Understanding Flex Print Job from A to Z
What is FlexPrintJob
In Flex, you usually do printing in your application through FlextPrintJob.
According to Adobe, FlexPrintJob is:
- A class that prints one or more objects
- Automatically splits large objects for printing on multiple pages
- Scales the output to fit the page size
Posted by: Bryan Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Comments: 4
How to Use Adobe Flex Builder Like a Pro – Mastering Flex Builder Keyboard Shortcuts
Give me 30 seconds, I can tell whether you are a Flex Builder Pro or not
How? I just simply watch whether you use Keyboard or Mouse to operate Flex Builder.
After work on Flex Builder long enough, Pros are the master of shortcuts. They usually press keyboard once to finish an operation (e.g. open a class definition, move a line of code up, build project, run project). While newcomers are struggle to move their mouse around to find something to click.
Posted by: Bryan Date: Monday, June 22, 2009 Be the first to comment
Printing Multiple Pages using FlexReport
What is the problem
In the previous tutorial, we saw How to Print Multiple Pages Using Flex PrintDataGrid. It works fine when your application just contains one big DataGrid. In the real world, however, you often need a combination of contains and controls like VBox, HBox, Text, Image, plus DataGrid. Then guess what? You still have trouble with the Flex print job.
In fact, this is not the only challenge you are facing… How about the Print Preview function? Why do you need it? Because we are in recession! Oh, yeah, your boss would try to squeeze every penny for the sake of Cost Reduce. No one likes to see you print 100 pages then realize it is a wrong report. Plus saving paper is good for our mother earth.
Unfortunately, till Flex 3, Adobe has not provided a good solution to either Multiple Pages Printing or Print Preview (without client-side installation like PDF Printer).
Posted by: Bryan Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Comments: 50
Printing Multiple Pages Using PrintDataGrid
In the previous tutorial, we knew How to Use Flex Build-in Print Class – FlexPrintJob. It’s simple to use. But you may face some challenges when print multiple pages. Here is why:
To start to print on a new page, you need to write a code like this:
printJob.addObject(targetComponent);
It adds your component to FlexPrintJob. But how many pages is it going to take?
Posted by: Bryan Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009 Comments: 3
Using Flex Build-in Print Function
The build-in print function provided by Adobe Flex is actually pretty straightforward. For a single page print, it is good enough. Here is how it works:
Posted by: Bryan Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009 Comments: 2
How to Print in Adobe Flex
Believe it or not, my first Flex job had nothing to do with even 1% of Rich Internet Application. It was to print multiple pages in Flex.
I know what you are thinking right now. Why should I care printing in Flex? Is Flex supposed to be used for creating cool stuffs rather than this kind of low-level system function? That was exactly what I thought at that time. But job is job, especially when the pay is good.
The interesting thing is I actually learned a lot from this printing job. Because it touched many key areas of Flex framework, such as: Container Framework, Component Construction, and Layout Management. The fact is, once you know something from inside out, you will feel some fun of doing it.
Posted by: Bryan Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009 Be the first to comment
Creating a Web Service Powered Flex Application in One Minute
This post belongs to the ‘How to Consume Web Services in Adobe Flex‘ series which provides tutorials and tips for Flex developers who want to access server-side data though Flex WebService. Read the introduction page here.
Your Key to the World of Web Services – Flex WebService
Posted by: Bryan Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Comments: 16
How to Consume Web Services in Adobe Flex
Help! My Flex application is cool, but where are the data from?
You spend quit a lot of time building your Flex application with nice layout, fancy panels, and cool animations. Then all of a sudden, you realize one thing is missing:
Where and How to get the server-side data for my Flex application?
It feels like you have just got a most powerful cannon, but no ammunition to fire.
Using Adobe Flex as a front-end RIA tool, many people are familiar with common Flex components like Panel, HBox, or TileList. However, when coming to the topic like How to Consume Web Services in Adobe Flex, you might encounter some challenges including:
Posted by: Bryan Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Comments: 2
Create Your First Flex Project
The first step to develop your Flex application is to create a new Flex project. You can easily do it by using Flex Builder.
Posted by: Bryan Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009 Be the first to comment
Adobe Flex Builder Workspace Structure
In a nutshell, Adobe Flex Builder Workspace is a file directory that contains all your project related files, such as MXML, ActionScript, Images, Libraries, and XML. But how does a typical structure of Flex Workspace look like?
Posted by: Bryan Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Be the first to comment
