Sometimes designing websites in Flash can be a double-edged sword; while using Flash opens up a wealth of design and interactivity possibilities that can't be found anywhere else, it also creates limitations on using certain types of code from within Flash. This is doubly true of the ever-popular Google Adsense, which in a standard coded page can be included as easily as copy-pasting a block of text into the appropriate place. In Flash, it's not quite so easy...but here's a tip on how to get around it.

Suzie asks:

"I want to use an iframe to load content into Flash so I can just update the HTML page without having to republish the SWF every time I change a few words. So far I can't get it to work. Is that possible?"

Iframes, as a rule, are considered a bad design idea overall - although when borderless, they do have their uses for seamless integration of dynamic content into a page. Where Flash is concerned, though, iframes just don't work; the tag isn't one of those supported within Flash. However, there are ways around that - including loading information from a text file and using dynamic text fields to display it. This tutorial shows how that can be done by assigning your text-based content to a variable loaded from a .txt file, which can easily be edited to change the value of the variable and adjust your text content.

Just a reminder: the Animation Showcase is still open and accepting user submissions. If you're looking for a place to show off your work, gain a little more exposure, and possibly achieve a little recognition on the wide-open web, this is a great place to start. As long as your animation meets the criteria, you're eligible for display in the showcase.

Reader Beth writes in with the following question:

"I had a heck of a time adapting to ActionScript 3.0 after using 2.0 for a loooong time. Now Flash CS4 is out, and I don't know if I even want to try it if it means more changes. What am I looking at now? AS 4.0, or is it still 3.0?"

Beth, you'll be relieved to know that a new version of AS hasn't rolled out with CS4. CS4 keeps AS 3.0's syntax and functionality, but expands on it with a few enhancements. Some have criticized the AS interface in CS4, but in the end it comes down to personal preferences as far as GUI functionality. If you could adapt to CS3, you should be just fine wading into the waters of CS4.