how to avoid my flash loading from cache

[sathish_fk]

Hai flash experts.

If we see some flash file in IE, it will save in cache. While opening the same its loadin from cache. How to avoid this. I need to load movie from my server. Because i'm updating my external text file throughout day. If i opened IE and keep refreshing the new updated messages is not displaying. flash movie its loading from temporary interfiles. So i'm not able to view my updated text file message. What to do.

Pls anyone have solution for this. kindly help me

thx
sathish

[Wancieho]

In your internet explorer click:
Tools-->
Internet options-->
Settings(under temporary internet files)-->
(click)•Every visit to the page.

Unfortunately this is the only solution that I know of.

[Musicman]

Hi,

you could read the text file through a server script that tells the browser not to cache the data

Musicman

[sathish_fk]

Hai Musicman
I'm able to read the text file messages in flash movie, but the updated one. If opened new browser i'm able to see the new messages. I need to see the updated messages in existing IE browser itself. IF i refresh the browser also its loading from cache.

Hai Wancieho, that is a poor solution

what i've to do. Pls give solution. i need to fix quick.

thx
sathish

[Wancieho]

Well, if it's just for you to see the update I don't see a problem? With a couple of clicks you can change it back to the original settings when u go online.

Older versions of IE didn't even cache properly and it re-downloaded the page in any case. This works on the same principal.

Otherwise go here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo and search for caching. I went there once to check out the same thing as you. There's something that you can embed into a html file but I don't know if it'll work for text files. I just landed up "disabling" the cache with my settings It was a whole lot easier.

Besides there's nothing u can do about a service provider caching on their server!

[sathish_fk]

Hai

Can u have any solution. Kindly give me any other solution

thx
sathish

[Musicman]

Hi,

the server idea as a php script (you can do the same thing with cgi, asp, coldfousion...)

Replace loadvariables('info.txt', ...) by loadvariables('info.php', ...)
with info.php script
<?
header('Cache-control: no-cache');
header('Pragma: no-cache');
header('Expires: Jan 01 2000 00:00 GMT');
$fp = fopen('info.txt', 'r');
fpassthru($fp);
?>
In case you want to do the same for the swf file, you should add a
header('Content-type: application/x-shockwave-flash');

Musicman

[AmericanMonk]

Hi,

...

In case you want to do the same for the swf file, you should add a
header('Content-type: application/x-shockwave-flash');

Musicman

Hello,

I'm working on an older site that used to be populated by an ASP-based database. Long story short the database is gone and I've been added to the team to make regular, hard-coded changes to the SWFs.

The client and I know this isn't ideal, but it's how things are going to be. It's running smoothly except for caching. The main index SWF loads other SWFs via loadMovie() (and not via a loadvariables or txt/php file) and unless a user has it set up so that their cache is cleared periodically it's impossible for them to get updates.

The above quote seems like a potential solution but am unfamiliar with it and don't know how to alter it to my needs. To me it just looks like a header that identifies what's on the page, not a header that would help keep SWFs from being cached.

Any ideas or clarifications out there?

Thanks!

-j

[Musicman]

Hi,

when delivering swf from a server script, you habe both headers to tell it is swf and headers to tell it is non-cache
BTW: beware of swf embedding schemes that automatically add the .swf extension - you may need to edit the embedding javascript to accept .php instead
Also, if this is going to run on a windows server, be sure to use "binary" mode.
Here is a complete script that could be called movie1.php

<?
header('Cache-control: no-cache');
header('Pragma: no-cache');
header('Expires: Jan 01 2000 00:00 GMT');
header('Content-type: application/x-shockwave-flash');
$fp = fopen('movie1.swf', 'rb');
fpassthru($fp);

Musicman

[AmericanMonk]

Hi,

when delivering swf from a server script, you habe both headers to tell it is swf and headers to tell it is non-cache
BTW: beware of swf embedding schemes that automatically add the .swf extension - you may need to edit the embedding javascript to accept .php instead
Also, if this is going to run on a windows server, be sure to use "binary" mode.
Here is a complete script that could be called movie1.php

<?
header('Cache-control: no-cache');
header('Pragma: no-cache');
header('Expires: Jan 01 2000 00:00 GMT');
header('Content-type: application/x-shockwave-flash');
$fp = fopen('movie1.swf', 'rb');
fpassthru($fp);

Musicman

Thanks for the quick response Musicman! I appreciate it.

I assumed that I could add your code to the beginning of the index.php but that loaded only the SWF file... which makes a lot of sense in retrospect. So I guess I should ask what point at which music1.php would come into play?

Assuming I have the following files:
index.php
index.swf (embedded into the above file)
swf2.swf
swf3.swf

Where the index.swf loads swf2.swf and swf3.swf via loadMovie() into a blank MC.

It's old school.

Ideally I'd like all three SWF files to not be cached, but can find other workarounds if I can at least get the index.swf set up to not be cached. Where would I put your code to get that done?

Thanks again!

[Musicman]

Hi,

you would change your index.php to embed something like main.php instead of index.swf, and that would be the short script. The script in turn would reference the index.swf (or, to avoid confusion, you would rename the index.swf to main.swf)

Musicman

[dtone314]

Use the 'Expires' header. The Expires header of an HTML document tells a Web browser when a cached document should expire from the cache. Using a date in the past ensures the document will always be expired.

Insert the text below between the <HEAD></HEAD> tags of the HTML document containing the embedded SWF.

<!-- BEGIN INSERT --><META HTTP-EQUIV="Expires" CONTENT="Mon, 04 Dec 1999 21:29:02 GMT"><!-- END INSERT -->

[Musicman]

Hi,

you will be telling the browser that your html document should not load from cache - this does not affect the elements of the html, such as swf or images

Musicman