I’ve started a little pet project called SpinjAS (named after the super-cool toys). It’s a super-simple and fun way for your users to move objects around, size them and rotate them when you don’t need a more precise tool like object handles. Here’s a quick demo:
(Right click to view source)
It’s just an experiment and, yes, I know it’s not an original concept. But it is (as far as I know) an original Flex implementation. The limited current feature set is quite simple: radiusMax, radiusMin, scaleMax, scaleMin.
I would love to hear what you have to say … so far I’ve had about 30% positive feedback and 70% say “ok, cool, but when would I ever use that?” What about you? Does the concept have potential with some specific added features?
Hey Scot - I like this though I think that the interaction feels a bit odd because the item scales at a different rate than the circle expands. Ideally, the circle point would maintain a constant relative point on the photo.
Hi!
I like your concept
That’s the kind of stuff that will be very useful with Windows 7 or any “Touch-Recognition” screen; but how to use it in current projects? Well… Good question… I’ve got to think a bit more about it. For the moment, I’m into the 70%.
Anyway, in next features what could be useful would be to have a system that allows to set the “center point” of the rotation (and then, set the drag directly on the picture and not on the center of your displayObject).
Nice and fun
Good continuation!
Cheerz
@ben Yeah, the circle and photo expand at different rates in this demo but it’s configurable. The developer could set the min and max radius of the scaling circle and the min and max scale values respectively to create a more ’smooth’ user experience. Having that ‘constant relative point’ would really be a plus … should there be an option to only set the min and max radius and let the object scale respectively?
@Jean-Christophe Yes! It would be great to be able to programatically specify a custom center or registration point. I also like the idea of using the underlying display object as it’s own drag handle. Both great ideas that I will plan to implement.
I think you’re absolutely right about the potential for use in a touch-screen or tablet pc application. Thanks!
Nice article. Thanks.
Eugene