3 Replies Latest reply: Mar 8, 2011 7:23 AM by Ned Murphy RSS

    As3 suggestions only sometimes show up?

    TorQue[MoD] Community Member

      Hey all!

       

      I'm a complete noob to scripting with flash... took a few video tutorial lessons a year ago but have since not used it and also found they were way too specific. I'm trying to learn again but one thing that I've noticed that really bothers me is that sometimes when I'm writing code, a handy little pop up menu with a list of possible code options appears and I can select what I want to type from a list. This is really helpful for a noob because half the time I don't even know what events I can call so if I type "M" and it suggests "MouseEvent" or "MouseOver" or whatever its really cool. The weird thing is on one line the suggestion list will pop up and then on another line it will not appear no matter what I try. I'd use the tool bar on the side except its so damned convoluted that I can't even guess where to look for any events and it ends up just slowing me down even more. What I can't fathom is that this program was made by the same people who make Dreamweaver! How can one program be so damned intuitive in terms of its WYSIWYG design and then flash seems completely designed for programmers only.

       

      Sorry for the rant but its really frustrating!

       

      Anyone know how to make the suggestion window come up more consistently?

       

      Thanks!

        • 1. Re: As3 suggestions only sometimes show up?
          Ned Murphy CommunityMVP

          I don't have that problem with that feature, though I rarely use it so it is possible it fails to appear more than I'd notice.  When I would like it to appear, I find that it sometimes does not appear if I quickly type beyond where the suggestion feature would normally appear and miss it.  I doubt there will be any solution that anyone can offer, but you can wait and see.  If you think it might be a bug in the program, you can try submitting it to the bug report...

           

          http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

           

          As for your Dreamweaver commentary.... It is unlikely that the same people designed both pieces of software.  And Dreamweaver is far from being the WYSIWYG tool that it might have once been (I never really cared for it).  Anyone helping in the DW forum would likely agree that these days you need to know more than the software to be able to get reliable results.  What you call intuitive is more likely what you learned over time and became comfortable with.  In time you will find a similar comfort level using Flash if you stick with it.

          • 2. Re: As3 suggestions only sometimes show up?
            TorQue[MoD] Community Member

            Thanks Ned!

             

            I knew you'd be the first person to reply : P

             

            Well, yes Dreamweaver isn't as "Intuitive" as I might be implying, but it is really straight forward with a lot of the easier stuff the "noobs" are going to want to do. It seems more GUI friendly or something. A lot of the simple tasks can be added without even opening the coding window like tables, pictures, embeding swfs, rollover images etc. Whereas Flash seems a LOT more complicated. And true, the more time I spend with the program the more I'll become comfortable with it. I guess my biggest frustration is that with Dreamweaver I rarely ever had to visit any forums or seek outside help in order to figure out how to use the program itself whereas with Flash it seems I'm googling even the most basic tasks. And this is coming from a guy who has a great affinity for software. I use 3ds Max, Photoshop, Premiere, Mudbox, Unreal 3, Adobe Audition and the Valve Hammer Editor... all very complex programs in their own right but I've been able to figure my way around their interfaces and basic use on my lonesome. Flash just doesn't feel intuitive to me... at least not the programming aspect.

             

            And when I said made by the same people I was refering to the companies, Macromedia and then Adobe, not the individuals. You think the various design teams would comunicate better and combine the usefulness of all their web programs into one package; or at least unify the core structures.

            • 3. Re: As3 suggestions only sometimes show up?
              Ned Murphy CommunityMVP

              "You think the various design teams would comunicate better and combine the usefulness of all their web programs into one package; or at least unify the core structures."

               

               

              It seems more the opposite is being reasoned out as Dreamweaver has been dropping features that would have supported other suite software being integrated.  It's hard to tell what's driving the thought process these days... most likely $$$hareholders... less spent is more earned (while it lasts).