Flash Extensions - Training and Solutions for the Flash Platform

The Flash Player 9 runs in a new ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM). Though many new projects can be developed ground up using Flash 9 or Flex, it is likely that your projects will still be using elements and SWFs that have been published for the Flash 8 player or lower. Flash has always offered the ability to load up one SWF inside of the other and then you could treat that SWF as if it resided as a native inside the loading SWF, communicating and driving it directly within your application. Communicating between the two AVMs is no longer that simple. FlashInterface provides the means to communicate directly between the Flash 8 and 9 AVMs. FlashInterface will allow you to move forward, building Flash 9 player applications while still using existing SWF resources from previous Flash player versions

Downloads & Documentation

Download v2.1.0 | Download Examples (10 Mb) | Documentation
* Note: The API is same for both AS 2.0 and AS 3.0.

Articles

Interfacing between Flash 8 & 9 - Problems and Solutions
Communicating between Flash 8 and 9 players through FlashInterface

Video Tutorials

01 - Setup and Installation
02 - How to use the examples
03 - Accessing Public API from AS 2.0
04 - Dispatching Events from AS 2.0

Examples

AVM Interfacing - Communicating between Flash 8 and Flash 9
This example shows two Flash 8 SWFs loaded into a Flash 9 SWF. Flash 9 can communicate with each SWF and vice-versa, through event handlers and direct calls to both functions and properties.
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Subscriber / Dispatcher Example
Event dispatchers allow you to send instructions to multiple items at the same time. A registered event listener receives notification when an event is dispatched. There are no limits to the number of items than can subscribe to an event. In this example we will dispatch an event to a listener who will then display a message in the output window.
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Call / Receive Method Example
The call method allows you to invoke synchronous calls to public methods and properties of a registered control and receive a return value. Registering an item with a Flash ID allows its properties and functions to become accessible through FlashInterface. In this example, we will register our application to control a slider from an another SWF.
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Call / Receive Property Example
In this example, we will use the call method again. This time to talk directly to a property. In this example you can type in the caller window and the receiver will receive the text through a synchronous call.
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