Flex Skinning and Adobe Illustrator - apache-flex

I'm developing a skin for Flex 3 using Adobe Illustrator and I've just ran into a problem. I've designed a larger scrollBar skin to be used in a touch screen application but Flex seems to apply the default sizes regardless of the size of the symbol in the generated .swf. I could achieve the correct effect with .png but I'd like to know if it's possible using the previous method.

Found it... i was mistakenly editing a symbol instance and not the symbol itself. Working just fine now.

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Move splitters in design mode

When i add splitters, it acts as a layout, but also allows to resize the widgets in runtime. So, for example, i managed to lay out my widgets in this way:
Therefore, i can resize my widgets in runtime. As i noticed, this function is also available in designer mode, but it doesn't work properly. I tried to hover over my splitter and drag it in designer mode, but it only replaces the entire widget.
That is how does my main window look like in QtDesigner. I haven't tried to code yet. The problem is, that even though i used to set a stretch factor, my widegt's look in designer mode and in runtime completely differ. They have another sizes.
So, what are the problems:
Firstly, i can't change my widgets sizes properly, using stretch factors. I don't know, i tried to change size policies, but i did't manage to see an effect. I have somehow changed size of the vertically oriented widgets, but when speak about horizontal orientation - stretch factor and size policy doesn't change anything at all.
Secondly, i can't move my splitter in designer mode. It's position is constant, by default, it's always somewhere in the middle.
Thirdly, i have bugs (i think so) with my widget sizes in designer mode. They differ with widget's sizes in runtime.
Question:
So, how can i change widget's sizes properly? Maybe there's a way of moving a splitter in designer mode - do newer versions of Qt have it? Currently i'm using Qt 5.9.9. Also, why these bugs, and are they bugs at all. Maybe i just should update my Qt to newer versions to get access to newer functionalities?
Comment: I'm not sure if stretch factors work with layout as they do with widgets. I'm using layouts exactly the same way i use widgets. My layout's wrong(maybe) use may have caused this problem. Anyways, i'm entirely new to Qt, and may not know something to understand it completely.

SuperPanel for Flex 4 (Drag, Resize, Close, Maximize, Minimize)

I found this component on the internet (http://www.wietseveenstra.nl/files/flex/SuperPanel/v1_5/MainView.html) and those panels are just great. Unfortunately, that source-code doesn't suit well on Flex 4. Spark components works differently on changing their structure (adding buttons to the padding top, etc) and working with the MX components doesn't work properly the Drag function and it looks ugly.
I'd like to know if anyone have a link for a similar component already done in Flex 4 or any path that I could take to be able to build it myself.
I have plenty of experience with ActionScript, but almost none with CSS/Styling on Flex or Flex 4.
Thanks.
Have you taken a look at the MDI component that is part of flexlib?

Flex framework_3.3.0.4852 rsl build is different compared to merged in to code

My application is set up to use the flex framework_3.3.0.4852.swf as an rsl, which works fine reporting no errors. However, now some of the charts have lost there legend text for both vertical and horizontal axis.
When analysing the styles/properties, the UITextField used for axis text has a text width of zero! The data is set correctly, and all parent components are set to a size that shouldn't influence the text width.
Initially I thought I had a style bleed problem, but then I discovered that if I built the application with all libraries (including the framework) merged in, the problem goes away.
I have also done some tests using inline styles to override any style bleeds that might have been coming through, this had no effect.
Has anyone seen this type of thing before relating to using rsl's?
UPDATE:
I have since found some known bugs in the adobe support knowledge base https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/secure/IssueNavigator.jspa?
Here are the 2 bugs that relate to my question:
1) https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FLEXDMV-1883
This is reported as fixed, however the next bug seems to disagree, I'm going to investigate further into this and update this question again.
2) https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FLEXDMV-2065
UPDATE:
Ok I removed the embedded font being used for charts from my stylesheets, from both module and application. The UITextField text has now appeared again. So clearly an embedded font issue.
So in summary, if you have a modular application, you need to embed fonts in both module and application for them to be picked up correctly. But if you use the framework swf as an rsl, you cant use an embedded font with chart axis text.
UPDATE:
Now I have a real problem, 2 of my charts use a rotation effect. When the effect plays and finishes, the axis text disappears because I need to use an embedded font when applying effects to text in this way. But of course I cant use an embedded font for chart styles when I have the framework swf as an rsl!! Not sure how to get around this one?
After some attempts to override the way Axis labels are rendered for chart components when using SDK 3.x, and not getting very far. I have decided that the short term resolution is unfortunately to roll back our builds, not using the framework swf as an RSL until we can upgrade to version 4.x of the SDK.
The main reasons for this are:
1) If the framework swf is an RSL in your project, you cant use an embedded font for chart axis labels, as they don't show up. If you analyse their properties, you'll find all data is correct except text width will be set to zero.
https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FLEXDMV-1883 - modular app related similar bug
https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FLEXDMV-2015 - RSL related
https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FLEXDMV-2065 - RSL related
2) If embedded fonts are removed from charting component Axis styles to fix the above issue, you then cant apply effects to the same components. This is because you need to use an embedded font to apply effects correctly to the Axis labels.
The only way to fix this issue is to upgrade SDK to 4.x as the chart Axis uses Label instead of UITextField.

Flex3: where to find loading animations? Is it possible to load GIF images easily?

I would like to use a GIF image as a loading animation on my Flex application, however I read Flex 3 doesn't have native support for GIF images. Therefore, is there any way to use them without any drawbacks?
If not, where can I find some flash animations to include in my app?
There are a lot of progress indicator flash animations out there as swf which can be easily be embedded (ie. here) or search google for Flex Progress Spinner. It's not that difficult to implement your own anyway. You just need a canvas and some matematics (rotation about point formulars).
Yes it's possible. You can find and design your own loading animation in:
http://www.ajaxload.info/. All you need to do is add this image in canvas or anyobject then call this one everytime you load.hope this will help you

What is the preferred way to embed an SWF graphic in a Flex 4 application?

In Flex 3, you just said
<mx:Image source="#Embed('foo.swf')"/>
What is the preferred way to do this with Flex 4? Should I just keep using Image?
Image tag is for loading "Image" formats along with swf. You can go also go with SWFLoader. Flex 4 is still Beta. I would go with Image or SWFLoader, preferbaly the second one.
and I am sure this wont get changed in Flex 4 too.

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