If Only My Clients Had Flash
Permenant Link To: If Only My Clients Had Flash
These days, I don't do much work for clients anymore. I can tell you that it has saved me a few gray hairs, as you can imagine.
Despite that, I have been working on some projects that are essentially Flash 'modules' that others (we'll call pseudo-clients) could custom configure and put to use on their own sites.
Early on, it was my goal to make these 'modules' Flash 5 compatible, since I felt comfortable that most normal people had at least that version of the player, and I didn't want to have to offer support for player version detection.
Unfortunately, Flash 5 was lacking in several functionalities that I *really* wanted to make use of. Things such as dynamically loaded images and audio clips - functionalities that didn't appear until Flash MX. Sure, I personally had Flash, which would allow me to import an image or audio clip, then export it as a SWF that could be loaded on-the-fly, but not everyone in my target market has shelled out the several hundred bucks to purchase Flash. I knew I needed to find a way that would allow them to easily convert JPEGs and WAV files into SWFs, so they could make full use of my 'modules' without having to make a hefty investment in Flash. Fortunately, a solution was no more than a click away.
A company named LiveTronix has developed a great utility that all Flash developers should introduce to their clients. It's called - appropriately enough - SWF Convert.
This $20.00 utility allows you to convert image, video and sound elements to SWF files with the click of a button. It has some simple, yet very important, configurable options, allowing you to specify the frame rate, movie width, height; add a preloader; add a lens flare effect; as well as others.
If you're working on a project that would require your client to generate SWFs from images or audio clips, this inexpensive utility could be dream come true. As a nice bonus, you might just offer a licensed copy (purchased) of it to them for free.
Despite that, I have been working on some projects that are essentially Flash 'modules' that others (we'll call pseudo-clients) could custom configure and put to use on their own sites.
Early on, it was my goal to make these 'modules' Flash 5 compatible, since I felt comfortable that most normal people had at least that version of the player, and I didn't want to have to offer support for player version detection.
Unfortunately, Flash 5 was lacking in several functionalities that I *really* wanted to make use of. Things such as dynamically loaded images and audio clips - functionalities that didn't appear until Flash MX. Sure, I personally had Flash, which would allow me to import an image or audio clip, then export it as a SWF that could be loaded on-the-fly, but not everyone in my target market has shelled out the several hundred bucks to purchase Flash. I knew I needed to find a way that would allow them to easily convert JPEGs and WAV files into SWFs, so they could make full use of my 'modules' without having to make a hefty investment in Flash. Fortunately, a solution was no more than a click away.
A company named LiveTronix has developed a great utility that all Flash developers should introduce to their clients. It's called - appropriately enough - SWF Convert.
This $20.00 utility allows you to convert image, video and sound elements to SWF files with the click of a button. It has some simple, yet very important, configurable options, allowing you to specify the frame rate, movie width, height; add a preloader; add a lens flare effect; as well as others.
If you're working on a project that would require your client to generate SWFs from images or audio clips, this inexpensive utility could be dream come true. As a nice bonus, you might just offer a licensed copy (purchased) of it to them for free.
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