
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
CMX Weekly Newsletter News Fun and Freebies Recent CMX Content Tips, Tricks and Dirty Cheats Check the News! The Latest Community MX JumpStart: San Francisco When we released the recent CMX Design Element Gold, we got many requests to see the code that was described in the Gold introductory article. You could say we had a bit of "Gold Fever" going on, with a number of subscribers who were ready to "Go West" into the wild frontiers of CSS layouts. So journey with us now modern day '49ers, and get your hands dirty as you pan for code in the latest CMX JumpStart San Francisco for students - or anyone. 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. And of course, it's all valid CSS and XHTML, along with 508 and WAI Accessibility. The San Francisco JumpStart team Design by Gordon Mackay (based on his Design Element Gold) Fireworks PNG organized according to best practices by Jim Babbage CSS and XHTML structured by John Gallant and Sheri German The package for this two-column, fixed width layout includes an extension for installing San Francisco into the New Document dialog box, ten bundled tutorials (including CMX Design Element Gold), a source PNG, hack-free style sheet, and a starter page. San Francisco is available for $29.99 to non-members, but is absolutely free to CMX subscribers. Read more about how to make it yours. CMX JumpStart San Francisco article for nonmembers and members who would like to read more about its features and see a modified San Francisco design. CMX JumpStart San Francisco article for members and for those who would like to purchase San Francisco now. Get 'em While They Last Red-Gate.com is making their SQL Prompt software free until September of 2006. What SQL Prompt does is make you a more productive SQL coder by providing hints for query commands as well as hints for your tables and columns, as you're coding. If you're a SQL developer that likes to find new ways of efficiency, you might want to look into it. You can't beat the price. Death Knoll For GoLive and Freehand? At the Adobe Live conference in London, Robert Raiola of Adobe Systems France supposedly mentioned that Adobe will no longer be developing GoLive or Freehand, according to this article at MacsimumNews.com. Since this information has not been confirmed by anyone that we would trust, we are taking it with a grain of salt. Having said that, Adobe had to start making sacrifices somewhere, and GoLive and Freehand are two of the obvious lambs. Again, whether or not this information is true is still up for debate. We'll see. Update: As we were sending the newsletter, we came across this article at MacWorld.com which would seem to debunk the MacsimumNews.com article. Community MX Gets a New Author David Stiller, who runs Quip.net, has accepted a position with Community MX writing articles with us. David's portfolio includes NASA, Macromedia, and major US automotive and boat manufacturers... and now, Community MX! His specialty is multimedia programming and designing. He also just had an article published at DevNet. We're looking forward to some fantastic work coming out of David's keyboard. If you want to see David's first tutorial with CMX, check out Tackling the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference. Adobe's Forray Into Project Management Adobe's Kiwi Team are busy working on developing components for Flex. Their first proof-of-concept is NoteTag. NoteTag is a free component for Flex that lets you keep track of and assign tasks at a meeting. With all of the meeting attendees in place, you can choose tasks from any of the bits of chat taking place and assign those tasks to any of the people within the chat. After the chat is over, each person can log in and see what tasks have been assigned to them. Interestingly, NoteTag doesn't use any kind of database as a back end. Instead, it uses Blogger to store the task information. You can get an overview of NoteTag at Adobe.com.
Satisfied Customers Speak Out! "Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I followed along pretty good for a newbie. Showing the diagrams of the code, and the results, was very helpful." CMX Subscriber Ronald R., commenting on Adrian Senior's tutorial "CSS An Introduction - Part Thirteen: Working With a Wrapper Div" Whether you're just starting out or need advanced support, Community MX will give you answers and ideas to work through your tough issues. Don't miss out. Learn more about CMX or sign up for a free trial today!
Great Quotes: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." — F. Scott Fitzgerald O'Reilly Lays Claim To Web 2.0 IT@Cork is a non-profit organization for IT professionals, and they have decided to name one of their upcoming events "The Web 2.0 half-day conference." O'Reilly publishers has taken issue with the title of their conference and have issued cease and desist letters to get IT@Cork to cut the "Web 2.0" out of their conference name. O'Reilly claims that the use of the term "Web 2.0" is an infringement upon their trademark, which, by the way, O'Reilly has applied for but not yet received. Update: As we were about to send this newsletter, we noticed that O'Reilly had come to their senses and allowed the IT@Cork conference to go ahead with using the "Web 2.0 half-day conference" after all. You can read Tim O'Reilly's very long defense of his actions at OReilly.com. If you want the shorter explanation from O'Reilly, check it out here. You can also check out Tom Raftery's blog that alerted us to the hubbub to begin with. ITCork has posted some information on the transgression on their website as well. Step 1: Collect Underpants, Step 2: ?, Step 3: Profit! CNN.com is saying that this is a good time for startup companies. But starting your own company, unless you've got great scuba gear, is not something you just dive into. The article outlines some of the ins and outs of starting your business and some of the resources you can use to achieve success. It also talks about some of the common mistakes that startups make, so you can avoid them. And if your business involves building web applications, you might want to look into the $19 eBook available at 37Signals.com called "Getting Real." The book outlines the steps that 37Signals went through to launch Ruby on Rails, BaseCamp and TaDa List, to name a few. And if proverbs help inspire you, then you'll find some good ones specifically tailored to entrepeneurs at OReilly.com. Invisible Girl Is Stewing In Jealousy According to researchers, that cloak of invisibility you've been begging for after you've spilled your soda on your boss could be a reality real soon. There are several technologies being developed that aim to get us invisible. Among them are methods using "superlenses", "invisible cloaks", and "metamaterials that twist the paths of electromagnetic radiation." That all sounds pretty technical and kind of confusing, but if it gets us invisible, so be it. Read the story at MSN.com to find out more. Look Up In The Air! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Blog! Bryan Singer, the Producer of Superman Returns, the latest Superman epic, has been filming a video blog during the making of the movie. For fans of Superman, it's fun to watch the movie get made and a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, but the other thing that attracted us to Singer's blog was its extremely clever use of Flash video. Check it out at the Superman Returns video blog at Warner Bros. It's About Time For a Stupid Hacker Story If you're going to bungle, do it in a big, stupid way. Two teen-aged hackers from New York stole personal information from MySpace.com users, but decided that they hadn't got themselves into enough hot water yet. While MySpace was having the daffy duo investigated, the pair contacted MySpace admins and told them that they would release new exploit code on MySpace.com and put them in a world of hurt unless MySpace paid up to the tune of $150,000. As you probably already guessed, MySpace said "You bet we'll pay", invited the hackers to a meeting and called the authorities to let them know where they could find and arrest the teenagers. Since both kids are over the age of eighteen, they've both been charged with felonies. Authorities say this is the first time they've heard of hackers extorting a website with threats of an exploit that doesn't even exist yet. More on the story at InformationWeek.com.
CMX User Password Component This ready-to-use ColdFusion component (CFC) provides a simple mechanism to handle assigning passwords to user accounts, verifying passwords provided by users, and generating random passwords for accounts. Check out this ColdFusion component by CMX Partner Arman Danesh
Fun and Freebies But Can It Tell Me Where I Was Conceived? At PaulSadowski.com, there's a calculator that will take your birth date and give you some fun facts about your birthday, like when you were likely conceived. You can also find out just how many ounces of water can be boiled using the number of candles on your birthday cake. This Will Bug You If you're a fan of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You", you should be even more bugged. Check it out at Beverlys.net. If You're Going To Dream, Dream Big Swans are apparently capable of falling in love. Sometimes it's just a bit misguided, if this article at Reuters.com is any indication.
Deconstructing MySpace.com Part 1 - Social Networking Database MySpace is the social networking phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. Having recently been sold for US$580 Million, it is plain to see that the format has a value, and indeed, just about everyone I know below the age of 25 has a MySpace account. The reason MySpace works is because it puts the control of the content in the hands of the users, and by catering to the social aspects of the human condition has found itself in an enviable position of mass appeal despite some criticism. The purpose of this, first of many articles is to deconstruct the application -- in this case, MySpace.com -- and show you how to build your own. I believe that the lessons that can be gleaned from learning how a successful site is constructed are plentiful and valuable. Namely, the ability for the users of your site to connect to each other. The first thing we will look at is what database structure would be required to implement the social networking aspect of MySpace.com. The examples will be in the context of SQL Server 2005, but the knowledge should be transferable to other RDBMSs. This free article by CMX Partner Joel Martinez can be found here.
Weekly Content Listing Introducing CMX Jumpstart San Francisco [FREE] Sheri German 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. CMX JumpStart San Francisco for Students (and Anyone) Sheri German 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. Approximate download size: 4MB What I Learned at TODCon 8 [FREE] Kim Cavanaugh I've had a few days to reflect on the things that I took away from the latest rendition of The Other Dreamweaver Conference, aka TODCon, and it looks like we're heading into a period of new innovations, uncertainty, and great potential on the web. If you're an independent web developer new revenue streams are opening up for you, and more decisions than ever have to be made on where you might want to take your business. Even if you aren't working for yourself, there are enough trends and changes heading your way that now is a good time to sit up and take notice. In this article, I've summarized what I see are the emerging trends, interesting developments, and other factoids gleaned from the sessions, hallway conversations, and late night conversations that define TODCon. Flawless Skin Using the Healing Brush and Patterns Knut Kubenz Unless you work with customized patterns, the Healing Brush might have only a limited range. Here's a method of creating a customized pattern for the Healing Brush to extend its range retouching the human face quickly, easily and flawlessly. Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information Robert Reinhardt Once you have a component that can accept dynamic parameters, you'll want to make a user interface that can easily accept new certificate details and pass the information to the certificate clip. In this tutorial, you learn how to add Label, TextInput, and DateField components to your Flash movie. The Flash Printing Task Series: Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate Coming Soon Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window Coming Soon Approximate download size: 717k Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Seven - Choosing and Using Color John Gallant, Holly Bergevin Once more we review some Firefox extensions and some standalone applications, this time dealing with color issues in web design. It's a pretty big and important subject, and we can use all the help we can get, so check out these neat gadgets (EyeDropper, ColorPic, Colour Contrast Analyser, and Colorzilla) that pick, find, and otherwise manipulate the colors our viewers will be seeing. The Low Cost Developer Tools Series: Low Cost Developer Tools: Part One - Firefox Extensions Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Two - Toolbars Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Three - Screen Rulers Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Four - Grab Bag 1 Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Five - Grab Bag 2 Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Six - More Firefox Extensions Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Seven - Choosing and Using Color Happy Memorial Day! [FREE] Community MX wishes to thank the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, and remember those who have lost their lives defending liberty. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day! Using the asp:Panel Control to Simplify Complex Forms Heidi Bautista In this tutorial you'll learn an easy method to break up long, tedious forms so that the user finds them easier to fill out and you have just a single file to maintain. The form elements are nested inside of asp:Panel controls so that you can show one panel at a time and hide the rest. The best part of this approach is that you don't have to worry about maintaining state. The ASP.NET Framework takes care of that for you. Even across multiple post backs. That allows you to refer to controls nested in hidden panels. Very convenient. A Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Updater [FREE] Tom Green Last week before heading off to TODCON I did my due diligence and installed the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 updater. Later that evening one of the partners for whom I had done a video tutorial asked me where I had put it. Turns out I thought she was finished with it and I had pulled it down. Being the great guy that I am, I opened Dreamweaver and used the Put feature of the Dreamweaver 8 Files panel to upload it. This is where things get interesting. Introducing CMX Design Element Mercury [FREE] Sheri German 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.
Creating a Simple Blog, Part I Many people ask "how can I build my own blog?" This tutorial will show how to create a simple blog using point-and-click features of Dreamweaver. For that reason, this tutorial can be followed for any server model that Dreamweaver supports. Check out the Article by CMX partner Tom Muck
Tips, Tricks and Dirty Cheats! This week's Tip, Trick or Dirty Cheat is courtesy of CMX partner Kim Cavanaugh A Tip for Flash Video When designing compositions that include a video player in Flash I like to take a screenshot of the player in a browser window. I can then use that bitmap image in a guide layer to help in designing the rest of the interface and for making decisions on skinning the player. Would you like your tip published? Submit it to tips@communitymx.com. That's it for this week. Stay tuned for the next CMX newsletter!

CMX Weekly Newsletter

News
Fun and Freebies
Recent CMX Content
Tips, Tricks and Dirty Cheats

Check the News!

The Latest Community MX JumpStart: San Francisco

When we released the recent CMX Design Element Gold, we got many requests to see the code that was described in the Gold introductory article. You could say we had a bit of "Gold Fever" going on, with a number of subscribers who were ready to "Go West" into the wild frontiers of CSS layouts. So journey with us now modern day '49ers, and get your hands dirty as you pan for code in the latest CMX JumpStart San Francisco for students - or anyone. 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. And of course, it's all valid CSS and XHTML, along with 508 and WAI Accessibility.
The San Francisco JumpStart team

Design by Gordon Mackay (based on his Design Element Gold)
Fireworks PNG organized according to best practices by Jim Babbage
CSS and XHTML structured by John Gallant and Sheri German

The package for this two-column, fixed width layout includes an extension for installing San Francisco into the New Document dialog box, ten bundled tutorials (including CMX Design Element Gold), a source PNG, hack-free style sheet, and a starter page.

San Francisco is available for $29.99 to non-members, but is absolutely free to CMX subscribers. Read more about how to make it yours.

CMX JumpStart San Francisco article for nonmembers and members who would like to read more about its features and see a modified San Francisco design.
CMX JumpStart San Francisco article for members and for those who would like to purchase San Francisco now.

Get 'em While They Last

Red-Gate.com is making their SQL Prompt software free until September of 2006. What SQL Prompt does is make you a more productive SQL coder by providing hints for query commands as well as hints for your tables and columns, as you're coding. If you're a SQL developer that likes to find new ways of efficiency, you might want to look into it. You can't beat the price.

Death Knoll For GoLive and Freehand?

At the Adobe Live conference in London, Robert Raiola of Adobe Systems France supposedly mentioned that Adobe will no longer be developing GoLive or Freehand, according to this article at MacsimumNews.com. Since this information has not been confirmed by anyone that we would trust, we are taking it with a grain of salt. Having said that, Adobe had to start making sacrifices somewhere, and GoLive and Freehand are two of the obvious lambs. Again, whether or not this information is true is still up for debate. We'll see. Update: As we were sending the newsletter, we came across this article at MacWorld.com which would seem to debunk the MacsimumNews.com article.

Community MX Gets a New Author

David Stiller, who runs Quip.net, has accepted a position with Community MX writing articles with us. David's portfolio includes NASA, Macromedia, and major US automotive and boat manufacturers... and now, Community MX! His specialty is multimedia programming and designing. He also just had an article published at DevNet. We're looking forward to some fantastic work coming out of David's keyboard. If you want to see David's first tutorial with CMX, check out Tackling the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.

Adobe's Forray Into Project Management

Adobe's Kiwi Team are busy working on developing components for Flex. Their first proof-of-concept is NoteTag. NoteTag is a free component for Flex that lets you keep track of and assign tasks at a meeting. With all of the meeting attendees in place, you can choose tasks from any of the bits of chat taking place and assign those tasks to any of the people within the chat. After the chat is over, each person can log in and see what tasks have been assigned to them. Interestingly, NoteTag doesn't use any kind of database as a back end. Instead, it uses Blogger to store the task information. You can get an overview of NoteTag at Adobe.com.

Satisfied Customers Speak Out!

"Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I followed along pretty good for a newbie. Showing the diagrams of the code, and the results, was very helpful."

CMX Subscriber Ronald R., commenting on Adrian Senior's tutorial "CSS An Introduction - Part Thirteen: Working With a Wrapper Div"

Whether you're just starting out or need advanced support, Community MX will give you answers and ideas to work through your tough issues. Don't miss out. Learn more about CMX or sign up for a free trial today!

Great Quotes:

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." — F. Scott Fitzgerald

O'Reilly Lays Claim To Web 2.0

IT@Cork is a non-profit organization for IT professionals, and they have decided to name one of their upcoming events "The Web 2.0 half-day conference." O'Reilly publishers has taken issue with the title of their conference and have issued cease and desist letters to get IT@Cork to cut the "Web 2.0" out of their conference name. O'Reilly claims that the use of the term "Web 2.0" is an infringement upon their trademark, which, by the way, O'Reilly has applied for but not yet received. Update: As we were about to send this newsletter, we noticed that O'Reilly had come to their senses and allowed the IT@Cork conference to go ahead with using the "Web 2.0 half-day conference" after all. You can read Tim O'Reilly's very long defense of his actions at OReilly.com. If you want the shorter explanation from O'Reilly, check it out here. You can also check out Tom Raftery's blog that alerted us to the hubbub to begin with. ITCork has posted some information on the transgression on their website as well.

Step 1: Collect Underpants, Step 2: ?, Step 3: Profit!

CNN.com is saying that this is a good time for startup companies. But starting your own company, unless you've got great scuba gear, is not something you just dive into. The article outlines some of the ins and outs of starting your business and some of the resources you can use to achieve success. It also talks about some of the common mistakes that startups make, so you can avoid them. And if your business involves building web applications, you might want to look into the $19 eBook available at 37Signals.com called "Getting Real." The book outlines the steps that 37Signals went through to launch Ruby on Rails, BaseCamp and TaDa List, to name a few. And if proverbs help inspire you, then you'll find some good ones specifically tailored to entrepeneurs at OReilly.com.

Invisible Girl Is Stewing In Jealousy

According to researchers, that cloak of invisibility you've been begging for after you've spilled your soda on your boss could be a reality real soon. There are several technologies being developed that aim to get us invisible. Among them are methods using "superlenses", "invisible cloaks", and "metamaterials that twist the paths of electromagnetic radiation." That all sounds pretty technical and kind of confusing, but if it gets us invisible, so be it. Read the story at MSN.com to find out more.

Look Up In The Air! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Blog!

Bryan Singer, the Producer of Superman Returns, the latest Superman epic, has been filming a video blog during the making of the movie. For fans of Superman, it's fun to watch the movie get made and a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, but the other thing that attracted us to Singer's blog was its extremely clever use of Flash video. Check it out at the Superman Returns video blog at Warner Bros.

It's About Time For a Stupid Hacker Story

If you're going to bungle, do it in a big, stupid way. Two teen-aged hackers from New York stole personal information from MySpace.com users, but decided that they hadn't got themselves into enough hot water yet. While MySpace was having the daffy duo investigated, the pair contacted MySpace admins and told them that they would release new exploit code on MySpace.com and put them in a world of hurt unless MySpace paid up to the tune of $150,000. As you probably already guessed, MySpace said "You bet we'll pay", invited the hackers to a meeting and called the authorities to let them know where they could find and arrest the teenagers. Since both kids are over the age of eighteen, they've both been charged with felonies. Authorities say this is the first time they've heard of hackers extorting a website with threats of an exploit that doesn't even exist yet. More on the story at InformationWeek.com.

CMX User Password Component

This ready-to-use ColdFusion component (CFC) provides a simple mechanism to handle assigning passwords to user accounts, verifying passwords provided by users, and generating random passwords for accounts.

Check out this ColdFusion component by CMX Partner Arman Danesh

Fun and Freebies

But Can It Tell Me Where I Was Conceived?

At PaulSadowski.com, there's a calculator that will take your birth date and give you some fun facts about your birthday, like when you were likely conceived. You can also find out just how many ounces of water can be boiled using the number of candles on your birthday cake.

This Will Bug You

If you're a fan of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You", you should be even more bugged. Check it out at Beverlys.net.

If You're Going To Dream, Dream Big

Swans are apparently capable of falling in love. Sometimes it's just a bit misguided, if this article at Reuters.com is any indication.

Deconstructing MySpace.com Part 1 - Social Networking Database

MySpace is the social networking phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. Having recently been sold for US$580 Million, it is plain to see that the format has a value, and indeed, just about everyone I know below the age of 25 has a MySpace account. The reason MySpace works is because it puts the control of the content in the hands of the users, and by catering to the social aspects of the human condition has found itself in an enviable position of mass appeal despite some criticism. The purpose of this, first of many articles is to deconstruct the application -- in this case, MySpace.com -- and show you how to build your own. I believe that the lessons that can be gleaned from learning how a successful site is constructed are plentiful and valuable. Namely, the ability for the users of your site to connect to each other. The first thing we will look at is what database structure would be required to implement the social networking aspect of MySpace.com. The examples will be in the context of SQL Server 2005, but the knowledge should be transferable to other RDBMSs.

This free article by CMX Partner Joel Martinez can be found here.

Weekly Content Listing

Introducing CMX Jumpstart San Francisco [FREE]

Sheri German

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.

CMX JumpStart San Francisco for Students (and Anyone)

Sheri German

What I Learned at TODCon 8 [FREE]

Kim Cavanaugh

I've had a few days to reflect on the things that I took away from the latest rendition of The Other Dreamweaver Conference, aka TODCon, and it looks like we're heading into a period of new innovations, uncertainty, and great potential on the web. If you're an independent web developer new revenue streams are opening up for you, and more decisions than ever have to be made on where you might want to take your business. Even if you aren't working for yourself, there are enough trends and changes heading your way that now is a good time to sit up and take notice.

In this article, I've summarized what I see are the emerging trends, interesting developments, and other factoids gleaned from the sessions, hallway conversations, and late night conversations that define TODCon.

Flawless Skin Using the Healing Brush and Patterns

Knut Kubenz

Unless you work with customized patterns, the Healing Brush might have only a limited range. Here's a method of creating a customized pattern for the Healing Brush to extend its range retouching the human face quickly, easily and flawlessly.

Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information

Robert Reinhardt

Once you have a component that can accept dynamic parameters, you'll want to make a user interface that can easily accept new certificate details and pass the information to the certificate clip. In this tutorial, you learn how to add Label, TextInput, and DateField components to your Flash movie.

The Flash Printing Task Series:
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 1: Building a Certificate Template in Illustrator and Flash
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 2: Basic Printing of the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 3: Adding Dynamic Text to the Certificate
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 4: Creating a Form for Certificate Information
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 5: Building a Preview for the Certificate Coming Soon
Flash Printing Tasks - Part 6: Creating a Color/Grayscale Toggle for the Certificate Preview Window Coming Soon

Approximate download size: 717k

Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Seven - Choosing and Using Color

John Gallant, Holly Bergevin

Once more we review some Firefox extensions and some standalone applications, this time dealing with color issues in web design. It's a pretty big and important subject, and we can use all the help we can get, so check out these neat gadgets (EyeDropper, ColorPic, Colour Contrast Analyser, and Colorzilla) that pick, find, and otherwise manipulate the colors our viewers will be seeing.

The Low Cost Developer Tools Series:
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part One - Firefox Extensions
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Two - Toolbars
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Three - Screen Rulers
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Four - Grab Bag 1
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Five - Grab Bag 2
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Six - More Firefox Extensions
Low Cost Developer Tools: Part Seven - Choosing and Using Color

Happy Memorial Day! [FREE]

Community MX wishes to thank the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, and remember those who have lost their lives defending liberty.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Using the asp:Panel Control to Simplify Complex Forms

Heidi Bautista

In this tutorial you'll learn an easy method to break up long, tedious forms so that the user finds them easier to fill out and you have just a single file to maintain. The form elements are nested inside of asp:Panel controls so that you can show one panel at a time and hide the rest. The best part of this approach is that you don't have to worry about maintaining state. The ASP.NET Framework takes care of that for you. Even across multiple post backs. That allows you to refer to controls nested in hidden panels. Very convenient.

A Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Updater [FREE]

Tom Green

Last week before heading off to TODCON I did my due diligence and installed the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 updater. Later that evening one of the partners for whom I had done a video tutorial asked me where I had put it. Turns out I thought she was finished with it and I had pulled it down. Being the great guy that I am, I opened Dreamweaver and used the Put feature of the Dreamweaver 8 Files panel to upload it. This is where things get interesting.

Introducing CMX Design Element Mercury [FREE]

Sheri German

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.

Creating a Simple Blog, Part I

Many people ask "how can I build my own blog?" This tutorial will show how to create a simple blog using point-and-click features of Dreamweaver. For that reason, this tutorial can be followed for any server model that Dreamweaver supports.

Check out the Article by CMX partner Tom Muck

Tips, Tricks and Dirty Cheats!

This week's Tip, Trick or Dirty Cheat is courtesy of CMX partner Kim Cavanaugh

A Tip for Flash Video

When designing compositions that include a video player in Flash I like to take a screenshot of the player in a browser window. I can then use that bitmap image in a guide layer to help in designing the rest of the interface and for making decisions on skinning the player.

Would you like your tip published? Submit it to tips@communitymx.com.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned for the next CMX newsletter!