Standalone Emailer

[vevmesteren]

Hello People?

Is there a way include a standalone emailer into a flash presentation. I am currently preparing a CD presentation. Anything out there that I can use, or that MX has in store that I haven't discovered yet?

I want the user to be able to fill out a feedbackform and send it from the CD (taken in account that the user is online off course)

Anyone?

[NETbreed]

Hiya,

If the user is going to be online anyway, is there any reason you couldn't just point the Flash file at an emailer script on your website? Just have standard Flash textfields and use something like my FlashMailer Project installed on your website to handle the email.

Other than that, you're pretty much stuck with a mailto: link that will invoke their default email application.

I hope this helps!

Regards,

Steve

[le_saut]

I'm interested in the allowDomain System setting in MX.
Haven't looked into it that much, it seems to be in the AS errata but not the manual. (online). I haven't got MX yet so that doesn't help me...of course.

in the errata it states -
"Allows Flash MX movies in the identified domains to access objects and variables in the Flash MX movie that calls the allowDomain command."

So the loaded Movie (say from def.com) can access info in the loading movie when it's outside the loading domain (say abc.com).

My question would be whether or not the loaded movie from the different domain (def.com) would still hold it's domain identifier ie def.com rather than 'get altered' to abc.com.
If it's still def.com then the loaded movie should theoretically be able to load variables to a script sitting in def.com... or is that wishful thinking.

And I can see a security problem there as well..because you could then call any script in any domain..


still thinking..

James

[Pure_Morning]

not just security copyright aswell. What's to stop you passing off that loaded swf as your own? although that problem already exists with importing somebody else's swf this just makes it a lot easier...
Alan

[le_saut]

It'd be interesting to have a setting in AS whereby the SWF could be loaded only from certain domains.
So you could make a 'global' SWF, sit it on a server somewhere and it could be loaded by certain preset (by you)domains only.

There'd have to be a way to stop SWF's falsifying domain/IP info.
You'd then be able to utilse this generic script across multiple domains, say as a mailer..


here's a clip from the errata -
allowDomain is not in the online manual...just the errata, makes me think it's a late addition.

Playing SWF movies in Flash Player 6 For security reasons, a Macromedia Flash MX movie is not permitted to access ActionScript objects and variables (including functions, movie clips, text fields, and variables) in another Macromedia Flash MX movie loaded from a different Internet domain. Attempts to access cross-domain data will be ignored by the Flash Player 6.

In order for two Macromedia Flash MX movies to share objects and variables, both movies must reside in the same domain, or in compatible subdomains of the same top-level domain. For example, http://www.domain1.com/Movie1.swf is compatible with http://www.domain1.com/Movie2.swf. Also, http://www.subdomain1.domain1.com/Movie1.swf is compatible with http://www.subdomain2.domain1.com/Movie2.swf.

This is interesting...

This security feature affects Macromedia Flash MX movies only. Flash 4 and Flash 5 movies are able to access objects and variables from other Flash 4 or Flash 5 movies in different domains, and from Flash MX movies in the same domain. However, Flash 4 or Flash 5 movies are not able to access objects and variables from Flash MX movies in a different domain.


You can override the security feature and enable a Flash MX movie to permit access to its objects and variables for a Flash MX movie in a different domain. You use the System.security.allowDomain command to identify the domains which can have access to the objects and variables in the movie. For more information, see the System.security.allowDomain entry in this document.

[NETbreed]

Hi James,

The answer to your question is, I'm afraid to say, that it is not possible to load an SWF from another domain using loadMovie and then use that loaded movie to call scripts residing on the server from which it came. All loadVariables() and LoadVars() commands are relative to the original (i.e. parent) SWF file, and any attempt to communicate outside of that subdomain is blocked!

With regards to your second post, it would be possible to identify the URL from which the parent swf was loaded using the _url property...

if (_root._url != "http://www.your.com/your.swf") {
  stop();
} else {
  ...blah...
}

This is only off of the top of my head so I'm sure it's not too secure, but it's a start!

Regards,

Steve

[Musicman]

Hi,

since cross-domain loadmovie followed by loadvars worked in F5, you probably have to publish F5 if you are using this feature.
As to all that security arguing: it seems that loadmovie from a foreign server is still possible. So probably one could make an add banner that is installed on somebody's website (so it is using their bandwidth and showing in their logs) that would send information to a foreign server as well. This might affect the viewer's privacy.
The security concerns mentioned in macromedia's security paper seem to address protection of the servers only.

Musicman