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HowToUseFlash
How to use Adobe Flash in a mediascape
This document introduces the use of Adobe Flash in the mscape system.
 For quick reference and troubleshooting you may want to try the Flash FAQ. |
What is Flash?
Flash is a tool and file format for creating interactive, media-rich applications for the internet.
You can use it in a simple drag-and-drop manner, or you can get more involved and write scripts (programming code) to create more complex things. With the Flash tool you create a file called a 'Flash movie'. This can be imported into your mediascape.
Here are some reasons you might want to use Flash..
- You can put a lot of interesting interactions and UI capabilities into your mediascape that are not possible with 'pure' mscape code.
- You can leverage all of the great examples, tutorials, and Flash authoring communities on the web to really help you along.
- You know a bit of Flash already, and want to put your skills to work in an mscape environment
Creating Flash movie files
To create Flash movie files you need a Flash authoring environment such as
Adobe Flash CS3, which can be purchased from Adobe directly online from
http://www.adobe.com, or via most software retailers.
There is a
30-day trial version available for free download if you want to see if Adobe Flash is right for you and your mscape prior to purchase.
 It is possible to use older versions of the Flash authoring tool, such as Macromedia Flash MX, but we recommend getting the latest up-to-date version as many of the examples on this site cannot be opened with older versions. |
While it's possible to import, display and run previously-built flash movies, for best results we recommend that you design them specifically to fit your mediascape. The PDA runs an older version of Flash (Flash 7), and the PDA itself is quite a different platform to author flash content for due to the screen size, interaction mechanism, and, by desktop PC standards, a very slow processor.
Adding Flash Movies to the Mediascape
In order to add Flash Movies to your mediascape, you first need to add the
FlashMovies object.
- With your mediascape open in mscape maker, right-click on the 'Media' object in the top-left panel. Choose 'Add Flash Movies' from the menu.
- A new button will appear on the menu bar labelled Flash Movies
- Click this, and an open file dialog will appear allowing you to choose the Flash movie.
Imported movies will then appear below the 'Flash Movies' object.
Note that your flash movie will not play automatically when your mediascape is started, you need to explicitly start it using the Flash movie's
Play command. To do this, simply drag-and-drop the movie into the
Mediascape (top of the left panel) object's
OnLoaded event, type . (period) and select Play from the pop-up list.
Creating Flash Movies that Interact with the Mediascape
It is possible to communicate information between a Flash file and a mediascape. This is similar to what is possible with HTML, but whereas HTML is limited to text and numbers, Flash offers more interesting possibilities in terms of graphics and interactivity. You could create games and puzzles that the user interacts with as part of the mediascape.
How do I control the Flash movie from within my mediascape?
How do I control my mediascape from the Flash movie?
Further Help
| The mscape Flash FAQ contains questions and answers for many of the most frequently-asked questions, so this should be your first port of call for more help. |
The
mscape forums are a great place to ask mscape-specific Flash questions.
