Extending the Flash/XML Photo Gallery Support

In my previous articles (Creating a Photo Gallery with Flash and XML: Part I and Part II) I showed you how to create a photo gallery using information contained within an XML file. The XML file provided a neat alternative to using a database for such a small application, as we used it to store the filename of the photo, the caption and the category.

One limitation of that application was that it used images that were exactly the same size and shape, but of course things aren't always that simple, so in this tutorial we'll look at how we can extend the photo gallery to work with different sized photos.

Not only that we'll also see how to create a gallery of thumbnail images.

As part of the tutorial, you'll learn more about the MovieClipLoader class (a new feature in Flash MX 2004). You'll also learn some techniques for dynamically creating and removing movie clips.

I've assumed that you've completed the first two tutorials before reading this one. If you haven't, you'll need to be familiar with adding ActionScript to buttons and using XML in Flash so that you can understand the existing code, however all the files you'll need to make this tutorial fly are contained in the code download.

Check also the new Dreamweaver extension Flash Album Generator that will allow to create Flash Galleries quickly and easy!