Strategies for Flash Buttons in DW4??

[Jefferis Peterson]

DW4 has the great ability to put flash buttons in a web page. The inter-

operability of the MM suite is astounding. My question is to the wisdom

of putting Flash buttons in standard web pages. If the person doesn't use

Flash, the page will not work.

So far I've not found a reasonable way of being assured that my potential

client viewers will not be lost.   


Here's my base strategy: 

Design a simple site with low end graphics and make it accessible. Shunt

everyone with older browsers {NN 4 and IE 3] to it, and direct all other

modern clients to  a site that has dynamic content etc. 


But here are the dilemmas:  

1.

If someone does not have the Flash plugin, how can you guarantee that all

those buttons will   display an alternate .gif rollover, e.g.  A banner

can do a test, but don't you have to have each individual button do a

test to see if Flash is installed?  Do you get code bloat? Is there a

simple way of installing a Flash detector that would govern all the

elements as one?   I realize this question has been asked a million times

before, but with separate flash buttons and banners on a page, I'm not

sure how to handle that with a detection scheme.


I know detection fails with Mac IE 4, but I would just as soon not worry

about it and let that browser use the gif buttons instead.  But how do I

assure that the gif buttons will show up as alternate navigation aids if

they don't have Flash?




2. There are two competing strategies here for directing browsers based

upon their age:


If you use a javascript redirect, so that only those who have javascript

active will be sent to the modern pages, you leave older browsers on the

less dynamic sites. Fine and good. People with newer browsers who have

javascript off will get the low end site. Perhaps they like it that way

anyway. 


HOWEVER, redirecting all newer browsers via Javascript to the high end

site does not assure that they have Flash installed!  So, you may get

people there without the ability to see your content and Flash buttons.

The only solution I can think of is to do a second splash page redirect

and send them back to the low end site, but you could get an endless loop

if you do that! 


If you do your first page as a fool proof Flash redirect [If flash is

installed it redirects them to the new page], you could get people going

to the hi end site who have flash installed and can see flash buttons,

but who have javascript turned off and who can't see the popup menus or

javascript....


Some people with newer browsers turn off javascript, so I try to make all

browsers not depend upon javascript.  But that defeats the point of a

higher end site. A new site might have dynamic menu popup layers... all

javascript dependent. 


What's a body to do? 



-- 

Jefferis Kent Peterson

www.PetersonSales.net

Flash, Web Design and Marketing 

ICQ 19112253

_______

"Happy is the person who finds wisdom, and the one who gets

understanding, for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and

its profit better than gold."  - Proverbs 3:13,14.