Preloader Why?

:confused: I am 3 days new to Swishmax. It is an amazing program!

I am sure I will have many questions but here is my first:

What exactly is a "preloader", its function and how do I make and implement one?

Thanks

When an swf (with the exception of sound)
is loaded it streams.
Meaning the images and effects load
and play as the movie loads and plays.

Because of this a movie will look jerky while
waiting for the elements to load and effects
will stop or stutter.

A preloader insures that the whole movie or
most of it (depending on how it is built)
Will be preloaded ergo play smoothly.

One does not have to preload an entire movie
if a sufficent portion of the movie is loaded
the movie will play and while playing continue
to load the unloaded portion.

However it's a matter of standards that says
movies work best when they are preloaded and
to insure that it runs smoothly from start to
finish the entire movie should be preloaded.

Sound is different. Sound loads at the begining
of the scene the sound is called in (unless preloaded)
Sound in swish does not stream so the entire sound file
must be preloaded before it will play.

There are several programs that can stream sound
which you can use in conjunction with swish.
There are also other methods to attain streamed
sound. however in all cases the sound can't be
part of the swi in order to stream.

Generally swish users use loops and sound effects
only directly in swish. If they choose to play
a longer sound such as a song they stream it externally.


Dead Rabbit has a very good article on preloaders and
swish 2.0 While some of the features have changed.
it's still a worthy read.
http://frets-files.com/html/modules/...php?storyid=24

If frame is Loaded is available thru Add Script>Condidtional
Once you get a handle on a simple preloader it will
be easier to make the leap to Percentage Preloaders
in Max.

There is an "open swi" avaliable at swishzone
that demonstrates percentage preloader
here.
http://www.swishzone.com/forums/inde...=ST&f=20&t=524

Frets

also, swishmax comes with a preloader tutorial. It is simple, but effective. Just hit help, topics, and type in preloader tutorial
James

There are a lot of misconceptions about the concept of 'preloading'. I think the most common one is that a site with a preloader will load faster. The second worst is the availability of 'percentage preloader plugins', which had the direct result of almost every single site preloading 100% of its content while the user has to wait, unnecessary in probably 90% of sites.

Don't run the risk of looking like a newbie - read more about preloading and all the misconceptions about it here:
http://www.designsxchange.com/forums...opic=1253&st=0

Thanks all very much for the valuable information. If I get stumped, which I am sure I will, I will post again. Once I get a handle on this "new" stuff. I will post my redesigned site.

Thanks again!