Flash Site Design - A few things/questions/queries

Author

A few things/questions/queries

gh88855

2005-05-23, 7:34 pm

Hi.
ive learned photoshop and imageready to a good level in the last few years...
And now I finaly came round to putting up my website/shop. The standard and
loadtime I want is just not possible with standard HTML pages designed and
built in image ready. (I had everything laid out perfect, and when i uploaded
it realised it was way to slow to work properly)...

So.. I now have to learn flash, so I can re-build my site.
At first it was a bit daunting... but im getting the hang of it (I only have
flash5 btw..) and can easily import all my photoshop and imageready graphics,
background and stuff... And turn them into SWF format.

So.. I set my whole index page up.... and when it comes to previewing it......
It is pixely as hell!

So... what can I do to fix this?

Currenly a save an image as an SWF (from image ready).. and it look ok in
flash... I then have to scale it down each time...

(im resizing everything to fit in the standard flash work area box as i bring
it in).

What am i doing wrong? Why isnt everything looking nice when I preview it?

What /how should i be setting up at the start for a flash movie/page of either
large size(fullscreen) or at least a fixed size that has nice graphics & not
pixely?

Also..... any transparent images i import into flash go white arounf the edges
or when thy overlap other layers. this is especialy present when i have outer
glow effects overlapping imported from photoshop/imageready as SWF files.

Ive learned all the basics lessons and have a good knowledge now how to build
my site...
but all these formatting, image compatibility issues and size/picture quality
issues are slowing me down, and everytime i learn how to do one thing...
something else seems not right.

sigh.

Any help for either would be most helpfull.. the picture quality/size/work
area setting thing... or the image ready outer glow import overlapp thing.

Cheers.

gh88855

2005-05-23, 7:34 pm

Ok
I found "publish settings"

And set all to best quality... And that has made my preview nice now.
(I understand this will require people visiting the finished website to wait
longer for my page to load)

There is also an imput for screen/pixel size in there too.

What Id like to know is.....
When importing stuff into flash.... does everything i want on my finished page
"have" to be inside the work area rectangle? or can i not bother re-sizing, and
work around it?
Or
Must i always work in here, and set the size/quality "after" ive worked inside
the work area rectangle?

As for the white stuff around an overlapping image.....
It is ok for different stages of a button.... as each frame is at a different
interval.

So for button stages its no problem.

But for buttons that use extended areas (like outer glow from photoshop) and
over lapp other stuff that is imported...like animations and other buttons...

It is still a problem. until i figure a way around it......

mabe i could make each click of a button include the other buttons appearance
in its own stages (as long as i can define a hit area).
so its not really the 'other buttons' normal states you see in 'the' buttons
pressed states (which expand over the other buttons) but ghost buttons that
dont really interfere with the other "real" buttons.

does anyone understand what im trying to say with this idea?

anyways....
help appreciated.

gh88855

2005-05-23, 7:34 pm

ok...!!

right click > movie properties, then enter new work/project area size. :)
Go that one.

So just this problem with the overlapping pixels from imported imageready
SWF's with really wide outer glow photoshop effects that i want to use for
buttons... but the buttons overlapp... causing the white areas. also happens
when a frame of animation (or even just the surrounding area box) overlapps
another button or animation.
There must be a way around it without having to re-design my page.

Also, not shure how to use the flash file for my index page, or even as an
entire site when ive finished it all... as my webspace has to have "Index.html"
as the first page or it wont host properly.

I am intending to make a load screen with load bar ect..ect.. & have the
procedure posted at somr another site saved for that....
but for now getting these things sorted one by one is best approach.

heh. can anyone please tell me how to make buttons go to different scenes, and
even how to add another scene to a movie? (im only working with one scene so
far).

also one important question.... how can I, or is it possible to link a flash
site with a shopping cart.... and specificaly the barclays bank EPDQ payment
system?

:)

Flanders_ZA

2005-05-24, 7:33 pm

Hi,

As far as scaling pixel-based images in flash, from my experience is a bad
idea. Unlike a pixel-based progie like PS, even scaling an image down in flash
is going to look jagged (I think because flash does not re-rasterize the image
after scaling). The only thing I can suggest is that you take a slice approach
to the problem by setting up your images in PS/image ready etc. , scaling them
there, slice 'em then save as...import to flash. Transparency issues do occur.
Dunno whether this is the most web-friendly way to do things it but I've used
tiff file with alpha channel to achieve this and then import via quicktime. A
more web-friendly way to do it would be to use a giff format but I've never
done it myself and don't know if this format imports correctly with its
transparency intact.

Hope this helps

bertjeb

2005-05-24, 7:33 pm

for transparancy use png format!

gh88855

2005-05-24, 7:33 pm

You are both right!!!

Cheers.
Yes PNG is the way forward!!!
And not to export as SWF.. no, no, no.

I just export as "export frames as files" (PNG) all top settings... no matte,
full interlacing, transparency ect, ect....

import into a new button/symbol and it asks "this seems to be part of a
sequence" import all frames? YES!

And it lays out you nice new button all in order for you... and you can
position the button anywhere! great!

One thing... You are right.. something with the "slice thing" from imageready
messes stuff up, if you import a whole layer with old url/slices ect...

So i have to change the canvas size just right around the graphic/button... So
unwanted areas arent imported...and that seems to stop resulting in errors ect.

Also the way you use imports.. as symbol frames or as scene frames seems to
effect things too.

I guess a lot of experimenting pays off.

Cheers.

Mabe you could help explain how I will have to set up my web-hosting to allow
my finished FLASH site to load and work when people visit my .com site?
Not shure i can work that one out as im new to web hosting completely!!!

Is it right that Each page of my sitev should be a "scene". And the buttons to
navigate my site/pages should be set up to "go to scene 2" or scene 3 ect,
ect...

And will I be able to use a HTML shopping cart with my flash site/shop? or
will i have to get a special one?

I wanted to use the Barclays EPDQ, like I said.... Anyone know if this will be
possible?

Thanks...

Btw..... Thanks for the replys....

Here .... I found this very usefull.!!!. not shure if youve seen it before?
but its a GREAT source for button sounds!!!

http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk/wav.shtml

Regards. :)

gh88855

2005-05-26, 7:29 pm

Ok , i see all the info is here at this site!

Thanks for a great site, programmes and... Putting up with questions that can
easily be answered with a little patience !

macromedia has an EPDQ add on for dreamweaver MX. Thats just great!
but i dont have Mx :(

still not shure how that would work 'within' the flash movie...

I guess I gotta learn all that action script palava huh? :(

heh.

bertjeb

2005-05-27, 4:16 am

yep :D

bertjeb

2005-05-30, 7:22 pm

yep :D