Welcome to the ThumbGrid User Guide. From this page on we'll explain everything there is to know about ThumbGrid. Ready? Here we go.
Let's start with the basics. ThumbGrid (shown right at bottom) is an ActionScript 3 component compatible with Adobe Flash CS3 or higher. The component is an add-on product for the ActionScript 3 version of the SlideShowPro Player for Flash component. ThumbGrid communicates with and loads content from the SlideShowPro Player component to provide a flexible, highly customizable navigational interface for slideshow content.
With ThumbGrid, you don't need to create a separate XML file or code any ActionScript. ThumbGrid receives all of its data (including images) from the data that the SlideShowPro Player component loads. So if you're currently using SlideShowPro Director as your content source, Director will create all the requisite images necessary to populate ThumbGrid's interface.
Click a thumbnail in ThumbGrid, and the corresponding (larger) version of the image (or video) loads in the SlideShowPro Player component. Change albums in the SlideShowPro Player component, and ThumbGrid switches to show that album's content. The two components communicate with one another and automatically change their appearance if necessary.
When there's more thumbnails than viewing area, ThumbGrid organizes thumbnails into groups that invisibly overflow (either horizontally or vertically). Accessing those groups is as simple as rolling over the component with your mouse. Or, you can add buttons and/or text links outside of the component that (with some very basic ActionScript) move the grid interface in the direction you want it to. And if that's not enough, you can also add Flash's built-in UIScrollbar component to scroll the grid. We'll explain all navigation options in this guide.
With ThumbGrid, the sky is the limit when it comes to design customization. Virtually every element in its interface can be visually changed -- including basic things like size, color (inactive, active, and rollover), alpha transparency, strokes, padding, and spacing. For extra appeal, you can add rollover "zoom" effects, loading animations, and image effects like "Black and White", "Sepia", "Dim", and "Low Saturation".
So those are the basics of ThumbGrid. Ready to move on? Let's discuss in closer detail slideshow content, and how ThumbGrid works with the SlideShowPro Player component.