How to find your way in an existing Flash presentation

Question

I did quite a bit of Flash and Flex programming in AS2 and AS3 (well, Flex only in AS3 :). <self-definition> I got these platforms to do exactly what I want. I created Flash components and created an MVC framework in Flex, etc. </ self-definition>

If you give me a Flex application that I have never seen or said, “make these changes,” I know where to start understanding the application: from the application tag down. He probably had some kind of interaction with the server, with some callbacks, etc. Or some kind of interaction with the frame.

If you pass me the Java application, I can do the same thing: go from the frontend to the back end or maybe go back through method calls.

But if you give me the Flash application, I’ll be completely lost for the first hour, while I’m trying to guess why it works the way it is ... and if it doesn’t compile, I think I’ll be lost forever. This is due to MCs built into MCs (some of them are hidden! Great!) And not so much related to the code. Then the code is distributed in all different frames, scenes, etc., so when only the original developer works,

When I make a clean Flash, I do everything in Components and use a very flat structure, but this is a completely different story. My question is for the flash presentations that I get:

How do you begin to understand an existing flash presentation when you receive it? What are you looking for first, etc.? Do you have any tips for understanding the Flash presentation you are seeing for the first time?

Answer 1

Well, if you are given the FLA, the first thing I would do is try and analyze the general structure of the application, and this starts with a review of the main (root) timeline. If it looks empty or has nothing but actionscript, then it’s clear that the thing is code-controlled - read that script or find the document class and assume that the library is just a component repository.

If the root timeline is full, then usually it’s either some kind of animation intended for playback, or a state management system where the application moves from frame to frame when it changes the display state. If this is an animation, then it is usually simple, but you need to find out if it plays directly or jumps (look for frame labels), and especially what happens after it is completed. If the root timeline is a state machine, then you are off and running - you can usually assume that each important frame (often they will have labels) is hierarchically equal and examine them more or less separately. Also pay attention to the content, which is basically a state machine, but with transitional animation between states.

Now with that being said, the really powerful but confusing thing about Flash Authoring is that every time you look at a clip, you have to return two paragraphs and start the process, because this MC can itself be a component or a machine with a display or animation. When you look at a bunch of clips, you never know which ones contain trivial graphics and which have a lot of difficulties. Thus, you divide and dominate - for any given clip, find out what all the non-trivial things it contains, and then find out what each of them does.

Additional random tips:

• Learn to use Movie Explorer (alt + F3 on PC) to determine which clips contain ActionScript. You will probably see many commands to “stop” the triangle, but if there are large chunks that contain logic, you want to find out what they do and where they are in the hierarchy of objects.
• If you find any scripts attached to video clips, gird yourself for a righteous battle - you will not be on time. Fortunately, this is not allowed in AS3.
• When a lot of things are mixed together, try expanding all the folders on the timeline and going through them to turn visibility on and off to understand what exactly. The library may be in a mess, but at least on the timeline, assets should be layered in the same order that they overlap visually, and this often gives you clues. Organize them wisely into folders if the original designer did not.
• It is also useful sometimes to “choose everything” to understand what things are separate objects, and whether there are any invisible assets. Blank clips or clips with nothing on the first frame always appear as a small white circle, but clips whose alpha is 0 are not displayed at all if you have not selected them, or turn on outline mode (a small colored button on each timeline).
• When you see a small white circle that marks an empty clip, be sure to check it out. It can be a container for loading content or a clip with graphic resources, but not in the first frame, or even a marker to which other content will be attached. But you can bet that this hides some kind of complexity from you.
• If it ever seems like there’s less time on the root scale than it should be, just to start opening the Scene panel. Some designers are so crazy.