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In today's tutorial we take a look at how we can write ActionScript to handle the user clicking on menu items. We get more familiar with the switch() language construct and see how Event Listeners work in Flash. This tutorial builds on the previous weeks' tutorial on building menus with the MenuBar component, but if's not mandatory to have read that - the completed FLA from last week is available as a download for you to start working with.
Read MoreIn this tutorial we look at the advantages of removing HTML attributes from the PHP code and replacing them with CSS classes, so that the whole dynamically-produced calendar can be restyled just by changing the CSS styles and without having to change the code in any way.
We then look at the MySQL datetime field format which stores a date and time in a format which can be easily changed into a timestamp using the MySQL UNIX_TIMESTAMP() command. We look at the advantages of using the Unix timestamp format, such as making it easy to select dates using simple numerical operators and being able to automatically sort records in order of date and time.
Finally we learn how to select all events that fall on a certain date, and then at how to find all records which fall between a range of dates.
Please note that this article forms part of a chapter in the DMXzone e-book PHP Web Applications for Dreamweaver: Juicy Solutions for the Busy Developer.
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If there is one thing that computer users are familiar with it is the "drop down" or "fly out" menu system. This is also sometimes referred to as a "cascading menu" system. We see this particularly in operating system interfaces, and Microsoft applications such as the menu bar in Word. in this self-contained article, Tom shows you how to build a DHTML 2 level cascade (deep enough for most web menus) that you can use for your own sites.
Read MoreGetting rid of simple blemishes in Photoshop isn't that hard - the odd blot of colour and you're done. But Photoshop has a very powerful a tool for removing spots and blemishes from photographs - called the clone stamp tool. This is an easy tool to use badly, but produces amazing results when used well. In today's tutorial, Gavin covers exactly how it works so that we can use it effectively, and gives tips from the professionals on using layers, setting the brush opacity and using the posterize tool to expose the gradiants that you're cloning.
Read MoreThere's been a lot of criticism of DMX 2004 - a lot of it from us at DMXzone. But one area where it really excels is the enhanced CSS support - in fact, for many people, this is the main reason to buy the upgrade. Molly, DMXzone's resident CSS warrior, takes you through the interface changes in using CSS with DMX2004, to help you get quickly up to speed with what's good, bad and (erm..) aesthetically challenged.
Read MoreThis week's tutorial shows you how to use the MenuBar component to create application style menus for your Flash movies or sites. Allan builds up a menu very familiar to all - duplicating the DMXzone top navigation menu and adding extra functionality! We'll see how to create a basic menu, nest multiple levels of menus and use special menu items that function like radio buttons and check boxes. MenuBar components use instances of the Menu component that we covered in the last tutorial, so it is helpful to have read it, but it is not a prerequisite for being able to follow along in this weeks installment.
Read MoreThis tutorial explains how to carry out many common tasks relating to the accessing and manipulating a server file system, including listing files and directories, checking for the existence of a specific file or directory, reading and writing text to text files, copying, moving and deleting files and directories. You will also be shown how to obtain statistics of directories and files such as file size and modified dates. By the time you have worked through this article you will be more knowledgeable about file system access and manipulation using the powerful classes provided within the .NET Framework.
The tutorial covers the following subjects:
We end the tutorial with an example of displaying the contents of a directory using a recursive routine to show the hierarchy of its contents in much the same manner as a tree control would display them.
Read MoreYou may have heard of the Fahrner Image Replacement (FIR) technique, and know that it's a way of preserving the structure of the page, while replacing text with images for conventional browsers. Sounds complicated? Rachel gives step-by-step instruction on how to apply this brand-new technique, and how to make accessible sites that are also great-looking and packed with images, but still indexable by the search engines.
Read MoreIn this tutorial, Chris Ullman shows you how to build your own HTTP handlers using ASP.NET. HTTP handlers can let you intervene and handle a request for a particular type of page, and make it possible to catch URLs that are submitted by a user and rewrite them in a format required by the web site, to disguise long, cumbersome URLs or to process filetypes not gererally dealt with by the server - for example, custom handling of new XML types.
Read MoreThis project teaches you how to link style sheets to templates, how to manipulate these style sheets using a Template Optional Region (non-editable) and its associated Template parameter.
This in-depth 18 page tutorial has a set of finished files that you can preview if you get stuck with the instructions. The finished template is in the Templates folder and named: tut3-dtcss-finished.dwt, its dependant file (instance or child) is in the root folder and named: index-finished.htm. Feel free to view these files at your leisure.
Although CSS support in both Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Macromedia Contribute 2.0 has improved, there are still quite a few CSS-P bugs related to Design view and commands (Macromedia Dreamweaver and/or Macromedia Contribute). A curiously absent feature of Macromedia Contribute is that it doesn't directly support Design Time Style Sheets at all, unlike Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, which does, but not as desired for these outlined issues. There are workarounds that you can use to overcome these bugs and missing features, one of which is to employ Design Time Style Sheets (DTCSS), which empower your content editors with the full functionality of either product, as long as you have created the Style Sheets properly.
Read MoreJavaScript's obvious uses are user interaction behaviors. But did you know you can use JavaScript, CSS and the DOM to design engaging and user friendly interfaces as well? Using a simple but effective script and some CSS, take a look at how you can enhance a simple poll (or any selection based application) with some dynamic highlighting and text effects.
Read MoreGreat: So you've gotten that 200 Meg file open and you're blazing away with the Liquify tool. No fear. Photoshop grinds to a halt. It's never a pretty sight when this happens. The screen doesn't redraw properly; your mp3 starts to sound like fire-crackers at Chinese New Year and your operating system starts displaying snide remarks about your system resources.
Photoshop is a pretty intense program which often makes pretty high demands on your system resources, and patience. Ever have that sneaking feeling that if only you could figure out the correct configuration of hardware for your computer the dang thing would just run so much better? In this tutorial we're going to get to grips with the hardware required to run Photoshop and how to set up Photoshop in order to ensure it runs at maximum efficiency.
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Need to create all kind of great web site navigation menus? Cascading Drop down Menus, Mega Menus, Popup or Context Menus. Menus that have great display animations, are CSS based and fully cross browser compatible, which makes them search engine friendly?