What's New in Flash MX 2004 7.2
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Today, Macromedia released a new version of Flash: Flash
MX 2004 7.2. This updater includes over 120 fixes and changes. More important,
the new version of Flash is much stabler than its predecessor. The Flash
team has been working hard on this new release, code-named Ellipsis,
for the past several months. Fortunately, it was worth the wait: Flash MX
2004 7.2 is now a solid, dependable product. (This is not hype: I've been
running it into the ground for weeks now without a single crash.) What you
can expect:
- Your movies will compile faster, especially if you use Screens or movies
that contain a lot of ActionScript
- Flash no longer crashes or unexpectedly closes
- You can now run Flash and other Studio MX applications at the
same time
In addition, the Flash team has added over 400 new code examples to the documentation,
increasing the percentage of entries with examples from 43% to 98%. Read on
to learn more about what's new in Flash MX 2004 7.2, and how to obtain and
install the updater.
Installing the Flash MX 2004 7.2 Updater
Complete the following steps to install the Flash MX 2004 7.2 Updater:
- Download
the 7.2 updater for Flash MX 2004 from Macromedia's web site.
- Prior to running the updater, disable your Flash extensions using Macromedia
Extension Manager.
TIP: If you've installed the new Flash Remoting
components, you may want to uninstall them prior to running the updater. You
should also back up any critical files you've added to the Flash install path,
such as ActionScript classes and common libraries. The updater is not supposed
to alter or remove these files, but better safe than sorry (see TechNote).
- Double-click update_fmx2004_7.2.exe to run
the updater and follow the prompts.
- Restart your computer (optional).
If you run into any problems, consult the "Known Issues" section
of the Flash
7.2 Release Notes.
What's New in Flash MX 2004 7.2
The following is a list of new and exposed features of Flash MX 2004 7.2:
- Scrollbar component — Back by popular demand, the
UIScrollBar component works just as it did in Flash MX. Simply drop it onto
a text field on the Stage and it snaps into place. It even creates an instance
name for the text field (if it doesn't exist) and auto-fills the _targetInstanceName parameter
in the Properties panel.
- JSFL File API — Flash MX 2004 7.2 adds new
file I/O capabilities to the JavaScript API (JSAPI). The new FLfile object
enables developers to write Flash extensions
that can access, modify, and remove local files and folders. For more information,
see "Introducing
the JSFL File API."
- New sample applications — You can find these applications, "Using
advanced video features" (AdvancedVideo folder) and "Building
a population viewer" (PopulationViewer folder), in
the <flash_install_path>/Samples folder, along with
many other samples and the new HelpExamples folder.
- Delegate class — The Delegate class
lets you run a function in a specific scope. This class is provided so that
you can dispatch the same event to two different functions, and so that you
can call functions within the scope of the containing class. You can import
the Delegate class into your scripts and classes
using the following syntax: import mx.utils.Delegate;.
- ASO Cache Commands — You can download these cache-clearing
commands from the Macromedia
Exchange.
For more on the new Delegate class, read the
Macromedia Developer Center article, Proxying
Events with the mx.utils.Delegate Class.
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Keywords
flash mx 2004 7.2, updater, macromedia, ellipsis
