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This post is specifically about Jack Doyle's (aka greensock) awesome TransformManager tool, but the overall idea solves the issue of mouse up events when releasing the mouse button outside the stage in Mac Firefox.

In case you didn't know already, in Firefox on the Mac there is a problem with releasing the mouse outside the browser window. If you click within the swf, then while holding the mouse button down, drag outside the browser window, then release the mouse button, Mac FF doesn't hear the MOUSE_UP event. Obviously, this is a problem for the TM because if you do that, when you bring the mouse back over the swf, the MOUSE_MOVE handlers are still firing, and the selection is still following the mouse, event though you've released the mouse button.

The key to the whole fix is that in Mac FF, the MOUSE_LEAVE event will not fire until you release the mouse button, if it was being held down when you drag out of the swf.

So to solve this I tweaked the TM class as follows:

add a helper method to determine if it is mac ff, and one to dispatch fake mouse up events (you'll see why in a bit)

Then, I made a slight modification to the onPress* methods, to check if it isFirefoxMac, if so also listen for the MOUSE_LEAVE event.

Each type of press gets an associated onMouseLeave* event (onMouseLeaveScale, onMouseLeaveRotate, etc).

Actually, the onMouseLeaveMove handler is slightly different since onReleaseMove() doesnt need a mouse event:

I also added a line to the removeParentListeners() method to remove the onMouseLeaveMove handler:

That's just about it, just one more small tweak to the TransformItem class. You need to do the same routine for the TransformItem.onMouseDown() method: Check for Mac FF, if so add a MOUSE_LEAVE handler, and in the onMouseLeave() method just call the onMouseUp() method.

I heard about Adobe Story this morning, so I headed over to Adobe Labs to check it out. While I was there I found a few more interesting projects I haven;t yet heard of:

• Genesis : Genesis is the code-name for a new product initiative at Adobe with the objective of joining business applications, documents and the web on every knowledge workers desktop with integrated collaboration capabilities. Using the very intuitive interface of the Genesis desktop client (built on Adobe AIR) knowledge workers are able to create custom workspaces combining views into business applications, analytics, web sites and documents.
• Wave : Adobe® Waveâ„¢ is an Adobe AIR application and Adobe hosted service that work together to enable desktop notifications. It helps publishers stay connected to your customers and lets users avoid the email clutter of dozens of newsletters and social network update messages. Adobe Wave is a single web service call that lets publishers reach users directly on their desktop: there's no need to make them download a custom application or build it yourself.
• Patch Panel: Adobe is pleased to offer our third-party developers and the larger Adobe Flex® development community this preview of PatchPanel, a first glimpse at combining the dynamic control of ActionScriptâ„¢ with the power of Adobe’s Creative Suite®. Similar to Adobe’s ExtendScript environment for the Creative Suite, PatchPanel provides developers deep access into controlling the Creative Suite through independently-created scripts. PatchPanel provides the necessary link between the Flex development environment and the Creative Suite’s internal controls, allowing existing ActionScript developers the ability to apply their skills toward enhancing the creative process, as well as inviting a new generation of creative minds to explore the flexibility and automation possible with ActionScript.

  PatchPanel is a Flex library and set of services that make it possible for Shockwave® Flash® (SWF) files to work as Adobe Creative Suite CS3 and CS4 plug-ins. Flex developers can include this Flex library in their projects in order to create Flash plug-ins that access the ExtendScript Document Object Model (DOM) of Creative Suite applications through ActionScript objects.

There's a bunch more too....looks like we've got some pretty decently cool stuff on the way from Adobe. That's not even counting Flex 4, which looks like it's shaping up to be quite awesome!