Flash Remoting: The Definitive Guide

Flash UI Components Set 2 and Flash Charting Controls

Flash developers can create custom components and other Flash authoring elements, called extensions. The Extension Manager allows developers to package and share their own extensions or install packages developed by others. Many developers have already done this, and you can find extensions all over the Internet, particularly on the Macromedia Exchange, as noted earlier. Components are one type of extension. Flash 2004 and Flash Pro offer a new JavaScript extensibility layer that allows you to customize the Flash authoring tool interface, but here we are referring to ActionScript extensions, which offer enhanced runtime features.

Macromedia has released its own free extensions, including the UI Components Set 2 and the Flash Charting Controls, both outlined in Table 3-2. Each of these useful sets of components is available as a separate download from the Macromedia Exchange at http://www.macromedia.com/exchange, and also on the Studio MX CD-ROM in the \Flash MX\Extending Flash MX folder. Once installed, the UI Components Set 2 and Flash Charting Controls are fully documented under Window → Component Help - UI Set 2 and Window → Component Help - Charts, and within the Reference panel (Window → Reference) in Flash MX and under the Help panel in Flash 2004 and Flash Pro.

Table 3-2. Standard UI Components Set 2 and Charting Controls, showing code hint suffixes and object types

Component	Object type	Code hints suffix
BarChart ...