Flash Extensions: Auto Name Package
Another set of Flash commands by request. I’ve had these on my machine for a while but haven’t released them. This extension contains 3 commands to accelerate the process of working with names in Flash. One command names your layer based on the content (assuming there’s only one object on the layer), the second command automatically names an instance by the name its library symbol, and the third copies the name of the selected symbol to the clipboard so that it can be quickly pasted into Actionscript. All of these commands are intended to be used most efficiently with keyboard shortcuts.
The auto-naming for layers also recognizes layers with actions and labels (and automatically locks them).
Package Contents:
- INSTANCE – auto name
- LAYER – auto name
- CLIPBOARD – copy instance name
Download
(Compatibility: MX 2004 – Flash CS4)
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Pingback by Video | Enjolt.com | Innovate for Success — June 26, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Hi there!
Really useful commands!!
One suggestion – wouldn’t it be good to add _mc to the INSTANCE – auto name command. That way you would get code hinting…
Niklas
Comment by Niklas — June 30, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
Niklas,
Open a new Flash JavaScript document, paste in this text and hit the grey triangle to run the script:
fl.openScript(fl.configURI + "Commands/INSTANCE - auto name.jsfl");That will open the JSFL file.
Then change line 9 to:
dom.selection[i].name = mc_name + "_mc";and you should be all set.
Comment by Justin — July 1, 2009 @ 3:17 am
Ah – thanks for your fast answer!
I will check that out for shure!!!
Niklas
Comment by Niklas — July 2, 2009 @ 7:25 am
Oh and by the way!!
Is there a way to assign a shortcut key to commands?
Niklas
Comment by Niklas — July 2, 2009 @ 7:28 am
You can assign keyboard shortcuts.
Edit (Flash on Mac) > Keyboard Shortcuts…
Create a new set (you can’t add to the default set), then twirl open the Commands section, select the command and click the “+” button to add a new shortcut.
Comment by Justin — July 2, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Thank you very much for your help with the shortcut tip & your exensions – awesome!!. That you can assign shortcuts to commands was new to me & this will truly help with my workflow!!
Niklas
Comment by Niklas — July 2, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
Excellent, Niklas! Glad to be of service.
Comment by Justin — July 2, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
Hi there again!
I did the changes you told me to do above & it works. But it only works with shortcuts if I first open the pull down meny for commands & close it without using it & then use the shortcuts – otherwise I get a message:
An error ocurred opening file”
It doesn’t say which file – it just stops like that…
Niklas
Comment by Niklas — August 25, 2009 @ 9:29 am
Hmm…Sounds like a bug with your installation of Flash. Not sure what to tell you. Are you having that problem with your other (command) shortcuts as well?
Comment by Justin — August 27, 2009 @ 1:28 am
The error code
An error occurred opening file”
has been happening ever since I set up custom shortcuts on my CPU since Flash 8 (i believe)
Pretty sure its a fairly common bug. I still haven’t found a way to fix it, other to revert to default & make new shortcuts every time.
Comment by Chris LaChance — August 27, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Chris,
Did you make sure to create a new set to store your shortcuts in? I usually start off by duplicating the Adobe standard and customizing from there…
Comment by Justin — August 27, 2009 @ 4:26 pm
These commands are great. I’m wondering about one modification, would it be possible to add a option to set instance name by the user?
Comment by szaq — August 28, 2009 @ 8:49 am
Szaq,
How would you get that information from the user? I don’t believe JSFL has access to the operating system’s login info.
Comment by Justin — August 28, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
I have tons of JSFL commands, most of which I wrote but some of which I got online. I’ve been having the same problem as Niklas and Chris ever since moving to CS4. My solution has been to run an Autohotkey script to open Flash. I made it open and close the commands menu for me automatically so I never run into that error any more.
Of course, that’s only one of many bugs with the commands menu. For instance, it appears to support submenus by adding subfolders to the commands folder, but good luck having the menu cork correctly after that. And even more good luck getting keyboard shortcuts to work correctly on any command in a subfolder.
Then there’s the fact that if you have a command with a name that’s also the beginning of another command (for instance, one called “blah” and the other called “blah squish”), sometimes Flash will call the “blah” one when you hit the keyboard shortcut for “blah squish”.
Anyway, I’ve learned to live with these limitations, hoping beyond reason that they’ll fix the bugs in the next version. I’m almost always disappointed when the next version comes out, though, containing all the same bugs I’ve been annoyed with for years.
Comment by David Johnston — January 15, 2010 @ 7:39 am
thanks for the autoName package, you saved me a lot of time
Comment by Texture Plus — January 19, 2010 @ 2:10 am
Hi,
I’m using flash CS5 but it seems that i need flash 7 or greater. Weird.
Any ideas?
Thank you very much
Comment by mihai — May 25, 2010 @ 3:19 pm
Mihai, You should be able to install this extension in CS5. Are you getting an error in Extension Manager?
Comment by Justin — May 25, 2010 @ 4:12 pm
Yes. Extension manager CS5.
Thanks for the fast reply.
Comment by mihai — May 25, 2010 @ 4:13 pm
Mihai, Sound like this is an issue with your installation of Extension Manager. I’m able to install the package with EM CS5, so I have no way to diagnose the issue. You might try contacting Adobe or checking the Adobe Forums.
Comment by Justin — May 25, 2010 @ 4:23 pm