Just ran across a cool little app called BannerZest (currently in beta) for Mac OS X which makes creating Flash slideshows easy!:

http://www.aquafadas.com/bannerzest/index.html

I grabbed a demo copy, created a quick slideshow, then “published” it to a folder on my drive which generates a series of files like these:

     bz.css
     bz.html
     bz.js
     bzAnimation.html
     bzAnimation.swf
     img:
          06A143CB-8891-46A8-8AA8-47242E23EAE0.jpg
          D7743661-F413-480A-B301-59B1BD76500E.jpg
     script.js
     swfobject.js

First, I followed BannerZest directions and FTP’d the entire folder to my site. It also instructs you to use a code snippet like this (<iframe name="bzAnimation" src="http://urlofyourwebsite.com/bzAnimation.html" width="726" height="300" allowTransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>), replacing of course the “name” with your own website and folder heirarchy. I tried this first by going to a page node and inserting the code into it, pointing it at the ACTUAL “bzAnimation.html” on my site. All I get is a black box (the correct size) but no working Flash content.

Not being (but wishing I was) a Flash / .fla / .swf guru, I don’t know where to start or how to go about uploading what to where to get the resulting file(s) working with Drupal.

I’ve read the FlashNode documentation but don’t see anything specifically detailing the exact file or files necessary to make a Flash / SWF file to work.

Any help for a Flash nitwit? :^)

Comments

Stuart Greenfield’s picture

Stuart Greenfield commented

I'm guessing, but based on the list of files you will need to use bzAnimation.swf as the file for flash node. Based on the list of files I'm guessing that the jpgs in a sub-folder called img? That might make things a little bit tricky, but as a first guess, try uploading that folder via FTP to your site root so you have the images in a sub-folder called img off of that.

If that doesn't work try putting the img folder in your site files directory, and if that doesn't work try putting the jpg files themselves in the files directory. Without knowing how the swf file is written I'm not exactly sure how flash will look for the images it wants!

The other stuff (.html, .css, .js) probably isn't needed and doesn't have to be uploaded.

If this doesn't work, can you zip up all the files and post them here / email them to me at web@stuartandnicola.com and I'll try to test it out.

Let me know if it works out!

PS -

I’ve read the FlashNode documentation but don’t see anything specifically detailing the exact file or files necessary to make a Flash / SWF file to work.

There isn't anything special! You just upload and off you go!!

Stuart Greenfield’s picture

Stuart Greenfield commented

It's more tricky than that - I had a look on their website to see how this animation works, and it uses some associated javascript to manage the animation, so it is a bit more complex as you DO need the script files. I'm not sure this will be easily done with flash node, and you might need to use another method. I'll see if I can come up with something...

Stuart Greenfield’s picture

Stuart Greenfield commented
Status: Active » Fixed

Actually, it's not that tricky. Simply upload everything to somewhere on your website, then create a node (e.g. story, page - not a flash node) and use the full HTML input format so you can create an iframe.

Then put a line like the following to load the banner...

<iframe name="bzAnimation" src="http://www.yourwesbite.com/files/banner/bzAnimation.html" width="600" height="250" allowTransparency="true" frameborder="0"></iframe>

That will cause the banner to load. If you update the animation simply update the directory containing the files and the new animation will be displayed.

I put the Aquafadas example banner on my site using this method so you can see it in action.

jeffsensat’s picture

jeffsensat commented

Ain’t that the way? I tried, and I tried, and I TRIED last night to make it work ... to no avail. This morning, after a little sleep, it works fine with the method you (and they) explain.

THANKS for all your help, Stuart!

P.S. To follow up on the previous email (and perhaps contrary to the BannerZest method), should the USUAL method for including a SWF file be as simple as uploading and selecting a solitary .swf file alone? Or, in most cases, are there also related / ancillary files to be concerned with? Or, does it (as was this case) change on a per-swf basis?

Stuart Greenfield’s picture

Stuart Greenfield commented

Just noticed that I posted the iframe code, and you'd already put that in your first post - I should pay more attention :-) Anyhow, you got it working.

should the USUAL method for including a SWF file be as simple as uploading and selecting a solitary .swf file alone

It depends! In a lot of cases everything is in one swf file, so you just upload that. In other cases the first swf might call other files (mp3, flv, xml, or other swf files), in which case you need to upload all of them. It depends on the author and the application. For example, many flash media galleries use an xml file to define a list of images to be loaded, so the same swf file can be re-used over and over for different purposes.

If you're using flash node for a "multifile" swf you would give flash node the initial swf as the flash file, and then upload the other files using either the upload module, or by ftp. Flash node will then load the first file, while Flash itself takes over and calls everything else.

To help out with this flash node supports a parameter called base to help Flash find the other files it needs. The flash node documentation explains this in more detail.

jeffsensat’s picture

jeffsensat commented

Thanks, Stuart. You’ve been most responsive and helpful ... for which I (and other idiots like me) should be VERY grateful when searching for timely and kindly assistance here.

Anonymous’s picture

Anonymous (not verified) commented
Status: Fixed » Closed (fixed)

Automatically closed -- issue fixed for two weeks with no activity.