Flash???

[bamben2377712]

Can I open my chart in flash? I want to have a chart on each frame on the timeline. I also want to be able to disect a chart in flash so I can arange the data exactly as 'I' wish. I dont own this product yet, I am not sure if it is what I need.

What does this program save a chart as? .SWF? If I can acsess the file as an .FLA then I will buy it straight away! But if i cant edit in flash then I think the people who have made this program may be mad because it is for making flash charts so why not let you edit and pull apart your chart in flash?

The xml editor is not going to be of help to me infact it basicaly sounds like a lot of time learning to do some thing in xml language that could be done in five seconds with flash by drag and drop, resize ect (these are all easy visual things)

I swear that last time I watched the video for this product it said that you could fully edit the charts in flash! but that was like 3 months ago.

Im screwed if the've changed it!

[Ray Borduin]

The chart .swf file is based on the open source project: http://teethgrinder.co.uk/open-flash-chart/

any .fla files can be found there and will allow you to fully customize.

[bamben2377712]

the open source project dont seam to provide the .fla files... there are some files with the flash icon but they are .as

this does not look like anything ive seen before!

I am confused, this is advertised as flash charts but I dont see any flash! I get the impression that I would be able to play around with the charts in flash as objects/symbols?!?!?

I am good at flash designing but xml I have no idea what its about and I dont fancy having to keep on going into this forum every time yelling HELLLP HELLP HELP.

hmm this is not a free product so how good is the support? So far I have been unable to get support for the Dynamic Web Charts as the step 2 is broken (where you select the product) and Ive tryed emailing them but they havnt replyed! This not very supportive and I know that I will need it.

???? I am confused.

[Ray Borduin]

If you download the project from:
http://teethgrinder.co.uk/open-flash-chart/open-flash-chart-1.9.6.zip

it includes the .fla file in the actionscript folder.

[Ray Borduin]

.as files are actionscript files loaded by the main .fla file. A lot of the functionality is accomplished with actionscript.

[bamben2377712]

Lol I open the .fla file and it says unexpected file format. Its a .fla i fail to see whats so unexpected!?

Thanks for finding that its seams to be different from what I down loaded (version-2-ichor)

But why might it be saying this? I cant even open the .fla it throws me out every time.

Ray, are you a member of staff? I dont want to feel guilty for just constantly asking and asking and asking like a blood sucker.

Still, knowing that there is a .fla that I can get into has really brightend my day :) and has given me resored confidence that I might be able to finaly do what I want with this product, It may yet make a usefull tool for me.

Thanks

Ben.

[bamben2377712]

Ive found another version open-flash-chart-1.9.7 (it says exactly the same thing : unexpected file format)

Serching the net I am finding no clear answer, I might need some sort of service pack maybe as I am using Flash MX 2004.

Has any one else experienced this problem with the .fla file?

[Ray Borduin]

The file opens with flash version 8

[bamben2377712]

ok I managed to figure that out the other day, sorry I should of posted that I did (Ive been a bit busy, I geuss I forgot).

I got a good look at the .fla file, it is blank only that it holds one line of action script on the first frame #include "open-flash-chart.as" so the chart is made in the xml code and reffered to and shown on that frame. open-flash-chart.as is one of the files in the action script folder, I take it that you can only use it once?

Would it be possible to make a copy of this file (open-flash-chart2.as) and on the next frame put #include "open-flash-chart2.as"??? because then I can make a simple button to jump back and forth through the frames and this will be exactly what ive been looking for....JOB DONE A+ EXELLENTE perfect!!!

This is exciting!

ps: Dynamic Web Charts give you an xml editor is this easy to use?

[Ray Borduin]

Since the .fla file currently works by reading in a .txt file. You would have to update it to accept more than one xml file at a time as well. That might be the difficult part.

Our contribution was creating the wizard that creates the xml file, and the parsing php that takes the xml file and writes the .txt file that the open flash charts actually parses. And then creating an xml editor to allow you to view and update the xml by hand when necessary.

The xml editor is easy to use, but it is very basic and was not the primary focus of our development. Other than giving you the structure at a glance and and easy way to select the xml in the code, you are still basically editing the xml by hand. However it will give code hints for available properties in the xml and the like.

[bamben2377712]

Can I have the main swf on the first frame say #include "open-flash-chart.as" (but point to a directory where all of the files are stored) then on the next frame say #include "open-flash-chart.as" (but point to another directory where copys of all of the files are stored again for the next chart) and so on and so forth....

This should take away the complications, yes?

[Ray Borduin]

I'm really not sure. You would have to try it and debug it. The forum to ask questions like these on would be the open flash charts forum. We have never edited the flash file at all.