MediaPlayer - ExternalInterface.call - analytics

Hi!

I managed to get Google analytics working on button clicks in koolmoves.

But what I now want to know is how to get it working on media player events.

this is how I got it working for a button named 'about' :


-----------------

about.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDownHandler);
function mouseDownHandler(event:MouseEvent):void {
ExternalInterface.call("pageTracker._trackPageview ",
"/about");
}

-------------------

It sends data to google analytics with the title "/about"


How can I also do this with media player events? my knowledge of AS3 is limited to cutting in pasting. I looked in the 'mediaPlayer API.txt' in API koolmoves folder, and I am still confused.


I want flash event data to send on these events:

-what item in playlist is played
-if item is stopped
-if item is completed

Cool thing about google analytics is that is gives a duration of time for each event (events are listed as 'pages'). So then I also know exactly what time during an mp3 or video someone has stopped it.

This is general information I would love to know, because I can also apply it to other analytics software.


any help would be appreciated

Dave

Events

mediaplayer.addEventListener("itemLoad", itemLoadHandler); // item starts loading
mediaplayer.addEventListener("itemComplete", itemCompleteHandler); // item finished
mediaplayer.btnStop.addEventListener("click", stopClickedHandler); // stop clicked

Selected item in playlist

mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem

I must be doing something wrong.

IN this example, I can get flash to send a function to Javascript with buttons events, but not with a mediaplayer event (the analytics software is now Woopra, not Google Analytics but its the same).




for functions 'MediaPlay' and 'MediaStop' - it WORKS with button events:

-------------------AS3 with buttons ------------



woopra4.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDownHandler5);
function mouseDownHandler5(event:MouseEvent):void {
ExternalInterface.call("MediaPlay");
}

woopra5.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, mouseDownHandler6);
function mouseDownHandler6(event:MouseEvent):void {
ExternalInterface.call("MediaStop");
}


----------------------

but with Media Player events, it is NOT WORKING. What am I doing wrong?



---------------------------AS3 media player events


mediaplayer.addEventListener("itemLoad", itemLoadHandler);
function itemLoadHandler(){
ExternalInterface.call("MediaPlay");
}

mediaplayer.btnStop.addEventListener("click", stopClickedHandler);
function stopClickedHandler(){
ExternalInterface.call("MediaStop");
}


----------------------------


cheers

Ben

Most likely the problem is that your listener functions don't take an argument.
Try this ...

mediaplayer.addEventListener("itemLoad", itemLoadHandler);
function itemLoadHandler(e:Event){
ExternalInterface.call("MediaPlay");
}

mediaplayer.btnStop.addEventListener("click", stopClickedHandler);
function stopClickedHandler(e:Event){
ExternalInterface.call("MediaStop");
}

thanks, that did the trick ;)


now for the tricky part

how can I use this:

mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem


to send a variable of what item no. is selected?

cheers

For the selected index you can use

mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
}

great that worked!

would I be too ambitious to ask if there is a function to send the actual name of playlist item instead of just index number?

so send a variable of the playlist item name via externalinterface.call??

thanks heaps

I read the API and figured the name of each item is called 'label',

so I took a wild guess and tried this:

---------------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedLabel;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, lbl);
}


----------------


But it did not work :confused:

Did you read the AS3 API docs ?
You can pop them up by clicking a button in the actionscript editor.

I think it should be

var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.label;

nope, did not work.

I was wrong, it must not be 'label'

so this is not understood by koolmoves:

mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.label


in the API, it says:

"playlistfile : external file containing the playlist. Each line contains one item
in the format: label | value"

so maybe that just applies to the xml.



but maybe I am missing something....I cannot understand the API properly, or the drop down list in KoolMoves actionscript editor


my knowledge of AS3 is useless.....I do not understand the syntax or semantics

I am a music composer, not a web developer.... so just trying a fast and easy way to have the music that is played online sent to analytics database. I have figured out the javascript end so far, just not this part

is there a function to send the name of mediaplayer item label?


cheers

I have tried these versions:

--------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.label;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, ido);
}

----------------------------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.name;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, ido);
}

-------------------------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.overlay;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, ido);
}

-----------------------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.listItem;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, ido);
}

----------------------

mediaplayer.playlist.addEventListener("change", playlistChangeHandler);
function playlistChangeHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem;
ExternalInterface.call("Song", idx, ido);
}

----------------------


NONE WORK

is there a wrong context?

or is it not possible? or is it a bug?


cheers

ooops just realised I had an error with the variable naming...

re-testing now

YESSSSSSSSSSS


you were right the first time

thanks so much for your help!!

YOU ROCK!!!


Have a Happy New Year ;)

Hi W.Brants

actually the mediaplayer 'item complete' is not working


this is the code I used

-----------------

mediaplayer.addEventListener("itemComplete", itemCompleteHandler);
function itemCompleteHandler(e:Event){
var idx:int = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedIndex;
var lbl:String = mediaplayer.playlist.selectedItem.label;
ExternalInterface.call("MediaComplete", idx, lbl);
}

---------------------


is there something that maybe goes after the addEventListener bit?


cheers

D

It looks fine to me.

It often helps to use a debug version of the Flash Player and a viewer to view its log file.
The error messages it logs can make solving problems much easier.
Eric has written something about it http://etuom.blogspot.com/search/lab...20Log%20Viewer

got it working ;)

I had uploaded the wrong swf to the server.. silly me


thanks once again :)