Is optimising is impossible when using MM component?

[sdkmin2001]

Hi,

In a desperate attempt to optimise my swf file I have run into, at least for me, an odd problem I think everybody should be aware off.

It all started when I had a look at the profiler and size report to decide where to break from the preloader and send the users to the main movie. To my surprise the first frame contained 140 kb out of the 170 kb uncompressed (84 kb compressed) swf file.

The 5 first frames in the movie contain nothing, not even linkage, as I reserved them for a preloader. So where do the all kb come from? I have been SO STUPID and used some of MM components. Apart from giving me a LOT of problems the MM components seem to influent almost everything else you program, so you end using more time on doing work-arounds than it would have taken you to program the stuff yourself, they also increases your filesize (no surprise) in the first frame (BIG surprise to me) of your movie.

Just try to open one of your movies, add a timeline and drop a component somewhere else than the first frame. Have a look at profiler and you will se a dramatic file size increase in very first frame. How does this go together with steaming – it doesn’t. I really hope I am wrong otherwise MM.

One more thing. When trying to figure why I had all these Kb in my first frame I copied all the frames into a new movie. Strange enough this reduced the compressed file by 5 kb (89->84 kb).

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So my question is: How do I get all those bytes out the first frame. And no I don’t want to reprogram everything for this project. Is it somehow possible to control this?
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And yes I will NEVER EVER use MM components again (for now)!

Upper: I don’t have to make a preloader, as the entire movie is almost loaded when the preloader appears, not even a single small word “loading” make sense, you will never see it. What a way to save time!


Cheers,
Michael

[C4_Tom]

The way you can get around the problem is to use a different swf to load your main swf that is huge. There's no way of shifting the size in one swf.
For the future you should never use the macromedia components, they're pretty good as a learning excersize but should never be used as more than a tutorial. They not very flexible, have a lot of bugs, and cause a dramatic increase in the filesize of you movie.
None of the code in them is especially complicated and it doesn't take long to sift through them and see how they work. You should find you can code them yourself at a 10th of the filesize and work much better for your needs.

[sdkmin2001]

Hi,

Yes, I have already made a preloader in a new main movie. But there will still this unnessary big load in the beginning of (now) the submovie.

I guess I just learned what you are saying the hard way

If only I had the time for it, I would recode it.

Thanx for your input.

KEEP WARNING PEOPLE DON'T NOT USE COMPONETS FOR ANYTHING ELSE THAN MOCKUPS.

Cheers,
Michael

[C4_Tom]

The trick is to put the preload animation in the main movie, not the submovie, that way you don't have to wait for the submovie before showing it