Flash :: A Few Questions About File Conversion

On File Importing, Positioning And Conversion
You'll have to pardon me if my queries would seem silly or really dumb, but I really am a very new to this kind of "programming", especially since I feel this is more for intermediate animators or media designers . Although I've covered all of the basic lessons of the Flash 5 tutorials, I still have a lot more "basic stuff" to run through, so I'll keep these as simple and shoooooooooort as I can:

1. POSITIONING: Mostly I'd like to import and thus "re-use"...GIF
files...and although they automatically become "animated" in Flash...they seem to all get automatically positioned on the left-uppermost corner of the work area. I know each flash frame is a bitmap of the gif image located in one spot so I can move them one by one but (using CTRL K).... Is there a way to "move" them all at once to wherever position/location within the work
area I choose?

2.CONVERSION: back to graphics...now, I know about animated gifs turning up in the Library as numbered bitmaps and I sort of stumbled upon how to "edit" them and turning them into vector graphics with the Trace Bitmap command(s?)...however, again, do I have to "convert" and edit them One by
One??? Is there a way to "batch process" them??? I mean, it's ok if it's only like less than 10bitmaps...I could probably change the background color of each one easy...but...ughh..you know what I mean...

I hope I didnt complicate myself...I think this would be enough for now...i actually had like 2 of them b4 i started....

Cheers!

Conversion From Swf File To Actionscript Code
Hi guys
Do you think , it is possible to write the actionscript code
which create the simple animation attached in 1.zip
supposed to have the function CREATE_RECTANGLE() and the function MOVE_RECTANGLE() .
Please help me !!

SWF To Image File Conversion Question.
I'm in the process of putting together a web-interface for a research database and I've run into a bit of a problem. The site will be using a combination of PHP and Flash to generate a dynamic chart/graph in SWF format, based on the user's queries. The code I plan to use is from this site: http://www.maani.us/charts/index.php?menu=Introduction . My problem is, I want to be able to provider users with an image copy of the graph created - sort of a "Save Chart/Graph" button included in the page which would allow the SWF to be saved as a BMP, GIF, JPEG, or PNG (whichever is easiest). There's no animation within the graph - just the created image. I haven't been able to find any examples of code, a specific program, or any mention of any such function through Google that shows that Flash can even do this. Is this even possible? And if so, can someone point me in the direction of a possible solution I can use for this problem?
Thanks in advance for your time and patience,
Eldric

P.S. If this isn't possible at all with Flash, please drop me a line to let me know - that way I can try to figure out another solution to my graph/chart display.

Mp3 Or Wav.file Conversion To Flash Format Help Me Please I Could Be Stupid But.....
HI thanks for looking in im not even a newby yet but im doing some recording for a talking book customer and they asked me to put it in flash format obviosly not wanting to appear completely ignorant in front of my boss i said yep cool no problem but the little guy inside said WHATS FLASH??
so i thought the net would help me find out
so here goes with the stupid questions.
1 whats flash in simpletons terms bearing in mind i only got a short attention span like that of a smoked kipper?

2can i just do the sound as mp3 or wav or something in cool edit pro or cubase and get away with it or do i have to go buy a whole new bunch of software and gizmos and things so,s i can complete this contract or am i gonna get fired
for not letting the little guy say ihavent a clue what you mean mr paying customer sir now go away your givin me a headache please help if you can and thanks for your time

PS sorry for any inconvenience incurred whilst pulling someone you dont even know out of the deep Cr**p he got himself in through his own foolish arrogance but heck whats the internet for anyway if not this THANX MATE OR MATESS

What Frame Rate Should You Build Your Flash File At When Conversion?
Every second of video has 30 frames. But Flash animations can be done at any frame rate, which raises a couple of important questions: what frame rate should you work at, and second, if you choose to work at a rate other than 30 frames per second (fps), how do you convert to 30 fps? I deal with the question of frame rate conversion below.

You can create a Flash movie at 30 fps. But if is going to be played back on a computer, a 30 fps .swf file will generally produce unacceptably high data rates, unless the image is very small and simple, or the computer it is playing on is very fast. It can also create a lot of extra animation work if you want to draw in-betweens for all 30 frames. Fortunately, there is no need to build your Flash movie at 30 fps, even if you are planning to transfer it to video.

we usually build animation that needs to work on the web or video at 12 fps. This gives us a good balance of lower data rates and smoother animation. When creating cartoon style animation, it also keeps our work consistent with the majority of broadcast animation. While some high end cel animation is done at 24 frames per second (the rate that film is projected at), much broadcast animation is created at 12 fps. This is because it is drawn on "2's." In other words, each image holds for 2 frames. Do the math and it becomes clear why--half the amount of frames to draw each second. While Disney and Dreamworks may have virtually unlimited budgets to create their epic animations, most broadcast (and even more so, Internet) productions are on very tight budgets. But even the big studios do a lot of character animation on 2's. It looks good that way, so why create twice the work?
If we are using flash to build a cartoon solely aimed at broadcast or film, however, we build it at 24 fps. That way we can animate on 2's for most of the character animation, but do animate on 1's for segments or particular motions that require smoother animation.
If we are using Flash to build graphics for broadcast use only, and so won't be hand drawing in betweens, we usually build the file at 30 fps. This will give us the smoothest motion, and data rate won't be an issue for you. It is also possible to even build it at 60 fps, and convert this to a 30 fps video with fields.
In the end, you can decide to build it at any rate you want. The lower the rate, the smaller the file size, data rate and number of frames to animate, but the less smooth the animation. Conversely, the higher the frame rate, the higher the file size, data rate and number of frames to animate, but with smoother animation.

when I use Moyea SWF to Video Converter, FLV to Video Converter Pro. I always choose the proper flash to convert, so I can always get good quality video to put on my Zune, PSP, Apple TV......
If you want to get good quality, you should choose flash according to your device
http://www.swfkits.com/swf_to_video/

2 Questions About A Flv File
I have 2 questions:

1. I have a flv movie embeded into a fla file. Is there a way I can export the flv ?

2. How can I edit the flv file after I exported it ? Can I convert it to swf and decompile the swf and use flash to edit it ? Or do I need a special flv editor ?

Thank you.

File Size Questions....
The movie I'm working with (MX) has too much being loaded in the first frame. I understand that some things (such as, sound with linkage identifiers and components) are loaded in the first frame, even though they are not present in that frame. Does anyone know an entire list of these things?

My first scene does have a lot of motion guides in it. What percentage would be cut off the load in the first frame if I do these tweens with AS instead?

What percentage would be cut off the first frame if I learn the MX drawing methods and use them?

Any help or guidance is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

File Size Questions
What truely makes a flash file large???

just curious because I am having issues making my file size small...

is it images? Length of the timeline? Amount of Layers... amount of symbols??? just curious if someone can just break it down for me??

Thanks,
Carlos

File Size Questions
I know the key to a lower file size is to have less jps's.... if my .fla has the same exact symbol in multiple key frames... does this count more towards filesize.. verse having a layer dedicated to the symbol with no keyframes... (its a background image)

Thanks,
Carlos

External Questions File
Hello,

Im using MX2004 pro and I would like to know if there is a way to have a series of questions loaded in to to flash for a quiz. I have found a few tutorials on this, but have only seen it done with multiple txt files per question. I need to have it randomly pick a question from 1 text file so that it can be easily updated. Any ideas? Thanks!

Questions About Loading .txt File
I am building a flash website. I'm using the following code to load an external .txt file for News.

Code:
myData = new LoadVars();
myData.onLoad = function() {
myText_txt.text = this.content;
};
myData.load("news.txt");
It just loads simple text, but I want to be able to have Bold text and Links, something that supports html or php files. How would I do this? Any links would help.

File Size Questions -what's Normal?
Hi guys,

I have a site I am building and have had to break the individual sections down into 5 separate .swf files.

The individual .swf files vary in size. Smallest may be around 14K. Largest around 75K.

Is 75K to big for a single .swf file?

My big problem is that each of these movies has to be loaded into separate layers in my main .swf file so they can be accessed through navigation buttons. The first frame of my main .swf has the loading actions so everything is loading at once into their different layers.

Everything works perfectly as a projector or when I test the movie.

But when someone on a 56K dial up tries to access the site, will they be waiting forever for each of the .swfs to load?

I tried separating everything into unique .swfs because I thought it would speed up the download...but now am thinking it was a waste of time....eh?

How can I help make my movie stream a little better. Or is it going to be a problem for me?

-643

Oh - incidentally...why can't the bandwidth profiler project download time for a movie that has to load other .swfs? All I see for preload times are like .3 seconds for my 1 frame main movie. The individual movies were significantly longer (more like 3 secs or more). Is there an option to have it drill down into the movies being loaded when estimating this?

many thanks,

-643

File Size & Optimization Questions
Hi all-

I am about to launch a web campaign for a client, and am concerned about optimization related to file size. I've read some articles, some are alarming, some are comforting. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

1) The swf is 1 MB - is that too large for dial-up connections?
2) If it is too large - what are my alternatives for set-up? I don't want to reduce the pic quality too much more in the fla.
3) Is there a way to load the page first, then the video, that way visitors can read the rest of the content while the flash is loading?
4) If you "view source" is everything set-up correctly for best optimization?
5) Any general suggestions?

Here's the link: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/...en/index1.html
(also, I realize that the sound keeps playing when you hit pause...)

Thanks in advance!

File Structure And Loading Questions
I'm in the process of developing my first flash site. I've developed mini-applications and such, so I'm familiar with actionscript.

My question(s) is this. How should I structure my files so that I can load them efficiently? I've loaded swf's externally, but I'm not sure if this is the best/typical way sites are structured. I'm not sure if I should use scenes or movie clips instead, and if I do need to do one of those options I'm not too sure where to start.

Any and all help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Loading External .swf File Questions
Is there a way to _xscale and _yscale external .swf after loading them?

Is there a way to 'talk' to the external .swf file after loading and placing it on the stage? By this I mean: will I be able to send variables/commands/functions back and forth from the playing movie and the external .swf file?

Also, if it isn't too much to ask, can you please give an example with AS?

Thank you

Printing Text File Questions...
I have some quesions regarding printing text files. How do u make the spacing single b/c it seems to be printing out double space. Would you have to use html, btw how do you print html text?

One more thing i would like to know how to do is play a sound ever time a letter was displayed using the typwriter effect.

This is the typewriter script i used:

ActionScript Code:
myText = new LoadVars ()myText.load ("test.txt")myText.onLoad = function () { _root.holder = this.test _root.index = 0}_root.onEnterFrame = function () { if (_root.mc.output.text.length != _root.holder.length) { _root.typer = _root.holder.charAt (_root.index) _root.mc.output.text += _root.typer _root.index ++ }}

Questions About Passing Variables From A Checkbox To A PHP File
I'm having a major problem. I've got a Flash form that when submitted is supposed to pass variables over to a .php file so people can enter a contest. Now, anything sent over from an input text field goes through just fine. However, I also have a checkbox (really a movieclip with two frames...one for a on checkbox and on for an off checkbox.) with an instance name of 'optin' as this is for people to join an email list. When clicked on it should trigger a YES and when clicked off it should trigger a NO to the PHP script. However, it doesn't do anything. I think the problem lies in the PHP script but I'm just not sure. Here's an example of the part of the PHP script I'm talking about:

mysql_query("insert into entries (firstname,lastname,optin) values ('$first_name','$last_name','$optin',)") or die(mysql_error());

and maybe that's the problem there. On the other hand, here's the script for the two frames of the MC called optin.:

On the keyframe marked off this script is placed on the checkbox button:

on (release) {
gotoAndStop("on");
_root.left_mc.empty.optin=NO;
}

On the keyframe marked on this script is placed on the checkbox button:

on (release) {
gotoAndStop("off");
_root.left_mc.empty.optin=YES;
}

I should mention that this .swf is nested inside an empty movie clip called 'empty' that is nested in another MC called left_mc on the _root timeline.

Finallly, this script is placed on the Submit button:

on (release) {
gotoAndStop ("finish");
loadVariablesNum ("http://www.yoursite.com/entry.php", 0, "POST");
}
}

So what am I doing wrong here or can this even be done?

Few Questions About Loading Text From External File
Hello
I have a few questions regarding loading a text from an external file:
1) Does the file have to be with *.txt extension?
2) Does the file have to begin with &text= combination?
3) How can I break the lines without creating a "double line gap" in the flash movie?
4) Is it possible to create links inside the text file, if possible - with certain colors, and to load it to flash? And if it is, how do I do that?

Thank you!

Self Contained Projector File: LoadMovie Questions
I'm trying to make a stand alone projector file that includes all of the 'loadmovie' .swf's I created from WildForm.

I need to send the file to my client without all the files in a folder. I just want to send one .swf file that she can view and pass along to her co-workers for approval.

When I create a projector file it doesn't include the .swf files that are loaded through the loadmovie command (loaded into an empty movie clip with an instance).

The .fla file and projector are all done in Flash 5.

Thanks!

Create Tests Using A Data File For Questions
Is it possible to pull questions from a data file into flash without having to create new frames for every question. This would be a multiple choice test. We currently hand type the questions into multiple frames and grade at the end.

Thanks

Edited: 03/15/2007 at 07:30:51 AM by Trainersteve

[F8] Quiz, Using Xml File,want Text And Graphics To Dissapear On Certain Questions
Hi guys,

Hoping you may be able to please help again. Still working on the random question quiz.

However have come up against a different problem.

Each questions normally has 4 options for the user to choose from. Some questions however only have two or three options.
So in these instances the I've been trying to get the uneccessary background boxes, buttons and text options to dissapear.

Which I've done, unfortunately I've made them dissapear permimently, all the text options background boxes and buttons.

What I'm trying to achieve is to have the uneccessary background boxes, buttons and text to dissapear only on questions
that have a differnet number of options (ie.. two or three).

I've altered the XML file accordingly when questions with two or three options appear.

Here's what I've done so far to the actionscript:

Added the follwoing in the frame called LoadData:

// added the below two lines to,return the number of answers
this.getNumOfAnswers=function()
{
return this.answers.length;
}

}

Then in the frame called ShowQuiz, I've done the following:

if (currentQuestionNumber>quizItems.length)
gotoAndStop("SummaryScreen");

randGenNo = randomArray[currentQuestionNumber-1];
var currentQuizItem=quizItems[randGenNo-1];

var hasAnswered=false;
question=currentQuizItem.getQuestion();
for (var i=1; i<=4; i++)
{
_root["answer"+i]=currentQuizItem.getAnswer(i-1);
_root["answer"+i+"Textbox"]._visible=false;
_root["answer"+i+"Button"]._visible=false;
}

stop();

I realise adding (: _root["answer"+i+"Textbox"]._visible=true Would help, but when and where,
I'm pretty sure its not as simple as that. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've named all the instances of the graphic and text components and they work ok.

Have attached fla file and xml file, to show you how the files are set out.

Many Thanks

MrBlur

2 Basic Questions - Data Rates And File Types
Greetings! Started using flash to help my boss with his website and he's asked me two questions I don't know the answer to!

1. What is the opportune data rate for the general population for videos when using flash? He has a small production company and most of the people he is selling to have cable if not T1+. I've advised a data rate of 300 kbps (but that would have to include audio too )... does that seem right to you?

2. It currently takes a VERY long time for me to export a movie to test it and see how it all works and looks. Currently all of the pictures in the system are in .PSD format. If I were to make these all JPEGs and swap them all out for these smaller files would this help reduce export time at all?

Thanks so much!

XML Quiz - Randomizing Questions & Level Of Difficulty Questions
Hi Folks,
I've been tasked to do a quiz in XML with a few caveats and I need some help.

The quiz needs to pull randomized questions from the XML file and also I need to have this sort from 3 levels of difficulty. For example, a user would possibly get fed 3 easy 3 medium or 4 hard questions.

My XML is set up as follows:
<QUIZ>
<QUESTION TEXT="Harry Markowitz won the Nobel Prize in Economics for a paper on portfolio diversification that he wrote while..." ANSWER="2">
<CHOICE>A. on the faculty at Columbia</CHOICE>
<CHOICE>B. a grad student at Chicago</CHOICE>
<CHOICE>C. a janitor at MIT</CHOICE>
<CHOICE>D. a patent clerk in Hamburg</CHOICE>
</QUESTION>
</QUIZ>

These questions are being stored in an array called questionsArray. So I guess all I need to do is call these from the array @ random, but the level thing is really kickin' my butt. Im just kind of lost on this one and I was hoping for some insight all the way around on this. For some reason XML in Flash scares me. It always ends up being nightmare. Someone please wake me up from the nightmare:-

Thanks,
Michael

Conversion
how do I "convert" movie clips into buttons and vice versa.. do I just change the instance ?

Conversion From 5 To MX
Ok, I started my project with flash 5. Then I upgraded to MX. Used a feature I guess only works in MX. Now, it's giving me an error saying that I'm using something that will not work on flash 5. I am not using flash 5. Now the tool tip that I placed in my page is not working because of this error. So what can I do?

5.0 To MX Conversion
I'm involved in a project where flash is used to generate pie charts, bar graphs, line charts, etc. on the fly from a querystring. The files were built in 5.0 and I'm told worked fine. When going to MX however, some of the charts and graphs stopped working. The information I was able to obtain suggested changing all the "eval" statements to "this." I did that, but with no success.

If any actionscript gurus out there are interested in working on the project please email me. You will be paid for your efforts.

Thanks,
Dave
toonman@toonman.com

Gif Conversion
Could someone show me how to convert a swf file into a gif file please for the use of link exchange?

Swf To Dxf Conversion
Hello,

Does anyone out there know how to convert a swf file (i.e. floor plan movie clip) to dxf format to be incorparted into a cad program?

Thanks

Martin

Mac To Pc Conversion
I work on macs at work and want to take my fla's home but I can't open them because I am on a PC at home. Is there anyway of converting to pc format?

Conversion?
Is there a way i can change an inut text into a dynamic text through action script?

BPM To FPS? Conversion?
does anyone have the equation for converting bpm to fps???

thank you soooo much in advance!!

AS2.0 Conversion
Okay I've got this pet project that is pretty cool. I'll explain it to you and it should be attached below. It takes a date and runs it through all of these functions to determine the Chinese Taoist Four Pillars of the date and time. The four pillars are where we typically get our idea of the Chinese Animal years from. Actually the Chinese Animals are only one half of one pillar. This app basically goes and calculates all four pillars.

So I spent months doing it on the side and finally got it to a working condition, but I did it all in AS1. It isn't useless now but I'd really like to see it updated for AS2.0. I was hoping there was some 2.0 god out there who would want to take on a challenge. I've only attached the swf so you can see it in its current state. If you're interested send me a message and I'll send you the fla.

Thanks in advance.

Vob Conversion
I need to convert a vob file to either have it as a link to play or upload to flash. I have tried a few DVD rippers but nothing works right. Any ideas how to take a DVD file ending with .vob and make it a file you can view on the web? Or for flash to upload, compress and play

.swf Conversion?
Is there any way to edit a .swf file? not to steal anybody's work or anything, but to edit a cartoon I made a while back and kept the .swf but not the .fla Thanks for any help you can provide

I Need Something For An SWF To DVD Conversion
Does anybody know of any Flash SWF to a DVD or VCD file converter???

FLV Conversion
Is there a way to make a swf into a flv?

or

When I try to publich as quicktime format, I get an error message telling me that my version of quicktime is not capable of exporting ???

I need either to do the conversion or find a tutorial of publishing in MOV format.

AS 1.0 To AS 2.0 Conversion
hello, can anyone help me to convert this script from AS1.0 to AS2.0:

AS 1.0 works, but AS 2.0 shows an error in this line "2:flexb = Number(flex)+Number(tracerx);".

I dont know how to fix it ....
thanks

2:flexb = Number(flex)+Number(tracerx);
j = 3;
while (Number(j)<32) {
set(j add ":flexb", eval(j-1 add ":flexa"));
setProperty(j, _x, eval(j add ":x")+Eval(j add ":flexb"));
j = Number(j)+1;
}
x1 = x2;

[MX] SWF To 3GP Conversion
Hello there

I've been looking for ages now for a program (not necessarily free - just one that does the job) that will 100% convert SWF files to 3GP files for usage on mobile devices.

I've used ANVSOFT's converter but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to like nested movie clips.

Can anyone help/suggest a resource ?

Thanks in advance

SWF To AVI Or QT Conversion?
Hello:
I have an swf file I need to convert to an avi or qt for use in adobe encore for a dvd authoring class. Does anybody know a good way to do this without additional software?

I tried just exporting it but I have a lot of animation embedded in movie clips and when it is exported the movie clips do not have the animation.

Hopefully this makes sense and if so any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

As2 To 3 Conversion Help
hi there

I'm converting a little timer that i found here on flashkit to as3 i have managed to fix all the errors however the clock is still not running. there is a text field with the instance name "clock" which looks like "00:00:00:00" here is the current code

Code:
var startTime;
var elapsedTime;
var elapsedHours;
var elapsedM;
var remaining;
var seconds;
var hundredths;
var elapsedS;
var elapsedH;
var hours;
var minutes;

this.addEventListener("enterFrame",onEnterFrame);
function onEnterFrame(e:Event) {
startTime = getTimer();
elapsedTime = getTimer()-startTime;
elapsedHours = Math.floor
(elapsedTime/3600000);
remaining = elapsedTime-(elapsedHours*3600000);
elapsedM = Math.floor(remaining/60000);
remaining = remaining-(elapsedM*60000);
elapsedS = Math.floor(remaining/1000);
remaining = remaining-(elapsedS*1000);
elapsedH = Math.floor(remaining/10);
if (elapsedHours<10) {
hours = "0"+elapsedHours.toString();
} else {
hours = elapsedHours.toString();
}
if (elapsedM<10) {
minutes = "0"+elapsedM.toString();
} else {
minutes = elapsedM.toString();
}
if (elapsedS<10) {
seconds = "0"+elapsedS.toString();
} else {
seconds = elapsedS.toString();
}
if (elapsedH<10) {
hundredths = "0"+elapsedH.toString();
} else {
hundredths = elapsedH.toString();
}

var clock:String = hours+":"+minutes+":"+seconds+":"+hundredths;

}
can somebody point me in the right direction please