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CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 12: To Autumn
by Jill Kossin - 20-Nov-09
Reader Level:

Autumn is now in full bloom, and the leaves are sporting their most vibrant colors. Winter will be here in a little over a month, so let's enjoy the gorgeous scenery while we can. This new collection of ten high resolution photos should give you plenty of choices to use in your projects.

Approximate download size: 69MB

Introducing Masterpiece Photo Collection 12: To Autumn Free!
by Sheri German - 20-Nov-09
Reader Level:

We are excited to introduce the CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 12: To Autumn, based on the poem by William Blake (November 28, 1757 - August 12, 1827).

This article includes thumbnails of the ten high resolution images you get in the subscriber's CMX Masterpiece Photo article by Jill Kossin.

Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 2 Free!
by Joseph Balderson - 18-Nov-09
Reader Level:

In May 2009, Wrox released a ground-breaking book: Professional Adobe Flex 3, written by Joseph Balderson, Peter Ent, Jun Heider, Todd Prekaski, Tom Sugden, Andrew Trice, David Hassoun and Joe Berkovitz, (ISBN 0470223642). This landmark publication consists over 1400+ pages of Flex reference material, covering a multitude of topics ranging from beginner to advanced, from the fundamentals of the Flash Platform technology ecosystem to the intricacies of the most advanced Flex-related frameworks and server products, in a breadth and depth found nowhere else.

In a Community MX exclusive, the following is an excerpt from Chapter 2: The Flex 3 Ecosystem:

Before diving into the specifics of any technology, it helps to know the terrain. You may have heard terms such as the Flash Player, Flash runtime, Flex, Flex framework, virtual machine, Flash Platform, Flex ecosystem, and various Adobe server products. The previous chapter defined a few aspects of this ensemble of technologies but perhaps not enough for the uninitiated to get a grasp of how they are related. What else is there? And how do they all fit together? This chapter will attempt to categorize and enumerate as many aspects of the ensemble of Adobe and related technologies that we call “the Flex ecosystem” as possible. These technologies are divided into the following categories:

Runtimes
Languages
Development tools
Frameworks and APIs
Data communications
Servers

In Part 2 of this excerpt, we will continue our coverage of the Flex and Flash Platform development ecosystem of technologies, with Frameworks and APIs, Data Communications and Servers.

The Flex 3 Ecosystem Series:
Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 1
Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 2

Create Your Own Custom CMX Fireworks Course - Updated Free!
by Jim Babbage - 17-Nov-09
Reader Level:

Since March of 2009, we've added more than 40 Fireworks or Fireworks-related articles to the Community MX content list. Now, as of November 2009, there are over 400! I figured it was about time to yet again update what we have available for my favorite imaging application. This learning guide will group articles into categories, guide you in determining their levels, and help you design your own custom Fireworks course. This article will break down the various FW articles into several areas, from the basics of the Fireworks interface, to creative design and production techniques.

Happy Veteran's Day
by - 11-Nov-09
Reader Level:

Happy Veteran's Day!

The partners of Community MX would like to thank all the members of our armed forces, past and present for their service to our country.

We will be back tomorrow with new content...see you then!

The CMX JumpStart Catalog Update 2009 Free!
by Sheri German - 10-Nov-09
Reader Level:

Our last JumpStart Catalog was published in 2008, and of course we've released quite a few new JumpStarts since then. It's almost 2010(!), so it's definitely time to update and put all our JumpStarts more conveniently at your fingertips.

Hard as it is to believe, it is five years - almost to the day - since we published our first JumpStart, CMX JumpStart Paris, on Oct. 28, 2004. Long live the CMX JumpStart!

This catalog will start out by breaking down the JumpStarts into categories such as fixed-width, fluid, horizontal band, and number of columns. It will then list the special features that can be found in various JumpStarts, such as galleries, widgets, typography enhancements such as sIFR, Flash MP3 players, forms, and many more. Finally, we'll get to the actual catalog of every JumpStart we've published over the last five years. There will be a picture, a list of features, and links to the JumpStart itself, as well as the free article that describes it.

Never Lose Any File Ever Again, SVN Compare!
by Paul Davis - 09-Nov-09
Reader Level:

When working with a repository, you can do a compare on prior versions of a file to see what has changed. It isn't difficult to do and you can check on changes in prior versions pretty quickly.

The SVN Tools Series:
Never Lose Any File Ever Again!
Never Lose Any File Ever Again, SVN Compare!

Introducing CMX JumpStart Black Forest Free!
by Sheri German - 30-Oct-09
Reader Level:

Known for its highlands, scenery, and forests, the Black Forest in Germany is a popular center of tourism. When someone mentions Black Forest to me, however, I always think of the wonderful cake or waltzing by the beautiful Blue Danube. Now I am going to us all something else to think about, too, and that's the latest CMX JumpStart Black Forest.

CMX JumpStart Black Forest is a centered, two-column, fixed layout in the new wider width that many designers are now using. The tabbed navigation uses the popular Sliding Door technique. The header features a logo with the text placed on a circular path, and will make it easy to design an attractive logo for your site. The main content resides in the left column, and a Digg content sharing menu occupies the right column.

The JumpStart includes a main style sheet, an Internet Explorer style sheet, and a Design Time Style Sheet (in case your version of Dreamweaver makes the layout difficult to edit in Design View).

Of course Black Forest meets the W3C standards for CSS and XHTML, as well as the WAI accessibility requirements, too.

Emerging Typography Technologies on the Web
by Sheri German - 29-Oct-09
Reader Level:

Ah, typography and the web - a sore subject, especially for we designers who have our roots in print design. Most of us are sick of Arial, Verdana, and Georgia, and long to use the perfect font to convey the message. Many creative techniques for using custom fonts have emerged over the years, but none of them have been a universal or permanent solution to the problem with web typography.

This article will take you through some of the history of how we've dealt with fonts in web pages. It will also explore how our options are starting to increase with the use of technologies such as @font-face, as well as new services such as Typekit.

Using JSON with ActionScript 3.0
by David Stiller - 27-Oct-09
Reader Level:

Flash developers have been using XML for data exchange for years now. XML is a great choice: it's extendable, easy to format, and in common use practically everywhere. ActionScript 3.0, with its E4X syntax, makes XML even easier to use than ever before. But there's a new kid in town — a lightweight alternative called JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) — that you're likely to run into nowadays when shuttling data between your SWF and server side code. Sadly, Flash Player doesn't feature a native JSON parser, but thanks to a free Adobe class library at Google Code, this omission won't get slow you down. In fact, the ActionScript 3.0 JSON parser is so easy to use, it can easily be covered in a single article.

Introducing Palm Breeze Cafe Free!
by Kim Cavanaugh - 22-Oct-09
Reader Level:

I wear a lot of different hats in my day job. As a member of the Educational Technology Team for Palm Beach County schools—one of the largest public school districts in the U.S.—I do all sorts of things from manage programs to conducting workshops and even doing the occasional web and graphic design work. But the most unusual aspect of my job is that I also get to be a television star.

OK, star might be a bit of a stretch, but I am the co-host of a weekly television show that is filmed in our school district's television studio. Each and every week during the school year we record Palm Breeze Cafe for broadcast to all 165 schools in our district as well as send the show out to local cable viewers.

But as cool as it is to serve our local community this way, from the start we've always published our show online through YouTube and other video sharing sites. This allows us to share with you (for free!) the great things we do on the show and the many ways that computers can be used for learning.

Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 7
by David Stiller - 13-Oct-09
Reader Level:

In one implementation of the QuickTime VR format, known as QTVR Object Movies, the user can click-and-drag an image to seemingly rotate it, as if spinning the real-life object on a lazy Susan. This simulated 3-D interactivity can improve multimedia curb appeal, and makes for a nifty way to showcase merchandise. But it doesn't stop there: the same basic principle can also bring click-and-drag responsiveness to short video sequences and even user input widgets, such as click-and-scrub input fields.

In Part 6, we migrated the ActionScript 2.0 version of our custom Scrubber class to ActionScript 3.0. This required a second class file, ScrubberEvent.as, which introduced a key difference in event dispatching between the two versions of the language. Here in Part 7, we'll conclude the series by investigating another AS3 point of interest (again related to events) — and finally, we'll use the Scrubber class for a bit of audio/visual fun.

The Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash Series:
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 1
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 2
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 3
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 4
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 5
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 6
Building Click-and-Rotate Content in Flash - Part 7

Going Mobile with Fireworks - Creating an iPhone Application Wireframe Free!
by Jim Babbage - 01-Oct-09
Reader Level:

In the last three articles in this series, Tom Green and Kim Cavanaugh shed a great deal of light on the conceptual process for creating our iPhone app. We're now at the stage where a wireframe of our concept would be a really good idea, and that's where I come in.

In this article I'll talk about the considerations made for building the wireframe and share some tips and Fireworks features that can help ease the process.

The Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4 Series:
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: On Design and Branding for iPhone Apps
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Comes into Focus
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating an iPhone Application Wireframe
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating a Branded Application

Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Comes into Focus Free!
by Tom Green - 29-Sep-09
Reader Level:

In this installment the team wrestles with the specific design issues posed by the iPhone.

The Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4 Series:
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: On Design and Branding for iPhone Apps
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Comes into Focus
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating an iPhone Application Wireframe
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating a Branded Application

Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: On Design and Branding for iPhone Apps Free!
by Kim Cavanaugh - 24-Sep-09
Reader Level:

I'm taking the plunge along with Tom Green and Jim Babbage for an in-depth look at the world of mobile design, and as luck would have it, we've decided to take on what is likely the most challenging of all mobile devices by starting with the iPhone.

The Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4 Series:
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: On Design and Branding for iPhone Apps
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Comes into Focus
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating an iPhone Application Wireframe
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating a Branded Application

Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Free!
by Tom Green - 22-Sep-09
Reader Level:

The question is not if you will start designing for mobile devices. It is when you will start. Join Jim Babbage, Kim Cavanaugh and I as we enter the wild, wacky and weird world of designing for mobile devises using Fireworks CS4.

The Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4 Series:
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: On Design and Branding for iPhone Apps
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: The iPhone Project Comes into Focus
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating an iPhone Application Wireframe
Going Mobile with Fireworks CS4: Creating a Branded Application

CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 11: The Sun Also Rises
by Jill Kossin - 17-Sep-09
Reader Level:

There is nothing more visually moving than a beautiful sunrise or sunset, especially when it takes place in a particularly stunning location. I hope that you can feel almost like "you are there" as you peruse these high resolution images that chronicle the birth and death of a day.

Introducing CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 11: The Sun Also Rises Free!
by Sheri German - 17-Sep-09
Reader Level:

We are excited to introduce the CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 11: The Sun Also Rises based on the book by Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961).

The collection consists of ten high resolution images of sunrises and sunsets in various locations. This article introduces the collection and gives you thumbnail previews of the images contained in the collection published by Jillian Kossin, resident CMX photographer.

PHP Sledgehammer: array_map
by Steven Seiller - 14-Sep-09
Reader Level:

In PHP you have an array of data that you wish to transform with a function. You might be tempted to create a control structure and loop through each value of the array, applying the function as you go. PHP has an easier method for accomplishing this process. It is the sledgehammer known as array_map. I find this function useful, for example, to trim the whitespace from incoming form data.

Observations From an Equestrian Photo Shoot Free!
by Scott Valentine - 10-Sep-09
Reader Level:

Are you looking to expand your photographic horizons? And I don't mean with a 12mm fisheye lens... I mean taking on new challenges. I was recently invited to take pictures at an outdoor equestrian event, which I had never previously done.

I grabbed my camera, took a few moments to think about what I'd need, then proceeded to spend the day learning how little I knew about event photography. I was up at 4am to be on the trail and set up. Read my experience doing something for the first time, and perhaps you'll come out ahead when next you tackle a new challenge!

jQuery Plugins: Input Limiter
by Rob Williams - 08-Sep-09
Reader Level:

While jQuery is a powerful JavaScript toolkit, there are still many things that it just doesn't accomplish right out of the box. Unlike most other solutions though, the jQuery framework is designed to be extensible through user definable plugins. Meaning that almost any time you run into a scenario where jQuery can't natively solve your problem, chances are you'll be able to find a plugin that somebody else has created to take care of things for you!

In this collection of articles, we're going to focus on some of these plugins to see just how easy they are to use and how powerful they can be.

Today's plugin, Input Limiter, is going to help us constrain the amount of information a user can enter into fields on a form while providing real-time feedback.

The jQuery Plugins Series:
jQuery Plugins: Uniform
jQuery Plugins: Image Cube
jQuery Plugins: Input Limiter

JavaScript Slideshow
by Paul Davis - 02-Sep-09
Reader Level:

Creating a JavaScript slideshow is a pretty quick task. With a few lines of JavaScript and some thought on the images, you can have a slideshow ready to go in no time.

Embedding Flash Content, Demystified - Part 9: Using JavaScript Concluded
by David Stiller - 01-Sep-09
Reader Level:

There are numerous ways to embed Flash content in a website, from Dreamweaver's Insert > Media menu (for SWF files, Flash Paper, FLV files, and more) to the publishing templates provided by the Flash authoring tool itself. In spite of these varied options — or perhaps because they're so varied — many people lack confidence when it comes to marrying Flash content with an HTML document. If this strikes a chord with you, then lay your fears to rest. In this series, you'll cut through the complexity, find out what your application's auto-generated embedding code actually means, and learn to avoid a handful of common Flash-related pitfalls.

In this final installment, we'll investigate an optional feature called "express install," which facilitates upgrading for users who don't meet your minimum required version of Flash Player. We'll also cover optional parameters for the dynamic approach to SWFObject embedding, introduced in Part 7, and then wrap up the series with a quick look at a free tool that helps you use SWFObject without manually typing any code.

The Embedding Flash Content Demystified Series:
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 1: Introduction
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 2: The Traditional Approach
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 3: Optional Parameters
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 4: Optional Parameters Continued
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 5: Optional Parameters Concluded
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 6: Common Pitfalls
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 7: Using JavaScript
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 8: Using JavaScript (cont)
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 9: Using JavaScript (concluded)

So You Want To Be a Tech Writer? Free!
by Steven Seiller - 31-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Are you the type to share knowledge and innovations in technology? Are you the person everyone asks when they want to know how to do something on their computer? Maybe you have found yourself thinking after reading a tutorial, "Hey! I could write this. I know plenty of this stuff." Are you interested in helping others or possibly making some money from your knowledge?

Well, the opportunity to be an author of articles, commentaries, reviews and tutorials abound. You don't already need to be famous to become an author. You don't even need to know everything about the subject on which you write. But there are some things that you need to be in order to receive success as a tech writer. You do need to be accurate, be clear, be instructive, be innovative, be interesting and be curious.

CMX Design Element - Sulphur
by Gordon Mackay - 28-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Hello, and welcome to a new CMX Design Element. It has been a while since we last released one of these, so we hope that this one comes as a pleasant surprise.

This Design Element's code name is Sulphur.

While our previous Design Elements have been loose designs with no particular theme, Sulphur is a design that is focused towards (but not in any way limited to) blog themed sites.

It's designed along the same lines as many modern websites that contain much of the extended page content in an oversized footer section.

Approximate download size: 29MB

Introducing CMX Design Element Sulphur Free!
by Sheri German - 28-Aug-09
Reader Level:

It's been a while, but we hope the wait is worth it - today we have a new Design Element to offer you - CMX Design Element Sulphur, a layout that is intended for, though not really limited to, blogging sites.

If you're a subscriber, be sure to download CMX Design Element Sulphur from Gordon MacKay's article, also published today. If you're not a subscriber, continue with this article to learn about the Design Element concept and to get a peak at what the Sulphur design looks like.

jQuery Plugins: Image Cube
by Rob Williams - 26-Aug-09
Reader Level:

While jQuery is a powerful JavaScript toolkit, there are still many things that it just doesn't accomplish right out of the box. Unlike most other solutions though, the jQuery framework is designed to be extensible through user definable plugins, meaning that almost any time you run into a scenario where jQuery can't natively solve your problem, chances are you'll be able to find a plugin that somebody else has created to take care of things for you!

In this collection of articles, we're going to focus on some of these plugins to see just how easy they are to use and how powerful they can be.

Today we're going to take a look at Image Cube, a quick and easy little plugin to allow you to add some visual flare to sets of images on a page.

The jQuery Plugins Series:
jQuery Plugins: Uniform
jQuery Plugins: Image Cube
jQuery Plugins: Input Limiter

Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 1 Free!
by Joseph Balderson - 25-Aug-09
Reader Level:

In May 2009, Wrox released a ground-breaking book: Professional Adobe Flex 3, written by Joseph Balderson, Peter Ent, Jun Heider, Todd Prekaski, Tom Sugden, Andrew Trice, David Hassoun and Joe Berkovitz, (ISBN 0470223642). This landmark publication consists over 1400+ pages of Flex reference material, covering a multitude of topics ranging from beginner to advanced, from the fundamentals of the Flash Platform technology ecosystem to the intricacies of the most advanced Flex-related frameworks and server products, in a breadth and depth found nowhere else.

In a Community MX exclusive, the following is an excerpt from Chapter 2: The Flex 3 Ecosystem:

Before diving into the specifics of any technology, it helps to know the terrain. You may have heard terms such as the Flash Player, Flash runtime, Flex, Flex framework, virtual machine, Flash Platform, Flex ecosystem, and various Adobe server products. The previous chapter defined a few aspects of this ensemble of technologies but perhaps not enough for the uninitiated to get a grasp of how they are related. What else is there? And how do they all fit together? This chapter will attempt to categorize and enumerate as many aspects of the ensemble of Adobe and related technologies that we call “the Flex ecosystem” as possible. These technologies are divided into the following categories:

Runtimes
Languages
Development tools
Frameworks and APIs
Data communications
Servers

In Part 1 of this excerpt, we will cover the history of Flex, followed by an in-depth coverage of the runtimes, languages and development tools associated with Flex development and the Flash Platform.

Professional Adobe Flex 3

The Flex 3 Ecosystem Series:
Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 1
Professional Adobe Flex 3: The Flex 3 Ecosystem - Part 2

Digital Imaging Tools Quick Tips - Part 1
by Scott Valentine - 24-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Let's kick off a set of articles covering some hidden gems in Adobe's digital photography tools: Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge, Camera Raw. Not all of these will be exclusively for photographers... just mostly. These tasty little tidbits will be coming to you at random, so keep an eye out! After all, a good photographer is always prepared :)

The first of these little morsels looks at workflow tricks, so get your pictures in line and start working these into your routine. You'll be amazed at how much time little bits like this can save!

The Digital Imaging Tools Quick Tips Series:
Digital Imaging Tools Quick Tips - Part 1
Digital Imaging Tools Quick Tips - Part 2

Quickshot: Let Flash Move Your Files
by David Stiller - 21-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Do you ever find yourself tediously moving SWF files from your Flash work folder to your website folder — again and again and again? As it turns out, there's a simple way to avoid this scenario, right in the preferences settings for each FLA file. Let's take a look, and let Flash do the work!

Getting Color Theme Inspiration From Your Local Hardware Store Free!
by Jim Babbage - 20-Aug-09
Reader Level:

There are many excellent online color pickers and color generators, such as Adobe Kuler, or Petr Stanicek's Color Scheme Designer, but I believe it's important that we Web designers get out of our cushie chiars every so often and gain inspiration away from the desktop.

And what better place than the local hardware or paint store? If you cringe at the mere thought of painting a room, fear not! There will be no need to lift a paint brush during this excursion - but a flatbed scanner might be helpful . . .

Example of a final web page mock up, using color chips as the color scheme inspiration.

Professional Adobe Flex 3: Why Flex? Free!
by Joseph Balderson - 20-Aug-09
Reader Level:

In May 2009, Wrox released a ground-breaking book: Professional Adobe Flex 3, written by Joseph Balderson, Peter Ent, Jun Heider, Todd Prekaski, Tom Sugden, Andrew Trice, David Hassoun and Joe Berkovitz, (ISBN 0470223642). This landmark publication consists over 1400+ pages of Flex reference material, covering a multitude of topics ranging from beginner to advanced, from the fundamentals of the Flash Platform technology ecosystem to the intricacies of the most advanced Flex-related frameworks and server products, in a breadth and depth found nowhere else.

The following article is an excerpt from Chapter 1: Why Flex?:

It seems like nearly every programming book I have ever read starts off with the obligatory “Introduction to [whatever]” chapter, which basically regurgitates the essentials that everyone knows, and hence is the one chapter nearly every reader skips. In this first chapter of the book, I thought we’d start things off with a different approach, one that takes you, the reader, through the reasons that you might want to use Flex, what Flex is for, bursting some myths about Flex and the Flash platform, and, finally, ending up with a “Top 10” of Flex’s strong points. Enjoy!

Adobe Professional Flex 3

Introducing CMX JumpStart: Stelvio Pass - Gallery Free!
by Sheri German - 19-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Let's take a car ride along the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, the Stelvio Pass of Italy. Then let's take some great shots along the route and when we get home, place them on a web page in a stunning gallery format, courtesy of the free Adobe Lightbox, to share with our friends and family. Guess what? That's exactly what Adrian Senior did for the the latest JumpStart, CMX JumpStart Stelvio Pass - Gallery.

Increase Contract Bidding Success With Problem Analysis Free!
by Steven Seiller - 18-Aug-09
Reader Level:

I have heard from many developers who have developed bids for client sites only to hear upon submission that the prospect believes the solution to be far too expensive. Has this happened to you? Want to avoid the costly process of developing bids for potential clients who will likely reject them as far too expensive?

By incorporating problem analysis into your needs assessment process you can prevent situations in which your bids will be dismissed outright for their cost. I will show you how to increase the success rate of your bidding process by ensuring the solution you propose provides value for the problem the prospect has to solve.

Rediscovering Microsoft Free!
by Joel Martinez - 14-Aug-09
Reader Level:

When Adobe released Dreamweaver CS4, one of the features conspicuously missing from the feature list was the .NET server model. If you still use the Microsoft stack to develop and host web applications and sites and haven't looked at the latest tools from Microsoft, then this the perfect opportunity to get up to speed on the latest Microsoft tech.

In this article we will learn how to set up your development environment, and also about the latest frameworks that Microsoft has to offer, such as entity framework and asp.net mvc

CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 10: The People
by Jill Kossin - 13-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Welcome to the newest collection of stock photos that Community MX provides to help you fulfill your print and web project image requirements.

You've asked for it and now it's here - a collection of ten high resolution images that has people as the focus.

Approximate download size: 31MB

Introducing CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 10: The People Free!
by Sheri German - 13-Aug-09
Reader Level:

We are excited to introduce the CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 10: The People, based on the poem by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). This article includes thumbnails of the ten images in this collection.

Adding Columns to Large Database Tables
by Ray West - 11-Aug-09
Reader Level:

When creating tables for an applications database, most people try to arrange the fields in an order that would make sense to a user reviewing the data right out of the table. The fact of the matter is that a basic principle of relational database design is that physical data storage is unimportant. It does not matter, as a practical point, what order the fields appear in the table definition and it does not matter what order the records are stored in. Properly written SQL queries that avoid the use of the * character to retrieve all fields and that define the order in which you want to retrieve records make it meaningless what physical construction the database uses to store the data.

IE8 - The Good - CSS2.1 Selector Support Free!
by Estelle Weyl - 11-Aug-09
Reader Level:

In the last section we overviewed all the new features of IE8. In this section we take a closer look at all of the CSS2.1 Selectors, and compare IE6, IE7 and IE8 browser support.

The IE8: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (and Pretty) Series:
IE8: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (and Pretty)
IE8: The Good - CSS2.1 Selector Support

jQuery Plugins: Uniform
by Rob Williams - 10-Aug-09
Reader Level:

While jQuery is a powerful JavaScript toolkit, there are still many things that it just doesn't accomplish right out of the box. Unlike most other solutions though, the jQuery framework is designed to be extensible through user definable plugins, meaning that almost any time you run into a scenario where jQuery can't natively solve your problem, chances are you'll be able to find a plugin that somebody else has created to take care of things for you!

In this collection of articles, we're going to focus on some of these plugins to see just how easy they are to use and how powerful they can be.

Today we're going to take a look at the Uniform plugin, which allows you to create customized form elements (select boxes, checkboxes and radios) that are not ordinarily customizable through CSS.

The jQuery Plugins Series:
jQuery Plugins: Uniform
jQuery Plugins: Image Cube
jQuery Plugins: Input Limiter

Spikey 3D Ball in Photoshop CS4 Extended Free!
by Scott Valentine - 10-Aug-09
Reader Level:

So, you've probably seen some slick stuff you can do in Photoshop CS4 Extended with 3D objects. You may have seen someone put a car from Google Warehouse into a parking lot (yawn), or even a 3D display case into a store (double yawn). Perhaps you've seen some goofball create a fiery soap bubble entirely in 3D with Photoshop (seriously - who think of these things??).

But now you are going to see the true power of 3D in Photoshop; random junk! Yes, follow along as I show you how to create a spikey blog thing that defies other description (try as I might).

Approximate download size: 6MB

CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 9: The Butterfly's Day
by - 06-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Welcome to the newest collection of stock photos that CommunityMx provides to help you fulfill your print and web project image requirements.

This collection includes ten high resolution images of a variety of beautiful butterflies.

Approximate download size: 47MB

Introducing Masterpiece Photo Collection 9: The Butterfly's Day Free!
by Sheri German,Jill Kossin - 06-Aug-09
Reader Level:

We are excited to introduce the CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 9: The Butterfly's Day, based on the poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). You can read The Butterfly's Day and other butterfly poems that Dickinson wrote at The Classic Reader. It's already August, and before you know it, summer will be behind us, the kids will go back to school, and the momentum towards the big holidays will begin. Let's enjoy our lazy summer days a little while longer. Let's go out to the field and chase the butterflies.

What's Coming in Drupal 7 Free!
by Ray West - 04-Aug-09
Reader Level:

Code Freeze for the 7th version of Drupal has been announced for September 1st and August should see a flurry of activity as the developers try to get as many features as possible into this very popular content management system. Let's take a look at some of the features that are coming in the next release

IE8 - The Good, the Bad, the Ugly (and Pretty) Free!
by Estelle Weyl - 22-Jul-09
Reader Level:

Browsers come out every day. Webkit has a nightly build. Wireless devices come with their own, often unique browsers. Even with the plethora of available browsers, Internet Explorer, a browser that is not regularly updated, still has over 60% of the browser market. IE8 was released only in March 2009, and by July 2009, it already had 17% of the browser market share.

In this article, we take a look at the IE8 browser and provide an overview of what is new and improved in this release.

The IE8: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (and Pretty) Series:
IE8: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (and Pretty)
IE8: The Good - CSS2.1 Selector Support

Embedding Flash Content, Demystified - Part 7: Using JavaScript
by David Stiller - 21-Jul-09
Reader Level:

There are numerous ways to embed Flash content in a website, from Dreamweaver's Insert > Media menu (for SWF files, Flash Paper, FLV files, and more) to the publishing templates provided by the Flash authoring tool itself. In spite of these varied options — or perhaps because they're so varied — many people lack confidence when it comes to marrying Flash content with an HTML document. If this strikes a chord with you, then lay your fears to rest. In this series, you'll cut through the complexity, find out what your application's auto-generated embedding code actually means, and learn to avoid a handful of common Flash-related pitfalls.

In this installment, we'll take a radical detour from what you've seen to this point. Here in Part 7, you'll be introduced to a JavaScript solution that slings off most of the effort of the traditional HTML approach. This software is called SWFObject. As of this writing, it's already in its second generation and is among the most widely used embedding scripts in the world. It works great, it's free, and it's easy to use. What more could you ask for, right? Let's jump in!

The Embedding Flash Content Demystified Series:
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 1: Introduction
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 2: The Traditional Approach
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 3: Optional Parameters
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 4: Optional Parameters Continued
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 5: Optional Parameters Concluded
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 6: Common Pitfalls
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 7: Using JavaScript
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 8: Using JavaScript (cont)
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 9: Using JavaScript (concluded)

Work Flow Tips: Ratings and Labels in Adobe Bridge
by Scott Valentine - 15-Jul-09
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Ever had trouble keeping track of image editing projects? Perhaps you've just shot 4G of pictures, and you need to wade through them to pick the top 10. Then you start editing, and you lose track of what you've finished.

I hate that!

Well, listen up. Using the Star Rating and Labels feature in Adobe Bridge, I'll show you how you can keep track and possibly speed up your work flow! That will give you more time and confidence for editing those masterpieces :)

Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods Part 4: Creating an Order Report Graph for PHP
by Tom Muck - 13-Jul-09
Reader Level:

Cartweaver is an online shopping cart system available from www.cartweaver.com for PHP, ColdFusion, and ASP. It is intended as an easy-to-use solution for building an online store. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the more pricey carts available, but with a little coding, many new features can be added.

Part 3 showed how to create a simple order graphical report to the Cartweaver admin for ColdFusion. This part will show the same functionality for the PHP version of Cartweaver.

Note that ColdFusion has built-in graphing capabilities, whereas PHP requires the use of a third-party library. This article uses the JpGraph library for PHP, described in this article by Steven Seiller: JpGraph: PHP Graphs & Charts On-The-Fly. Steven's article explains the graphing process. This article will focus on building the report query. The library is readily available and easily installed locally. It requires the GD Image library to be installed into your PHP installation, compiled on a Linux host or included in your extensions directory in Windows. See Steven's article for more information.

The Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods Series:
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 1: Creating a Low Stock Warning for PHP
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 2: Creating a Low Stock Warning for ColdFusion
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 3: Creating an Order Report Graph for ColdFusion
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 4: Creating an Order Report Graph for PHP
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 5: Adding Customer Search Parameters for ColdFusion
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 6 Adding Customer Search Parameters for PHP
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 7: Creating and Order Report for Products Using PHP
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 8: Creating an Order Report for Products Using ColdFusion
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 9: Creating a Taxes Collected Report Using PHP
Cartweaver Admin Hints and Mods - Part 10: Creating a Taxes Collected Report Using ColdFusion

Embedding Flash Content, Demystified - Part 6: Common Pitfalls
by David Stiller - 10-Jul-09
Reader Level:

There are numerous ways to embed Flash content in a website, from Dreamweaver's Insert > Media menu (for SWF files, Flash Paper, FLV files, and more) to the publishing templates provided by the Flash authoring tool itself. In spite of these varied options — or perhaps because they're so varied — many people lack confidence when it comes to marrying Flash content with an HTML document. If this strikes a chord with you, then lay your fears to rest. In this series, you'll cut through the complexity, find out what your application's auto-generated embedding code actually means, and learn to avoid a handful of common Flash-related pitfalls.

Here in Part 6, we'll examine a number of potential points of failure in regard to embedding SWF files. Fortunately, they're easy enough to avoid (or fix) when you understand them, so keep your chin up! As with almost everything in life, "knowing is half the battle"; only in this case, knowing is typically 98% of the battle.

The Embedding Flash Content Demystified Series:
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 1: Introduction
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 2: The Traditional Approach
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 3: Optional Parameters
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 4: Optional Parameters Continued
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 5: Optional Parameters Concluded
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 6: Common Pitfalls
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 7: Using JavaScript
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 8: Using JavaScript (cont)
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 9: Using JavaScript (concluded)

Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 4: Advanced Prototyping Free!
by Jim Babbage - 08-Jul-09
Reader Level:

Adobe Fireworks CS4 has quite a few cool features, but if you're completely new to the program - or new to web design, you might be wondering where to start in Fireworks. In the Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book, my goal was to introduce the complete novice to Fireworks and by the end of the book, leave them with a wide range of skills and a solid grasp of what Fireworks could - and could not - do.

cover shot of Fireworks Classroom in a Book

In this four part series, you will find PDF excerpts from the book, complete with some of the working files to help you along. Below is a break down of the series.

The excerpts in in this final installment are taken from Lesson 11 in the book. While there are only two excerpts in this final part, they are both very detailed, covering some time saving steps to working with multiple rollovers on the same page and combining basic and more complex rollover effects to imitate a master detail Spry data table.

Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts Series
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 1: Bitmap and Vector Tools
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 2: Text and Image Optimization
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 3: Workflow
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 4: Advanced Prototyping

CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 8: Call of the Wild
by Jill Kossin - 07-Jul-09
Reader Level:

Summer has arrived, and it gets unbearably hot here in southern Florida. If you too are sweating in the middle of a heat wave, take a moment to cool off by viewing some images that capture the wild beauty of Alaska.

This collection includes ten high resolution images that were photographed in Alaska.

Introducing Masterpiece Photo Collection 8: Call of the Wild Free!
by Sheri German - 07-Jul-09
Reader Level:

We are excited to introduce the CMX Masterpiece Photo Collection 8: The Call of the Wild, based on the book by Jack London (1876-1916). You can read Call of the Wild in a free ebook at Project Gutenberg.

We just entered the warm days of summer, and to cool you off, we'll take you to Alaska for a series of stunning photographs of a still wild land.

New From Acrobat.com: Tables Free!
by Kim Cavanaugh - 01-Jul-09
Reader Level:

When Adobe acquired Virtual Ubiquity—the company responsible for the great online word processor Buzzword—there was an awful lot of speculation about where the company would take these technologies and what sort of additional services might be offered. In the two years since the acquisition was announced Buzzword has been rolled into the online sharing platform found at Acrobat.com and the programmers have been hard at work on other applications.

Recently two new services were announced that extend the services of Acrobat.com but that hold to the same principles as the original Buzzword application—focusing on the ability of users to share information and collaborate on documents in a real-time environment. In my previous article on the new features at Acrobat.com Labs we took a look at the new Presentations service that allows you to make slide-show presentations in an on-line environment.

In this article we'll look at the similarly simply-named Tables application service that provides you with a means to share a document that has the most common features that real people use spreadsheets for—the simple organization of information. Both of these software as services applications are in beta testing as this article is being written at Labs.Acrobat.com, but they are slated for a wider release into the Acrobat.com service in the future.

Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 3: Workflow Free!
by Jim Babbage - 30-Jun-09
Reader Level:

Adobe Fireworks CS4 has quite a few cool features, but, if you're completely new to the program - or new to web design, you might be wondering where to start in Fireworks. In the Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book, my goal was to introduce the complete novice to Fireworks and by the end of the book, leave them with a wide range of skills and a solid grasp of what Fireworks could - and could not - do.

cover shot of Fireworks Classroom in a Book

In this four part series, you will find PDF excerpts from the book, complete with some of the working files to help you along.In this, the third part of the series, you will learn how to create an animation symbol, share a web layer and share a layer to multiple pages.

Approximate download size: 4.2MB

Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts Series
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 1: Bitmap and Vector Tools
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 2: Text and Image Optimization
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 3: Workflow
Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book Excerpts - Part 4: Advanced Prototyping

jQuery Quickshots - Summarizing Form Data: Part 1
by Rob Williams - 30-Jun-09
Reader Level:

jQuery is a great tool for helping to make your JavaScript and AJAX applications easier to develop and maintain. One of the hardest things about it though, is that it introduces so many new and amazing possibilities that aren't always clearly obvious on the surface.

These "quickshot" articles are intended to act as hints, or inspirations, to some of the more creative or unknown problems that jQuery can help you tackle. Today we're going to look at a neat approach to summarizing form data so the user can review it before actually submitting.

The jQuery Summarazing Form Data Series:
jQuery Quickshots - Summarizing Form Data: Part 1
jQuery Quickshots - Summarizing Form Data: Part 2
jQuery Quickshots - Summarizing Form Data: Part 3

New From Acrobat.com: Presentations Free!
by Kim Cavanaugh - 24-Jun-09
Reader Level:

When Adobe acquired Virtual Ubiquity—the company responsible for the great online word processor Buzzword—there was a great deal of speculation about where the company would take these technologies and what sort of additional services might be offered. In the two years since the acquisition was announced Buzzword has been rolled into the online sharing platform found at Acrobat.com and the programmers have been hard at work on other applications.

Recently two new services were announced that extend the services of Acrobat.com but that hold to the same principles as the original Buzzword application—focusing on the ability of users to share information and collaborate on documents in a real-time environment. This article will take a look at the first of these new services known simply as Presentations and discuss some of the trends ahead and speculate a bit on where Adobe might ultimately take these services.

QuickShot: Making HTML Tables Sortable Free!
by Ray West - 23-Jun-09
Reader Level:

Sometimes there is just nothing you can do except point in the direction of a great little piece of code.

We have all had it driven into our developer pea-brains that tables are for tabular data and not for layout. Well, if we are all using tables properly for tablular data, then more often than not somebody is going to ask “Can you click the table to sort all of that?” If it is tabular data, then it could probably benefit from some sorting, so your answer needs to be yes.

The Adobe BrowserLab Web Service Free!
by Sheri German - 16-Jun-09
Reader Level:

For my students, the single most daunting aspect of putting together CSS layouts is the inconsistency in how browsers render pages. Many of you may have heard of, or have even used, services such as Browsercam (subscription) or Browsershots (free, but very public) to view your pages in browsers you don't have on your own system. Now Adobe has launched a public beta of its own diagnostic browser service, which it has named Adobe BrowserLab.

In this article you'll find out what you'll need to run BrowserLab, learn more about its features, and watch a sample page go through the BrowserLab paces.

Appcelerator Entourage - Part 4: Expressions
by Arman Danesh - 12-Jun-09
Reader Level:

In the fourth article on our series about Appcelerator Entourage, we take a look at the basics of Entourage's expressions. Expressions can be used for event handling and applying sophisticated logic-based behaviour to your application and its user interface.

The Appcelerator Entourage Series:
Appcelerator Entourage - Part 1: An Overview
Appcelerator Entourage - Part 2: Getting Started
Appcelerator Entourage - Part 3: The Message Queue
Appcelerator Entourage - Part 4: Expressions
Appcelerator Entourage - Part 5: Expression Conditions

Introducing CMX JumpStart Siberia Free!
by Sheri German - 11-Jun-09
Reader Level:

It's almost summer, so don't make me think. You may have read the book by Steve Krug, a book about web usability, that uses this phrase as its title. If "don't make me think" is your philosophy, then you're going to love the latest JumpStart, CMX JumpStart Siberia. From its completely neutral color scheme that will easily adapt to any color choices you make, to its ready-made inclusion of the Spry Accordion Widget, to its brain dead method for switching from two to three column layouts, Siberia won't make you think, or certainly not much.

Embedding Flash Content, Demystified - Part 4: Optional Parameters Continued
by David Stiller - 10-Jun-09
Reader Level:

There are numerous ways to embed Flash content in a website, from Dreamweaver's Insert > Media menu (for SWF files, Flash Paper, FLV files, and more) to the publishing templates provided by the Flash authoring tool itself. In spite of these varied options — or perhaps because they're so varied — many people lack confidence when it comes to marrying Flash content with an HTML document. If this strikes a chord with you, then lay your fears to rest.

In this series, you'll cut through the complexity, find out what your application's auto-generated embedding code actually means, and learn to avoid a handful of common Flash-related pitfalls.

Here in Part 4, we'll explore the remainder of the optional parameters displayed in the HTML tab of the Flash authoring tool's Publish Settings dialog box.

The Embedding Flash Content Demystified Series:
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 1: Introduction
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 2: The Traditional Approach
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 3: Optional Parameters
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 4: Optional Parameters Continued
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 5: Optional Parameters Concluded
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 6: Common Pitfalls
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 7: Using JavaScript
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 8: Using JavaScript (cont)
Embedding Flash Content Demystified - Part 9: Using JavaScript (concluded)

The Fireworks Master Page - In Detail
by Jim Babbage - 02-Jun-09
Reader Level:

Ah, the Fireworks Master Page. Misunderstand, perhaps maligned and arguably somewhat limited, but I'm here to change all that. Well the misunderstood part, anyway. We're going to examine the Master Page in detail in this article, so by the time we're done, you will just what you can - and can't - do with it.

Adobe Illustrator CS4 New and Enhanced Features - Part 4: Preview
by Darren Winder - 01-Jun-09
Reader Level:

Adobe CS4 has done a great job of enhancing old favorites and introducing long awaited new features; below is a list of features now available in Illustrator CS4. As you will see from the impressive list, this release of Adobe Illustrator CS4 really does have something for everyone. Long time users, I am sure will be pleased with the results.