Are swfs swappable?

[kbellis]

Can the logoMeter.swf under c:\Program Files (x86)\Flashificator be swapped out with Tommy's version?

Are any swf swappable?

[terrycm]

Yes and no, you can swap glassMeter.swf for a similar one like the glass with info swf. But I believe Tommys plugins require extra xml code to function properly. I for instance swap my loader with the glassMeter.swf with no problems.

[kbellis]

So who knows anything about this stuff and is willing to share?

It's all rather daunting; particularly when the language is imprecise and the terms arcane. For instance, from FFC's Plugins tab there is a button called Loadmeters (right above Preloader). Clicking on Loadmeters brings up a display with LogoMeter - both seemingly to do with metering. The Options button adjacent to LogoMeter once clicked brings up another panel with credits to Tommy Wirestam. This is where my head turns to tapioca... I languish... get discouraged.. and then fugetaboutit for a while... then try it again... even write to the master, asking Tommy if a swf can be used in place of the png (default Flashificator images) - he says, well of course (like anybody should know such a rudimentary thing), but then the FFC dialog box has a filter barring their use, and other attempts to sneak around the dialog box and the FFC interface falls flat. So okay, I'll give up on that idea and just try and mimic and modify what's already working all the while feeling my way through the dark, dark abyss.

I'll be happy to write a tutorial for the uninitiated non-code speaking segment of FFC users (like myself) for the customization of simply adding a logo while detailing what IMAGEU Y, METER X and SALIGN means along with what Radius, Enabling and Uncovering Others means - if only I could figure them out

[Trausti Hraunfjord]

The loadmeters section holds the standard FPP loadmeters (circular, glass and normal (numbers)) plus the modified glassmeter with text and Tommy's logoMeter.

The standard loadmeters are a walk in the park compared to Tommy's... which is highly customizable. I am not sure if you can replace the png with a swf while working with the logoMeter inside Flashificator, but it should be possible with hand coding... since Tommy declares it possible.

Don't hang me for this, but I think that IMAGEU refers to the upper image in the logoMeter creation, and the Y stands for the Y axis positioning (vertical). IMAGEL is the Lower image for the logometer. METER X would stand for the load meter... the one that indicates how much has been loaded... on the X axis (horizontal)
SALIGN, according to FPP's literature:

salignX horizontal window alignment, works together with static parameter
Can be used to change the window align point with motion tween or to set the window align point to any custom position.
Setting of salign property changes salignX value (L gives -0.5, C gives 0, R gives 0.5).
<spot url="me.jpg" static="1" salign="RB" align="RB" onClick="alignX=0,1000;alignY=-1,1000;salignX=0.5,1000;salignY=0.5,1000;" />
(moves static hotspot object form the right-bottom corner to the left-bottom corner on mouse click)

salignY vertical window alignment, works together with static parameter
Can be used to change the window align point with motion tween or to set the window align point to any custom position.
Setting of salign property changes salignY value (T gives -0.5, M gives 0, B gives 0.5).
<spot url="me.jpg" id="s1" static="1" salignX="-0.25" salignX="-0.25" />
(places hotspot object to 1/4 from the panorama window left-top corner)

To get a snowball in hell's chance at seeing what you are doing when changing the settings for the logoMeter, you should tick the Consecutive Load tickbox in the first toolbox when you open the loadmeters tab.
Then set the Bandwidth to 500 or 1000 or some other number that fits the size of your project. This will display the logoMeter for extended time on the screen, so that you can see what is going on. Just remember to untick the "Consecutive Load" tickbox when you have finished making the changes.

I have absolutely no idea what the "Radius" stands for... but there might be some info on it on Tommy's plugin site.

To replace the Flashificator images for the logoMeter, one is to click on the image(s) and hit the "Delete" button on the keyboard (fn+delete on Mac Book).

The logometer causes me headache... a few months back Proggy started working on a new logometer where things should be easier to manage, but that is one of those things that have been put on hold, due to the FPP updating process.

Hopefully this is of some help.... I have to get me some more time somehow... not being able to check mail and messages is a terrible thing... but in the past weeks it has been the every day situation for me. Throwing a post here and there... is manageable... but that's about all I have been able to do in public.

[kbellis]

Thanks Trausti. It's good to hear from you.

Your advice will help a lot. Now with snow on the ground, I may be able to begin focusing on teaching myself and working on my art.

Kind regards,

Kelly

[kbellis]

...uh, is that salign quote in Greenlandish?

[kbellis]

While the .swf issue may linger, I've gotten the tutorial written for Customizing Loadmeters in Flashificator. For discussions concerning the tutorial, please visit this thread.

[kbellis]

Okay - so let me ask it again another way:

Can I, for example, take this, rename it as ffc_mp3hotspot.swf and swap it out with this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Flashificator\hotspotPlugins\ffc_mp3hotspot.swf

or are there crevices where other iterations of ffc_mp3hotspot.swf lurk looking to frustrate and confound?

[Trausti Hraunfjord]

Quick answer: No way.

Longer answer: Test it out and figure out all the no-no's

[kbellis]

I tried something else and it worked. I was able to load Tommy's soundspot.swf using FFC just like any other hotspot is introduced; however, defining its parameters required a little fiddlin with the xml. You can listen for it... and now adjust the volume level - play with the nav pad hide / nav pad show scrabble tile here.

[Trausti Hraunfjord]

I am glad to see that I was wrong! Seriously

At least in this case it does work, but I really don't think one should have too high expectations for other swf swaps.

[marekdziekonski]

Hi Kelly,

I was wondering if you could share a little more details on the Tommy's soundspot plugin. Did you swap it within the native flashificator folder or after flashificating the project?

I'm trying to get the soundspot to play (and stop after it's done playing) when I click a hotspot within my panorama. Will I have to mess around the xml to do that or can that be done within flashificator?

Thank you!
Marek

[kbellis]

Hey Marek,

I'm still feeling my way along in coaxing specific sound files (mp3 only tested so far) to play on cue using the FFC interface. I'm hoping to one day I'll understand things enough to write a wiki article, but that day has been postponed.

No - I didn't swap it out, and from what Trausti has advised us in the past, such interchanges might cause problems - or no-nos as he puts it

Instead, you can add Tommy's soundspot.swf like any other hotspot using the FFC interface.

Things to think about ahead of time
You will need to decide on what event will trigger the mp3 file to be played; e.g., onLoad, onOver, onClick, etc.

By default and at the time of Flashification, FFC creates various sub directories; i.e.,
ProjectName_files/

Whenever you add a hotspot, that source file gets copied to your FFC project (again, at the time of Flashification), such is the case when you add soundspot.swf, that will automatically result in:
ProjectName_files/hotspotFiles/swf/soundspot.swf

This is good to know, so where ever you've tucked away soundspot.swf, it will remain there. And there's no need to worry about creating a project folder for soundspot.swf.

FWIW - For consistency with Tommy's examples, I've been naming the soundspot hotspot player.

Manually copy your mp3 files to your project directory; e.g., ProjectName_files/media/sound/ - assuming that you've Flashificated at least once.

Let's say for this example, you had previously decided that the sound will be triggered by an onClick event and that you've already added the hotspot being clicked on. So all that remains is to create the function that will call the file to be played and then attach it to your hotspot being clicked on.

First, edit this line:

Code: Select all

player.file= ProjectName_files/media/sound/part1.mp3

making the appropriate changes for file location/file name and then copy.

Next, from the FFC Functions tab -> Make Another Function -> Paste text function -> player.file=projectname_files/media/sound/part1.mp3 -> name your function so that you'll recognize it should you ever be curious and then attach it to your hotspot being clicked on. I named it play_part1_function in this example.

Flashificate and then click on Open to test the result in a browser, noting that the sound will not play in the FFC interface when you click on the hotspot, but it will (should) play when tested in your browser. It should play uninterrupted once per click. Clicking during playback will be ignored. There are other parameters that can be introduced later, but this should get you started.

If interested, below is what the xml looked like for this little experiment; noting that it was produced completely by FFC without any editing outside of FFC:

Code: Select all

<hotspots>
      <global
         onStart="
            disableLogoMeter();
         "
         onNewPano="
            disableAutorotator();
         "
         enableAutorotator="
            external.autorotator.disabled=0;
            pano.behaviour=2;
         "
         disableAutorotator="
            external.autorotator.disabled=1;
            pano.behaviour=-1;
         "
         disableLogoMeter="
            external.logometer.enabled=0;
         "
         play_part1_function="
            player.file=audiotest_files/media/sound/part1.mp3;
         "
      >
         <pano
         />
         <spot
            id="deletemeifyouwant"
            url="AudioTest_files/hotspotFiles/images/emptyImage.png"
            depth="1"
         />
         <spot
            id="player"
            url="AudioTest_files/hotspotFiles/swf/soundspot.swf"
            depth="2"
         />
         <spot
            id="click_trigger"
            url="AudioTest_files/hotspotFiles/images/SP1c.png"
            scaleable="0"
            static="1"
            cacheAsBitmap="0"
            depth="4"
            scaleX="0.4"
            scaleY="0.4"
            staticX="10"
            staticY="10"
            alignX="0"
            alignY="0"
            salignX="-0.5"
            salignY="-0.5"
            onClick="
               play_part1_function();
            "
         />
      </global>
   </hotspots>

[marekdziekonski]

Thank you Kelly! I've been trying for the past hour and just can't seem to be able to make it work. Here is what xml looks like:

Code: Select all

<hotspots>
      <global
         onNewPano="
            disableAutorotator();
         "
         enableAutorotator="
            external.autorotator.disabled=0;
            pano.behaviour=2;
         "
         disableAutorotator="
            external.autorotator.disabled=1;
            pano.behaviour=-1;
         "
         d_onOver_scale="
            scale=1.2,100,easyIn;
         "
         d_onOut_scale="
            scale=1,100,easyOut;
         "
         play_mitch="
            player.file=test_files/media/sound/mitch.mp3;
         "
      >
         <pano
         />
         <spot
            id="hotspot1"
            url=""
            depth="1"
         />
         <spot
            id="hotspot18"
            url="files/hotspotFiles/images/small_brighter.png"
            depth="18"
            pan="27.231900116758265"
            tilt="-8.367465529158261"
            onClick="
               play_mitch();
            "
         />
         <box
            id="player"
            url="files/media/swf/soundspot.swf"
            orientation="sphere"
            depth="19"
            pan="4.759171447619187"
            tilt="-23.586988247220273"
            refreshRate="12"
         />
      </global>
   </hotspots>

Am I missing something?
Also, when I drop the soundspot into the panorama, the swf folder is created under media (not hotspotFiles). Does that matter?

[kbellis]

Sorry for your frustration Marek.

I started from scratch using FFC v2.0694, added the soundspot.swf from the Source: button; didn't drag and drop, didn't change it to a box and didn't edit anything in the xml. You'll need to Flashificate and test it in a browser as no sound plays in the FFC interface.

Your play_mitch function looks fine - just make sure that the location and the mp3 file exist. Your call for that function attached to hotspot18 from the onClick event also looks okay.

However, I'm perplexed... what is the name of your project? Your hotspot18 graphic and soundspot.swf don't appear to be located under the same project parent directory as your mp3 file.

Kind regards,

Kelly

[marekdziekonski]

Thank you Kelly! I went over everything you wrote again and finally figured out what was wrong. For whatever reason my browser would not find files whenever I'd specify the project name. I just changed this line of code:

Code: Select all

play_mitch="
            player.file=test_files/media/sound/mitch.mp3;

to this line (pretty much taking out my project name -"test"):

Code: Select all

play_mitch="
            player.file=files/media/sound/mitch.mp3;

And now it works!!!!

Thank you so much!

[Trausti Hraunfjord]

Many thanks for your help Kelly! You have been a huge help in everything you have touched upon. The past 2 1/2 months have been a complete failure on my end, customer-support-wise, but let's hope that things will change on that front. I will try to catch up over the weekend.