Over in the new forums at codeandvisual I’ve been posting a series of video tutorials covering the basics of usig XML and how you can create a simple Flash CMS using Rainbow Live.
Rainbow live is the easiest and most flexible way to create a CMS for your Flash websites and files and with the release of version 1.5 it’s become even easier and more flexible. Try it now!
Apr 9
For a limited time, try the Rainbow 1.5 beta before the official release. You can download Rainbow from: http://www.codeandvisual.com/downloads/Rainbow_1.5_beta.zip
For an Installation/upgrade guide please see the following: http://www.codeandvisual.com/forums/topic.php?id=7
For those that don’t know, Rainbow is a simple CMS for Flash that exports XML files for use in your websites and animations. It makes it easy for you to provide your clients with effective CMS functionality straight out of the box.
Try it today!
Well I’m excited to announce that a new version of Rainbow is on the way. Since the first release I’ve had a lot of great feedback and suggestions on how to improve Rainbow from real world experience. I’ve tried to address most of the suggestions and added a couple more features that I think are really cool. Here’s a quick list:
There’s also been a few usablility improvements and little fix ups here and there and importantly some optimisation of the code to allow Rainbow to cope with slightly larger data sheets.
These updrages all make Rainbow even better and I’m really excited to be releasing them. As for a release date - “soon” is as good as I can give right now, but I’m thinking weeks as opposed to months (or days). If you would like to give the new version a trial send me an email and I’ll be happy to organise a beta.
More info soon!
EDIT: Download the Beta now - http://www.codeandvisual.com/downloads/Rainbow_1.5_beta.zip
It’s exciting times at Code and Visual as we are happy to announce a new upgrade for Rainbow Live Flash CMS that sees the addition of a rich text editor for live text formatting!
Using the Rich Text Editor you are now able to add formatting to your XML text directly in Rainbow, with a live preview to show you exactly how Flash will render the text. Change font, style, colour, size and alignment, even add HTML links.
Click on the HTML button to view the raw HTML that Flash generates, or edit it yourself.
Download your free upgrade from: here.
The Rich text editor has been one of the most requested additions for Rainbow, which already includes other features such as image and file upload, password protection, admin and client modes, node repositioning, template creation and many more. This addition will help Rainbow Live become more powerful as a Flash CMS solution for XML driven websites, components and files. As always, we are always aiming to improve Rainbow, so please feel free to let us know your thoughts, comments and requests.
Warnings for working in Rich Text Mode
With great power comes great responsibility. When you are working with the Rich Text Editor, remember that any fonts you wish to display have to be embedded into your Flash file. If you select a font that isn’t embedded you might find that some of your text displays blank. You may choose to set your display TextField to the “use Device Fonts” option, which will display unembedded fonts - but remember the person viewing your Flash file needs to have the same fonts installed. Just like when designing websites, it’s safer in this case to stick to standard fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Courier or Times New Roman. As with any update, please make sure to back up your XML and RBW files before uploading.
Competition Extended! Now running till the end of August!
Code and Visual has 5 free Rainbow Live licences to give away to the 5 best Rainbow Live tutorial entries.
For a limited time you can trial a fully functional installation of Rainbow Live on any server you choose by using the Domain Key “tutorialcompetition”. This Domain Key will remain valid for the duration of the competition.
Rainbow Live fills the niche between complete Flash CMS solution and XML Editor. Rainbow was built specifically to enable Flash developers to continue building XML based Flash files the way they usually do, while providing important CMS functionality out of the box - with no changes needed.
Learn more about Rainbow Live here.
The competition is open to anybody that wishes to write a tutorial about Rainbow Live, be it a webmaster or blog author, or even someone that submits a word document. The best tutorial bearing the title from each of the following 5 categories will each receive a free Rainbow Live Domain Key for the domain of their choice - worth $99.
The winning entries will be placed on codeandvisual.com with full credit and links back to the original author’s site. All other entries will be linked to from the codeandvisual.com tutorials page.
Any tutorial that sends a ping back to “http://www.codeandvisual.com/rainbow” will be automatically entered. If you don’t own a blog, or can’t ping back, simply send you completed entry to competition [at] codeandvisual.com
The Competition will close 11:59 July 31st 2009, GMT
To learn more about Rainbow Live and download an installation package, visit: http://www.codeandvisual.com/rainbow-live
Code and Visual is excited to announce the release of a new API for Rainbow XML. The free Rainbow XML API enables XML files to be displayed visually within any HTML or Flash site.
The free Rainbow XML API enables visual and interactive presentation of XML data within any HTML or Flash file. Files can be displayed in any rectangular shape with optional values allowing display customisation.
The Rainbow XML API uses the same code base as Rainbow Live XML Editor. Rainbow Live fills the niche between complete Flash CMS solution and XML Editor. Rainbow was built specifically to enable Flash developers to continue building XML based Flash files the way they usually do while providing important CMS functionality out of the box - with no changes needed.
Some of the key benefits of Rainbow Live:
* Works with your current XML file
* Admin and User log-ins
* customisable node locking/hiding for client
* Easier for clients to use than a raw XML file
* Edit XML files live online
* Upload Images and files
* Automatically create thumbnails
* Define child templates to define your own node type
* No backend scripting necessary
* Customizable scripts
* Doesn’t dictate structure of your data/website
* Easily design the CMS to your own needs
Details about Rainbow Live: http://www.codeandvisual.com/rainbow/features/
Learn more about the Rainbow XML API: http://www.codeandvisual.com/rainbow/api
Due to popular demand Rainbow Live will now work on subdomains for any registered Domain Key.
i.e. If you buy a Domain Key for www.mysite.com then subdomain.mysite.com will also be valid with the same key.
If you’ve previously purchased a Domain Key the changes will take effect immmediately, there’s no need to upgrade your Rainbow Live installation.
May 29
A new update to Rainbow Live is now available, fixed a couple of small bugs and added some new features.
May 21
Code and Visual is happy to announce the launch of Rainbow Live XML Editor.
Rainbow has been developed to answer the needs of Flash developers who use XML as a data source.
With Rainbow Live you can combine the ease of Visual XML editing with the power of a Live Content Management System (CMS).
If you need to manage online XML data then Rainbow Live is for you. Rainbow Live makes it easy to design data in whatever structure you want, and then edit it online without having to re-upload new XML files.
Rainbow Live puts the power back into the hands of Flash developers. There’s no more need to rely on a backend developer to build and maintain a database. Rainbow Live saves time and money as the process of setting up XML structures is familiar to many Flash developers and is made even more intuitive with Rainbow Live’s node-based approach.
Rainbow Live provides you with a User log-in to allow data to be managed by the client long after your involvement is through. Rainbow Live provides the perfect lightweight solution when you don’t need all the bells and whistles (and overhead) of a complete CMS system.
While Rainbow Live is not technically a complete CMS, it provides all of the basic functionality needed to design, populate and edit data for small to medium based Flash projects (And any where else that XML is used as a data source).
