A few people have asked me how to load a swf file that contains an armature, into another swf file. If you just try to do it the armature doesn’t work. The trick is that you need to register the armature in the loader file. I have attached a couple of very simple files to demonstrate. The bones.swf contains a simple armiture set to ‘Runtime’. The ‘loader.swf’ loads the bones.swf and registers the armature. For more info check out the new IK class in Flash CS4.

import fl.ik.*;
import flash.display.*;

//load the bones swf
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("bones.swf");
var loader:Loader = new Loader();
loader.load(request);
loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, init);

//set up the vars
var boneClip:Sprite;
var myArmature:IKArmature;

function init(e:Event):void{
	//add the clip to the stage
	boneClip = Sprite(loader.content);
	addChild(boneClip);
	//set up IK
	IKManager.setStage(stage);
	myArmature = IKManager.getArmatureAt(0);
	myArmature.registerElements(stage);
	IKManager.trackAllArmatures(true);
}

You can download the example here.

Well it has been an incredible week with CS4 Launch shows in Mumbai, Hong Kong and Taipei. Tim Cole, Karl Soule and I have been having a ball presenting the new products to huge audiences (averaging 1200 per show). The reaction has been great and I would like to thank all of you who attended. Tim, Karl and I have met a bunch of new friends and received an overwhelming response.

Probably the best fun we, and the audiences, have had has been in the ‘Shoot Out” sessions at the end of the day where Tim, Karl and I have had a competition to demo the coolest features and tips and tricks of CS4. I am not sure who has won each one but the audiences have been really involved and we have all had fun. This file is one that I built on the day in Taipei for my shoot out session. I used a photo of Ashley from the Adobe Taipei team taken in the foyer and had a bit of fun with it. Click on the file to start it and dance with Ashley!

Dance with Ashley

I also promised everyone the Tim Cole AIR application. Everyone needs a little Tim on their desktop so click on the badge below to install it.

Also here are links to the Melissa AIR app and the FourthDimension AIR app and finally the Flash Globe using the spherize Pixel Bender filter.

Over 1100 in Mumbai! This shot was taken with the lights dimmed in the auditorium so I have had to bump up the levels a lot.

Setting up in Mumbai

A great venue in Hong Kong with over 1100 in the audience!

Underway in Hong Kong

This was the main auditorium in Taipei which became full and we also packed out the “overflow room” with 500 more people! This shot was 5 separate images stitched together using the Photomerge option in Photoshop CS4.

Taipei audience arriving

The Adobe Taipei Team

A huge thank you to all the Adobe teams from Mumbai, Hong Kong and Taipei who organised such amazing events, especially Prabhjeet and Priscilla!

See you all next time…

The latest Adobe TV episode of Flash Downunder is live! This one looks at both the new Bone Tool and the Deco Tool in Flash CS4. This episode is also in the new Adobe TV large-screen format.

This is a file I am currently working on that uses the Spherize Pixel Bender filter in Flash CS4 and some simple throw physics.

Still a few glitches to fix but I sorta like it.. once it is finished I will post the source.

Globe

Ever get frustrated that you don’t have a wide lens with you to take the perfect pic? Or you want a really hi res photo but only have a low res camera? Well, here is the solution - Photomerge in Photoshop CS4.

A few months ago I was in Paris for a show with Bryan O’Neill Hughes, Product Manager for Photoshop, and we did some sight-seeing. Now Bryan is a great photographer! No holiday snaps for Bryan… he is the kind of guy that heads out at 5am to get the best light. So I was a little challenged, and being more of a video guy, all I had with me was my Sony AVCHD camera which takes 10 megapixel still images. They are not bad but I had to do something to impress.

I walked to the Arc de Triomphe (a nice 10 minute walk from the Adobe Paris office) and decided to take 25 close up shots of the Arc. They were all hand held and I just aimed and clicked. Very little thought was involved and to be honest I didn’t think it would work.

Arc Comp

As you can see I overlapped the images a bit. So with 25 x 10 megapixel shots, I loaded them in Adobe Bridge CS4, selected them all, and chose ‘Tool>Photoshop>Photomerge…’. I went with the default settings ie ‘Auto’ and ‘Blend Images Together’.

Well, as I said I didn’t think it would work… in fact I thought it might explode my laptop. Anyway, the progress bar started and moved slowly so I went to get a coffee. Don’t get me wrong… Photomerge is very fast under normal circumstances, however, if your laptop is stitching 25 large random images, go for coffee! When I returned this was the result.

Arc Stitched

As you can see it did an amazing job. 25 layers with masks, all editable, and the ‘Blend Images Together’ check box worked a treat especially with shots all using auto exposure. Next, crop the image.

Arc de Triomphe

What I was left with was a 771Mb Photoshop file with a resolution of 10957 x 5815. Pretty impressive especially when you look at the detail.

Arc Detail

So, next time you are taking holiday snaps, think about taking a bunch of shots and merging them in Photoshop CS4 for that holiday masterpiece. Still not up to Bryan’s standard, but I felt a little better. Its up to you whether you get up at 5am though!

Oh, here is another shot I did the same way. This time it was only 3 shots vertically.

Eiffel Tower

Over the next few weeks Tim Cole, Karl Soule and myself will be touring around Asia presenting the CS4 Launch events in Mumbai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

If you haven’t registered yet then get in quick as seats are going fast. Tim, Karl and I will be presenting an amazing array of rich features, including workflow and collaboration features… as well as an fast competitive ‘Evangelist Shootout’ at the end of the day showing the most amazing features of the Suites. Each event should be a fun, exciting day with heaps to see and learn.

Mumbai - 4th November
Hong Kong - 6th November
Taipei - 7th November
Kuala Lumpur - 11th November
Singapore - 14th November

Hope to see you there!

Yesterday’s Adobe Online Creative Festival was a great success… with heaps of people logged in, lots of presentations on CS4, tips and tricks sessions, master classes and Adobe live sessions.

To see some pics from ground zero (the Sydney Adobe office) where it was all happening go to my gallery and click on the first album.

If you missed the festival you can go to http://www.adobeonlinefestival.com/ to see the recordings. It is not up yet as everything is being cleaned and sorted, but go back there soon to see the sessions.

Stod in full flight

The latest in the Flash Downunder series is up on AdobeTV! ActionScript 3 101, a very basic and simple introduction to ActionScript 3.

I have also updated the MAD Gallery of pics etc from my latest trips. So if you would like to see where I have been and what I have been doing have a quick peek.

ActionSctipt 3 101

Flash In the Can - Seoul 2008 was a great success! A fantastic crowd, some great presentations and the After Party at Soulsome was a lot of fun. A big thank you to Shawn Pucknell, Lisa Walters from FITC and also to all of you who came to watch.

Well, I am now in Seoul preparing for tomorrow’s Flash in the Can at COEX.

Looks like being a great show with the likes of Joshua Davis, Erik Natkze, Kyle Cooper, Euna Seol, Ralph Hauwert, Marcos Weskamp and yours truly doing the keynote - ‘The Future of the World of Flash’.

With Flash CS4, AIR, FlashLite and Flash Player 10 I have a lot to cover!

Hope to see you there.