FLASH: Frequently Asked Questions

[Byer, Mark]

To all,

Out of curiosity, I scanned through the previous month's messages, about

1500, to see what kinds of questions were being asked on this list. I was

interested in determining if this list warranted the production of a FAQ.

Keep in mind that my goal is NOT to reduce the amount of traffic on this

list, nor is it to "prevent dumb questions." In fact, what I discovered is

that the members of this list are very educated and professional in their

questions. (With a notable recent exception, but I left those messages out

too!  :-D  ) My goal was to see if we could be a little more efficient in

disseminating the kind of information people seek here.


Basically I ignored all replies focusing on initial thread messages. I also

attempted to quickly categorize the general question being asked in the

message. I ignored the messages requesting site checks (since a FAQ would

have no value there). I also ignored highly specific or technical questions

that would not be realistic for a FAQ. Some of the categories listed below

maybe could be combined into a single question/answer on the FAQ. Also, I

think there are some issues that pop up later in the thread such as the

question of mime or the like. But let's use this a starting point.


Here are my results:


 #	Question

----	-------------------------

10	Integrating Flash with HTML (backgrounds, resize, mime, etc.)

10	Variables in Flash (3 or 4, literal vs expression)

10	Migrating between Flash 3 and 4

8	FSCommand tutorial (or, how do I control one movie from another or

HTML?)

8	Browser detection

7	QuickTime (import and export)

7	Scenes

7	Event sounds vs streaming sounds (source requests, compression,

formats)

6	Online example sites & tutorials

6	3D in Flash (gradients, utilities, importing)

5	MP3

5	Navigator/Explorer Compatibility

5	Bitmaps in Flash

4	External communication (getting info in and out of Flash)

4	Creating loading animations (pre-loader sequences)

3	Buttons

3	Flash vs Director

3	Properties (getting and setting)

3	Text issues(stroking, rotating text fields, skewing)

3	Layers (visibility, loading into)

2	Flash Books, workshops etc.

2	Merging Flash files

2	Optimization (file size considerations, test movie, etc.)

2	Using Movie Clips (MCs)

2	Loading sequences and issues

2	Drag and drop (onto MC, onto guide)

1	Hidden code showing on web page

1	Fonts and graphics jaggy (Autohigh vs High)

1	Use of GetTimer

1	Menus

1	Background fade

1	Small line selection bug

1	Get rid of loading image browser displays

1	Frame rate

1	Right mouse button

1	Keep elements contained on stage

1	Flash Chat

1	Go back one frame at a time

1	Preventing looping of movie

1	Generator

1	Custom fonts in Flash (i.e. Fontographer)

1	Flash and ASP/ColdFusion

1	PNG

1	Drag and drop movie clips

1	Importing from Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop etc.

1	Masks and masking techniques

1	Tweening along paths


At this point I'm not sure a FAQ is warranted. The questions really run the

gamut and I'm not sure but it would be more work than it's worth. But this

is interesting information anyway so I offer it to the list.


Take it for what it's worth!


-M-


P.S. Should we get a consensus to actually proceed with a FAQ, I will be the

first to step up to volunteer to assist in putting this together... any

others?


-------------------------------


Mark Byer

Sr. Communications Analyst

Carlson Marketing Group

Client Communications

(612) 212-4339

_________________

mbyercarlson [dot] com

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