Visual Size Report
From Adobe Labs
Revision as of 08:37, 22 Sep 2011
| Table of contents |
Release Notes
Overview
Visual Size Report is an extension for Adobe® Flash® Professional that allows for size optimization of SWF files. Flash Professional currently offers SWF size data as a text-based, size report log during the publishing process. However, this log can be difficult to parse and act upon, especially for SWFs that contain many elements.
Unlike this existing text based log, the Visual Size Report panel shows detailed SWF size data in an easy to use categorized list to help developers and designers understand the elements of their SWF. It allows users to navigate directly to the elements in the FLA file (scenes, symbols, library). It is sensitive to the document’s context and immediately displays the file size gain/loss after each publishing step.
Installation
Once you have downloaded the extension (ZXP) file from the Visual Size Report download page, double click the ZXP file to open the Adobe Extension Manager. Read and Agree to the Disclaimer and End User License Agreement (EULA) to finish the installation.
Usage
The extension is installed as a graphical panel called “Size Report” in the “Other Panels” sub-menu of the “Window” Menu. The access path is “Window > Other Panels > Size Report.”
The panel allows designers and developers to see the various elements of a SWF file by category and their respective sizes. Additional information is also shown when available (e.g. characters of embedded fonts).
Users can also double-click on an element to open it in the appropriate workspace window. For example, double-clicking on a MovieClip will open it on the Stage. However, double-clicking on certain types of Elements (Fonts, ActionScript) will not open the element. This problem is a Known Issue.
The panel is context sensitive to the currently active FLA file in the workspace. However, users must publish the SWF after opening the panel for the panel to load the initial set of data. This is a Known Issue.
System Requirements
Adobe Flash Professional CS 5.5 must be installed in order to use this technology.
See the Flash Professional CS5.5 system requirements
Known Issues
- Appropriate System Requirements: Please ensure that you are adding the Visual Size Report extension to an installed copy of Flash Professional CS5.5. Earlier versions of Flash Professional are not supported by this extension.
- Initial Publish Required: The Size Report panel has no data when it is first opened or when a new FLA file is opened. It requires the FLA to be published to get relevant information for elements of the newly published SWF. The publish process can be triggered explicitly to force a refresh of the Size Report panel or it will refresh at the next publish, via “Test Movie” for example. This issue has been logged and will be addressed in a future release.
- TLF Text: The Text Layout Format text engine is not accurately categorized in this release. It is included as a single “ActionScript” element with the name “Scene 1: Frame 1”. This issue has been logged and will be addressed in a future release.
- ActionScript: Full details of ActionScript code are not shown in the Size Report panel, including the size of particular classes or file names of external files etc. Additionally double-clicking an ActionScript element will not open it in any workspace windows.
