Douglas on Web Applications

EXTJS 3 Combo in Window Bug Fix

Issue:
Often after closing a window containing a from, upon relaunching the combo boxes do not expand correctly. This is a z-index problem. The simplest solution is to add this CSS to your stylesheet:

 
.x-combo-list{z-index:100000 !important;}
 

Tags: combo, css, extjs, z-index

Read XML Files from Directory & Process

Read files in a directory. Ignore hidden files. Processed XML based on first couple characters of file name.

 
$xmlDirectory = opendir($this->xml_dir);
while($entryName = readdir($xmlDirectory)) {
	$dirArray[] = $entryName;
}
closedir($xmlDirectory);
 
$indexCount	= count($dirArray);
//Print ("$indexCount files<br>\n");
sort($dirArray);
for($index=0; $index < $indexCount; $index++) {
	if (substr("$dirArray[$index]", 0, 1) != "."){ // don't list hidden files
		if(substr("$dirArray[$index]", 0, 4)=='some'){
			$this->somefiletype_path= $this->xml_dir.$dirArray[$index];
			$this->doSomething();
		}else{
			//do something else
		}
	}
}
 

Tags: directory, php, process, xml

Convert String to MovieClip in Flash AS3

Pretty straightforward:

 
function doClick(e:Event):void {
    this[e.target.name].gotoAndStop('over')
}
 

Of course, in the case above you could actually just use:

 
e.currentTarget.gotoAndStop('over')
 

Tags: AS3, convert, Flash, MovieClip, string

AS3 MovieClip Arrays & Loops

I'm often tasked with applying the same listeners & properties to multiple MovieClips in Flash. The easiest is to store the MovieClips in an array:

 
var navButtons=[navCompanyMC,navNewsMC...];
 

Then you can simply iterate over them:

 
var i=1;
for (i in navButtons) {
  doSomethingToClip(navButtons[i]);
}
 

Sample usage:

 
public function doBuild():void {
  var navButtons=[navCompanyMC,navNewsMC...];
  var i=1;
  for (i in navButtons) {
    registerEachButton(navButtons[i]);
  }
}
function registerEachButton(clip:MovieClip):void {
  clip.buttonMode=true;
  EventManager.addEventListener(clip,MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER,doRollOver,false,0,true,true);
  EventManager.addEventListener(clip,MouseEvent.MOUSE_OUT,doRollOut,false,0,true,true);
  EventManager.addEventListener(clip,MouseEvent.CLICK,doClick,false,0,true,true);
}
function doRollOver(e:Event):void {
  //trace(e.target.name)
  e.currentTarget.gotoAndStop('over');
}
function doRollOut(e:Event):void {
  trace(e.target.name);
  e.currentTarget.gotoAndStop(1);
}
function doClick(e:Event):void {
  trace(e.target.name);
}
 

Tags: array, Flash, loop, MovieClip

Cron Jobs in Linux through SSH

Moving to Mac means finally losing PUTTY for the native Terminal.

1. Login:

 
ssh myuser@mydomain.com
 

2. Edit crontab:

 
crontab -e
 

3. Add 1 or more cron jobs:

 
10 */2 * * * /var/www/html/somedir/?c=import
10 */14 * * * /var/www/html/somedir/?c=import
 

4. Save: Use keystrokes ctrl + e
5. Type "y" to accept changes
6. Ignore next screen and just click Enter
7. Check to see if new job is listed:

 
crontab -l
 

Here's a quick format reference:
at that interval.
* * * * * command to be executed
- - - - -
| | | | |
| | | | +----- day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday=0)
| | | +------- month (1 - 12)
| | +--------- day of month (1 - 31)
| +----------- hour (0 - 23)
+------------- min (0 - 59)

Tags: cron job, Linux, mac, ssh, terminal

Flash AS3 - Calling a Method in a Parent Class

When loading a movie in a movie, here's an easy way to call a method within a parent class:

 
  if(this.parent != null){
    var parentObject:Object = this.parent as Object;
    parentObject.doShowMain()
  }
 

Tags: AS3, Classes, Flash, parent

ClickTag in AS3

To build a ClickTag in Flash AS3 you need to first create the ActionScript:

 
clickTrackBTN.buttonMode=true; //using an MC for button so I need to declare it
clickTrackBTN.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK,function():void { navigateToURL(new URLRequest(formatClickTag()),"_blank"); });
//the function
function formatClickTag():String {
  for (var key:String in root.loaderInfo.parameters) {
    if (key.toLowerCase()=="clicktag") {
      return root.loaderInfo.parameters[key];
    }
  }
  return "";
}
 

Remember to import any needed classes:

 
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.events.*;
import flash.net.navigateToURL;
import flash.net.URLRequest;
 

Then, in the HTML:

 
..."flashvars",'clickTAG=http://www.yourdomain.com&clickTarget=_blank', ...
and
<param name='flashvars' value='clickTag=http://www.yourdomain.com&clickTarget=_blank' />