setting a reminder from a Flash standalone

[linkolisa]

I was wondering if it is possible to set a reminder from a Flash executable file that will run locally? Would the reminder only happen if the EXE was actually playing, or is there another way (if at all) to achieve this?

[Northcode]

Without using a third party tool to extend your projector and let it run in the system tray or hidden in the background it would have to be running. It would also have to be visible and not minimized since you'd have no way of restoring it without help from another application.

[linkolisa]

Does that mean it's possible with a third-party tool, even if the application is not running in the background? This is for an application where someone would only go in once every few months to enter data.

Thanks,
L

[jasonsplace]

You could set a Windows scheduled task if you don't want anything running in the background. It can be accomplished with a .bat file. To learn how to do it in a bat file, open your command prompt and type "at /?" without the quotes. It will give you all of the syntax that you need. If you decide to get a third party tool, go for SWF Studio.

[linkolisa]

I've been looking into using 3rd party tools, especially SWF Studio. I might be kind of dense, but I've been finding it hard to figure out exactly what I can do with it. The website seems to focus on what's new about V3, but since I'm not familiar with the original product I'm kind of looking for more of an overview. The fact that I'm a relative beginner with scripting probably doesn't help.

Mostly I just have to know what's possible for now, and then if this project comes through I'll have to figure out how to do it. And then, of course, I'll probably be asking for even more advice.

Thanks,
L

[jasonsplace]

The real question is what can't you do with SWF Studio. It adds hundreds of functions which allow you to do just about anything from moving file, connecting to an FTP server, Sending E-mails, Embed a web browser in your flash and anything else you'd want to do. It also allows you to have complete control over the window that your flash shows up in, You can make it no resize or show up a certain size or what not. The easier thing to do would be to ask about certain features that you are interested in to see if it has them.

[linkolisa]

The tool I've (potentially) been asked to create is a growth tracker. The user would enter the age & height of their child and the application would check those against a database of numbers to calculate in what percentile they are in (how their height compares to heights of other kids their age) -- either 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, 95 or 97. It's also supposed to graph & record the entered data, so that they can keep a record and see how their child's height progresses compared with the average growth curves.

So what I would love from SWF Studio would be to:
- allow me to check user inputs against a database which would contain all of the info for the different ages & percentiles
- assist in graphing and saving the data to the user's computer
- have the app. send out a reminder every 3 months

[jasonsplace]

- allow me to check user inputs against a database which would contain all of the info for the different ages & percentiles
Yes, you can connect to a database and use the data as well as save new data.
- assist in graphing and saving the data to the user's computer
Not really but there are other alternatives. I've been using FusionCharts lately to do flash graphs and it works wonderfully. Plus they have a free version.
- have the app. send out a reminder every 3 months
In order to do this it would have to run in the background constantly. Something has to tell the program to run. You could use SWF Studio though to create a Windows Scheduled task or even have your program run hidden on startup, check to see if it's been 3 months, if it has, show the reminder, if it hasn't, close.

edit: just fixed the missing url end tag - northcode

[linkolisa]

Great, thanks for the extra insight and the tip on FusionCharts! I'll definitely look into it.