Availability of the Stereo Mix device relies on the following:

1. It is not disabled.
2. It is supported by the software driver.
3. It is supported by the sound card.

Disabled device

By default the Stereo Mix device is disabled. To enable the device:

Open the Sound  Recording devices by right clicking on the speaker icon in the task bar and select Recording devices.

The panel can also be accessed from the control panel.

Once the panel is opened, right click in the middle of the panel and select the Show Disabled Devices option.

Any available disabled devices will be displayed.

Right click on the Stereo Mix device to display the context menu and enable the device.

Once enabled, the device should be visible in the Max Export Settings | AVI Movie panel.

Where it should be selected as the sound capture driver.

If the previous steps do not display the Stereo Mix device, it is possible that it is disabled or not supported by the currently installed driver.

Not Supported by Software Driver

It is possible that the default operating system driver does not support the Stereo Mix device. In this case, a driver from the card / computer / hardware manufacturer may fix the problem.

Try installing appropriate drivers from the manufacturer site and repeat the disabled device sequence described above.

Note that as drivers have full access to your computer system, we recommend that you only download drivers from a trusted source such as your computer manufacturer or a recognised hardware vendor. Driver installation files should normally be digitally signed, although there are some exceptions (Realtek).

If after installing a new driver your system fails to respond correctly, you should be able to rollback the driver to the previous version.

Not  Supported by Sound Card

Finally it is possible that the Sound Card / driver combination does not support the Stereo Mix device. If the above suggestions do not display the Stereo Mix device, this is the most likely cause of the problem.

As a workaround, export to AVI without sound capture.  The sound capture feature is enabled or disabled using the Export Settings | AVI Movie panel. On completion of the export process, sound can be added to the AVI using a 3rd party application such as Windows Live Movie Maker. One advantage of this approach is that the export to AVI process is significantly faster if the sound capture is disabled.

Midi to mp3/wav Conversion

If the Stereo Mix device is available, it can be used with audacity and windows media player to convert midi files to mp3. In audacity, select Stereo Mix as the recording device, play the midi file in media player and record the result. The resulting mp3 or wav file can be imported into Max4.

Notes

The screen captures are from a Windows 7 system. A similar sequence should apply to Vista.

The Custom interface for the “Rainbow bulge” effect is shown below. This exposes five parameters instead of the 30+ parameters associated with the underlying Transform effect.

An authored effect can  support up to nine Custom parameters. If more control is needed, the original parameters associated with the core effect can be presented in additional tabs.

The sample effect, “Rainbow bulge”, has five custom parameters. In this example, the parameters associated with the core effect (Transform) have been hidden from the end user.

The remainder of this article demonstrates how the above effect was authored. Once understood, the technique can be applied to allow authoring of a virtually unlimited number of custom effects.

Enable Authoring

By default, effect authoring is not enabled. To enable effect authoring use the Preferences panel (menu item Tools | Preferences | Effects) and set the checkbox Allow effect authoring. Note that effect authoring is not possible with the SWiSH miniMax range of products.

While the panel is open use the Specify additional folder option to specify the folder where you intend to save the authored effects. This option allows the specified folder to be searched for effect files (.sfx). Effect files and any sub folders containing effect files will be listed in the various effect menus when this option is enabled.

The additional folder option is provided as it is not possible to save authored effects directly to the main effects folder in Vista and Windows 7.

The main effects folder is normally located in C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max4\effects or C:\Program Files (x86)\SWiSH Max4\effects on 64 bit systems. Administrator permission is required to save files to those folders.

Author Effect

To author an effect, follow the normal process of applying an effect ot an object. Select an effect that you want to modify (re-author) or choose one of the core effects. A custom effect can be based on any of the ten core effects. Many of the core effects will cause multiple tabs to be displayed in the Effects panel. The tabs associated with each of the core effects is shown in italics.

• Transform: Transforms, Cascade
• Squeeze: Squeeze, Transforms, Cascade
• Alternate: Alternate, Transforms, Cascade
• Snake: Snake, Transforms, Cascade
• Explode: Explode, Camera, Cascade
• 3D Spin: 3D Spin, Camera, Cascade
• 3D Wave: 3D Wave, Camera, Cascade
• Vortex: Vortex, Camera, Cascade
• Wave: Wave
• Typewriter: Typewriter

Motion and Easing tabs are available for all effects. These tabs can be hidden or displayed by using the << or >> button.

To author a new effect, rename the effect (New Effect in the sample image) and check the Author checkbox. This will cause the additional tabs to be displayed including the Author and Custom tabs. If desired, the default number of frames can also be altered to better suit the final effect that is authored.

The Author tab allows up to nine user configurable parameters to be defined. Once defined these parameters appear within the Custom tab. The columns used by each parameter are described below:

Prompt: Defines the description that is presented to the end user in the Custom tab.

Variable: The end user enters values for each prompt shown in the Custom tab. The value entered is saved to the associated variable. The variable is then used to calculate values that are used in other effect tabs.

Type: One of  Edit, Check, Slider or Color. This defines the type of interface that is presented to the user in the Custom tab. Edit is a standard edit box, Check is a checkbox that returns a value of 0 for false or 1 for true. Slider allows the user to select a value using the slider or associated edit box. Color allows the user to select a color using a color swatch.

Min/Max: These columns allow maximum and minimum values to be defined if the Slider type is chosen.

The Only show the “Custom” page checkbox will cause the underlying core effect and associated tabs to be hidden when the Author checkbox is unchecked. Using this option will minimize the parameters that are presented to the user. When this option is selected, the Custom tab will appear as a single page or as a tab if the Motion and Easing tabs have been enabled with the >> button.

Once the Author tab has been filled out, select the Custom tab and enter reasonable values for the parameters that are presented. When the effect is saved, these values become the default effect values.

Formulas based on the defined variables can then be entered into any field assoicated with the underlying core effect. All fields in the core effect tabs can be configured to have a calculated value. A calculated value is a value derived from a formula consiting of numerical constants, variables and standard mathematical symbols + – / * etc.

Note: the  Motion and Easing tabs cannot have formulas entered as these are not “core effect” tabs.

To use a calculated value, instead a numeric value, right click on the field and enter the forumla to be calculated. In the case of the image below, the formula entered was the single variable “mz“. 

Note: forumlas can only be entered if the Author checkbox is checked and the user right clicks on the edit box for the item. Once the forumla has been enterd, the item will display the current calculated value. The calcuated value is shown in gray indicating that direct user entry is not possible. If the forumula contains an error (invalid symbol, undefined variable etc) it will evaluate as 0.

For example: 100+mz/2 is a valid formula. If mz is set to 50 in the Custom panel, then the formula would result in a calculated value of 125 (100+50/2). To enter the formula, right click on the desired edit box then enter 100+mz/2.

Example

Using the Rainbow bulge effect as an example, the Author, Custom, Transforms and Cascade tabs are shown below:

As the Rainbow bulge effect is based on the Transform core effect, the Transforms and Cascade tabs are shown. Custom effects based on a different core effect will show a different tabs depending on the chosen effect.

As can be seen from the images above, the Custom tab displays the parameters that are defined within the Author tab.  The Custom tab becomes the primary user interface for the effect. Values entered by a user in the Custom tab are written to the variables defined with the Author tab. For example, if the user enters a value for “Zoom” in the custom tab, the value is saved in the variable “mz”.

The Transforms tab has some items grayed out. The grayed items have had formulas entered in place of normal numeric values. The formulas entered for each of the items is shown below in italics:

• Middle Spacing: ms
• Middle Scale: mz
• Start Color: c1
• Middle Color: c2
• End Color: c3

The Cascade tab has had the At start and At end values changed from the default values to Repeating. If desired, calculated values could be entered for any item in the Cascade tab. However, in this example, no calculated values were used in this tab.

Once the effect has been authored and tested, it can be saved for re-use.

Saving the Authored Effect

Consider where the Authored Effect is to be saved.

As stated previously, Authored effects cannot be saved directly to the main effect folder. However, a second effects location can be defined in the Preferences panel. Once defined, the this location is searched and listed in the effects browser panel and other effect menus.

Personally, I divide my authored effects into category sub folders similar to those used by Max. My categories are: Appear, Disappear, Looping, One off and Return to start.

The category sub folders are located in a folder named Authored which is a sub folder of the folder specified in the Preferences panel.

This allows all of my effects to be grouped in the one location and still be sorted according to category. (See the effects panel image). Note that sub folders or only listed if they containing .sfx files.

For example, if the folder defined in the preferences panel is:

C:\Users\jon\AppData\Roaming\SWiSH Max4\effects

I create my category sub folders in

C:\Users\jon\AppData\Roaming\SWiSH Max4\effects\Authored

Once the save location is known, use the  button to save the effect file. This causes a .sfx file to be created with the name specified in the Effect panel.

For example, “Rainbow bulge.sfx”

For a preview of the effect to appear when the effects browser panel is used, create a movie that demonstrates the effect and save the correponding .swf file using File |  Export | SWF…

Save the .swf file with the exact same name as the effect. Save the .swf file  in the same folder as the .sfx file.

For example, “Rainbow bulge.swf”

After saving the files, select the effects browser panel and press the F5 button to refresh the tree structure.

Downloads

The sample effect Rainbow bulge can be downloaded from here. If you wish to use this effect with the effects that are currently supplied with Max4 (or miniMax4) , copy the .sfx and .swf files in the zip file to: C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max4\effects\Looping continuously or C:\Program Files (x86)\SWiSH Max4\effects\Looping continuously on 64 bit systems. You will need administrator permission to copy this file.

I have modified their supplied component slightly to include support for the additional colors that have been used.

Downloads

The component will work with SWiSH Max4 and miniMax4 with build dates of 20110620 or later, although the component is not included with the 20110620 build’s installer, it can be downloaded here. After downloading, extract the files within the zip file to:

C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max4\Components\Shapes\2D\Shapes and Icons

Note that the exact location may be different depending on where you installed Max4, or miniMax4. We intend including the component in future releases of Max4 and miniMax4. On x64 systems, Max4 and miniMax4 are by default installed into C:\Program Files (x86)\…

Use

Use of the component is similar to that described for Map_USA.

Example

The swi for the example shown above can be downloaded here. Click on a country to see a summary of its details.

But wait, there’s more…

A polish map can also be otained from their blog here.

Our thanks go to Grzegorz Samborski of Dreamsoft for allowing us to re-publish their work.

Fundamentals

A fundamental principle of radio button operation is that exactly one button within a group can be selected. Operation is analogous to a radio that allows channel selection by pressing one of a number of push button channel presets.

In the example above, there are two defined groups: radio_Red for Radio Buttons 1, 2 and 3 and radio_Blue for Radio Buttons 4, 5 and 6.

It is important to understand that each radio button must be assigned to a group. Buttons in different groups can work independently of each other. Within a specific group only one button can be selected at the one time. If multiple simultaneous selections are necessary, consider using the Check box component instead.

Use

To use the component, drag one onto the stage from the Components panel / Buttons | Radiobutton | Radiobutton. Max4 and miniMax4 users can use the search filter in the Components panel to rapidly find the component.

Look at the parameters for the radio button in the Parameters panel and adjust to your requirements before duplicating the button. If the Parameters panel is not visible it can be enabled using the Main menu option: Window.

Using this method, the initial button becomes a “prototype” button for the remaining buttons in the group. The remaining buttons should be copied from the prototype button. Using a “prototype” button will minimize the number of parameters that need to be altered for each individual button.

The parameters are described in detail below:

Parameters

On Left?

Default false. This defines the position of the radio button. Generally radio buttons appear on the left as this simplifies alignment. In most cases, this parameter should be set to true.

Label

This is the text that appears beside the radio button. If you add additional text it is possible that the text will split into two lines. See the section “Text Properties” for tips on how to correct this. As a guide, insert your longest text field in the prototype button as you will get a better idea of how the overall layout will look.

Group Name

This defines the name of the group of radio buttons. In the example shown above, the group names were radio_Red and radio_Blue. The name can be anything you choose however it should be a valid Action Script 2.0 variable name. (ie no spaces, no reserved words).

Value

This is the value that identifies the button within the group. Each button within the same group must have a different value.

Alignment

This defines how the radio button is aligned with multi line text.

Check Color

The color of the check circle. Typically all buttons in the same group should use the same check color. Black, Green, Red and Blue are popular choices.

OnClick

This defines the name of the function that is called when the button is pressed. Generally all buttons within the same group should call the same function. Buttons in different groups could, if desired, also call the same function.

The function is called with two parameters: n and v

n is the name of the group that the button belongs.

v is the value of the button which is defined by the value parameter.

The function is expected to reside in the parent object. For example: if the radio buttons are placed in the main movie then the OnClick function is expected to exist in the main movie.

Text Properties

The text properties for the label field can be adjusted by expanding the radio button then selecting the Label object in the Outline panel. The Properties panel can then be used to adjust the Text Properties of the Label.

Properties that may require adjustment include Font, Font Size, Color, Justification, Enabling / Disabling of margins indent and manually adjusting the width and height of the text field.

The chosen justification will often depend on the chosen value for the parameter On Left?

Example

Consider the creation of a movie clip similar to the one shown to the right.

Drag a radio button onto the stage and adjust its parameters:

1. On Left?: true
2. Label: Square

Leave the other parameters in their default configuration.

Creating Multiple Buttons

Once the parameters are set, duplicate the button by selecting it in the layout panel and using Edit | Copy Object, Edit | Paste Object.

In the new radio button, modify the Label to be “Circle” and the Value to be 2. Position this button below the first. Use Edit | Paste Object to paste a third radio button. Modify the Label to be “Star” and Value to be 3. Position this button under the second button.

After pasting the buttons it is good practice to rename them so that they end with _1, _2 etc. This is much tidier than the automatically assigned names RadioButton__Copy, RadioButton__Copy_2 or RadioButton __Copy__Copy etc.

After creating 3 buttons and renaming the outline panel should look like the one above.

Once all of the required buttons have been created, final alignment can be done by selecting all of the buttons (select RadioButton_3 in the outline panel then select RadioButton_1 while pressing the Shift button). Once selected, right click and select Align | Left. Then right click and select Align | Space Evenly | Vertically.

Default Button

The RadioButton component does not have an option to define which of the buttons is the default button. The default button is determined by the order of creation when the movie is played. In the above example RadioButton_1 will be the default button as it is lowest in the outline panel. Re-order the buttons in the outline panel if a different default button is required.

Add Movie Clips to hold the objects

Add 3 movie clips mc1, mc2 and mc3 to hold the objects that are to be displayed when a radio button is selected. In the example, mc1 holds a shape (square) and some text “Square”, mc2 holds a shape (circle) and text: “Circle”. mc3 holds an autoshape (star) and text: “Star”.

Grouping multiple items within a movie clip allows the grouped items to be displayed or hidden using a single line of script:

mcN._visible = true; // Displays the items,

mcN._visible = false; // Hides the items.

In this case mcN is the name of the movie clip.

Add an Events (OnClick) Function

When any of the buttons are clicked, the Events function defined by the OnClick parameter is called. This allows actions to be implemented in response to the user event.

The function is assumed to reside in the parent object. In the case of the above example, this will be Scene_1. The function has two parameters, n and v as described above.

An example script is shown below:

function Events(n,v) {
    if ("radio1" == n) {
        // the group name of the radio button matches, process it

        // the movie clips mc1, mc2 and mc3 contain objects
        // that are to be made visible when
        // a specific radio button is selected.
        mc1._visible = false;
        mc2._visible = false;
        mc3._visible = false;
        switch (v) {
            case 1:
                // perform action for radio button 1
                mc1._visible = true;
                break;
            case 2:
                // perform action for radio button 2
                mc2._visible = true;
                break;
            case 3:
                // perform action for radio button 3
                mc3._visible = true;
                break;
        }
    }
}

Default Condition

It should be noted that the Events function is only called after one of the radio buttons is pressed. It is therefore necessary to setup other screen elements to match the default selection. In the above example, RadioButton_1 is the default. Therefore it is necessary to make mc1 visible and mc2, and mc3 not visible. This is easily achieved by adding the following script to mc2 and mc3:

onSelfEvent (load) {
    _visible = false;
}

Note: As the onSelfEvent script is within the movie clip. The name of the movie clip is implied when accessing a property such as _visible. The alternate script:

this._visible = false;

could have also been used.

Downloads

Both of the example files were authored in Max4. They are contained in this zip file.

The SWiSH Max .swi file as well as the tools to create the script from the midi file can be found on his website: http://www.logicalside.com/MIDI_based_animation_2D.

The c++ script authoring program can be downloaded from: http://www.logicalside.com/sites/default/files/documents/SWiSH-2D-Anim.zip

A more detailed video showing the steps can be found here including splitting a midi file into left and right channels (assumes that you have Cakewalk).

I hope the midi enthusiasts among you enjoy this novel approach in animating your files.

Our thanks to Lagnajeet who has given us permission to publish this article.

Notes

The php script assumes a frame rate of 25fps.

The midi file is assumed to be split into left and right channels. If this is not the case the detail movie demonstrates how this can be done using Cakewalk (A commonly used proprietary midi editor / recorder).

If using the php tool, the SWiSH Max script is written to a file Script.txt that is created on the server.

I have seen that the script sometimes becomes un-synchronized with the music. I assume this may be due to multiple time signatures in the midi file.

If you copy / paste the script directly from the php page instead of downloading the Script.txt file, you must insert line feeds before pasting into SWiSH Max.

As the generated script can be very large, you may experience performance issues when editing the script in Max3 / Max4.

You can convert a midi file to a mp3 file by playing the midi file in Windows Media player and recording the output using Audacity (2.0 or later) and its Stereo Mix input. Remember to turn off applications that can make sounds e.g.  email, skype. Otherwise, these noises may appear in your recording.

User configurable stub scripting functions are provided to handle mouse events. These allow the map to be used as a selection tool. For example, to select a local dealership. The supplied sample mouse over script causes an inner glow filter to be enabled while the mouse is positioned over a specific state.

The map was derived from a .svg map in wikimedia commons and is shown as being free of copyright.

Downloads

The component will work with SWiSH Max4 and miniMax4 with build dates of 20110620 or later, although the component is not included with the 20110620 build’s installer, it can be downloaded here. After downloading, extract the files within the zip file to:

C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max4\Components\Shapes\2D\Shapes and Icons

Note that the exact location may be different depending on where you installed Max4, or miniMax4. We intend including the component in future releases of Max4 and miniMax4. On x64 systems, Max4 and miniMax4 are by default installed into C:\Program Files (x86)\…

Use

To use the component, drag it onto the stage and configure the parameters to your requirements. Additional functionality can be obtained by added script to the mouse stub functions. See the Stub Functions section below.

Parameters

Filter Settings

Filter Color

This defines the color of the inner glow filter that is applied when the mouse is over a specific state.

Blur

A filter parameter that defines the size of the glow area

Strength

A filter parameter that defines how strong the effect is

Colors

Restore

Restores the map to its default colors. (See below).

Color 1 .. Color 5

These define the 5 map colors. Color 2 defines the color of the borders.

Spare Colors

This group contains unused color swatches. Generally there is no need to use this group.

Advanced

This group contains advanced settings. Generally this section need not be modified. The Remap colors button allows the colors to be re-assigned. Use this button if you have recolored some of the states with a new color. The new color swatches will appear in the Spare Colors group.

Stub Functions

The map consists of individual shape objects that represent each state. A section of the outline tree is shown on the left. As spaces cannot be included in object names, states that have a name that includes a space such as “North Dakota” are named “North_Dakota” etc.

A function,  getDisplayName(s) converts the underscores to spaces for display.

For example, getDisplayNames(“North_Dakota”) returns the string “North Dakota”.

Each shape object has the following script:

onSelfEvent (load) {
    _parent.eventOnLoad(this);
}
onSelfEvent (rollOver) {
    _parent.eventOnRollOver(this);
}
onSelfEvent (rollOut) {
    _parent.eventOnRollOut(this);
}
onSelfEvent (press) {
    _parent.eventOnPress(this);
}
onSelfEvent (release) {
    _parent.eventOnRelease(this);
}
onSelfEvent (dragOver) {
    _parent.eventOnDragOver(this);
}
onSelfEvent (dragOut) {
    _parent.eventOnDragOut(this);
}

As can be seen, the script calls stub functions in the parent object (Map_USA).

The stub functions for the main movie clip are shown below:

function eventOnLoad(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during the load event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
}
function eventOnRollOver(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during a mouse over event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = [overfilter];    // show mouse is over the object by assigning the filter
}
function eventOnRollOut(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during roll out event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = []; // show mouse no longer over by clearing the filter
}
function eventOnPress(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during mouse click event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
}
function eventOnRelease(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during mouse release event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
}
function eventOnDragOver(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during the mouse drag over event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
}
function eventOnDragOut(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during the mouse drag out event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = []; // show mouse no longer over by clearing the filter
}
function getDisplayName(s) {
    // remove the "_" from  any two word state names
    var i;
    var words = s.split("_");
    if (words.length == 1)
        return s;
    var ret = words[0];
    for (i=1; i<words.length; i++) {
        ret = ret add " " add words[i];
    }
    return ret;
}

import flash.filters.GlowFilter
onSelfEvent (load) {
    // create glow filter. This is used to indciate mouse over
    // events.
    var filtercolor = parameters.FilterColor & 0xFFFFFF;
    var filteralpha = parameters.FilterColor >>= 24;
    filteralpha &= 0xFF;
    filteralpha /= 255;    // should create a value 0..1
    var overfilter = new GlowFilter(filtercolor, filteralpha,
    parameters.Blur, parameters.Blur,
    parameters.Strength/100, 3, true, false);
}

The onSelfEvent (load) function is used to define the glow filter that is used in the mouseover event. The settings for the filter are obtained from the component parameters.

The stub function have the general format eventOnEventName(p) where EventName is the name of the event: Load, RollOver, RollOut, Press, Release, DragOver and DragOut. The user is free to modify these functions as needed.

The parameter p is a reference to the calling object. The object name can be obtained using p._name. This can be conveniently converted into a displayable string using the script: getDisplayName(p._name);

In a similar way other properties of the calling object are also available: p._x, p._y, p._xscale, p._rotation, p._visibility etc.

Sample script is supplied in the eventOnRollOver(), eventOnRollOut() and  eventOnDragOut(). This script adds or removes the inner glow filter according to email roll over status.

Example 1

The map shown at the beginning of this article displays the state names during the mouse over event.

The component was added to a blank movie and a dynamic text object was added named statename. The target checkbox was ticked.

The eventOnRollOver() stub function was modified to show the state name. The modified lines are shown in red:

function eventOnRollOver(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during a mouse over event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = [overfilter];    // show mouse is over the object by assigning the filter
    _parent.statename.text = getDisplayName(p._name);
}

The eventOnRollOut() and eventOnDragOut() stub functions were modified to clear the displayed name.

function eventOnRollOut(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during roll out event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = []; // show mouse no longer over by clearing the filter
    _parent.statename.text = "";
}

function eventOnDragOut(p) {
    // called by each of the state objects during the mouse drag out event.
    // p is a reference to the calling object.
    p.filters = []; // show mouse no longer over by clearing the filter
    _parent.statename.text = "";
}

The colors in the parameters panel were modified as follows:

• Filter Color: 0xFFFF00
• Color 1: 0xFF9900
• Color 2: 0xFFFFFF
• Color 3: 0xFFCC00
• Color 4: 0xFFCC99
• Color 5: 0xFF9966

Example 2

This example demonstrates modification of the eventOnPress() stub function. Clicking on any state will cause a draggable text box to be displayed that shows additional information about the state.

The Outline panel for the example is shown to the right.
The infonote movie clip contains a dynamic text object (info), a background shape (Rectangle_rounded) and an animated cross component (closenote) that is used as a close button.
In its default state the movie clip has its visibility set to false.
The infonote movie clip contains a function ShowInfo(s). This function displays the infonote movie clip, formats and displays data in the dynamic text object (info) based on the state name passed in the parameter s.
The ShowInfo() function is called by the line:
_parent.infonote.ShowInfo(getDisplayName(p._name));
In the eventOnRelease() stub function in Map_USA

The script for the infonote movie clip is shown below.

function ShowInfo(s) {
    // copies information from the parent data array to the note text
    if ("DC" == s) {
        info.text = "<b>Washington, D.C.</b>";
    } else {
        // fill in the state data
        var p = _parent.data[s.toUpperCase()]; // p is shortcut to data

        info.text = "<b>" add s.toUpperCase() add "</b> (" add p.abbrev add ")";
        info.text = info.text add newline add "<b>Capital:</b> " add p.capital;
        info.text = info.text add newline add "<b>Most populous city:</b> " add p.mostpop;
        info.text = info.text add newline add "<b>Population:</b> " add p.pop;
        info.text = info.text add newline add "<b>Size:</b> " add p.size add " sqmiles";
    }
    this._visible = true;
}
onSelfEvent (load) {
    this._visible = false;
}
onSelfEvent (press) {
    this.startDrag(false);
}
onSelfEvent (release) {
    this.stopDrag();
}

The onSelfEvent functions are used to set the movie clip to invisible and support dragging.

The information that is displayed is defined in the onSelfEvent (load) function of the main movie. This information is saved in the array “data”.
The data was obtained in spread sheet format from: http://www.tellingmachine.com/post/all-50-states-as-xml-json-csv-xls-files.aspx

Sheet 2 of the spreadsheet was modified to display the data as action script. The modified spreadsheet can be downloaded from here. The spread sheet demonstrates the useful technique of generating script from spread sheet data using spread sheet formulas. The line below shows the formula that was duplicated for all cells to create one line of code for each spread sheet entry.

="data["""&Sheet1!A2&"""]={abbrev:"""&Sheet1!B2&""",capital:"""&Sheet1!C2&""",mostpop:"""&Sheet1!D2&""",pop:"&Sheet1!E2&",size:"&Sheet1!F2&"};"

Once duplicated within the spread sheet, the following script is created:

data["ALABAMA"]={abbrev:"AL",capital:"Montgomery",mostpop:"Birmingham",pop:4708708,size:52423};
data["ALASKA"]={abbrev:"AK",capital:"Juneau",mostpop:"Anchorage",pop:698473,size:656425};
data["ARIZONA"]={abbrev:"AZ",capital:"Phoenix",mostpop:"Phoenix",pop:6595778,size:114006};
data["ARKANSAS"]={abbrev:"AR",capital:"Little Rock",mostpop:"Little Rock",pop:2889450,size:53182};
data["CALIFORNIA"]={abbrev:"CA",capital:"Sacramento",mostpop:"Los Angeles",pop:36961664,size:163707};
...
data["WASHINGTON"]={abbrev:"WA",capital:"Olympia",mostpop:"Seattle",pop:6664195,size:71303};
data["WEST VIRGINIA"]={abbrev:"WV",capital:"Charleston",mostpop:"Charleston",pop:1819777,size:24231};
data["WISCONSIN"]={abbrev:"WI",capital:"Madison",mostpop:"Milwaukee",pop:5654774,size:65503};
data["WYOMING"]={abbrev:"WY",capital:"Cheyenne",mostpop:"Cheyenne",pop:544270,size:97818};

This script is then copied / pasted into the onSelfEvent (load) function of the main movie. With minor script changes it could have been pasted into the onSelfEvent (load) function of infonote which is probably a better place for the data.

Downloads

Both of the example files can be downloaded in this zip file.

I hope you enjoy using this new component.

Step 1 – Download VLC

VLC is a great program. It can be obtained free of charge from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. The screen captures below were made from version 2.0.1. Later or earlier versions may look slightly different.

After downloading, run the installation .exe to install the program. You may see a dialog similar to the one below. Although the installer is not signed, I continue with this specific installation. For more about digital signature see this blog article.

After using VLC, please consider donating via the donation links on the VLC page. Contributions help keep great tools like this free for us all.

Step 2 – Convert flv file to avi

As Windows DVD Maker does not recognize .flv files it is necessary to convert it to a .avi file for processing.

After installing run VLC and select Media | Convert / Save…

This will open the following dialog:

Use the Add button to browse for the source .flv file

Then use the Convert / Save button to open the Convert / Save dialog.

In the profile area use the () button to create a new profile.

Enter a name for the profile such as “flv2dvd”

For the Encapsulation tab use AVI.

For the Video and Audio codec tabs, use the settings shown below:

No changes are required for the Subtitles tab.

Press the Save button to save the new Profile.

Step 3 – Do the conversion.

Select the new Profile (flv2dvd) in the Convert / Save dialog.

Use the Browse button to select a destination file. Name the file so that it ends with .avi

Press the Start button to start the conversion. The VLC progress bar will show the progress.

Note that the chosen settings will normally create a file that is larger than the original. This is to keep any quality loss to a minimum before conversion to DVD. The Video and Audio formats (divx3 and mp3) have been chosen to correspond with codecs that are supported by DVD Maker.

Step 4 – Author the DVD

Insert a blank DVD into your DVD burner and run Windows DVD Maker. If you are unsure of how to start Windows DVD Maker, type DVD into the search box of the Start button. It should be shown as one of the programs.

Use the Add items button to add the .avi movies that you have converted. They can also be dragged into the window. I have not done screen captures of Windows DVD Maker as its use is quite intuitive. The following tips may however help:

• Enter a title into the DVD title: window.
• Check the settings defined in the options link. That link defines some important parameters such as Menu playback options, aspect ration, PAL / NTSC etc.
• For initial testing, use a DVD-RW disc so that you can view the final result.
• If all is OK, select a menu template and press the Burn button.

Note: Video conversion is a CPU intensive process. It can take a while on slower computers.

Footnote

Since writing this article I have found that Microsoft DVD Maker may introduce aspect ratio issues if a 16:9 format is used. There are a number of forums discussing this issue and no apparent solution other than to convert the avi file to a wmf file using Microsoft Movie Maker with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and then using the .wmf file in DVD Maker.

Downloads

The component will work with SWiSH Max4 and miniMax4 with build dates of 20110620 or later, although the component is not included with the 20110620 build’s installer, it can be downloaded here. After downloading, extract the files within the zip file to:

C:\Program Files\SWiSH Max4\Components\Shapes\3D

Note that the exact location may be different depending on where you installed Max4, or miniMax4. We intend including the component in future releases of Max4 and miniMax4. On x64 systems, Max4 and miniMax4 are by default installed into C:\Program Files (x86)\…

Use

To use the component, drag it onto the stage and configure the parameters to your requirements.

Parameters

The component is based on the Lens component. Most of the complex parameters for the Lens component have been moved to the Advanced Group leaving the user with six main parameters: Diameter, Speed, Start Paused, three Colors and an option to Disable Color Mapping. The use of most of the parameters should be self explanatory.

User chosen colors are set using an internal (scripted) color matrix filter. The filter maps the three map colors, Red, Green and Blue to the user chosen colors. If more than three colors are required, a custom colored map along with the Disable Color Mapping option should be used. See the section Custom Maps below for more information.

The parameters in the Advanced Group will work in the same way as described for the Lens component. However for use as a rotating map, those parameters generally need not be modified. For small diameter maps, less than 100pixels, it may be necessary to reduce the value of the Strength parameter.

The map rotation can be manually started or paused using the script:

world_map_animated.stop() and world_map_animated.play() where world_map_animated is the name of the component in your movie. (The default name is assumed).

Example

The example shown above, World_map_example.swi, is included in this zip file. In addition to the world_map_animated component, the example file uses an inner glow filter to apply a blue halo around the inside edge. To increase contrast an outer glow filter is used to create the black shadow. Without the use of these filters, the map can appear flat and the edges pixelated as shown in the image below.

As the component uses a color matrix filter internally to map the user chosen colors, it is necessary to wrap the component in a movie clip before applying additional filters. Filters applied directly to the component, will have their color altered by the internal color matrix filter.

The Outline panel for the example movie is shown to the right. The inner glow filter is applied to the movie clip “inner” and the outer glow filter is applied to the movie clip “outer“. More information about Filters can be found in this blog article.

The Component button, Button_pause is grouped within the outer movie clip so that it also has the outer glow filter applied to it.

The button is used to start and stop the rotation with the following script that is also located within the outer movie clip.

function Events(n,v) {
    if ("Button_pause" == n) {
        // event caused by pause button
        if (v) {
            inner.world_map_animated.stop();
        } else {
            inner.world_map_animated.play();
        }
    }
}

The component is accessed as inner.world_map_animated as it is contained within the inner movie clip.

Analysis

The description below summarizes how the component works. A basic understanding is required if you intend to use the Custom Maps described below.

The movie shown above shows the component without masking. As can be seen, two copies of the world map are moved under the lens. To minimize load times, a single copy of the map is saved to the Content Library and two instances of the map are placed side by side in the container movie clip. Two copies of the map are used to give a continuous display. Once the maps have been moved by the length of a single map, the container movie clip is returned to its original position.

The map is colored using only Red (0xFF0000), Green (0x00FF00) and Blue (0x0000FF). Red is used for the borders, Green for the land and Blue for the ocean. The use of the three primary colors allows the three regions to be mapped to user chosen colors using the internal color matrix filter.

Custom Maps

By altering the default map it is possible  to increase the number of available colors or change the assignment of the Red, Green and Blue colors.

The component uses a copyright free world map obtained from wikipedia. This map in .svg format was edited in Inkscape to color the outlines (borders) to be Red, Land to be Green and the Ocean (background) to be Blue. The modified file was then saved as a .png file.

Once saved as a png file, further editing was required in Microsoft Paint to fill in the frame lines that were introduced during the export to png. The image was then re sized to be 1183×600 which is the map size expected by the component.

The resulting file was then imported into Max.

If required, a custom color map could be created using Inkscape and the source .svg file described above.

To import a different map, go to the content panel select the Library radio button. To open the content editor, double click on the world_map shape.

In the Properties panel, select the fill icon () then choose the open image icon () to load a different image.

Take care to ensure that the new image is 1183×600 in size.

If a line is visible where the images join, it is possible that the frame line has not been correctly removed from the image. If this is the case, re-open the image in paint and examine in detail the color of the pixels around the edge.

Once the image has been loaded, close the content editor using the close button ().

Sample maps are included in this zip file:

• world_map_redborders_1183x600.png: This is the map included with the component. Land areas are colored Green, 0x00FF00. Ocean areas are colored Blue, 0x0000FF and borders are colored Red, 0xFF0000. This map allows the land, ocean and borders to be colored according to user choices.
  
• world_map_rgb2_1183x600.png: This alternate map has the land areas and borders colored 0x00FF00 (100% green), the ocean colored 0x0000FF (100% blue) and Antarctica colored 0xFF0000 (100% Red). This allows Antarctica to be colored differently from a normal land mass (eg. white).

Other Effects

By selecting a transparent sea and / or border color, some interesting effects can be obtained with the use of filters and alternate backgrounds. Some of those are shown in the example below.

The Example file, WorldMap_Example2.swi, is included with the main example zip file (link is in the Example section).

Notes

The content library and filters are not available in mini Max. Users of that products will be unable to alter the filter settings or modify the background map.

Do not alter the Transform / Reference point of the component. If the point is altered, the lens filter will be applied to the wrong position of the world map. This will cause the map to appear flat.

Step 1 – Get the flag design

Wikipedia documents most, if not all, of the worlds flags. Search for the flag using the term “Flag of COUNTRY” where COUNTRY is the name of the countries flag you wish to reproduce.

Click on the image of the flag you wish to reproduce. This will take you to a page that details information about the graphic.

Check the copyright information associated with the graphic and if appropriate, download the .svg file and convert it to a .emf file as outlined in this blog article.

Step 2 – Import into Max

In Max use Insert | Import Vector and set the checkboxes on the import EMF / WMF dialog as shown.

Press the Import button to start the import. The flag will be imported as a single shape as shown in the Outline panel below.

Resize the flag as required using the Transform or Reshape panels. It is advisable to lock the aspect ratio padlock to ensure symmetrical scaling.

As the image was created from a vector graphic file, it should scale very well.

Step 3 – Add Animation

This optional step demonstrates how to add the familiar flag waving animation.

Right click on the flag in the Layout or Outline panels and select Break | Break into Pieces.

The suggested settings for a 500 x 250 flag are shown in the image to the right (Click on the image to see it full size). You may have to experiment with these settings to get the best results. It is a good idea to save the imported flag under a different name before proceeding. The pixel overlap value may need alteration for different flag sizes.

The suggested settings will break the flag into 30*15 = 450 triangular pieces.

Part of the resulting Outline panel is shown to the left. (Only the first 4 of the 450 shape are displayed).

Right click in frame 1 of the Timeline panel of the flag object to display the context menu.

Select: Looping Continuously | Flag Waving. This applies the Flag Waving effect to the grouped flag object, Flag_of_Australia.

In the Effect panel, alter the default effect settings to the ones shown to the right.

Negative undulations will cause the ripples to extend from the top left to the bottom right.

Positive values will cause the ripples to extend top right to bottom left.

Select the grouped object. In the Transform panel add a 10 deg rotation and a -10 deg skew. This gives the flag its characteristic “droop”.

Finally, to allow the flag to wave independently of the main timeline, wrap it in a movie clip by selecting the grouped object, then using right click to display the context menu. Select Grouping | Group as Movie Clip.

Once grouped, name the Movie Clip appropriately via the Properties or Outline panels.

The final Outline panel should look like the one to the right.

Example

The example shown at the beginning of this article can be downloaded from here. In addition to the flag described above the following changes were made:

• Added a flag pole (rectangle, 7 x 375 with linear gradient light gray, dark gray fill)
• Resized flag movie clip
• Used Shadow component to create the shadow on the ground. To do this, the pole and flag were added to the component and the sample objects were deleted. The shadowHeight parameter was set to 0 and the updateShadow parameter was set to true to cause the shadow to be re-created.

Use

Due to the symbolic importance of a flag, it is highly likely that there are restrictions placed on its use by its country of origin. Even in the absence of such restrictions, it is suggested that all  flags be depicted in a dignified way.

Why Vector Graphics?

Vector graphics provide a number of advantages when compared to bitmap formats such as bmp, png, jpeg and gif. The advantages include:

• Scaleability. As the representation consists of line drawing commands, the graphic can be scaled without individual pixels becoming visible.
• The different objects that make up the graphic are normally accessible and editable as individual objects. For example, in the case of the USA map, each state is represented as a separate object.

Example: Import USA svg map into Max4

Step 1 – Download the .svg file

Before proceeding check that the item is copyright free. See the licensing information section associated with the item if you are downloading it from wikipedia or wikimedia commons. If the item is not copyright free, please respect the displayed licensing conditions.

Visit this wikimedia.org webpage. Right click on the Full Resolution link and use Save Link As to save the .svg file to your local computer.

Step 2 – Install Inkscape

Download and install Inkscape from the Inkscape website.

Step 3 – Open in Inkscape

Open Inkscape then open the svg file using File | Open

Step 4 – Resave as .emf

Use File | Save As to resave the file in .emf format.

Change the Save as type: from *.svg to Enhanced Metafile (*.emf)

If asked to convert texts to paths, reset the checkbox. This simplifies editing in Max.

Step 5 – Import into Max

In Max use Insert | Import Vector and reset all checkboxes on the import EMF / WMF dialog. Press the Import button to start the Import.

The Item will be imported as a grouped item. The individual shapes within the group represent the individual objects from the original graphic.

Depending on your exact needs, you can clean up the item by deleting elements that are not required. For example, the numbers and the colored borders. The colored borders can be identified by selecting the item in the Outline panel then viewing the properties in the Properties panel. The borders will either be a line or a shape with empty fill.

A line is indicated by a greyed out fill icon ().

A shape with empty fill will have its Fill Color set to None.

Border colors if needed, can then be added by setting a line color for each of the state shapes.

It is possible to set all items to have the same line and fill properties by selecting all of the items in the Outline panel then adjusting the fill and line properties in the Properties panel.

Finally

If using one of the copyright free images from wikipedia has saved you some time, please consider making a donation to wikipedia. It is a great resource, but it can only continue to operate if people support it.

In a similar way, if you find Inkscape useful, please consider donating to that community effort.