Flash datagrid component tutorial: Difference between revisions
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datagrid.addItem({Name:"ATutor", Licence:"Free", Description:"Good for content-oriented teaching"}); | datagrid.addItem({Name:"ATutor", Licence:"Free", Description:"Good for content-oriented teaching"}); | ||
datagrid.addItem({Name:"Blackboard", Licence:"Commercial", Description:"Good for content and exercice-oriented teaching"}); | datagrid.addItem({Name:"Blackboard", Licence:"Commercial", Description:"Good for content and exercice-oriented teaching"}); | ||
datagrid.addItem({Name:"MediaWiki", Licence:"GPL (free)", Description:"Good for writing-to-learn and technical mini-projects teaching"}); | datagrid.addItem({Name:"MediaWiki", Licence:"GPL (free)", | ||
Description:"Good for writing-to-learn and technical mini-projects teaching"}); | |||
</source> | </source> | ||
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* File: [http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/flash/ex/data-grid/data-grid-0.fla data-grid-0.fla] | * File: [http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/flash/ex/data-grid/data-grid-0.fla data-grid-0.fla] | ||
== Data Grid level 1 - Using data sources == | |||
Typically data that should go for display and editing in a data grid may sit in other data structures, in AS lingo these are called data sources. | |||
== Links == | == Links == |
Revision as of 13:08, 30 October 2008
This article or section is currently under construction
In principle, someone is working on it and there should be a better version in a not so distant future.
If you want to modify this page, please discuss it with the person working on it (see the "history")
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This is part of the flash tutorials
Introduction
- Learning goals
- Learn how to use the DataGrid component
- Flash level
- CS3 and ActionScript 3
- Prerequisites
To use the DataGrid component, you should know some ActionScript, e.g.
- Flash components overview
- ActionScript 3 interactive objects tutorial
- ActionScript 3 event handling tutorial
- Some XML (for some sections)
- Moving on
- See the Flash tutorials
- Level and target population
- Beginners
- Quality
- This should help you solve some problems
Data Grid level 0 - Creating and filling with data
“The DataGrid class is a list-based component that provides a grid of rows and columns. You can specify an optional header row at the top of the component that shows all the property names. Each row consists of one or more columns, each of which represents a property that belongs to the specified data object. The DataGrid component is used to view data; it is not intended to be used as a layout tool like an HTML table. (DataGrid, retrieved 10:12, 30 October 2008 (UTC)).”
Let's create a table to display information about Learning management systems, i.e. datagrid with 3 colums. Column 1 is called "Name", column 2 is "Licence", column 3 is "Description. We then also will add 4 rows of data.
You may have a look at the data-grid-0 example now or open the thumbnail of the screendump to the right.
Below we will show three solutions:
- Creating a most simple DataGrid with Flash CS3 by dragging a component to the stage.
- Doing it with CS3 but using only ActionScript
- Doing it with AS3 only, i.e. the Flex way (not done yet)
Adding code for a DataGrid instance
- Step 1 - Make a DataGrid instance
- Open the components library (e.g. hit CTRL-F7)
- Drag a DataGrid to the stage
- Give it an instance name, e.g. datagrid
You now will see an emty square on the stage without any visual appeal.
- Step 2 - Resize
In the properties panel, make it a big bigger, e.g. w:300 and H:200
- Step 3 - Fill in some data with ActionScript
If your instance name is datagrid then hit F9 in frame 1 (or whereever you want it to be) and copy/paste this code. The result is a three column table with headers.
datagrid.addColumn("Name");
datagrid.addColumn("Licence");
datagrid.addColumn("Description");
datagrid.addItem({Name:"Moodle", Licence:"GPL (free)", Description:"Good for blended activity-oriented teaching"});
datagrid.addItem({Name:"ATutor", Licence:"Free", Description:"Good for content-oriented teaching"});
datagrid.addItem({Name:"Blackboard", Licence:"Commercial", Description:"Good for content and exercice-oriented teaching"});
datagrid.addItem({Name:"MediaWiki", Licence:"GPL (free)",
Description:"Good for writing-to-learn and technical mini-projects teaching"});
The result is not absolutely convincing, since you can't read the contents of column three. It shows the minimum AS code you need to know in order to fill in DataGrid tables.
You can tune some properties of this grid within the Component Inspector (Shift-F7) or the properties panel. E.g. we made the cells editable. But most tayloring has to be done through ActionScript coding. There are dozens of properties and methods. In addition since the DataGrid is an assembly of Column and Cell objects you also may change things at these levels.
Below we show a slightly improved version.
Alternative - Pure AS3 creation
Instead of opening the component library, then dragging the component to the stage and giving it an instance name, you could just enter the code below in frame 1 of the main timeline.
Firstly we have to import some standard packages that we will need.
// Import the necessary packages import fl.controls.DataGrid; import fl.controls.ScrollPolicy
// Now create a a new instance of DataGrid and name it "datagrid_AS" var datagrid_AS:DataGrid = new DataGrid();
We also taylor the size of column three and make the whole widget horizontally scollable. To do so we have to assign the column instance we want to change to a variable. This way, we can change its properties:
// this is to make col. 3 a bit bigger var col3 = datagrid_AS.addColumn("Description"); col3.minWidth = 350;
Then we have to set the size for the whole Grid
// Fix the size datagrid_AS.width = 400; // Set the height to the number of rows + 1 (for the header). datagrid_AS.rowCount = datagrid_AS.length + 1;
Finally, we position this instance relative to the stage and put it on the stage for real.
// Position it at x=300 and y = 70 datagrid_AS.move(300, 70); // Then add it to the stage addChild(datagrid_AS);
Here is the complete code (that also can be found in the *.fla source file below):
// Import the necessary packages
import fl.controls.DataGrid;
import fl.controls.ScrollPolicy
// Now create a a new instance of DataGrid and name it "datagrid_AS"
var datagrid_AS:DataGrid = new DataGrid();
datagrid_AS.addColumn("Name");
datagrid_AS.addColumn("Licence");
// this is to make col. 3 a bit bigger
var col3 = datagrid_AS.addColumn("Description");
col3.minWidth = 350;
datagrid_AS.addItem({Name:"Moodle", Licence:"Free", Description:"Good for blended activity-oriented teaching"});
datagrid_AS.addItem({Name:"ATutor", Licence:"Free", Description:"Good for content-oriented teaching"});
datagrid_AS.addItem({Name:"Blackboard", Licence:"Commercial", Description:"Good for content and exercice-oriented teaching"});
datagrid_AS.addItem({Name:"MediaWiki", Licence:"GPL (free)", Description:"Good for writing-to-learn and technical mini-projects teaching"});
// Fix the size
datagrid_AS.width = 400;
// Set the height to the number of rows + 1 (for the header)
datagrid_AS.rowCount = datagrid_AS.length + 1;
// Position it at x=400 and y = 50
datagrid_AS.move(300, 70);
// Horizontal scrolling is on
datagrid_AS.horizontalScrollPolicy = ScrollPolicy.ON ;
// Then add it to the stage
addChild(datagrid_AS);
Example code
- Directory: http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/flash/ex/data-grid/
- File: data-grid-0.fla
Data Grid level 1 - Using data sources
Typically data that should go for display and editing in a data grid may sit in other data structures, in AS lingo these are called data sources.
Links
- Adobe tutorials
- Creating, populating, and resizing the DataGrid component
- Customizing and sorting the DataGrid component
- Filtering and formatting data in the DataGrid component
- Other tutorials
- Using the DataGrid Component by Kirupa (July 2006).
- Official documentation
- Using the DataGrid Adobe Flash CS3 Documentation
- DataGrid (AS3 Language and components reference)
- fl.controls.dataGridClasses Reference manual for the controls (Adobe ActionScript 3.0 Language and Components Reference)
- fl.data Reference manual for data associated (Adobe ActionScript 3.0 Language and Components Reference)