Product: Flash 5.0
Company: Macromedia
Website: http://www.macromedia.com
Estimated Street Price: $399.00
Review By: Julien JAY

Advanced Features

Flash 5 now includes Generator, software that was previously sold separately. This new technology helps developers among others to encapsulate objects in Flash animations that you can link to multimedia databases. Updating the database instantly updates the animation so you can build funny animations that display the latest news. Macromedia have also widely transformed its ActionScript language, adding tons of new features similar to the Java development logic. In fact we can say that ActionScript is now based on JavaScript that’ll offer creators the simple power of object-oriented language. Experienced programmers will find advanced logical conditions features, handling objects properties and more. So if before due to the sprites support you were able to develop simple 2D interactive games you can now go further than ever: In this domain of use Macromedia Flash 5 is much more powerful than its direct competitor Adobe LiveMotion that is focused on Graphic designers. The small programming window of Flash 4 is now dead since Flash 5 includes a real programming window like in Macromedia Director where you can follow steps by steps the logical progress of your programming work. Developers can also externalize ActionScript files to code them in an alternative coding environment. Two modes of programming are offered in Flash 5: normal (where the developer is assisted) or expert where developer can directly type its code in the script page. Flash 5 includes a build in debugger to debug help developer debugging complex applications during creating process. MacroMedia Flash 5 now integers “SmartClips” so you can easily add pre-build programmed interactivity components to your animations like user interface component, multiple choices forms and much more. Developers can add to a symbol library their assets stored outside the project they’re working on. So external co-workers can reuse components and every change applied to assets is instantly reflected into Flash 5 animations. Flash 5 supports all the actual computer platforms so your animations can be viewed by everyone due to the support of Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris, Iris, along with the web-appliance support: WebTV, PocketPC, Sega DreamCast, Symbian, NCI & Excite Home. Flash 5 supports WML transfer so you can transmit structured XML information to develop information rich e-commerce applications. Programmers that want to find the same keyboard accelerators (shortcuts) into the various applications they use will be happy to know that they can fully customize them. Printing content on the web is a very limited experience for surfers. Most of the time the print output isn’t consistent and varies per browser and platform. Worst visitors must always download first contents and print it later. Flash 5 offers a solution for these concerns as it includes Web-Native printing providing customizable development options for publishers and positive viewing experience for consumers. Flash Web Native Support offers:

• WYPINWYS: What you print is not what you see: printable content can be downloaded on demand and doesn’t need to be initially downloaded provided a fast site viewing experience.

• Web surfers can view content and applications suitable for the screen and output a separate design suitable for print.

• No separate application download is necessary: using the Macromedia Flash Player, consumers have all the software necessary to view and print high quality content.

Another great feature of Flash 5 is the HTML Text Support. With this feature Flash 5 combines the best of both graphically engaging and traditional browser text display to provide a complete-design and delivery solution for rich experiences. Designers can now choose anti-aliased display text or HTML rich text to create a new calibre of Web content.

Flash 5 Shared Symbol Library (click to enlarge)