware however that this is not a limit of the behavior's functionality. In this article we'll explore the how the CMX AJAX Loader can act as a tool that can be integrated into other scripts to provide additional functionality and open up new possibilities.
CMX AJAX Loader Extension
by Rob Williams - 27-Sep-05
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The CMX AJAX Loader behavior allows you to dynamically load new XHTML/XML from your web server and insert it into any element on the current page without requiring the user to perform a full refresh. By eliminating full page refreshes you can improve both the performance of your site and the end user's experience. Now you can start enjoying the benefits of AJAX technology without having to worry about the complicated scripting that makes it work!
Introducing CMX Jumpstart Machu Picchu
by Sheri German - 12-Sep-05
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Machu Picchu, Peru: a rediscovered ruin, a sacred ceremonial city of the Incas, a place of ethereal beauty, and now also a Community MX JumpStart. CMX JumpStart Machu Picchu, designed and coded by Adrian Senior, was built specifically to take advantage of the new Style Rendering Toolbar in Dreamweaver 8. It includes style sheets for the screen, print and handheld media types.
Read on to learn more about this centered, two-columnm, fixed-width, Web Standards compliant CSS layout.
CMX Text Field Auto Complete Extension
by Rob Williams - 06-Sep-05
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The CMX Auto Complete Behavior for Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver MX 2004 allows you to quickly and easily add fully customizable "auto complete" functionality (think Google Suggest) to any text or textarea input field on a web page. The "auto complete suggestions" box can easily be customized using CSS to integrate seamlessly into your page design and automatically sizes and positions itself for each input/textarea; no knowledge of JavaScript of the complexities of AJAX required!
Happy Labor Day!
by - 05-Sep-05
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Community MX is taking the day off to spend with our families and will return with fresh content tomorrow.
Redesigning the Vienna JumpStart
by Linda Rathgeber-Stewart - 08-Jul-05
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Vienna isn't famous just for composers. It's well known throughout Europe for its coffee houses. This variation on the Vienna Jumpstart attempts to capture the ambiance of Viennese coffee houses. Bonus: an authentic Austrian Strusel recipe. :-)
Redesigning the Vienna JumpStart
by Jim Babbage - 07-Jul-05
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One of the great features of the CMX JumpStarts, from a design standpoint, is their flexibility. With Vienna, I thought I would show just how flexible the PNG file can be, without making any major changes to the slices used in the page design and CSS. I took the Vienna and changed it to Canadian Cottage Country. Specifically, I revised the design for a fictitious Bed and Breakfast business in the Muskokas. I spend as much time as I can in that region and its eastern counterpart, the Haliburtan Highlands. So needless to say, I have many photos from the area. In fact, the hardest part for me was narrowing down which photos to use!
Introducing JumpStart Vienna
by Kim Cavanaugh - 06-Jul-05
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It wouldn't be much of a stretch to call Vienna the cultural capital of Europe. With its long history as the home to such cultural icons as Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss, as well as the numerous museums and its world-famous opera house, Vienna has long been known as a city where culture and sophistication are the norm. It's no wonder then that for our latest JumpStart design we turned to our own cultural maven—Sheri German—for the creation of a design that is as stylish as the city it is named after.
In addition to the use of valid XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.1, and validating for 508 and WAI, we have a number of special features in Vienna. The three-column layout has two outer columns with fixed widths, a fluid center column for content, and a very cool fluid header and footer. The two-column layout has a fixed-width left column and fluid right column. There are also unordered lists for navigation: one for the main navigation, one for the sub navigation, and one for the footer navigation. We have also added a search field, and if your server provides PHP and MySQL, you can follow Sheri's bundled article Creating a Search Engine with iSearch to make a working search engine for your site. So far, reasonably cool, right? But hold on. We have something far more exciting to reveal with this JumpStart. We will introduce a new and revolutionary technique called Jello Mold. As with all our JumpStarts, Vienna was tested extensively in all major browsers. You can view the screenshots here
CMX JumpStart: Vienna
by Sheri German - 06-Jul-05
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Last summer we took a trip to Germany and Austria with our son's orchestra director. My favorite city was Vienna, Austria. So it is only natural that I should choose Vienna for my city as I "change hats" from JumpStarts marketer to JumpStarts creator. I am particularly pleased and excited to offer our latest CMX JumpStart: Vienna.
In addition to the use of valid XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.1, and in addition to validating for 508 and WAI, we have a number of special features in Vienna. This three column layout has two outer columns with fixed widths, a fluid center column for content, and fluid header and footer. There are also unordered lists for navigation: one for the main navigation, one for the sub navigation, and one for the footer navigation. We have also added a search field into an area that is at the top of the page outside the main centered layout. So far, reasonably cool, right?
But hold on. We have something far more exciting to reveal with this JumpStart. We will introduce a new and revolutionary technique called Jello Mold that has an implied minimum and maximum width that works in Internet Explorer without the use of Javascript! Furthermore, this technique allows for fluid margins on the fluid centered layout that depend on the size of the user's window.
The download folder for this article includes a bundle of 11 articles (including two about Jello Mold technique), a starter page, an images folder, four style sheets (including design-time and print), a source png, the Vienna extension, an installation and usage guide, and this article as a PDF.
Happy 4th of July!
by - 04-Jul-05
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Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Everyone at Community MX wishes to thank the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, and remember those who have lost their lives defending liberty.
Kick Off the Summer with a JumpStart Festival!
We love celebrations at CMX, and we have a really special one planned for this week, the official opening of the summer vacation season. The entire week will be JumpStart related, and of course we're going to release our next JumpStart.
Here is what we have planned:
Tuesday:
- John Gallant and Holly Bergevin will have an article that explains an exciting new technique that is part of our new JumpStart.
- Zoe Gillenwater will take you behind the scenes into the process of developing a new JumpStart.
Wednesday:
- Kim Cavanaugh will introduce the next JumpStart to nonsubscribers and show his example of what can be done with it.
- Sheri German will introduce and explain the next JumpStart to subscribers and purchasers.
Now where in the world do you suppose we'll go?
Thursday:
- Jim Babbage will provide an alternative design png to help you skin the JumpStart.
- Sheri German will help you reconstruct its markup.
Friday:
- Linda Rathgeber-Stewart will provide an alternative design png to help you skin the JumpStart.
- Sheri German will walk you through a reconstruction of its CSS.
You won't want to miss one day. If you're not yet a member, there is no better time to join.
CMX JumpStart: Vegas
by Stephanie Sullivan,Linda Rathgeber-Stewart - 02-Jun-05
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Las Vegas, entertainment capital of the world, inspired this exciting JumpStart design. As with all the JumpStarts, you can use and modify the design in any way you see fit, for commercial work or otherwise.
Two pages, a home page and contact page, are included in this JumpStart. Both pages feature a fixed width, centered design using a faux column technique. The home page includes a customizable Flash Slideshow component that includes a demonstration of images loaded using an XML file. This JumpStart features the cutting edge and accessible sIFR technique. sIFR allows you to use any font currently on your computer to create your headings. The contact page features a styled form using fieldset and legend. The pages are constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 markup and formatted using valid CSS 2 styling. We provide an extensively commented style sheet so you know what each piece does and how to change it to suit your design. Vegas also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for your work and give your users the best experience possible.
We've included the PNG file used to create the layout so you can adapt it with your own look and colors. It features masks that allow you to easily replace our graphics with your own, enabling you to adapt this design for any number of uses or clients. It includes the CMX Flash Slideshow component and the graphic and code techniques used to create Vegas are explained fully in the 13 tutorials that we've included in your download. Those techniques that are not covered in the bundle are explained here, providing you with not only a robust template, but a learning tool giving you insite into the web design process as well.
If you'd like a more detailed look at the Vegas Jumpstart, as well as seeing a modified Vegas design, check out Sheri German's CMX JumpStart Vegas: An Introduction.
Happy Memorial Day!
by - 30-May-05
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Happy Memorial Day from all of us here at CMX!
CMX MP3 Player (Flash Extension)
by Paul Newman - 07-Apr-05
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The CMX MP3 Player component enables you to load external MP3s from an XML playlist. Features include track info display (title, artist), elapsed and remaining time, audio scrubber, volume slider, and playlist navigation.
Preview MP3 Player
Requirements: Flash MX 2004 (pro or standard), Flash Player 7
CMX Slideshow (Flash Extension)
by Paul Newman - 24-Mar-05
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This extension for Flash MX 2004 loads external JPEG and SWF files to create a Flash slideshow. The CMX Slideshow component is very customizable and includes support for hyperlinks, captions, padding, resizing, transitions, controls, and much more.
You can also access CMX Slideshow's methods, properties, and events using ActionScript. The support files demonstrate how to create your own custom controls, and how to load a list of images from an external XML file.
JumpStart Venice: An Introduction
by Sheri German - 14-Feb-05
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Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It's fanciful and lighthearted, and I don't feel the pressure of the big holidays like Christmas or Easter. I can daydream about a romantic rendezvous, such as a gondola journey through the canals of Venice on a moonlit night. Though I can't make that a reality, I can pretend while exploring the latest CMX JumpStart.
CMX is proud to announce its sixth JumpStart, Venice, which includes both two and three column, fixed-width, rounded corner layouts in its home and form pages. Like all CMX JumpStarts, it is based on Web standards with valid CSS2 and XHTML 1.0 Transitional markup, and it passes WAI and 508 accessibility checkpoints. We've created a video to give you an overview of the design and functionality of Venice.
Preventing Caching in Flash Player
by Paul Newman - 24-Jan-05
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In this article, you'll learn how to use CacheManager, an ActionScript 2.0 class, to prevent Flash Player from caching external images, XML, and text files in your applications.
Announcing CMX JumpStart: Liverpool
by Sheri German - 20-Jan-05
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It was the early sixties, and all the world was in a frenzy over a new group from Liverpool, England called The Beatles. They revolutionized rock 'n' roll music, and the world has never been the same. Maybe the Web Standards movement doesn't stir quite that much excitement, but it is changing the Web world all the same. And because we "love you, yeah, yeah, yeah" we're here to help you join the revolution.
Community MX is pleased to announce the release of its fifth CMX JumpStart: Liverpool. This time we're giving you more than a CSS layout, however. We're also giving you a dynamic ColdFusion login application built with Dreamweaver's User Authentication server behaviors that will allow you to quickly and easily edit the login.
This article will tell you all about what this fantastic package includes--bundled tutorials, an authentication system, a two-column, fixed width layout (with a little bit of a twist), original PNG files, and more.
CMX Flash Video Player (Flash Extension)
by Paul Newman - 06-Jan-05
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This Flash MX 2004 extension enables you to play back progressive Flash video (FLV) files in your Flash movies. Features include play/pause button, FLV download progress bar, real-time scrubbing, volume slider, and mute button.
Because this extension uses the NetConnection and NetStream classes, the resulting SWF file is only 5K in size, so it doesn't require a preloader. In addition, the methods, properties, and events of the component can be manipulated using ActionScript 2.0. There's even an event that broadcasts FLV metadata!
Preview CMX Flash Video Player
Includes: CMXFlashVideoPlayer.mxp, demo files, sample videos
Happy New Year from CMX!
by - 31-Dec-04
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Happy New Year from all of us at Community MX!
Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and prosperous 2005! A JumpStarts Case Study: Replacing Banner Graphics
by Kim Cavanaugh - 20-Dec-04
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If you haven't noticed all of the hoopla over the Community MX JumpStart packages that have been released lately, and which will continue to come, well, you just haven't been paying attention.
In these videos—the first in a two-part series—you'll start out in Dreamweaver to examine the properties of a Paris themed page design, and then move on over to Fireworks to see how a page composition can be modified and transformed from the layout that is included in a JumpStart design. Using the powerful methods that Fireworks gives you for managing a document using layers, selecting parts of the page to export using slices, and then replacing page elements in Dreamweaver, you'll have the inside skinny on how to quickly replace the banner graphics in a JumpStart page.
Nearly 25 minutes of instruction are delivered in the six lessons in this package.
Happy Thanksgiving from Community MX!!
by - 25-Nov-04
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The partners of Community MX would like to wish all of our readers a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!
So that our partners can enjoy the day with their families and friends, we will not be releasing new content today. However, we will be back tomorrow with two new articles.
Enjoy your day, and we'll see you tomorrow!
Announcing a New CMX JumpStart: Seattle
by Sheri German - 11-Nov-04
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Put down that coffee, and get your Grunge thing going on. That's right, we're off to the "Emerald City", once called Duwamps, but now known as Seattle!
Community MX is pleased to announce the release of the latest CMX JumpStart: Seattle. Based on Web standards, this versatile layout employs valid CSS2 and XHTML 1.0 Transitional markup and passes WAI and 508 accessibility checkpoints. This makes it easy for you to quickly create new sites that work on a variety of browsers and platforms. You are only a few simple edits away from your own look and feel.
This article covers the following:
- A list of what is included with the CMX Seattle JumpStart package and bundled tutorials and extensions
- An explanation of the benefits of Web standards
- A demonstration of the ease with which the layout is customized
- The presentation of pages that were created from the Seattle JumpStart
- Information about how this exciting design can belong to you for use in as many projects as you please.
- Screenshots of the page in multiple browsers
Who's ready for a spin on the Space Needle?
CMX Blog Scroller
by Paul Newman - 08-Sep-04
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This Flash component enables you to display one or more RSS feeds in Flash Player 7 with a number of customizable options. CMX Blog Scroller automatically parses the XML and displays the latest blog entries.
Includes: CMXBlogScroller.mxp, ColdFusion proxy script, sample FLA file, PDF
Happy Labor Day!
by - 06-Sep-04
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Happy Labor Day. Community MX is taking the day off with our families and will return with fresh content tomorrow.
Flash Your Cookies
by Paul Newman - 11-Aug-04
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Have you ever wanted to store persistent information in your Flash movies? Shared objects are the answer. You can use them to save login information, shopping cart data, user preferences, even complex objects like arrays.
This extension for Flash MX 2004 adds an ActionScript 2.0 class called "Cookie" to your global classpath. The Cookie wrapper class provides a more intuitive way to write, read, edit, and remove Flash "cookies" in your applications.
Happy Memorial Day!
by - 31-May-04
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Happy Memorial Day from Community MX!
The 12 Geeks of Christmas
by Paul Newman - 25-Dec-03
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CMX obtained a beta copy of Santa's list, and it turns out a lot of geeks were very good this year (you know who you are). Merry Christmas to you and yours from the folks at Community MX.
Consuming the CMX Web Service with Flash - Part 2
by Tom Muck - 07-Nov-03
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It's easy to consume web services in Flash using Flash Remoting. Community MX publishes a web service that allows developers to search our content. Using the Community MX web service as an example, this tutorial shows how to pass arguments to the searchContent method and return results in Flash MX and Flash MX 2004.
Community MXtra for Flash 2004
by Paul Newman - 21-Oct-03
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This Floating Panel for Flash MX 2004 enables you to search for articles on CommunityMX.com, or browse content using a calendar. Now you don't have to leave Flash to find the latest articles on Community MX.
Consuming the CMX Web Service with Flash - Part 1
by Tom Muck - 30-Sep-03
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Flash Remoting is one of Macromedia's coolest technologies, offering a quick and easy way to connect to custom web services that you build, or to SOAP-based web services that are freely available. Community MX publishes a web service that can be consumed by a Flash Remoting application. This tutorial shows you how. Part 1 of the tutorial shows the getContent method of the web service.
Consuming the CMX Web Service with ColdFusion
by Tom Muck - 22-Apr-03
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Community MX publishes a web service that will display information about the latest content available from the site. This service can be used by anyone who knows how to consume a web service. The Community MX web service utilizes a standard .wsdl file that can be consumed by any technology that can consume a web service. The web service is located at http://www.communitymx.com/services/cmxfeed.wsdl. The web service exposes 3 methods:
getContent: grabs the latest content descriptions available from Community MX.
searchContent: search the content at Community MX for relevant content
getContentTypes: the latest content types are available as a list for your applications as well (articles, extensions, etc).
Getting the Most out of Your CMX Membership
by Jim Babbage - 31-Mar-03
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Welcome to Community MX. The partners here are very happy to see that you've taken an interest in what we're doing, and how it can benefit you. To that end, we'd like to talk a bit about how you can make the most of your membership, and get the value out of your subscription fee.
