3/11/2009 SiteGround Flash Tutorial: Print Frien…

SiteGround Tutorials

Flash Tutorial: Learn How to Use Flash

Flash was first launched in 1996 and since then it has become one of the best tools for creating
animation and including moving content into web pages. There are many software products through
which you can create Flash movies. Flash offers a perfect solution for creating animated banners for
your products advertised on the web.

Flash gives you almost unlimited options in the creation of the design of your pages. SiteGround's
servers are optimized for maximum performance and they can easily handle almost any Flash-based
website. In addition, our Support Team has a long-term experience with Flash and has helped
thousands of people with their Flash websites.

Another way to use Flash is to live stream videos on the Internet. Such web applications, however,
require a lot of system resources and the installation of additional tools. Therefore, if you want to have a
video streaming website, you can check our Managed Dedicated Servers.

In this Flash Tutorial we will cover the following topics:

First of all, why use Flash?;
Then we will take a look at the software products that are used for creating Flash movies;
You will also learn how to export Flash movies into .swf files;
And in order to include Flash files into HTML pages, you will need to learn about the HTML
settings in Flash;

SiteGround has long experience in providing web space for Flash sites. Our Flash hosting package is the
best choice for Flash users for it offers the richest set of features, easy upload of .swf files, Flash-expert
support team and more.

Flash Tutorial - Why Use Flash

What is Flash and when you should use it?
The Flash technology allows you to create entire websites, animations and separate navigation items. It
can be used in various parts of your design. Although Flash`s vector images are compact and files are
compressed when published, it may take some time to load. Therefore, minimizing the size of your Flash
videos will signifficantly reduce the loading time for your website.

In general, a good guideline is that you should use Flash only when it does not violate two basic
principles:

the Flash files load fast

the Flash tools are easy to use

Flash is most commonly used to create vector graphics-based animation programs with full-screen
navigation interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an antialiased, resizable file format
that is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection.

How does Flash work

If you were to plot a bitmap on a grid, each pixel is detailed. Essentially, this is what your computer does
when it displays bitmaps.

Vector images do not plot images on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Instead, vector files contain a description of
the image expressed mathematically. Essentially, the file tells the computer about the image and the

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computer draws it.

Formats and Support

Macromedia/Adobe has released the specifications of the Flash file format (excluding specifications of
related formats such as AMF), and compatible third-party tools exist. However, Macromedia/Adobe
retains control of the format. Since Flash files do not depend on a truly open standard, this reduces the
incentive for non-commercial software to support the format, although there are several third party tools
which utilize and generate the SWF file format.

In addition to a vector rendering engine, the Flash Player includes a virtual machine called the
ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM) for scripting interactivity at run-time, support for video, mp3-based
audio, and bitmap graphics.

Flash Tutorial - Software for Creating Flash Movies

The most commanly used softwares for creating flash applications are:
Adobe Flash Professional 8

Flash Professional 8 is one of the most advanced applications for creating interactive websites. Adobe
Flash offers a rich set of tools for your Flash movies, such as improved filters and blend modes,
enhanced text visibility, etc. Users will find advanced file library and can use SWF metatada for better
search engine performance. Flash Professional 8 feature presentation can be found here.

SWiSH Max

SWiSH Max offers great features for producing exciting flash animations. SWiSH Max has over 200 built-
in effects which will make it easier for you to produce animations with text, images or graphs. Find more
about SWiSH Max here.

Wildform Wild Presenter

WildPresenter is your best choice for creating Flash and video presentations. Some of the features it
offers are: easy creation of demos, tutorials & simulations, importing of PowerPoint files to Flash; great
text and image effects and more.

Swift 3D

Swift 3D is an application which is easily integrated with Adobe Flash and provides 3D vector-based
animations. Find more about Swift 3D here.

CoffeeCup Firestarter 6.7

CoffeeCup Firestarter offers an easy way to create Flash Effects for your Website. Firestarter has over
65 built-in Flash effects like Assemble, Explode, Fade, and more.

Flash Tutorial - Flash Export

How to Export Flash Files?
After creating a Flash movie you choose File > Save As from the top menu to save your movie. Save the
file as "Somefilename.fla".

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How to Embed Flash Movie into an HTML Page?
To embed the Flash movie you have just made into an HTML page, you should go back to your Flash
program and do the following steps:

Step 1

Choose File > Open. Open a Flash movie you have created.

Step 2

Choose File > Export Movie.

Step 3
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Name the file "somefilename.swf". Choose the location where the file is to be stored (in your Web
folder). Click OK.

Step 4

Open the HTML page where you want to insert your Flash movie. Insert this code:

<object width="550" height="400">

<param name="movie" value="somefilename.swf">
<embed src="somefilename.swf" width="550" height="400">
</embed>
</object>

Note: This is the minimum code you need to embed a Flash movie in a browser. A broken icon will appear on the Web
page if the user does not have the Flash plug-in installed.

Note: In the code above there is both an <embed> tag and an <object> tag. This is because the <object> tag is
recognized by Internet Explorer, and Netscape recognizes the <embed> tag and ignores the <object> tag.

Step 5

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Type in the address of the HTML file in your browser and look at your first Flash movie.

Let the Flash Program do the Work

The code above is the absolute minimum code to embed Flash movies in HTML pages. It is not
recommended to use the minimum code. There should be a few more attributes added:

classid is an attribute to the <object> tag. It tells Internet Explorer to load the ActiveX plug-in if it
is not installed
pluginspage is an attribute to the <embed> tag. It displays a link to the Shockwave download
page if Netscape does not have it

The Flash program can add these attributes for you:

Step 1

Choose File > Publish. Flash will now create the <object>, <param>, and <embed> tags for you. It will
also create the classid and pluginspage attributes.

Step 2

Open the HTML document that Flash created, view the HTML source and copy the code into your HTML
page where you want your Flash movie.

Step 3

Be sure that you have the "somefilename.swf" in your Web folder.

Step 4

Type in the address of the HTML file in your browser and look at your first Flash movie.

Flash Tutorial - Publish Settings

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Generating HTML Pages by embedding Flash movies from Adobe Flash
When embedding Flash movies in HTML there are many tags and scripts that influence its performance.
By changing the code of these tags and scripts we can set the flash movie size, transparency and many
others appearance features.

Many of these features are available through the settings in the form:

File > Publish Settings > HTML

Every change of the settings in this menu add or remove some certain source code to your HTML file.
You can manually edit or copy to another file this source by open it with your favorite text editor.

1. With the Detect Flash Version you may set requirements about the visitor`s version of Flash
Player. Any player under the required version will not be able to preview your flash movie. Instead the
visitor will be redirected to certain page where an update could be downloaded.

2. From Dimensions section you can set the size of your Flash Movie by giving a certain width
and height values in percents or pixels.

3. The Playback section allows you to make loop your flash movie or forbid the right click menu.

4. From section 4 you can set more options about the appearance of the movie.

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5. You can set the Alignment of the Flash movie on your web site by selecting the horizontal
and the vertical alignment.

Please, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or recommendations about this tutorial at:
tutorials 'at' siteground.com

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