I'm trying to quickly design a user interface for our ENTIRE ONLINE COURSE CATALOG (CATALOGUE) and develop a quick test case scenario for mgmt to provide feedback on and working in AS3 of course.

So, I just wanted to add a DataGrid and have it display some of our existing xml data which exists and takes ten seconds so mgmt peeps can see what the user interface actually does. Simple....done it 8 million times and always code it myself once the application moves forward, but I've never done it in AS3.

So........ I just want to take 10 seconds to make a DG and bind it to an XML file because everything is going to change once it's actually developed but CS3 doesn't allow binding for the DG, so I move back to AS2 and I get a "Component requires AS3 and cannot display" error after doing the binding, so i delete the binding and go back to AS3, now I can't get rid of the import call that Flash wrote for the binding and I have to redo the file (not a BIG deal but)....

why does this have to be such a pain in the ass? why did adobe take tools away from us designers?

This used to take 2 seconds and now requires that I write a DataGrid class and an XML Loader class JUST TO SHOW A MOCK-UP!

I understand the advantages of AS3 but fuck taking tools away from us sucks. I just want to show mgmt how a datagrid can display XML and I don't really want to write two classes that might not be used if the interface doesn't work for what they want.

Storm

Please you make me feel useless when you refer to yourself as 'us designers', I rarely (never) meet designers with such technical expertise. I always avoid components so have no idea on the data grid, my bet is that you need to start flexing, in fact while I am not a flex follower I think maybe, if you want a component you should be mixing in some flex and forget flash components they are and always have been a transient waste of time, heavy and messy to skin and a minefield of inconsistencies. I think adobe are dev'n a flex for designers interface, just hope it bares no relation to blend.

sorry not to be more help.. I can talk you through creating flash via flex sdk and it is only a small step to creating flex, and well using a flex component and data binding.. if its like xaml can't be too hard?

;j

It's always best to ignore my rants. I only do it for the catharsis of the situation.

I just got to the point where I threw a big grey box on the stage and made the ignorant statement "this is where the sortable table or Flash-based datagrid will be" without saying "AND THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS!" and then they said, "Can we see how it looks?" and I wanted to pull my hair out.

I'm not convinced this is a Flash necessary application only to make it fun, but I also told them I'd rather just redesign their existing .NET application using some AJAX and XSLT.

I know the components suck. I just wanted to drag the new one onto the stage and hook up an XML file just for display in 10 seconds of a meeting.

I guess I better say devigner then. I've just been doing Flash shit for way too long and its time to do something else in my life. I don't want to code code code.