MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-DEVELOPING FLASH LITE 2.X User manual

Developing Flash Lite Applications

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Acknowledgments
Project Management: Mary Leigh Burke
Writing: Tim Statler
Managing Editor: Rosana Francescato
Editing: Linda Adler, Mary Kraemer, Lisa Stanziano, Anne Szabla
Production Management: Patrice O’Neill, Kristin Conradi, Yuko Yagi
Media Design and Production: Adam Barnett, Aaron Begley, Paul Benkman. John Francis, Geeta Karmarkar, Masayo Noda,
Paul Rangel, Arena Reed, Mario Reynoso
Special thanks to Lisa Friendly, Bonnie Loo, Erick Vera, the beta testers, and the entire Flash Lite engineering and QA teams.
First Edition: September 2005
Macromedia, Inc.
601 Townsend St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

3
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What’s new in Flash Lite authoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Guide to instructional media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Additional resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Typographical conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 1: Creating Interactivity and Navigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Keys supported by Flash Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Using tab navigation in Flash Lite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Handling key events (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Handling button events (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using the soft keys (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 2: Working with Text and Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
About text in Flash Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using input text fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Font rendering methods in Flash Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Flash Lite rendering quality and anti-aliased text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Embedding font outlines in SWF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Text field example application (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . 42
Creating scrolling text (Flash Professional Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 3: Working with Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
About sound in Flash Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using device sound (Flash Professional Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Using native Flash sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 4: Optimizing content for performance and file size . . .57
SWF file size and memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Performance optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Device speed and frames per second . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

4Contents
Chapter 5: Testing Flash Lite Content
(Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Overview of Flash Lite testing features (Flash Professional Only) . . . 63
Using the Flash Lite emulator (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Flash Lite error and warning messages (Flash Professional Only) . . 74
Selecting test devices and Flash Lite content type
(Flash Professional Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Flash Lite content types (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Determining platform capabilities (Flash Professional Only). . . . . . . . 81
Appendix: Warning and Error Messages
(Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Flash Lite emulator error and information messages
(Flash Professional Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

5
Introduction
This manual describes how to develop applications for mobile devices using Macromedia
Flash Lite. You can use various modes of navigation for different devices and how to work
with text and fonts. This manual also describes how to manage the runtime memory available
to Flash Lite applications running on various models of mobile phones. Using a Flash Lite
emulator that is included with Macromedia Flash Professional 8, you can test and debug your
application in the authoring tool before you test it on an actual device.
What’s new in Flash Lite authoring
Flash Professional 8 includes the following new features to help developers create
Flash Lite applications:
Flash Lite emulator The Flash Lite emulator lets you preview your content as it will
function on an actual device. The emulator can configure itself to mimic the features available
on any supported device. The emulator also provides debugging information that alerts you to
potential problems and incompatibilities on the target device.
Device Settings dialog box You use the Device Settings dialog box to select your test
devices and Flash Lite content type. When you test your content in the Flash Lite emulator,
you can choose the test device you want the emulator to mimic.
Device document templates Flash Professional 8 includes document templates to let you
quickly start creating content for specific devices and content types.

6Introduction
Guide to instructional media
The Flash Lite documentation package includes the following media to help you learn how to
create Flash Lite applications:
■Getting Started with Flash Lite provides an overview of Flash Lite technology and
developing Flash Lite content for mobile devices. It also includes a step-by-step tutorial
for creating a Flash Lite application.
■Developing Flash Lite Applications is a comprehensive guide to creating Flash Lite
content, and includes instructions for testing your applications in the integrated
Flash Lite emulator.
■Flash Lite 1.x ActionScript Language Reference describes all the ActionScript language
features available to Flash Lite developers, and provides example code.
■Learning Flash Lite 1.x ActionScript complements the language reference and provides
additional code examples and an introduction to writing Flash 4 ActionScript, upon
which Flash Lite 1.x ActionScript is based.
■The Flash Lite sample applications demonstrate key concepts and best practices discussed
or mentioned in the written documentation.
Additional resources
For the latest information on developing Flash Lite applications, plus advice from expert
users, advanced topics, examples, tips, and other updates, see the Mobile and Devices
Developer Center at www.macromedia.com/devnet/devices/.
For TechNotes, documentation updates, and links to additional resources in the Flash Lite
developer community, see the Macromedia Flash Lite Support Center at
www.macromedia.com/support/flashlite/.
Typographical conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:
■Italic font indicates a value that should be replaced (for example, in a folder path).
■Code font indicates ActionScript code.
■Code font italic indicates an ActionScript parameter.
■Bold font indicates a verbatim entry.
■Double quotation marks ("") in code examples indicate delimited strings. However,
programmers can also use single quotation marks.

7
1
CHAPTER 1
Creating Interactivity and
Navigation
Macromedia Flash Lite 1.0 and Flash Lite 1.1 support user interaction through the device’s
keypad, or through a stylus or touch-screen interface on devices that provide one.
There are two ways to add key-based interactivity to a Flash Lite application. You can use the
Flash Lite default tab navigation, or you can create a custom key-based navigation system.
Tab navigation functions the same way in Flash Lite as it does in Flash desktop applications,
where the Tab and Shift+Tab keys let users navigate between objects on the screen. In Flash
Lite, the device’s four-way arrow keys serve the same purpose as the Tab and Shift+Tab keys.
Tab navigation in Flash Lite works only with buttons and input text fields; it is typically best
used for simple user interactions, such as menus. For more information, see “Using tab
navigation in Flash Lite” on page 9.
Instead of using tab navigation, you can use custom key navigation. In this case, your
application handles keypress events that Flash Lite generates in response to a user pressing a
key on their device, and then takes the appropriate action. You would use this type of
navigation, for example, if you’re creating a Flash Lite game or other application whose
interaction model is more complex than that of a simple menu.
This chapter contains the following topics:
Keys supported by Flash Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Using tab navigation in Flash Lite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Handling key events (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Handling button events (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using the soft keys (Flash Professional Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

8 Creating Interactivity and Navigation
Keys supported by Flash Lite
In addition to the alphanumeric keys available on standard telephones, most mobile devices
feature a five-way keypad, which let users navigate and select items on the device’s display as
well as the Left and Right soft keys. A device’s soft keys are multifunctional keys that use the
device’s display to identify their purpose at any moment.
The five-way keypad has four arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, and Right) and a Select key, which
are typically located at the center of the keypad. Different applications can use these keys as
they choose. For example, in a Flash Lite game, the user might press the arrow keys to move a
character on the screen, and then press the Select key to perform another action, such as make
the character jump.
Flash Lite supports the following keys on mobile devices:
■Five-way keypad keys (Up, Down, Left, Right, and Select)
■Left and Right soft keys
■0-9, *, and # keys
The following images show these keys on a generic keypad and on an actual phone:
Not all devices and Flash Lite content types support all these keys. For example, on some
devices, a Flash Lite application can access only the Up and Down arrow keys, not the Left
and Right arrow keys. Also, not all devices and content types allow Flash applications to access
the Left and Right soft keys. When you test your application in the Flash Lite emulator, the
emulator generates warning messages when you press keys that aren’t available on the target
device and content type.
Soft keys
5-way keypad
Numeric, #, and
* keys

Using tab navigation in Flash Lite 9
Using tab navigation in Flash Lite
On desktop Flash applications, the Tab and Shift+Tab keys let users switch keyboard focus
among objects on the screen. The object that has focus responds to further keypresses. In
Flash Lite, the arrow keys on the device’s five-way keypad serve the same purpose as the Tab
and Shift+Tab keys.
Flash Lite supports three different modes of tab navigation: two-way, four-way, and four-way
with wrap-around. Different devices and Flash Lite content types support different navigation
modes. In two-way navigation, users can For more information, see “Modes of tab navigation”
on page 9.
Tab navigation in Flash Lite works with buttons and text fields. When an input text field has
focus and the user presses the Select key, Flash Lite opens the device’s generic text input dialog
box, in which the user can enter text. For an example of using input text fields to get user
input, see “Text field example application (Flash Professional Only)” on page 42.
This section contains the following topics:
Modes of tab navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
About the focus rectangle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Guidelines for using tab navigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Modes of tab navigation
Flash Lite supports three modes of tab navigation: two-way, four-way, and four-way with
wrap-around. Different devices and Flash Lite content types support different navigation
modes. For information on determining the navigation mode for a specific device and content
type, see “Determining platform capabilities (Flash Professional Only)” on page 81.

10 Creating Interactivity and Navigation
Each navigation mode discussed in the following sections references a sample file that you can
view in the Flash Lite emulator. Each sample file consists of the same three-by-three grid of
buttons, as shown below. The only difference between the sample files is that each is
configured to target a device and Flash Lite content type that support the navigation mode
in question.
f
To use each sample file, open it in Flash and test it in the emulator (select Control > Test
Movie). Click the arrow keys on the emulator’s keypad (or press the arrow keys on your
keyboard) to see how each navigation mode affects user navigation.
Two-way navigation In two-way navigation, the device’s Up and Down arrow keys move
focus from one object (button or input text field) to another; the Left and Right arrow keys
have no effect. The Down key moves the focus to the next object on the right. If there are no
objects positioned to the right of the current object with focus, focus moves to the leftmost
object below the current object with focus. If there are no objects below the rightmost object
with focus, focus moves to the top and leftmost object. The Up key moves focus to the next
object on the left. If there are no objects to the left of the current object with focus, focus
moves to the rightmost object above the object.
For an example of two-way navigation, see the sample file named 2_way_nav.fla, located in
the Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Flash Lite folder in the Flash installation folder.
Four-way navigation In four-way navigation, the user can move focus from one object to
another with the device’s Left, Right, Up, and Down keys. Pressing the Left key moves the
focus from the current object with focus to the object to the left of the button with focus. The
Right key moves the focus to the next button to the right of the button with focus. The Up
and Down keys similarly move focus to the button above and below the button with focus.
For an example that uses four-way navigation, see the sample file named 4_way_nav.fla
located in the Samples and Tutorials/Samples/Flash Lite folder in the Flash installation folder.
Four-way navigation with wrap-around This mode is the same as four-way navigation,
except that when there are no buttons below the rightmost button with focus, focus moves to
the top and leftmost button.
Array of buttons in sample file