Flash Site Design - Not sure how i should go about creating this flash to

Author

Not sure how i should go about creating this flash to

da4seen

2007-11-20, 3:15 am

First let me start by saying my flash file is currently 740kb in .swf form and
I'm not done with it. I'm taking this which was developed from another
developer and trying to customize it to work for what i need. The flash was
bought from template monster.

Is 740kb big for a flash file that is basically an entire website?

I'm trying to make this flash load as fast as possible while implementing the
best practices so i can use it for future projects. Also i would like advice on
using various techniques to accomplish some functionality.

The flash file i'm working on is basically like a brochure for a client. It
consists of "8" main pages, along with several sub pages.

I have the following questions though.

1. Currently the navigation is on the left hand side, and has a mouse over
animation as well as sound effects with rollover and being clicked. The
mouseover effect just moves the text to the right a little and brings it back
to the original position.. However each button in is an individual movie symbol.

- Should I consolidate the navigation so it's one movie symbol instead of 8
movie symbols on one page? Keeping in mind that even if i do make it just 1
symbol i might need to add the 8 navigation movie symbols into that one to
maintain the animation.

- Should the buttons even be movie symbols or is there a better way this
should be done?

2. Because of the text for each page, I was using adobes built in scrolling
component for the dynamic text boxes. Considering there is more then 8 dynamic
text instances converted to graphic symbols.... Is there a more efficient way
of doing this, or is the above method just fine?

3. The flash file contains a photo gallery. Currently all the images from the
gallery are in the same flash file. I was thinking it would be more efficient
to load the images in the gallery from external .swf files. However i'm not
sure if that would be the best method, and i'm also not sure how to correctly
accomplish within standards.

4. I would like to implement a contact form within the flash so users can
contact me.

5. I would also like to have a testimonials page where users can submit
testimonials. However i'm not sure how to create the form, but i had an idea on
displaying the text in the flash using XML so it can be easily updated . Just
not sure on the proper and more efficient way of doing this.

6. I would also like an event calendar that displays within the flash. Was
thinking of having this loaded from an external .swf file as well. Would like
the calendar to be XML based so I can update it myself. Don't need nothing
advance, just something that says "Busy", "Not Busy", and "Book" which would
just take them back to the contact form to book me.
--------

I know many of you don't know who i am, but I would really appreciate some
assistance. Whether its sample flash files, links to tutorials, advice,
anything.

I really want to do all of the above, but also as i'm learning i would like to
make sure i'm doing the above in the most efficient way possible and up to
standards while also keeping the size low. Would like to do it right the first
time, so as i continue making flash files in the future I'm not writing sloppy
actionscript coding, having sloppy timelines, and or having sloppy structure in
my .fla files.

Also i know alot of you are very busy people, and i'm not asking for you to do
the flash for me but any and all help will be very greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for you comments, advice, and replies. :)

r_critchlow

2007-11-20, 3:15 am

Wow, you're really looking to get your money's worth here. :)

I haven't read through your entire list of questions, but I'll do what I can
to help - others here will probably have different ideas, so feel free to pick
and choose which (if any - or all) you want to integrate.

1. So far, my experience has been that the people that create the templates on
TemplateMonster have a pretty good handle on what they are doing, and have done
what they do for a pretty good reason. Unless you are quite good at
ActionScript, I probably wouldn't make any major changes to the back end. After
all, you bought the template for a reason. If you want to move the buttons
around the stage, great - edit them to change the colors, great. But to try to
create a button array may be more than you want to bite into here. That said,
it can be done. I've done it. If you want a sample of the code, drop me an
e-mail and I'll send it to you. FYI: I only do AS3.0 at this point. If your
template is in AS2 then one of the other Flash gods would be better suited for
code samples.

1a. The buttons are movie clips for a reason - flexibility. Leave them as
movie clips unless you really like migraines.

2. I hate having to convert text to symbols, but sometimes it is the most
efficient (or only) way to do things. If you want to do any tweens with the
text, it has to be a symbol.

3. You can load the photos from external SWF's or you can load the JPG's
directly using XML. If you are using AS3, I know that there is tight, simple
integration with XML. I'd review a couple tutorials on XML from some place like
www.tutorialized.com to get a feel for it. Also, look up "Working with XML" in
the Flash Help file (F1). Once you have decided on an approach, come back here
with specific questions and you will get good answers.

4. Doable. Search these forums for "Email from Text Box". This was covered
several times in the last couple of days.

5. XML is one option. You can even have XML give a photo of the person doing
the testimonial and load it all into a single page. What you can do with this
is limited only by your imagination. This is a very broad question.

6. Someone posted a message about a calendar on here today. Search for
"Calendar" and I'm sure you will get some ideas from there. Also (and again)
www.tutorialized.com is a great resource for general code and ideas.

You're right, we don't know you. And guess what? That doesn't matter. We are
equal opportunity abusers here. :) I mean that with the kindest grin.

The things you have asked are very broad in nature and therefore are quite
difficult to give specific answers. We are always happy to help you when you
get stuck, and even to spend a great deal of time walking you through a
specific topic. However, what you've asked here would take a six-week course to
answer to the level you will need. Grab some free code. Try it out. Play with
it. Break it. The Flash gods will rescue you. But remember, the more specific
your question, the better answer you will get.

I hope this helps (at least some).

Sketchsta

2007-11-20, 6:15 am

Hi da4seen,

Welcome to the forums. I had a read through your post, and i have to agree
with r_critchlow.... lol... you really do want to get your money's worth =)

We will be glad to help you in any way we can. but i have to say that to help
you with all your questions all at once will be difficult, and most likely
reallly confusing for you, having to take in soo much info all at once.

Pick a topic that you would like to have changed first, then we will help you
and talk you through it, until you have firm grasp on it.
Then move onto the next topic.

believe me, it will be much easier this way =)

for the quick questions you asked tho..
1)The buttons are better left as movieClip symbols, i agree 100% with
r_critchlow.

2) Texts are fine the way they are, unless you want to animate them as
r_critchlow said.

3)For the gallery, i would suggest you take that part out, and load either
each pic separately as needed, or, create another .swf which will be your
gallery.swf then just load that when needed.
This would reduce the size of your file considerably.
Like r_critchlow said, you can have a XML driven gallery, or you can use
Flash directly.
and, just to get you started on *loading external content* have a look in the
Flash Docs for MovieClipLoader class. This is a verry good verry versatile
class for loading external content.
I can help you with this one, as i only use AS2.0. =)

4)For the contact Form, there is an abundant of threads for these, and a whole
lot of free sample code if you search the web.
But, if you find yourself stuck on something, feel free to ask.

5) I made one of these not too long ago for a client, while an XML is verry
usable in this situation, my client wasnt paying much, so i used a simple Text
file to be loaded into Flash.
Everytime the client gets a Testimonial, he simply adds it to the Text file,
and its displayed in the .swf
while these are only two options for you to consider, im sure there are plenty
of other ways to get the same result.

6)for your calendar, have a search in the forums like r_critchlow sugested,
if you get stuck, simply ask.

in the words of r_critchlow... i hope this helps (at least some). =P

r_critchlow

2007-11-20, 6:15 pm

@Sketchsta -

Your fingers will thank you if you just call me Rex. :)

Sketchsta

2007-11-20, 6:15 pm

my fingers are ok, Rex...

"Thanx Ctrl+V" :tounge;

da4seen

2007-11-20, 6:15 pm

Thank you very much for taking the time for the replies. I'll do searches on
everything else and see what i can find, and post questions as needed. :)

Quick questions

1. How big is too big for the .swf file size?
2. I have every page in a new scene, is that good or should I do it a
different way?
3. Is it possible to customize the colors and/or use images for the
uiscrollbar?

I'm using actionscript 2.

Sketchsta

2007-11-21, 6:15 pm

You're welcome.

As for you quick q's..

1) For me, im quite impatient when it comes to loading times.. my biggest file
size to date would be just over 800kb. This was a intro for a homePage. But,
the intro was a separate swf, which was being loaded into the template. so were
all the other pages. but they were 200kb and less.
So I'd say, try not to go over 1MB for a file...not unless its a full intro.
If the file size gets too big, think about how you can split your content up
into smaller swf files, then simply load them as needed.

2) I would STRONGLY reccomend you stay away from using scenes. Use movieClips
instead, Much safer and more convenient in controlling them.
Everytime i tried to use Scenes in my early days, it never worked right, and i
had problems controlling them. So i switched to movieClips and only movieClips.
=)

3)Im sure you have the option to choose from a few preset colors...nothing
fancy tho.
Select your scrollbar on stage and have a look in the TABS on your properties
inspector. I cant remember of the top of my head, but im sure i changed colors
on them before.

I appologise in advance if im wrong. =)