Announcing TweenLite/Max Version 10
- This post was for when v10 was launched, but is now outdated in favor of the even better v11! Click here for v11
This v10 update of TweenLite and TweenMax is probably the most significant yet, so I figured the announcement warranted a page of its own to describe all the exciting enhancements and to answer common questions. Full documentation still resides on the regular TweenLite and TweenMax pages. Version 10 delivers a whole new level of flexibility, performance, and tweenable goodness. If you'd like an audio/visual walk-through of the changes and the new Plugin Explorer, watch the intro video:
Here's a list of the enhancements:
- Shift to a plugin architecture - Most special properties (like "tint", "visible", "frame", "blurFilter", "bezierThrough", etc.) will be separated into optional plugins that can be activated (or not). This makes it possible to add only the features you need, minimizing file size and maximizing performance. It also means you can author your own plugins to handle whatever special properties you want! If the platform is missing a feature you want, just write a plugin. And don't worry - you'll still be able to tween ANY property of ANY object without plugins. The plugins only apply to properties that require special handling. TweenLite and TweenMax automatically activate the necessary plugins internally to maintain backwards compatibility, but it's easy to delete or comment out the activation code in the class if you want to reduce file size.
- TweenFilterLite retired - With the new plugin architecture, you can activate the filter plugins in TweenLite and they're already activated by default in TweenMax, so TweenFilterLite is obsolete.
- New "frameLabel" plugin - Allows you to tween to a particular frame label in a MovieClip. It's just like the current "frame" feature, but instead of defining a frame number, you define the label.
- New "setSize" plugin - Allows for easy tweening of component width/height with setSize().
- New "remove", "index", and "addFilter" properties for all filter tweens - if "remove" is set to true, the filter gets removed at the end of the tween. "index" allows you to define a specific index number in the DisplayObject's filters Array where you'd like your filter tween to occur. This is not mandatory - it just provides more flexibility. When addFilter:true is passed in with any filter tween, it forces a new filter to be used instead of trying to use one that's already there. This is completely optional. Normally, TweenLite/Max tweens an existing filter of the same kind and if it can't find one, it creates one.
- New "transformAroundCenter" plugin - scale, rotate, or move a DisplayObject/MovieClip using its center as the origin, regardless of where the actual registration point is. Imagine dynamically loading an image and then scaling it or rotating it as though its registration point is centered. This plugin is a membership benefit of Club GreenSock.
- New "transformAroundPoint" plugin - scale, rotate, or move a DisplayObject/MovieClip using any point as the origin, regardless of where the object's registration point is. This plugin is a membership benefit of Club GreenSock.
- New "colorTransform" plugin - Adds simple tweening of a DisplayObject's "exposure", "brightness", or "tintAmount" as well as advanced colorTransform properties like redMultiplier, redOffset, greenMultiplier, etc. This plugin essentially replaces ColorTransformProxy - it is more efficient, requiring less code. It is a membership benefit of Club GreenSock.
- Changed "shortRotation" syntax - Previously, shortRotation could only affect the "rotation" property of an object, but not 3D rotations like rotationX, rotationY, and rotationZ. So now you can pass an object with any number of properties that should be affected, like TweenMax.to(mc, 2, {shortRotation:{rotationX:-170, rotationY:100}}).
- Speed improvements - Up to 40% faster under heavy loads! See the speed test to find out how it compares with other engines.
- New "startAt" feature in TweenMax - Define starting values for your tweens
- Fixed some minor overwriting bugs
- Eliminated allTo(), allFrom(), sequence(), and multiSequence() from TweenMax - TweenGroup offers the same functionality, plus a whole lot more flexibility and power.
To help you explore the new capabilities and see what the code would look like when utilizing the various plugins, I created a Plugin Explorer tool. In addition to showing interactive examples and the kb that each plugin costs, it writes the activation code for you and calculates the total size. The SWF is included in the downloads for your convenience.
EXAMPLES
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import gs.*;
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import gs.plugins.*;
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TweenPlugin.activate([BlurFilterPlugin]); //not necessary if you're using TweenMax, and even with TweenLite you only have to run this ONCE in your SWF.
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TweenLite.to(mc1, 2, {blurFilter:{blurX:20, blurY:5}});
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import gs.*;
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import gs.plugins.*;
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TweenPlugin.activate([BezierPlugin, BezierThroughPlugin]); //not necessary if you're using TweenMax, and even with TweenLite you only have to run this ONCE in your SWF.
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TweenLite.to(mc1, 2, {bezierThrough:[{x:200, y:100}, {x:500, y:50}]});
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TweenLite.to(myComponent, 2, {setSize:{width:200, height:30}});
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TweenLite.to(mc, 2, {frameLabel:"myLabel"});
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TweenLite.from(mc, 2, {blurFilter:{blurX:50, remove:true}});
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TweenLite.from(mc, 2, {x:100, y:100, startAt:{x:0, y:0}});
FAQ
- Are the new plugin-based versions of TweenLite and TweenMax backwards-compatible? Will I have to mess with adding activation code to old projects or will it just work?
Don't worry. Everything is backwards compatible with one minor exception: "shortRotation" now accepts an object instead of a number so that you can apply it to multiple properties. Other than that, you shouldn't have any trouble using the new version(s) in older projects. - Is there a way to make TweenLite or TweenMax smaller by only activating a subset of the default plugins?
Absolutely. The default plugins are activated inside the class and I clearly marked them towards the top of the class, so you can simply delete or comment out the ones you don't need. - What are the differences between TweenLite and TweenMax under the new framework? In other words, what additional features of TweenMax are NOT handled by plugins, and why not?
There are several capabilities TweenMax adds to TweenLite which can't be added with plugins, like pause(), resume(), restart(), reverse(), setDestination(), invalidate(), killProperties(), timeScale, globalTimeScale, startAt, progress, roundProps (technically a plugin but it only works with TweenMax instances), AS3 Event dispatching, and then management features like getAllTweens(), pauseAllTweens(), resumeAllTweens(), killAllTweens(), killAllDelayedCalls(), isTweening(), and getTweensOf(). The only way to add these capabilities with a "plugin" of sorts is to make the class dynamic and stick methods/properties on at runtime, but that's messy and it'll tick off the folks who rely on code hinting when they code which is very common. - Why is TweenLite 5k instead of 3k now?
The new plugin architecture cost about 1.5k and about 0.5k went towards some strategies that make the engine even faster, but if you don't need any of the default plugins (autoAlpha, tint, removeTint, volume, visible, endArray, and frame), just delete or comment out the activation lines in the TweenLite constructor to reduce the size to just 2.8k!. Ultimately, the plugin architecture will allow you to minimize file size because you can activate only the plugins you need in your project and you can even add many of TweenMax's features to TweeenLite without the added size associated with TweenMax. - If I activate a plugin, does it affect TweenLite tweens, TweenMax tweens, or both?
Both. And it doesn't hurt anything if you activate plugins more than once. It doesn't help either. - How do I build my own plugin?
Just read the instructions in the comments at the top of the gs.plugins.TweenPlugin class. Hopefully it's pretty straight-forward. - Do I have to purchase a license to use this code? Can I use it for commercial purposes?
You may use the code at no charge in commercial or non-commercial web sites, games, components, applications, and other software as long as end users are not charged a fee of any kind to use your product or gain access to it. If your client pays you a one-time fee to create the site/product, that's perfectly fine and qualifies under the "no charge" license. If end users are charged a usage/access/license fee, please simply sign up for a corporate Club GreenSock membership which comes with a special commercial license granting you permission to do so. See http://blog.greensock.com/club/ for details. Club GreenSock members get some bonus plugins/classes, update notifications, and more. Your donations keep this project going. Please see the licensing page for details on licensing.
Need Help?
Feel free to post your question on the forums. You'll increase your chances of getting a prompt answer if you include a simplified FLA file (and any class files) that clearly demonstrates the problem and provide a brief explanation.
Copyright 2009, GreenSock, Inc.
"NO CHARGE" NON-EXCLUSIVE SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
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PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY:
- You may use the code at no charge in commercial or non-commercial web sites, games, components, applications, and other software as long as end users are not charged a fee of any kind to use your product or gain access to it. If your client pays you a one-time fee to create the site/product, that's perfectly fine and qualifies under the "no charge" license. If end users are charged a usage/access/license fee, please sign up for a corporate Club GreenSock membership which comes with a special commercial license granting you permission to do so. See http://blog.greensock.com/club/ for details.
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Comments (19)
WOW
Incredible!
More flexible, more powerfull…Thanks a lot!
It’s awesome!
Ty!!
Thanks alot! Very nice and fast engine. Already up and running on my site 
genius!
I’ve been a fan of Tweener for a while now, and had been thinking about moving over to use GTween, but I find it’s instance based design/no special properties more of a pain than anything. Thought I’d check out your engine, and I’m lost for words. This is amazing. Particularly the transform around a Point feature!!! woah.
Hi Jack,
Yet again you’ve made my life so much easier. I’ve got to join the club as soon as possible – the transformAround***** methods are exactly what I need and have been struggling with for some time since I began doing Flash games.
I can’t stop recommending TweenMax to everyone I know who does Flash. It’s addictive to the point where I can’t live without it anymore and it meshes absolutely perfect with pure AS3 projects done outside Adobe’s Flash
Simply amazing.
Cheers,
Claus
Looks fantastic! Thanks Jack, I can’t wait for the opportunity to try some of the new features.
Your hard work is greatly appreciated!
Jack,
What an amazing update to your already incredible tweening platform. You should have over 100,000 Shockingly Green members because that is at least how many Flash developers regularly use your killer classes for programattic tweening on a yearly basis. I would assume at least 1 million SWF files get published yearly incorporating your tweening platform, maybe even ten times that!?
I am proud to be and will always be a Shockingly Green member for life.. even if I never use your code again, because that is how much it has helped me thus far.
Regards,
Randall
I didn’t imagine you can do stuff like this!
Jack, your work is AMAZING! version 10 is a petrifying surprise and I love what you did!
More excellent work, Jack. I’m sure I’m not the only Actionscript amateur that has benefitted from all your work. Not only have you created a really powerful set of tools, but you’ve made it easy to use. Best of all, it’s free!
Love the video you’ve created too.
Best!
-Sam
Jack,
I seriously feel like I’m watching history be made every time you send out an update. Sure, some people will remember 2009 as being the year we inaugurated our first black president, but I’ll remember it as the year TweenLite/Max matured into a plugin based architecture.
Loved the evolve interview BTW. You’re elegant, respectful, humble, genius. Be careful that some crazed fan doesn’t shoot you at a Flash convention, because, you are, after all, the Lennon of Tweening.
*sings to himself*
Imagine all the instances . . . . tweening as they were one . . . . you-who-whoooo, you may say, I’m a tweener, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day, you’ll join club GreenSock, and the world can tween as one!
*fades off into happy development sleep, counting TweenLite calls*
- M;cha31
Jesus ..
Adobe seriously needs to sponsor you !
Love how when you think you cant improve it you rip out it more !
Keep up the good work,
Paul
DON”T FORGET TweenLite is the BEST way to handle volume control I’ve every come across!!!
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT
Your explorer makes tweening so easy. I can finally retire my Fuse Kit actionscript!
This API is really powerfull if your coder, this let’s you create quite interesting effects, I’ve been using it for a long time and the new updates are really helpfull, I’ll be waiting for the next big update .
Oscar
I’m a huge fan of your work and this update is just great!
I wouldn’t have even imaging all that was possible in flash…
best,
Erwan
I’ve been using your library for almost one year and I have to say that it is awesome!
I’m really greatfull that you keep improving and updating it every time. All these new features are really useful!
Thanks a lot for this great job!
Warm regards.
Cristobal
This is just insane. You’re the man. Definitely. *bows*
great stuff
i love your dynamic variable tween
great for visualisations
when I start making money with flash, i’ll be sure to donate
(or at least buy you a beer on some convention)