The following example(s) require Flash Player 10 and the Adobe Flex 4 SDK. To download the Adobe Flash Builder 4 trial, see http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/. To download the latest nightly build of the Flex 4 SDK, see http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+4.
For more information on getting started with Flex 4 and Flash Builder 4, see the official Adobe Flex Team blog.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2008/08/25/saving-files-locally-using-the-filereference-classs-save-method-in-flash-player-10/ -->
<s:Application name="FileReference_save_test"
        xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" 
        xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" 
        xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
        xmlns:net="flash.net.*"
        creationComplete="init();">
 
    <fx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            private function init():void {
                textArea.text = describeType(FileReference).toXMLString();
            }
 
            private function btn_click(evt:MouseEvent):void {
                fileReference.save(textArea.text, "describeType.txt");
            }
        ]]>
    </fx:Script>
 
    <fx:Declarations>
        <net:FileReference id="fileReference" />
    </fx:Declarations>
 
    <s:Panel id="panel"
            width="500" height="300"
            verticalCenter="0" horizontalCenter="0">
        <s:controlBarContent>
            <s:Button id="btn"
                    label="Save Text"
                    click="btn_click(event);" />
        </s:controlBarContent>
        <s:TextArea id="textArea"
                editable="true"
                width="100%"
                height="100%" />
    </s:Panel>
 
</s:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

You can also pass the XML object directly to the FileReference class’s save() method, as seen in the following example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2008/08/25/saving-files-locally-using-the-filereference-classs-save-method-in-flash-player-10/ -->
<s:Application name="FileReference_save_test"
        xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" 
        xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" 
        xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
        xmlns:net="flash.net.*"
        creationComplete="init();">
 
    <fx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            private const xmlObj:XML = describeType(FileReference);
 
            private function init():void {
                textArea.text = xmlObj.toXMLString();
            }
 
            private function btn_click(evt:MouseEvent):void {
                fileReference.save(xmlObj, "describeType.xml");
            }
        ]]>
    </fx:Script>
 
    <fx:Declarations>
        <net:FileReference id="fileReference" />
    </fx:Declarations>
 
    <s:Panel id="panel"
            width="500" height="300"
            verticalCenter="0" horizontalCenter="0">
        <s:controlBarContent>
            <s:Button id="btn"
                    label="Save"
                    click="btn_click(event);" />
        </s:controlBarContent>
        <s:TextArea id="textArea"
                editable="true"
                width="100%"
                height="100%" />
    </s:Panel>
 
</s:Application>

Or, you can use the ImageSnapshot class to take a screenshot of an item on the display list and save it to the user’s hard drive by passing a ByteArray object to the FileReference class’s save() method, as seen in the following example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2008/08/25/saving-files-locally-using-the-filereference-classs-save-method-in-flash-player-10/ -->
<s:Application name="FileReference_save_test"
        xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009" 
        xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark" 
        xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx"
        xmlns:net="flash.net.*"
        creationComplete="init();">
 
    <fx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;
            import mx.graphics.codec.*;
 
            private const jpegEnc:JPEGEncoder = new JPEGEncoder();
            private const xmlObj:XML = describeType(FileReference);
 
            private function init():void {
                textArea.text = xmlObj.toXMLString();
            }
 
            private function btn_click(evt:MouseEvent):void {
                var imageSnap:ImageSnapshot = ImageSnapshot.captureImage(panel, 0, jpegEnc);
                fileReference.save(imageSnap.data, "describeType.jpg");
            }
        ]]>
    </fx:Script>
 
    <fx:Declarations>
        <net:FileReference id="fileReference" />
    </fx:Declarations>
 
    <s:Panel id="panel"
            width="500" height="300"
            verticalCenter="0" horizontalCenter="0">
        <s:controlBarContent>
            <s:Button id="btn"
                    label="Save"
                    click="btn_click(event);" />
        </s:controlBarContent>
        <s:TextArea id="textArea"
                editable="true"
                width="100%" height="100%" />
    </s:Panel>
 
</s:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

For more information on the new FileReference capabilities in Flash Player 10, see the Flex Gumbo documentation at http://livedocs.adobe.com/flex/gumbo/langref/flash/net/FileReference.html.

This entry is based on a beta version of the Flex 4 SDK and therefore is very likely to change as development of the Flex SDK continues. The API can (and will) change causing examples to possibly not compile in newer versions of the Flex 4 SDK.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/12/08/setting-a-default-encoder-for-the-imagesnapshot-class-in-flex-3/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white"
        creationComplete="init();">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;
            import mx.graphics.codec.*;

            private function init():void {
                ImageSnapshot.defaultEncoder = PNGEncoder;
            }

            private function captureImg():void {
                var ohSnap:ImageSnapshot = ImageSnapshot.captureImage(img);
                textArea.text = ImageSnapshot.encodeImageAsBase64(ohSnap);
                lbl.text = ohSnap.contentType;
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:Button id="button"
                label="Capture Image"
                click="captureImg();" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

    <mx:Form>
        <mx:FormItem label="source:">
            <mx:Image id="img"
                    source="@Embed('images/flex_logo.jpg')" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Base64:">
            <mx:TextArea id="textArea"
                    editable="false"
                    width="320"
                    height="160" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="contentType:">
            <mx:Label id="lbl" />
        </mx:FormItem>
    </mx:Form>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/12/07/using-the-imagesnapshot-class-to-capture-images-as-jpegs-or-pngs-in-flex-3/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;
            import mx.graphics.codec.*;

            private const jpgEnc:JPEGEncoder = new JPEGEncoder();
            private const pngEnc:PNGEncoder = new PNGEncoder();

            private function captureImg(imgEnc:IImageEncoder):void {
                var ohSnap:ImageSnapshot;
                ohSnap = ImageSnapshot.captureImage(img, 0, imgEnc);
                textArea.text = ImageSnapshot.encodeImageAsBase64(ohSnap);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:ToggleButtonBar id="toggleButtonBar"
                itemClick="captureImg(event.item.data);">
            <mx:dataProvider>
                <mx:Array>
                    <mx:Object label="Capture as JPEG" data="{jpgEnc}" />
                    <mx:Object label="Capture as PNG" data="{pngEnc}" />
                </mx:Array>
            </mx:dataProvider>
        </mx:ToggleButtonBar>
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

    <mx:Image id="img"
            source="@Embed('images/flex_logo.jpg')" />

    <mx:TextArea id="textArea"
            editable="false"
            width="320"
            height="160" />

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/12/07/converting-an-imagesnapshot-object-into-a-base-64-encoded-string-in-flex-3/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import flash.events.FocusEvent;
            import flash.system.System;
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;

            private function button_click(evt:MouseEvent):void {
                var ohSnap:ImageSnapshot = ImageSnapshot.captureImage(img);
                textArea.text = ImageSnapshot.encodeImageAsBase64(ohSnap);
            }

            private function textArea_focusIn(evt:FocusEvent):void {
                textArea.setSelection(0, textArea.text.length);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:Button label="Capture and encode"
                click="button_click(event);" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

    <mx:Form>
        <mx:FormItem label="source:">
            <mx:Image id="img"
                    source="@Embed('images/flex_logo.jpg')" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Base64:">
            <mx:TextArea id="textArea"
                    editable="false"
                    showScrollTips="true"
                    width="320"
                    height="160"
                    focusIn="textArea_focusIn(event);" />
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem>
            <mx:Button label="Copy to clipboard"
                    enabled="{textArea.text.length > 0}"
                    click="System.setClipboard(textArea.text);" />
        </mx:FormItem>
    </mx:Form>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

The ability to load a ByteArray object directly into a SWFLoader was added in Flex 3 build 187814, you may need to update your SDK build by downloading a recent nightly build from http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flex/sdk/flex3sdk.html.

The following example shows how you can take a snapshot of an item on the display list using the static ImageSnapshot.captureBitmapData() method, which returns a BitmapData object, as seen in the following snippet:

var imageBitmapData:BitmapData = ImageSnapshot.captureBitmapData(source);
swfLoader.source = new Bitmap(imageBitmapData);

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/11/17/taking-screenshots-in-flex-3-using-the-imagesnapshotcapturebitmapdata-method/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">

    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;

            private function takeSnapshot(source:IBitmapDrawable):void {
                var imageBitmapData:BitmapData = ImageSnapshot.captureBitmapData(source);
                swfLoader.source = new Bitmap(imageBitmapData);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>

    <mx:Array id="arr">
        <mx:Object col1="Row 1, Col 1" col2="Row 1, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 2, Col 1" col2="Row 2, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 3, Col 1" col2="Row 3, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 4, Col 1" col2="Row 4, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 5, Col 1" col2="Row 5, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 6, Col 1" col2="Row 6, Col 2" />
    </mx:Array>

    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:Button label="Take snapshot of DataGrid"
                click="takeSnapshot(dataGrid);" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>

    <mx:HBox>
        <mx:DataGrid id="dataGrid" dataProvider="{arr}" />
        <mx:SWFLoader id="swfLoader">
            <mx:filters>
                <mx:DropShadowFilter />
            </mx:filters>
        </mx:SWFLoader>
    </mx:HBox>

</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.

 

Full code after the jump.

View MXML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- http://blog.flexexamples.com/2007/11/16/taking-screenshots-in-flex-using-the-imagesnapshotcaptureimage-method/ -->
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml"
        layout="vertical"
        verticalAlign="middle"
        backgroundColor="white">
 
    <mx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.core.IUIComponent;
            import mx.graphics.ImageSnapshot;
 
            private function takeSnapshot(source:IBitmapDrawable):void {
                var imageSnap:ImageSnapshot = ImageSnapshot.captureImage(source);
                var imageByteArray:ByteArray = imageSnap.data as ByteArray;
                swfLoader.load(imageByteArray);
            }
        ]]>
    </mx:Script>
 
    <mx:Array id="arr">
        <mx:Object col1="Row 1, Col 1" col2="Row 1, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 2, Col 1" col2="Row 2, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 3, Col 1" col2="Row 3, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 4, Col 1" col2="Row 4, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 5, Col 1" col2="Row 5, Col 2" />
        <mx:Object col1="Row 6, Col 1" col2="Row 6, Col 2" />
    </mx:Array>
 
    <mx:ApplicationControlBar dock="true">
        <mx:Button label="Take snapshot of DataGrid"
                click="takeSnapshot(dataGrid);" />
    </mx:ApplicationControlBar>
 
    <mx:HBox>
        <mx:DataGrid id="dataGrid" dataProvider="{arr}" />
 
        <mx:SWFLoader id="swfLoader">
            <mx:filters>
                <mx:DropShadowFilter />
            </mx:filters>
        </mx:SWFLoader>
    </mx:HBox>
 
</mx:Application>

View source is enabled in the following example.