On my return from the gymnasium the other day, I was about to catch the lift to the 11th floor when I realised that it would be healthier to walk up the stairs instead.

After walking up the stairs, I then thought to myself was it worth it? How many Calories had I burnt? To figure it out I did some research and created the calculator below which will show the energy consumed climbing stairs.

Calculation Method Options

The Physics option calculates the result based on the difference in potential energy (mass * gravity * height). This represents the absolute minimum amount of energy that must have been expended to climb the stairs. However, as the human body expends energy walking on level ground or even down stairs, the actual value would be higher. A few web searches revealed that 5 kcal per flight of stairs for a 150lb person is a typically quoted amount. The Dept of Health option calculates on the basis of a 150lb person and 5kcal per flight. The 5kcal / flight figure was quoted as coming from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, hence Dept of Health is used to identify that calculation method. I have assumed that the figure is proportional to weight so the calculator modifies the results proportionally according to the entered weight.

The Displayed Results

Joules and Calories are measurements of energy. The Joule is the SI unit for energy, however packeted food items are typically labelled in Calories (symbol kcal or Cal) and/or Kilojoules (symbol kJ, 1kJ = 1000 Joules).  1 Cal = 4.184 kJ.

The term calorie is confusingly used to describe two units of energy:

• the small calorie, symbol: cal,  is the approximate energy to raise one gram of water 1 degree Celsius and
• the large calorie which is typically used in food descriptions. This has the symbol kcal or Cal. One large calorie = 1000 small calories.

All food items generally refer to the large calorie (kcal or Cal).

Examples of food energy values

Once you know the energy values of food, you can see how many stairs you need to climb to burn it off. Some examples are shown below. Many of the values were obtained from this website.

1g fat = 9 Cal

small apple = 80 Cal

cup cooked broccoli = 45 Cal

Sample file

The example was created using SWiSH Max4. The example file can be downloaded from here.

Is it all worth it?

Although the calculated values may seem low, in a typical office environment if you were to climb 2 flights of stairs 5 times a day (easily achievable if you need to move between floors to do your work), this adds up to about 10 flights per day,  50 flights per week, 2400 flights in a typically work year equating to 12000 kcal per year for a 150lb person (using the Dept of Health calculation method). That is a significant number of kcal so I personally think its worth it.

Enjoy!

When a ColorTransform object is used, each color channel is calculated using the following formulas:

• red value = (original red value * redMultiplier) + redOffset
• green value = (original green value * greenMultiplier) + greenOffset
• blue value = (original blue value * blueMultiplier) + blueOffset
• alpha value = (original alpha value * alphaMultiplier) + alphaOffset

The calculated value is clipped so that it falls in the range 0 to 255. (ie a value > 255 is changed to 255. A value < 0 is changed to 0).

The example movie above demonstrates the Transform being applied to a gradient shaded object. Press the play button to see the effect. Unlike the Color object, each color in the gradient is changed to a new color after the transform. This is not possible with the Color object which would change the entire object into a new single color. Note that as the offsets are altered, the object color tends towards white because of the clipping.

A detailed description of the ColorTransform() object can be found at the Adobe website or in the Flash AS2 language reference pdf document which can be downloaded from here.

In summary the object has the following properties:

When the transform is applied, the new colors are applied according the the formula described above.  The final values are then clipped to be forced into the range 0..255.

Examples

The example above was implemented with the following script.

onSelfEvent (load) {
 import flash.geom.ColorTransform;
 import flash.geom.Transform;

 var c = new ColorTransform();
 var t = new Transform(shadowclip.colorswatch);
 this.stop();
}
onFrame (3) {
 c.blueOffset += 3;
 c.blueOffset %= 256;
 c.redOffset += 5;
 c.redOffset %= 256;
 c.greenOffset += 7;
 c.greenOffset %=256;
 t.colorTransform = c;
 // trace(c.rgb);
}
function Events(n,v) {
 if (v) this.play(); 
 else this.stop();
}

Explanation

The script creates ColorTransform and Transform objects c and t. The Transform object is associated with the colorswatch circle inside the shadowclip movie clip. On every 3rd frame, the blue, red and green offsets are incremented by 3, 5 and 7. The result is then limited to a value 0..255 using the modulo (%) function. The ColorTransform is then applied via the script:

t.colorTransform = c;

Example 2

The example shown in the previous article could be implemented using the ColorTransform and the following script:

onSelfEvent (load) {
    import flash.geom.ColorTransform;
    import flash.geom.Transform;

    var c = new ColorTransform();
    var t = new Transform(shadowclip.colorswatch);
}
function Events(n,v) {
    v = Math.round(v);
    c.rgb = v;
    t.colorTransform = c;
}

In this case, the rgb property is used to set the red, green and blue color channels directly. This use is similar to the way the Color object works.

Both of the above example .swi files can be obtained from this .zip file. ColorTransform.swi is the second example and ColorTransform2.swi is the first example.

The ColorTransform object should be used in all new projects. The older Color object is discussed here as it provides a useful introduction to the theory of altering color using script. The ColorTransform object will be discussed in a future article.

Within scripting, colors are expressed as a number. The blog article Flash Color Representation explains this representation and should be consulted for background knowledge.

The script for the above example is shown below:

onSelfEvent (load) {
 var c = new Color(shadowclip.colorswatch);
}
function Events(n,v) {
 v = Math.round(v);
 c.setRGB(v);
}

The line var c = new Color(shadowclip.colorswatch); creates the color object and associates it with the star shaped color swatch.

The line c.setRGB(v); uses the color object to set the color according to the new slider position.

If the Color object is applied to a movie clip  containing multiple objects or a shape containing multiple colors, all colors will be set to the new color. The Color object will also alter the color of any filter if applied.

To prevent the drop shadow from changing color, example above encases the colorswatch object in a movie clip named shadowclip. A drop shadow filter is applied to shadowclip and the Color object refers directly to the color swatch within that movie clip (shadowclip.colorswatch). This allows the color of the colorswatch to be altered without changing the color of the drop shadow.

Example movies authored in Max4 are available in this zip file. Colorobject2.swi is the example shown above. ColorobjectRGB is a similar example that uses 3 sliders to allow the Red, Green and Blue values to be altered independently.

The actual rotating cube is shown below. Mouse over the image to start the cube rotating. In this example, a size of 250 was chosen with a speed of 25. The border lines are colored white with a width of 0 (minimum width line). A drop shadow filter has been added to provide the shadow effect on the bottom left edges.

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\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 3DCube onto the stage then adjust its settings using the Parameters panel. If the Parameters panel is not visible it can be enabled using Main Menu |  Window and ticking the Parameters option.

Parameters

Size – The size of each cube face in pixels. Note that when the cube is rotated the actual width can be up to 1.74 (sqrt(3)) times the specified width.

For example, a 250 size cube, will fit entirely in a 250*1.74 = 435 diameter circle.

If the size value is altered, each of the images is re sampled according to the new size. If the original image is no longer on the system, the image is unchanged. Note that a larger size implies larger images and a larger .swf file. The final size is proportional to s*s. ie. doubling the size will increase the .swf size by 4.

Speed – This defines how fast the cube moves when it follows the mouse direction. A higher number will cause a faster speed.

Line Color – Defines the color of the line border between the images. Use an alpha value of 0% if no line is required.

Line Width – Defines the border line width. A value of 0 indicates a minimum width line.

Images – This group allows images to be selected for each of the 6 faces.

Quality – Defines the jpeg image quality. A lower quality will result in a smaller and faster loading .swf file. If the quality value is altered, each of the images is re sampled according to the selected quality. If the original image is no longer on the system, the image is unchanged.

Image6 is the image that is initially visible before the cube starts rotating.

QR Code readers are freely available for iPhone, Android and other smart devices. Using a reader to read a QR Code allows information to be easily entered into the smart device without the tedium of having to use a small cramped keyboard. The information could include website URL, phone number, physical address, order, part number or contact information.

The QR code below contains the text: “http://www.swishzone.com”

Most QR readers recognize a website name and offer to open a browser window that refers to the site. If you have a mobile device with a QR code reader installed (eg. ZXing) you should be able to scan the image and then optionally browse the swishzone.com website.

QR Codes are a convenient way to publicize your website or business to mobile devices through conventional media: Posters, billboards, stickers, T-Shirts or other merchandising goods.

A QR code in a shop window is a great way for people to obtain information about your business from its mobile website if they arrive after normal business hours.

QR Codes are also a convenient way to allow the transfer the URL of a mobile specific website from a desktop computer into a mobile device.

The QR component described by this article allows users to create their own QR Codes.

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\Utility

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 Barcode_QR onto the stage then manually enter a string into the Parameters panel. Alternatively, use the Set_QR(s) method to create a new code using script.

The sample movie below demonstrates the use of the Set_QR(s) method. It also demonstrates how the component can be used as a mask to provide a QR code that is colored according to a color gradient. This can make your codes a little more interesting than the common black and white ones that are typically used. Using the masking method you could also use images in place of the gradient, however the image should not contain any white areas.

Parameters

String

This is the string that is encoded into the QR code. The string can be altered using script via the Set_QR() method.

Color

This is the color of the QR code. It should be a dark color to maximize contrast. Black is commonly chosen.

Background Color

This is the background color of the QR code. A light color, generally white should be chosen. If using the component as a mask, choose 0% alpha to allow masking to work correctly.

Size

This is the size of the code when displayed. The interpretation of this value depends on the Variable Size checkbox.

Variable Size

If this check box is un checked, then the QR code size is defined by the size value. ie, 250 means a 250 by 250 pixel code.

If this is checked, then the size represents the size of an individual square within the matrix. The overall matrix size is varible and is defined by the amount of data that is encoded into the QR code.

Methods

SetQR(s)

The QR code is updated to display the new string. If the string cannot be displayed because it is too long, -1 is returned.

GetMode(s)

The QR code standard defines a number of versions, different data types and error correction modes. This Method returns the version, data type and correction mode information in a number that can be interpreted as a bitmap of VVVVEECC. You will need to convert the number to binary to interpret the bit map.

Where vvvv is the version number
ee = error correction mode 0=L, 1=M, 2=Q, 3=H
cc = coding method 0=numeric, 1=alpha numeric, 2=8bit

During typical use, this method need not be used. It is only provided for those that are interested and want more information about the codes that are being created.

Settings(col,bgndcol,size,variablesize)

This method allows the remaining parameter settings to be altered using script.

Technical Information

The QR Standard defines a number of versions, Version 1 to Version 40. The higher the version number, the more data can be stored. The size of the matrix is implied by the version number according to the formula:

s = 17+n*4 where n is the version number.

For example: A Version 3 QR code has s=17+3*4 = 29. indicating matrix of 29 x 29.

A Version 40 QR code (177 x 177) can encode up to 2953 bytes. However, because of the size and complexity of the matrix, this code is generally not readable by mobile devices – a specialist scanner is usually required. QR code versions below 5 are generally easily read by a mobile device.

Different levels of error correction can be applied to the data before it is encoded. The specification defines 4 levels of correction: L, M, Q and H were L is the lowest level and H is the highest. As the level of correction is increased, the amount of data that can be encoded is decreased.

The specification also supports 4 different data types:

• Numeric – digits 0..9
• Alpha Numeric – Upper case A..Z, digits 0..9 and the symbols space $ % * + – . / :
• Byte – an 8 bit byte. Any ascii symbol can be encoded.
• Kanji/Kana – Japanese script characters.

The number of symbols that can be encoded into a given size matrix depends on the chosen data type. Selecting a data type that closely matches the intended data may result in a more efficient coding.

For example, using Numeric instead of the Byte data type to encode numeric data can result in better data packing and smaller bar codes.

The Barcode_QR component selects the best data type based on the entered data. Currently the Kanjii / Kana datatype is not supported. It then encodes the data using up to version 3 with M error correction. This means that the maximum number of symbols that can be encoded is shown in the table below:

URL names longer than the 42 character maximum can be shortened using a shorten and re-direct website such as google’s URL shortener.

If you need to print the URL that has been created, consider using the PrintJob script command.

The game runs over 10 “sequence frames”. This means a maximum possible score of 55.

Downloads

The SWiSH Max4 .swi file can be downloaded from here. The file was created using the 20110620 version of Max4 and should open on that and later versions.

Customization

The .swi file can be edited using Max4. This allows customization according to a users specific needs. For example, the tiles can be altered from the SWiSH logos to a specific company logo. The size of the puzzle can also be easily modified. The text messages are made availalbe in the Parameters panel for modification.

The game is based on the ClipClone component. Changes to the number of tiles or layout (4×4, 5×3 etc) can be achieved by modifying the ClipClone parameters. Other elements within the movie may then need resizing and re-positioning to fit the new layout. The elements within the movie clip are described below:

Button_replay: This is the button that allows initial play and replay after the first game.

status: This is the top line of the text display.

status2: This is the area of the display that shows the current frame number.

status3: The area of the display that shows the current score.

ClipClone: This movie clip holds the individual tiles.

scorepanel: The lighter colored rectangle behind the scores.

background: The dark background that defines the outline of the game.

Modify Tiles

The tiles are contained and duplicated by the clip clone component. To modify the tiles, modify the shape within the movie clip “s” then press the Update button within the parameters panel for the Clip Clone component to update the other movie clips s2..s15.

I hope you enjoy playing with this new game.

The techniques include:

• Manual Selection
• User Agent information via Java and
• User Agent information via Server Detection

Manual Selection

This is the easiest method to implement. Simply add a link at the top of your website that points to the Mobile Landing Page. The link should exist within the html (not Flash) section of your website.

User Agent

The remaining approaches rely on interpreting the user agent information. The table below shows the information returned from some common browsers on different devices:

If the words Mobile, iPhone or iPad appear in the returned string, there is high probability that the device is a mobile device. Should a specific mobile device not be identified, modify the sample scripts below to search for specific string that may appear in specific mobile devices that you wish to target.

Java

Use navigator.userAgent to obtain information that is sent back to the server about the web client.

One possible issue with this approach is that the mobile device does not support Javascript. For this reason, the Server Detection methods are generally considered more reliable.

<script type="text/javascript">
var ua=navigator.userAgent;
if (ua.indexOf("Mobile")!=-1) window.location = "http://www.mysite.com/mobile.html"
if (ua.indexOf("iPad")!=-1) window.location = "http://www.mysite.com/mobile.html"
if (ua.indexOf("iPhone")!=-1) window.location = "http://www.mysite.com/mobile.html"
</script>

Server Detection (php)

php is the server side scripting language generally available on linux servers.

<?php
$ua=$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
if(preg_match('/Mobile|iPhone|iPad/',$ua)) header("http://www.mysite.com/mobile.html");
?>

Server Detection (asp)

asp is available on Microsoft servers.

<%
dim u
set ua=Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_USER_AGENT")
set b = new RegExp
b.Pattern="Mobile|iPad|iPhone"
if b.test(ua) then response.redirect("http://www.mysite.com/mobile.html") end if
%>

Mobile Landing Page

For maximum compatibility, the mobile landing page should have the following attributes:

• Authored in html
• Smaller than typical desktop width, eg 250 pixels.
• Logo image typically 250×85
• Essential content only such as: Company / item description, Company address / phone number and Link to desktop web page

The movie below is similar to an invitation that I recently created and sent via normal post as a DVD for playback using a standard DVD player.

To replay the demonstration movie, click on the last scene once the movie has finished playing.

The movie was  exported to AVI format without sound. A sound track was then added using Windows Live Movie Maker. This is faster than exporting the soundtrack with Max4 and also gives superior results. The resulting movie file was then saved to DVD using Microsoft’s DVD creator. (Included free with Vista and Windows 7).

The final Movie was sized to suit a 4:3 aspect ratio. Although 16:9 is generally preferred, playing a 16:9 movie on a 4:3 device will normally display the movie in “letter box” mode. This mode prevents the text from utilizing the full height of the display. For this reason I have based the template on a 800×600 movie size.

The SWiSH Max4 file below is provided as a template. The text and background colors can be modified via the template / wizard interface. If further customization is required, or you wish to use the movie as the basis of your own design, the supplied movie can be modified manually.

Downloads

The template can be downloaded from here.

Procedure

Configure the wizard

Modify the wizard parameters are needed. For export as AVI, I recommend a dark background color.

Set the export length

Preview the movie and see how long it takes to play. The duration changes depending on the amount of text entered in the Invite Text parameter. Based on this value, consider how long you want the movie to play. A value longer than the minimum time gives users the option of reading the items shown in the details screen. The default movie plays to completion in about 35 seconds.

As the text is moved using script, as opposed to a normal effect, Max4 is unable to determine how long to monitor the movie when it exports to avi. For this reason, the Make movie longer by:[  ] frames option in the  AVI Movie Export Settings panel needs to be set. To access the panel go File | Export Settings | AVI Movie.

To view the frame rate of the movie, select scene_1 in the Outline panel, then press the Movie Properties… button in the Properties panel. The frame rate is normally 25. Therefore, to export a 35 second movie, the make movie longer option in the AVI Movie export panel needs to be set to 35*25 = 875 or longer.

The avi export is also quicker if the Export audio option is unchecked.

Export to AVI

Once the Export Settings options have been set, save the .swi movie then export the movie to a video file using the menu command: File | Export | AVI Movie…. Select a location for the destination movie to be written then press Save.

The export process will commence. As each frame is sampled and re-written to create the .avi file, the export process will take some time to complete. The output file should be about 20Mbytes in size.

Edit with Windows Live Movie Maker

Open Windows Live Movie Maker. If the icon cannot be easily found, type movie into the Start Button search programs and files search box.

Drag the avi file into the right hand area of Movie Maker.

Use the Add Music option to add your chosen sound track.

Resave the movie using Save Movie | Burn a DVD. This will save the movie as a 720×480 wmv file. This option will also open Windows DVD Maker and add the file to that application.

Burn DVD with Windows DVD Maker

If not already open, open Windows DVD Maker via the start button and add the file that was created in the previous step.

Check the selected Options. Choose an aspect ratio of 4:3. Consider the DVD playback options: Play video in a continuous loop or Play video and end with DVD menu are probably the better choices for this type of presentation.

Set the DVD title to something meaningful.

Press Next and choose a suitable menu. The “Fullscreen” menu works well.

Press Burn to create the DVD.

Duplication

To create multiple copies of the DVD, it is easiest to create an iso image of the DVD and then burn copies from that.

I have found that a free ware program called MagicDisc is useful for this purpose. I use MagicDisc to convert the recently burnt DVD into an iso image. The iso image can then be opened with Windows Disk Image Burner (Windows 7 only) to burn duplicate disks. If you are using Vista or XP then a quick search of the web will find other utilities that can be used to burn iso images.

Notes

I recommend using a DVD-RW to prototype and test the burning process. Once a satisfactory result is obtained, create a .iso image from the DVD-RW disk and then burn copies to DVD-R or DVD+R as required.

In DVD Maker, although I chose options that should show the menu after the movie, the menu seems to appear first. The appearance of the initial menu appears to depend on the target DVD player.

The scrolling text appears slightly jerky on the final DVD even though it is fine in the original avi file. Setting the frame rate in Max4 to 30 frames per second may help minimize this effect.

Many computer systems come supplied with alternate DVD authoring software so experiment with that software as well.

It may be possible to obtain a slightly better quality result by using the uncompressed option in the Max4 File | Export Settings | AVI Movie panel (Press the Setup Compression… button to select compression options). Note that this will increase the exported file size significantly.

The Max4 export sound option requires that the Stereo Mix device is chosen as the recording device during Export to AVI. Please see this blog article for information about accessing and enabling the Stereo Mix device.

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 to 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.