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Flash Reference Guide

Aug 22, 2003

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Whenever you install software you are always going to run into problems. There may be a clash with other software on your computer, or you may run onto a weird glitch. This happens, this is software, the blue screen of death (the infamous screen Windows users were often faced with when their computers would spontaneously commit suicide) will always be here to haunt us.

With this in mind I offer the following suggestions when installing Flash Communication Server. They are suggestions you can use for any software installed on your computer.

Follow the installation recommendations. Do not try to install the server without the minimum RAM and Processing power. If at all possible, double the up on the recommended power. This will aid you in the future.

You will read a lot about how great and how useful Flash Communication Server is as you read this guide. And it is a very good tool. What you will also read about are the pitfalls to watch out for. For instance, the first version of Communication Server had a problem with streaming more than 10 concurrent video broadcasts. For instance, if you had a virtual, Flash based round table, conference tool where each member can see each other via webcam over the ‘net, you would not be able to successfully broadcast to all of the users sitting at the table if you had more than 10. Fortunately, this has been enhanced with the current release.

There are still problems. Most of the tools you need to leverage within Communication Server must run through the Flash 6 version 65+ player. As of March 2003, over 84% of all Flash installations are of the Flash 6 Player. But, for the Flash Communication users, you do not know how many of that group are the correct version of the Flash 6 Player. There have been many releases of the Flash Player with the current release being 6, 0, 79, 0.

If you are using features that require the latest release of the Flash player you can use the following ActionScript to detect which version of the player the user has.

_global.flashVersion = {versionString:getVersion()};
flashVersion.toString = function() {
 return this.versionString;
};
var foo = flashVersion.versionString.split(" ");
flashVersion.platform = foo[0];
foo = foo[1].split(",");
flashVersion.majorVersion = Number(foo[0]+"."+foo[1]);
flashVersion.minorVersion = Number(foo[2]+"."+foo[3]);
trace("majv : "+flashVersion.majorVersion);
trace("minv : "+flashVersion.minorVersion);
trace("platform : "+flashVersion.platform);
trace("vers string: "+flashVersion);
if (flashVersion.minorVersion>=60) {
 flashVer = "You have the correct version of the Flash player installed";
 trace(flashVer);
} else if (flashVersion.minorVersion<=59) {
 flashVer = "To view Flash Communication Server Applications \nyou must be runnning Flash Player 6, \nrelease verion 60 or higher.";
 trace(flashVer);
}
createTextField("mytext", 1, 100, 100, 400, 200);
mytext.multiline = true;
mytext.wordWrap = true;
mytext.border = false;
myformat = new TextFormat();
myformat.color = 0x000000;
myformat.bullet = false;
myformat.underline = false;
myformat.font = "_sans";
mytext.text = "majv : "+flashVersion.majorVersion+"\nminv : "+flashVersion.minorVersion+"\nplatform : "+flashVersion.platform+"\nvers string: "+flashVersion+"\n"+flashVer;
mytext.setTextFormat(myformat);

Simply paste this code into the first frame of a movie. You will not need to do anything else on the stage. Preview your movie and you will be told which version of Flash you are using. Now that you know which version of Flash you are using you can set up a Switch Statement, or an If/Else If statement, to redirect the user to different Flash Movies. This scrip only works on Flash 6 and higher. To detect if the user has the Flash 6 player you will need to add the following ActionScript to the page to let the Web Browser detect the major version of the player.




dhtml

You will also see, as you read through this bible, that the Flash Player is not only connected to the Flash Communication Server MX but to Flash Remoting and ColdFusion MX. For you to be able to successfully do this you will need to make sure that you have these server tools installed correctly. I was once told that working with Server software is much like aligning the stars. When it is a clear night and you can see the moon, you will see magic in the alignment of the stars. This is much like when you have all of your servers configured and networked together, you will make your solutions appear to be stars in the sky. If the configuration is not correct or does not following the software manufactures guidelines, then the clouds have come over and the stars have gone out.

If you are installing the software on a Windows environment, make sure that the server has been fully tested by Microsoft. Currently, the server version of Communication Server will run on Windows 2000 with the developer version running on Windows XP, 2000 WorkStation, Windows ME and 98. The developer edition will not run on windows NT or 95. Macromedia has not released whether Windows 2003 will support Communication Server. My guess is that you will be able to run Communication Server on 2003, but please contact Macromedia before you do.

If you are running Communication Server on Linux do so without the UI interface such as KDE or GNOME. The interface is really only meant to help develop solutions and the text interface should be used for the server.

Finally, I would recommend that you only run Communication Server on Macintosh computers running OS X Jaguar version and above. In my tests I have found this to be a more stable environment for the special services Communication Server requires than OS X.

To help you out with the installation and support of Communication Server is available the following resources:

Join the Figleaf Email ListServ dedicated to Flash Communication Server. You can sign up at chattyfig.figleaf.com. You will see a link that sends out an email to the group. The manager to the group is Brandon Hall. You will also Samuel Wan also contributes to the groups. Both are leaders in the development and possibilities of Flash Communication Server. In addition, a number of Flash celebrities are on the list, such as Jesse Warden and Mike Chambers. Mike, is also the lead voice for Rich Application Development and a wealth of knowledge. A number of Macromedia developers are also on this list.

In addition to the Figleaf email list there are also a number of additional resources you can leverage. The main one that I would encourage you to go to is the Macromedia DevNet Center for Flash Communication Server. You can find the DevNet Center for Flash Communication Server by going to http://www.macromedia.com/devnet from here you will want to select the Product Category drop down for Flash Communication Server MX. At this site you will find sample code, examples, additional Flash MX tools, articles explaining how to use Flash Communication Server and updates to the server. It is a wealth of knowledge.

In addition to Macromedia’s DevNet center is the Flash Communication Server MX News Group. Unlike the Flash MX News Group, which receives hundreds of requests every day, the Flash Communication News Group is smaller. This, I think, a big benefit, as you get to know everyone a little better.

You may also want to check out a subscription to Macromedia’s DRK subscription. The DRK is a developers resource kit. Each quarter you get a CD with new extensions for Flash, Dreamweaver and ColdFusion. The kit is only $299 a year, which is a heck of deal. In the current DRK 3 one of the extensions you get is from a third party company that originally charged $129 for the extension. A second extension is the kit, called Firefly, was also originally from a third party company and cost of $100+. Now you get both, plus some more, and a three more CD’s of stuff for the same price as two. What a deal, huh?

A final place you can access support is were-here.com. The site is managed by Electric Rain, the makers of Swift 3D, and they are doing a brilliant job of keeping talent on the site to help field any questions on Flash, ActionScript and related products.

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