Hiding Flash Object

[donaldgg]

I thought I saw this topic covered in a previous post, but for the life of me I couldn't trace it. So sorry in advance.

Basically I want a Flash object to play when I click another text object. But before that happens, I want the Flash object to be nearly invisible. I remember something about making the Flash object 1x1 in dimension but I can't recall exactly how to go about it.

And one last thing. Can I (and how do I do it) put the Flash Player in my Distribution Folder so the user won't have to have Flash on their own computer (kind of like the PP viewer and Acrobat)?

[Corey]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

"Nearly invisible"??? You mean "visible"??? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I didn't realize there was a third state of visibilty, sounds like very Zen sort of business to me.

You can hide any object using a PAGE > HIDE OBJECT action and then you can show any object, i.e. with a text link by using a PAGE > SHOW OBJECT action. You can set the size of a Flash object to 1 X 1 pixel in the attributes tab by double clicking it and changing the X and Y size values each to '1'.

But can you snatch the pebble from my hand?

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Lorne]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

Heh, I've got one word for you Corey: translucent. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Of course, when we're talking Flash objects, it's either visible or invisible...there is no middle ground. You could simulate a kind of "alpha blended" look for the Flash object before it starts by using an Image Object showing a pre-drawn image of your Flash object's initial state, only with some of the background showing through (an effect you can do pretty easily with a couple screenshots and a bit of PhotoShop expertise)...hiding the real Flash object until the user presses play, and then making the real Flash object visible and playing it. For the effect to appear seamless, you could even have the Flash movie start off looking the same as the phony "blended" image, and then gradually blend into the actual "100% solid" movie.

But, donaldgg, it sounds like you just want the Flash object to be hidden until the user clicks the Text object? In that case, just use a Page - Hide action to hide the Flash object on the page's On Initialize event, and a Page - Show action to make it visible when the user clicks the Text object.

[Lorne]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

BTW, Corey...have you seen Xing Yiong? (I think it's going to be released in North America as "Hero," unfortunately Miramax is cutting parts to make it more of an "action" movie.)

Beautifully filmed movie.

[Corey]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

I hate movies. I don't own a TV, VCR, or DVD, I'd rather be slow roasted and served with mint sauce. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

But thanks anyhow.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[donaldgg]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

Thanks for all of your help.

I was getting confused with another topic I had read that talked about making the dimensions of the object (MP3?) 1x1 - which elicited my regrettable "nearly invisible" phrase.

In my confusion I totally forgot about the obvious solution of simply hiding the object but now I've been set straight. Thanks again.

Donald

[Corey]

Re: Hiding Flash Object

[img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software