[Resolved] [Resolved] [Resolved] Master...please advise on Flashtools 4

Well in case this is your email or in case not.. I'll post the same info here..

Quote:

hi there
i have just been testing out your defaultApp.exe beta, but was unable to get it to work, i downloaded the new flash4tools.zip from your site, unzipped the files to a folder on the desktop and tried to run the .swf file, the buttons did nothing.
thinking it would probably need to be either in an html page or a projector, i opened the .fla file into both flash 4 and flash 5 republished it as a projector and also the html, it still didnt work in any.
any idea what could be the problem?

should it work we would be very interested in such a program for use on a 'hand out cdrom. we want to use flash inside html as a sort of 'help file' to use in conjunction with our clients application. i was wondering when the next version was being released.
also i was wondering, because i was unable to test it, if it works from both the projector and a .swf inside an html page?
also i wondered if it might be able to target other applications which could be sent as an argument to the exe? so any type of application could be targeted, such as photoshop, freehand etc and more obscure ones.

thanks in advance

Anyway, the program is made to work in a standalone .exe or .swf if it didn't work you may have not extracted it correctly or you may have manipulated the folder in some wrong way.. this picture shows exactly what the directory should look like
http://theemaster.bizland.com/flashtools.gif

I suggest you re-download it or re-extract it and try again.. Keep in mind also that half the files in the a folder are phony.. only the .txt and .htm are real.. (this was to conserve on file size)

There is special command line syntax you should be aware of for Flash 5 http://www.flashkit.com/board/showth...threadid=46319 of course when converting a Flash 4 file to Flash 5 the syntax is not necessary if already placed.. At the end of this thread there is information about command line arguments you may also want to try a few of those so you understand the process..

No you can't use my program to launch executables from a web browser, such a program could only be a ActiveX control and could potentially be disastrous to a user giving them virus..

Your options would be to progam a ActiveX control and or do a custom programmed flash viewer.. Several ActiveX controls for launching executable's via web pages can be found at http://www.download.com but point of fact is that the control must still be installed with a yes or no question.. since your putting it on a cd you may be able to install without the user's knowledge via the autoplay or first frame of the flash movie.. But just remember I warned you about the security risk..

If this is really for a help system might I recommend creating instead a .chm file.. When in windows 98, ME, 2000 when you go to start, help.. the menu that opens is a .chm file which is in fact microsoft's newer format for help files which uses HTML in them.. You can actually build a help menu that opens a help file just by authoring a help .chm

Microsoft and various 3rd party's have programs available to make such files..

Lastly yes you can target other applications but only by specifying there directory and path name.. this program just uses the Shellexecute function and nothing more.. and by that I mean that it does exactly what a double click will do

I may release a new version (like say 4.1) shortly to fix certain problems with Office 2000 (mainly a lockup on close).. But the work on the movie viewer is still a long way off.. none the less it is in progress..

Lastly..

I have checked all versions of my program made available on my mirrors they all checked out fine.. You may want to post what operating system your using (if you post back) and or what unzipper your using ;)
[Edited by The Master on 12-21-2000 at 04:19 AM]