Re: FLASH: Flash Detection question

[Colin Moock]

Hi Robert,

The code you found at MM probably isn't thorough enough for your

requirements. A few things to know:


1) You can't detect the plug-in on IE.

but

2) IE installs the ActiveX player automatically on all but Macs and

Windows 3.1.


Therefore, most detection scripts just let non-mac/non-win31 IE users

through to the flash content knowing that the browser will get the

player for the user. It's not seamless, though: IE will warn the user

about what's going on. Worse, some older versions of IE had a security

bug (Authenticode problems) that prevented the autoinstall process from

happening.


and

3) Some users have JavaScript turned off or have a browser without

JavaScript. The script below doesn't account for that. I use a META

Refresh to send non-javascript users to a page that explains what's

going on.


Anyway, without going into anymore detail about the various detection

issues, you should understand that there is no way to accurately

redirect all users to either Flash content or non-Flash content

depending on their possession of the plug-in.  Certain users will

simply have to make a choice, unless you make it for them. For

instance, you could send all Mac users of IE to the non-Flash site, but

some of those users will actually have Flash installed. They'll never

see your Flash site, but on the other hand, unless you tell them,

they'll never know you have one.


I think the most transparent approach for you would be this:

1) Send all users that definitely have Flash to your Flash site.

2) Send everyone else to your non-Flash site.

3) On your non-Flash site, include a small link to your Flash site.

That way, the users that you can't detect, but that do have Flash, will

have a way to get to your Flash site.  Also, this gives your Flash site

some advertising.


My own approach is a bit different. I send the users that I can't

detect to a page telling them I can't detect them, and asking them to

make a choice. I'm not as concerned about keeping the process

transparent as I am about keeping the user informed about what's going

on.


The conclusion?

You won't find a cut'n'paste script that does *exactly* what you want

because it's not just a technical question, it's also a user-interface

question. Once you make your UI decisions, then you can customize a

script to implement them.


You can start with my public-domain detection tutorial at:

http://colinmoock.iceinc.com/webdesign/flash/detection/detect2andup.html


Good luck!

Colin

flashershocker [dot] com

,Internet writes:

>I found the following code on the MM site that suggests it will do what

>I am

>after, but I was hoping someone could advise me as to what browsers and

>OS's

>will correctly interpret and act on this code, and more importantly

>which

>browsers won't.  If some browsers (e.g. IE 3.0 ?) won't interpret this,

>is

>there a way around it.


>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>----

>-----------------------------------------------


><script LANGUAGE="JavaScript">

><!-- use this comment tag to hide the enclosed code from old browsers.


>if ((navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer" &&

>    navigator.appVersion.indexOf("Mac") == -1 &&

>    navigator.appVersion.indexOf("3.1") == -1) ||


>    (navigator.plugins && navigator.plugins["Shockwave Flash"])

>                       || navigator.plugins["Shockwave Flash 2.0"]){


>   //Load a pre-defined HTML page with Flash Player in it into the

>browser

>window.

>    window.location='flashed.html';

>}

>else {

>    //Load a pre-defined HTML page without Flash Player into the browser

>window.

>    window.location='unflashed.html';

>}


>// Close the comment tag. -->

></script>


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