What Program Is Needed for .SWF?

[rtbtat]

I think I posted a similar question in the wrong forum, I apologize for that.

I'm in the process of creating my first Captivate 2 Training Video at our federal agency. When I'm finished, I will publish the .cp file as an .SWF file that will be posted onto our Intranet Web Site, so users can run the Training Video any time they want.

Here's my Captivate newbie question.Our agency is using IE6 for Intranet and Internet access. What program or programs will the users at our agency need to run the .swf Training Video? I'm very confused about the differences between Flash and Shockwave.

Thanks,
Robert

[Captiv8r]

Hi Robert

Normally the Flash plug-in is what is used to play .SWF files in the browser. A very high percentage 98-99% of the browsers out there in use today are already Flash capable. Hopefully you aren't just pointing folks to the .SWF file. You should be posting a .SWF and a .HTM file to your server. Then point them to the .HTM file.

Also, don't forget that with version 2, there may be 4 or more files to upload. One file that gets missed regularly is named standard.js.

Cheers... Rick

[rtbtat]

Hi:

Thanks for the informative response. I'm almost positive that everyone at our agency has Adobe Flash 9 on their system.

I didn't realize some of the things you pointed out such as loading both an htm and swf file on the server. In addition, could you please advise what other files should be uploaded in addition to the swf file?

Thanks,
Robert

[Captiv8r]

Hi Robert

The other files will vary, depending on your choices when you published. In a nutshell, I'll list them here.

Files you commonly see
* MainMovie.SWF (Contains the main part of your movie)
* MainMovie_skin.SWF (Contains the playback controls and other information - You may banish this file and force the controls into the MainMovie.SWF by clicking Project > Skin... > Borders tab and DE-selecting the "Show Borders" check box.
* MainMovie.HTM (This is the HTML file used to present the movie to your user. Contains sizing information and also looks for the fourth file, standard.js)
* standard.js (Contains code used by the HTML file)

Files you may see if different selections are used:
MainMovie_fs.HTM (Created when you select the Full Screen option. If this file exists, you point your user to it instead of the MainMovie.HTM. When launched, it contains a link that opens the movie in a browser without toolbars and such)
MainMovie.ZIP (If you use the .ZIP files option, this is the only file you will find.
autorun.inf (If you use the autorun option, this file is created for you to burn to the CD to autostart it in a PC)

Hopefully this helps... Rick

[rtbtat]

Captivate 2

Hi Rick:

That was very helpful. I sent your last reply to the guy who's posting the file on our Intranet. I then exported the published .swf file to the Intranet site. He clicked on the .htm file and voila, everything played perfectly.

Thanks so much for your help Rick. Hopefully we can handle it from now on.

By the way, I just saw that Captivate 3 was released. Are there any significant features in the new version?

Robert

[Captiv8r]

Hi again Robert

You might wish to take a peek at the following link: Click here

New features include (in no particular order and completely drawing from memory)

* Copy/Paste/Import question slides!
* Question Randomization/Question pooling
* Ability to create a hyperlink from inside a text caption
* New ways to record. Actually offering a full motion mode.
* New gizmo called a "Slidelet" that has its own timeline.
* Consolidated settings manager

I know there are more, but those are all that come to my "first cuppa" mind.

Cheers... Rick

[rtbtat]

Very interesting Rick. If and when I find some free time I'm going to check it out a little more thoroughly.

Robert