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  Flair FAQ's
  Benefits of creating your presentations in Flash
  Benefits of converting Powerpoint presentations into Flash
  Benefits of editable PowerPoint to Flash conversion
  Questions
  General Flair Questions
  1. What is Flash SWF?
  2. Do I need any other applications to use Flair?
  3. How do Flair's edit and preview modes work?
  4. What types of files can be imported into Flair?
  5. How do I import files into Flair?
  6. Why can't I import an image and/or audio file even though it's on the list of Flair's supported formats?
  7. I can't see my files in the Open File dialog box. What is wrong?
  8. I am having problems playing or viewing a file I imported into Flair. What should I do?
  9. What types of files can Flair export?
  10. How do Flair's 3 play modes work?
  11. How do I change the play mode?
  12. How do I change the default play modes for imported files?
  13. Why can't I add an animation to an object in Flair?
  14. Why can't I see a file that I imported?
  15. Why is my Flair output stopping or looping in the middle?
  16. Why is an object in my project looping continuously?
  17. How can I apply the settings in the Project Settings window to an individual object in my Flairject?
  18. Can I use Flair Flash output for CD-ROM applications?
  19. How can I get a link in my SWF file to open in a new browser window?
  20. The SWFs I create with Flair keep crashing the Flash player. What can I do to fix this?
  21. My Flash SWF output is using up too much RAM. What should I do?
  22. How can I pre-load a movie?
  23. How can I do Click to Play?
  24. How do I replace or remove a link from an existing SWF file?
  25. How do I add clickable "hot spots" to my project?
  26. How can I add play controls to my Flairject?
  27. Why are the play controls not working for me?
  28. How can I get around the 16,000 frame limit in the Flash format?
  29. Do I need any other applications to use Flair?
  30. Do I need any hardware besides my computer to use Flair?
   
  Recording Utility Questions
  1. What do I need to record on screen activity?
  2. How do I record the mouse movements or the mouse clicks?
  3. What do I need to capture video and/or audio?
  4. I'm not getting an image when I use the recording utility. What's wrong?
  5. I'm not getting audio (or the right audio) when I use the recording utility. What's wrong?
  6. How do I avoid having the recording utility UI in my captures?
  7. How do I improve the quality of my recordings?
  8. Why does my computer screen flash when I start the recording utility?
  9. How do I capture just a single frame?
  10. Can I use the recording utility with a dual monitor configuration?
   
  Flair media importer questions
  1. How can I make my videos look better?
  2. Why am I having problems encoding?
  3. Why can't I encode my video even though it's on the list of The media importer's supported formats?
  4. Why isn't my source video playing properly?
  5. How large are the file sizes of the encoded video?
  6. How do I add a player to my video and audio files?
  7. How can I pre-load a movie?
  8. Why do video and audio files default to the Stream play mode?
  9. How do I apply an animation to a video?
  10. Can I use video from the media importer output for CD-ROM applications?
  11. Why must my SWF framerate always be equal to, or a multiple of my video framerate?
  12. How can I increase the smoothness of the motion in my video?
  13. How do I capture video?
  14. Why does the motion in my video look jerky?
  15. How can I improve the quality of my audio?
  16. Why is my audio losing sync?
  17. Does exporting stereo audio increase my file size?
  18. Why does my audio sound distorted?
  19. My encoded video has no video and/or audio track, when I know the input media does. What's wrong?
  20. How do I change the encoding presets?
   
  Flair text animator questions
  1. How do I add a text effect to a Flairject?
  2. How do I change the duration of a text animator effect?
  3. How do I apply the effect to the entire text simultaneously?
  4. What different fonts can I use?
  5. How do I adjust the delay between each character animation?
   
  Using Flair Flash SWF output with other applications questions
  1. How do I use Flair Flash SWFs with Frontpage?
  2. How do I use Flair Flash SWFs with PowerPoint?
  3. How do I embed my swf into an html page?
  4. How do I add Flair Flash output to an email?
   
  Flair Flash specific questions
  1. How do I know when my Flair output is done (has reached the end)?
  2. I want to add variables to my Flair output. Is this possible?
  3. How many characters can be in one variable?
  4. How do I access the variables that I put in my Flair SWF?
  5. My Flair Flash SWF is playing back in a larger Flash movie at the incorrect speed. Why?
  6. How can I align my SWF in a larger Flash movie?
  7. Why can't I import my Flair Flash SWF output into Flash?
  Answers
1. What is Flash SWF?
 

Flair's main output format is Flash SWF. Flash SWF is an open multimedia format created by Macromedia (now Adobe), which also releases the free Flash player. Flash offers many great features including interactivity, animation, video, audio and small file sizes. In addition, the Flash player is available for virtually all platforms (including Windows, Mac and Linux) and all Web browsers and since the player is so widely distributed, your viewers will be able to see your distinctive Flair multimedia projects without having to download any player.
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2. Do I need any other applications to use Flair?
  No. The only other software you need are the free Flash player (which comes with Flair) and, if you want to import video and audio files, the free Quicktime and Windows Media players.
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3. How do Flair's edit and preview modes work?
  Flair will either be in Edit Mode or Preview Mode. When you are in Preview Mode, all the functions in Flair are disabled. So when you want to work on your project you must be in Edit mode. To switch between modes just use the play controls at the bottom of the preview window, or in the Preview menu. When you click one of the play options you will automatically go into preview mode. When you click stop you will be returned to edit mode. The program also has a feature that automatically switches you from preview to edit mode when you click on an area outside the preview window (this can be turned off and on in the Options window).
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4. What types of files can be imported into Flair?
  Flash: .swf, .flv
PowerPoint: .ppt, .pot
Still image: .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .psd, .pic, .tif, .tga, .wmf
Video: .avi, .dv, .mov/.qt, .mpeg, .wmv, .asf, .3gp, .mp4
Audio: .mp3, .wav, .wma
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5. How do I import files into Flair?
 

There are many ways to import files into Flair:

  • you can select File>Import from the File menu
  • you can drag the files directly onto the edit/preview stage. Using this method you can drag multiple files simultaneously onto the stage and each will be imported
  • you can drag the files into the library and then drag them onto the timeline
  • you can click on the Import File icon in the toolbar
  • you can right click on a blank space on the timeline and select "Import File"
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6. Why can't I import an image and/or audio file even though it's on the list of Flair's supported formats?
  You should make sure you have the complete "recommended" install of the free Quicktime Player and the free Windows Media Player.
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7. I can't see my files in the Open File dialog box. What is wrong?
    Make sure that the "Files of type:" field is correct. Selecting "All Files (*.*)" will enable you to view all files in the directory.
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8. I am having problems playing or viewing a file I imported into Flair. What should I do?
    Try switching the play mode used to play the file. You may change the play mode of a file in Flair at any time in the Object Settings window (Play tab), or by right clicking on the file in the Flair timeline and selecting the option you want, or with the play mode wizard .
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9. What types of files can Flair export?
    Flash SWF: Flair's main export format is Flash SWF which plays in the free Flash player. The version of the Flash player required to play Flair output is based on the version of the Flash player required to play the Flash SWF files that are created with or imported into Flair. In other words if you import or create Flash 8 SWFs into Flair, Flair will export a Flash 8 SWF, and if you import or create Flash 4 SWFs into Flair, Flair will export a Flash 4 SWF, and so on.
Flash FLV: Flair exports FLV video files. FLV files require at least the Flash 7 or the Flash 8 player to view them (depending on the video codec that is used).
Projectors: Flair exports Windows, Mac and Linux projectors. These can be very useful for distributing your media files on CD and other methods of offline distribution. Projector files contain the media and player together, so you can be certain that the viewer does not need any additional players to view the files. Windows projectors are exported as .exe files. Mac projectors are exported as .hqx files which must be expanded on a Mac user's computer prior to playing. Linux projectors have no extension.
HTML: Flair exports HTML code to play the program's Flash SWF output in a web browser or in an email program that displays HTML email.
Screensavers: Flair exports Windows screensavers. These are .exe files that when run on a person's (Windows based) computer, it installs the file as the default screensaver.
PDF: Flair exports PDF files. PDF files are composed of the first frame of each specified slide in your Flairject.
Print: You can also print your project.
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10.. How do Flair's 3 play modes work?
   
When you import a file into Flair, there are three different available play modes: Preload, Load External File and Stream.
These play modes have to do with how the Flash player plays Flash movies and is most relevant for files that you wish to play on the Internet. Each play mode has different characteristics and can be used for different purposes based on what you are trying to create. No matter which play mode you select for a file you import into Flair, it will appear on the edit/preview stage and it can be moved, resized and cropped on the Edit-Preview stage.

Flair will make default play mode selections for you which should work in the vast majority of cases, so you probably do not need to change them.

1. Preload Play Mode: This is the default play mode for most files you import other than video and audio files (including screen capture files). When played on the Internet, these files preload 100% before playback starts (the entire file downloads prior to playing) This is fine for smaller files, but you may not want to use it for larger files if you want those files to stream on the Internet - this is not an issue for files played directly from a local computer. Any actions in the files do not affect the playback of the entire project because they play independently. This means that if those files loop or contain stop actions, those actions will only affect that file, and not the main project or any other files in the project. Files set to Preload play mode are located inside your Flair output. This play mode is recommended for most files (other than video and audio files). Certain features in Flair can only be applied to files set to this play mode - such as the mouse over option. Also, this play mode supports animation.

2. Load External File Play Mode: This is the default play mode for FLV video files (which must be loaded in order to play) and unsupported Flash SWF files. Files set to the Load external file play mode are external movies that are loaded into your Flair output when it plays. When played on the Internet, files set to this play mode will stream (they will start playback immediately) - this is not an issue for files played directly from a local computer. Any actions in the files do not affect the playback of the entire project because they are external files that are loaded into your Flairject. This play mode is recommended for larger SWF files (over 250K) and video and audio SWFs. Loading files into your project is also an excellent way to get around Flash's 16,000 frame limit and the problems associated with very large Flash files (for more information on these issues go here). You can load an unlimited number of files into your project. Files played with Load external file play mode are not included in your Flair output itself, so you need to remember to have those other files available in the directory you specified, when you want to play your output. Flair automatically creates a "Load External Files" folder into which all files set to this play mode are placed. This way it's easy to keep track of which files you need when you publish your project. Also, this play mode supports animation.

3. Stream play mode: This is the default play mode for all video and audio Flash SWF files, including screen capture files. (Note: FLV video must use the Load external file play mode.)  When played on the Internet, files set to this play mode will stream (they will start playback immediately) - this is not an issue for files played directly from a local computer. Any actions in these files will affect the playback of the entire project. For instance, if there is a stop action at the end of a file you import using Stream play mode, it will stop the entire project when the Flash player reaches that stop action. Likewise, if there is a loop at the end of the file, it will cause your whole movie to loop and so on. You may remove the stop or loop actions from the last frame of an imported Flash file using the "remove stop/loop action from last frame" options in the Play tab of the Object Settings window. Files set to Stream play mode are located inside your Flair output. This play mode does not support animation.
(NOTE: Using image fade in and/or image fade-out with certain SWFs set to the Stream play mode may result in increasing file size. If this occurs you may want to use either the Preload or Load External File play modes.)

(Note: certain features in Flair and certain types of Flash SWFs that you may import require specific play modes for them to work. This applies only to a limited number of features and SWF files and is further documented in this help file.)


Flair's 3 Play Modes
Preload
Load External File
Stream
Default mode for:
Default play mode for most files other than video, audio and screen capture files (unless you change settings in the Options window).
Default play mode for FLV files and unsupported Flash SWF files (unless you change settings in the Options window).
Default play mode for all video, audio and screen capture Flash SWF files (unless you change settings in the Options window).
Streams or preloads 100%?
Preloads 100% before playing when played on the Internet.
Starts playing right away when played on the Internet.
Starts playing right away when played on the Internet.
Is the file included in the output file or is it a separate file?
Included in your output file.
File is separate from your output file and defaults to being placed in the "LoadMovie" folder.
Included in your output file
Actions in SWF affect entire project?
No.
No.
Yes.
Mouse overs are enabled?
Yes.
No.
No.
Supports animation?
Yes.
Yes.
No.
Object can be reused without increasing file size?
Yes.
No.
No.
Works with Flair's play controls?
File will start to play but cannot be fast forwarded or rewound.
Yes (with some issues related to file being loaded).
Yes.
Use for
Files up to 250KB if you are planning to use your project on the Internet. Recommended for files that you wish to animate.
FLV files, unsupported Flash SWF files and files over 250KB that you want to stream on the Internet.
Video and audio Flash SWF files, including screen capture files.


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11. How do I change the play mode?
    You may change the play mode of a file in Flair at any time in the Object Settings window (Play tab), or by right clicking on the file in the Flair timeline and selecting the option you want, or with the play mode wizard.
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12. How do I change the default play modes for imported files?
    You can change the default play mode settings of imported files in the Options window (View>Options).
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13. Why can't I add an animation to an object in Flair?
    Make sure you have the object set to play using either Preload or Load External File play mode. You cannot add an animation to an object that is using the Stream play mode.
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14. Why can't I see a file that I imported?
    Flair orders your layers from top to bottom. In other words, the files in layers that are above files in layers below them will appear above those layers. So if a file is not appearing it could be that you have covered it with another file.
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15. Why is my Flair output stopping or looping in the middle?
    If you have a file set to play in the Stream play mode any actions in that file will affect the entire project you are creating. For instance, if there is a stop action or a loop (go to) action in a file you import using Stream play mode, it will stop or loop the entire project when the Flash player reaches that stop action. You may remove the stop and loop actions from the last frame of an imported Flash file using the "remove stop action from last frame" option in the Play tab of the Object Settings window.
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16. Why is an object in my project looping continuously?
    If you have a file set to play in the Preload play mode it will loop. You can stop this by checking "Add stop action to the last frame" in the Play mode section of the Play tab in the Object settings window.
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17. How can I apply the settings in the Project Settings window to an individual object in my Flairject?
    If you want to apply any of the settings available in the Project Settings window to an individual object you can always open a new Flairject and save out a single Flash SWF with the project settings that you want to create and then import that new file into another Flairject.
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18. Can I use Flair Flash output for CD-ROM applications?
    Yes, you can use Flair to create Flash SWFs for CD-Rom and DVD-ROM applications, and Flair can output projector files for Windows, Mac and Linux (Project Settings window>Output Tab) which are perfect for that purpose. If your project includes video, we recommend that you encode your video into the FLV format as it provides much better performance from CD than SWF. However, there are certain issues that you should consider. Because of the way Flash works, when you have a SWF on CD, the Flash player loads the entire file into memory before it starts to play. So, depending on your computer's speed, ram, CD player speed, etc. your performance may vary. Consequently, we suggest not creating files larger than 10-25MB for use on a CD or DVD. If you want to have larger files, we suggest breaking them up and loading one after the previous one is finished and unloaded. Flair will allow you to chain your SWFs by using the Load External File play mode.
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19. How can I get a link in my SWF file to open in a new browser window?
    Next to the Link field (Object settings>Mouse events tab or Project settings>Output tab), where you type your URL, there is a Target field, where you may enter any browser target, or choose from a list of the most common. If no target is specified, the link will come up in the same browser window.
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20. The SWFs I create with Flair keep crashing the Flash player. What can I do to fix this?
 

 

 

The player crashing could be caused by a number of issues: If a SWF you have imported that was not created by Flair has errors, it could cause the Flash player to crash and you may need to remove this file.
If your output is causing the Flash player to consume too much RAM it could crash. You can view how much RAM is being used with the Windows task manager (CTRL+ALT+DELETE). If you are experiencing RAM consumption problems there are two options in the General tab of the Options window that you may want to use.

  • Minimize memory usage on swf export: Selecting this can greatly reduce the amount of RAM consumed by your output Flash SWF, but it does affect certain aspects of the output such as the ability to rewind.
  • Remove unused objects from slide when advancing: Selecting this will cause Flair to remove unused objects as a project plays from slide to slide.

    Also, if you are using video files in your project, encode the video using the FLV format (instead of SWF) as it uses much less RAM.
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21. My Flash SWF output is using up too much RAM. What should I do?
   

You can view how much RAM is being used with the Windows task manager (CTRL+ALT+DELETE).
One way around this problem is to use the Load External File play mode to load a series of SWF files. In addition, by checking the "Unload movie at end " box in the Flash SWF tab of the Project settings window, or by selecting the "Remove when done playing" option in the Play tab of the Object settings window for a SWF file played with Load External File, the SWF player will automatically unload the media file once it has finished playing and return all the RAM to the client's system.
If you are using video files in your project, encode the video using the FLV format (instead of SWF) as it uses much less RAM.
There are also two options in the General tab of the Options window that you may want to use.

  • Minimize memory usage on swf export: Selecting this can greatly reduce the amount of RAM consumed by your output Flash SWF, but it does affect certain aspects of the output such as the ability to rewind.
  • Remove unused objects from slide when advancing: Selecting this will cause Flair to remove unused objects as a project plays from slide to slide.
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22. How can I pre-load a movie?
    In the Flash SWF Tab of the Project Settings window in Flair there are two Preload options that enable you to specify a percentage of your Flair output SWF to have preload prior to playback. In this way you can automatically add a preloader to any Flair Flash SWF.
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23. How can I do Click to Play?
    For a single object: In the Play tab of the Object settings window under "Preload play mode" you can select the "Click to begin playback option" (requires the use of Preload play mode).
For a slide: In the Slide settings window select the "Click Next" navigation option.
For the entire project: In the Flash SWF Tab of the Project Settings window in Flair under the Start of movie options there is an option to choose "Click to begin playback." If you select this option, your output SWF will not begin to play until the viewer clicks on it.
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24. How do I replace or remove a link from an existing SWF file?
    You can place a transparent object over any portion of an existing SWF and add a link to the transparent object. To add a transparent object right click on an empty space in the Flair timeline and select "Insert transparent object. The transparent object will appear on the Flair timeline where you right-clicked it. You may scale and move this transparent object however you want. To remove a link, just leave the transparent object on top of the existing link and it will block the link from being activated. To replace a link, in the "Mouse Events" tab of the Object Settings window you can add a new link or mouse event to the transparent object.
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25. How do I add clickable "hot spots" to my project?
    You can place a transparent object over any portion of an existing SWF and add a link to the transparent object. To add a transparent object right click on an empty space in the Flair timeline and select "Insert transparent object. The transparent object will appear on the Flair timeline where you right-clicked it. You may scale and move this transparent object however you want. Then in the "Mouse Events" tab of the Object Settings window you can add a new link or mouse event to the transparent object.
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26. How can I add play controls to my Flairject?
   

There are several ways to add play controls:

  • Select one of the players from the Project Settings window>Players tab. This will add a player to your entire output.
  • Right click on an empty space in the Flair timeline and select one of the "Insert..." play controls options. Flair comes with play, pause, stop, rewind and fastforward play controls. The play control SWF will appear on the Flair timeline where you right-clicked it. You may scale and move these play control SWFs however you want. You can change the color of the play controls using the color balance option in the Appearance tab of the Object Settings window. You can also place a play control over another SWF file and make the play control transparent by setting the alpha value in the Appearance tab of the Object Settings window to 0. So the play control will still work, but it will be invisible over the SWF you have chosen.
  • The Slide Settings window also has a "Buttons" navigation option which will add forward and backward buttons to your slides.

    Note: The play controls affect any SWF that is set to the Stream play mode in Flair. If a SWF is playing in Flair using the Preload or Load External File play modes, the play controls will not work on them.
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27. Why are the play controls not working for me?
    The play controls affect any SWF that is set to the Stream play mode in Flair. If a SWF is playing in Flair using the Preload or Load External File play modes, the play controls will not work on them.
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28. How can I get around the 16,000 frame limit in the Flash format?
   

Your Flair output SWF files are limited only by the maximum allowed number of frames in the Flash SWF format, which is 16,000 frames. The Flash player will stop playing your SWF after 16,000 frames, and Flair will warn you if your output contains a SWF file that will exceed 16,000 frames. You can get around this limit by using the Load External File play mode to chain multiple files together. There is also a "Load at end" option in the Flash SWF tab of the Project settings window that allows you to load a new Flash SWF at the end of the current one.
It is also useful to understand how the Flash player counts the frames in your Flair output based on the play mode and the length of the SWF. SWFs used in Flair with the Load External File or Preload play modes take up only 1 or 2 frames on the main timeline of the SWF you output from Flair. So, for instance, you could place a 16,000 frame SWF on the 15,998th frame of your Flair timeline set to play in the Load External File or Preload play mode and it would play correctly. However, while files set to Load External File or Preload play mode only occupy 1 or 2 frames in the Flash movie, the frame that you place them on is added to the length as well. For instance, if you load a 10,000 frame SWF on frame one and another 10,000 frame SWF on frame 10,001, Flash will treat the SWF as though it has 10,002 frames.
There are several additional factors you need to take into account when calculating the frame length of your Flair output:

  • If you add an image or audio fade out to a SWF set to the Load External File or Preload play modes, the entire length of the SWF will be added to the total frame count (because the fade out and all the frames leading up to the fade out will take up space). The way around this issue is to add this feature to the SWF in a separate Flair session, export it and then bring that new SWF into Flair.
  • If you add the "remove when done playing" option to a SWF set to the Load External File or Preload play modes, the entire length of the SWF will be added to the total frame count (because the remove action will have to be added to the end of the SWF, meaning that the entire SWF will have to be available and will take up space). The way around this issue is to add this feature to the SWF in a separate Flair session, export it and then bring that new SWF into Flair.
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29. Do I need any other applications to use Flair?
    No you do not. Flair already includes the free Flash player. But if you want to import video and audio files, you will also need the free Quicktime player and the free Windows Media player.
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30. Do I need any hardware besides my computer to use Flair?
    No you do not. But if you want to record video or audio you may want a webcam and/or a microphone.
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    Recording Utility Questions
     
1. What do I need to record on screen activity?
    Flair's recording utility will capture all on screen activity and audio from your computer. You do not need any special hardware or software installed to do this.
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2. How do I record the mouse movements or the mouse clicks?
    Make sure the "Capture mouse movements" and/or the "Capture mouse clicks" checkboxes are checked in the "Screen" tab of the recording utility.
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3. What do I need to capture video and/or audio?
    Flair's recording utility can capture video and audio from any audio/video device attached to your computer. In order to capture video and/or audio you will need to connect a camera (such as a webcam) and/or a microphone to your computer. If you wish to capture video from a videotape, you will need a video capture card. You can view the devices that the recording utility has access to in the "Encoding" tab of the recording utility.
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4. I'm not getting an image when I use the recording utility. What's wrong?
    1) Make sure that you have "Capture Video" selected in the Setup tab of the recording utility. 2) Select the appropriate "Video source" in the "Encoding tab" of the recording utility. If you're not sure which device is the right device, you will need to experiment. 3) Make sure the status bar reads "OK" after you have selected your video source.
To test whether you are getting video you can use the "Preview" button. Selecting this button will open a preview window that displays the video image that will be captured.
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5. I'm not getting audio (or the right audio) when I use the recording utility. What's wrong?
    1) Make sure that you have "Capture Video" selected in the Setup tab of the recording utility. 2) Select the appropriate "Audio source" in the "Encoding tab" of the recording utility. If you're not sure which device is the right device, you will need to experiment. 3) Select the appropriate "Audio input" in the "Encoding tab" of the recording utility. If you're not sure which input is the right one, you will need to experiment. 4) Make sure the "Input enabled" box in the encoding tab is checked. 5) Make sure the status bar reads "OK" after you have selected your video source.
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6. How do I avoid having the recording utility UI in my captures?
    Make sure the option "Go to tray on capture start" (Setup tab) is selected.
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7. How do I improve the quality of my recordings?
    You can use the presets to select a "medium" or "high quality" preset over a "lower quality" preset. For more advanced settings you can do the following:
To improve video quality: adjust the video codec using the "Video Codec" field in the encoding tab and by clicking the "Codec Setting" button if it appears (it depends on the codec you choose) and you can further refine settings by clicking the "Setup" button. If you are recording to the SWF format, another option is to record to uncompressed AVI and use the recompressor to convert the AVI into Flash SWF. Recording uncompressed AVIs requires less processor power and may yield smoother and better recordings. The recompressor can be accessed in the setup tab.
To improve audio quality: adjust the audio format in the encoding tab (the higher the kbps the higher the quality).
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8. Why does my computer screen flash when I start the recording utility?
    The recording utility turns off hardware acceleration in order to improve performance. The flash you see is the system resetting itself and it is not a problem. The hardware acceleration options are available by clicking the "Advanced" button in the setup tab.
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9. How do I capture just a single frame?
    Use a JPEG preset (or export to Jpeg) and/or use "Shot mode" in the encoding tab.
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10. Can I use the recording utility with a dual monitor configuration?
    The recording utility does not support recording on a second monitor. Whatever you wish to record must be on your primary monitor.
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    Flair media importer questions
     
1. How can I make my videos look better?
    For starters, use the Flash 8 video output. It offers the best quality. You can increase the quality by increasing the bitrate (vid/aud tab). Keep in mind that higher bitrates result in larger file sizes. There are also a number of filters in the edit, crop, filters window that you can use to enhance the appearance of your video.
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2. Why am I having problems encoding?
    If you're having problems encoding, the first thing to do is to make sure you have the complete installation of the free Quicktime player and the complete installation of the free Windows Media Player.
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3. Why can't I encode my video even though it's on the list of The media importer's supported formats?
    There are several possible reasons for this, but the most likely is that you do not have the required codecs installed. You can see if the media importer reads the source video codec by checking the "Input Video Properties" in the upper left portion of the Vid/Aud tab. If nothing appears in that box, you may not have the required codecs installed. You should make sure you have the complete install of the free Quicktime Player and the free Windows Media Player.

For more information on using codecs, check out the Codecs resource section.
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4. Why isn't my source video playing properly?
    You may not have all the necessary media components installed. If your source video plays in the native player (e.g., .mov files in the Quicktime player, and .wmv files in the Windows Media player) it should play in the the media importer source player and encode without problems.
If the native player can not play the source video, either you need to download more components, additional codecs, or your source media is corrupt. The free Quicktime and Windows Media players will often autoinstall any necessary components. You should have the complete installation of the free Quicktime player, and Windows Media Player.
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5. How large are the file sizes of the encoded video?
    The only way to know what the bitrate of an encoded Flash video will be is by setting a maximum bitrate (in the vid/aud tab). Here are the approximate files sizes for the presets in Flair's media importer:
56k - 300KB/min.
128k - 800KB/min.
300k - 2.1MB/min.
384k - 2.6MB/min.
512k - 3.5MB/min.
1,000k - 7MB/min.
These file sizes are determined by the maximum target bitrate for your movie, and are comparable to any other format. If you do not select a maximum bitrate, it is impossible to pre-determine what size the final video file will be. Of course you can set whatever bitrate you want. The media importer also allows you to edit the existing presets and create your own.
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6. How do I add a player to my video and audio files?
   

There are two ways to add play controls:

  • Create a new Flairject. Encode your video. Select one of the players from the Project Settings window>Players tab. This will add a player to your entire output. Save out your video with the play controls. If you then want to use that video in another project, you can import it.
  • Right click on an empty space in the Flair timeline and select one of the "Insert..." play controls options. Flair comes with play, pause, stop, rewind and fastforward play controls. The play control SWF will appear on the Flair timeline where you right-clicked it. You may scale and move these play control SWFs however you want. You can change the color of the play controls using the color balance option in the Appearance tab of the Object Settings window. You can also place a play control over another SWF file and make the play control transparent by setting the alpha value in the Appearance tab of the Object Settings window to 0. So the play control will still work, but it will be invisible over the SWF you have chosen.
    Note: The play controls affect any SWF that is set to the Stream play mode in Flair. If a SWF is playing in Flair using the Preload or Load External File play modes, the play controls will not work on them.
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7. How can I pre-load a movie?
    Create a new Flairject. Encode your video. Select one of the preload options from the Project Settings window>Flash SWF tab. This will add a preloader to your entire output. Save out your video with the preloader. If you then want to use that video in another project, you can import it.
Note: The preloaders affect any SWF that is set to the Stream play mode in Flair. If a SWF is playing in Flair using the Preload or Load External File play modes, the preloaders will not work on them.
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8. Why do video and audio files default to the Stream play mode?
    1) If you want to apply play controls to your video or audio the file must use the Stream play mode. 2) If you want your video and audio to stream on the Internet you need to use either the Stream or Load External File play mode.
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9. How do I apply an animation to a video?
    Video files default to using the Stream play mode. In order to apply an animation (Object settings>Animation tab) to any file it must use either the Preload or Load External File play mode. So just switch the play mode to the Load External File or Preload play mode. Keep in mind that if you want your video file to stream on the Internet you will need to use the Load External File play mode.
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10. Can I use video from the media importer output for CD-ROM applications?
    Yes, you can use When creating video for CD distribution we highly recommend using the FLV output. This will provide the best performance.
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11. Why must my SWF framerate always be equal to, or a multiple of my video framerate?
    The swf frame rate must be equal to or a multiple of the video framerate to prevent problems with encoding such as loss of audio sync and audio distortion.
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12. How can I increase the smoothness of the motion in my video?
    To increase the smoothness of your video motion, increase the video framerate under Output video options on the Vid/Aud tab.
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13. How do I capture video?
    To capture video you will need a video capture card. You can then use the device capture feature of the recording utility to capture the video and/or audio.
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14. Why does the motion in my video look jerky?
    The video frame rate (vid/aud tab) you selected for your video may not correlate well with the framerate of the source material. The video motion looks smoothest when the video frame rate you set (vid/aud tab) is equal to, or a factor of, the source video framerate (a factor of a number is a whole number which can be multiplied by another whole number to equal the original number). You should also be aware that the source video framerate that appears in the Input video properties (vid/aud tab) only reflects the framerate of that video - and not necessarily the framerate of earlier versions of the same video (for instance a 12 fps source might have been re-encoded at 30 fps, but there will still be only 12 distinct frames of video every second, even though 30 frames will appear). Usually you can find the right framerate with some experimentation.
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15. How can I improve the quality of my audio?
    Under the vid-aud tab, increasing the sampling rate and especially the bitrate will increase the quality of the audio in your SWF. It will also increase the SWF file size. Using mono instead of stereo, especially at lower bitrates, may also improve quality.
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16. Why is my audio losing sync?
    There are many issues that can cause loss of audio sync. Below are some of them.

To start it may be helpful to explain a couple of things:
1) Flash SWF video has two framerates: a) a video framerate, which is the number of distinct video frames per second in your video, and b) a SWF framerate, which is the number of SWF frames in your final Flash video. These are not the same thing and you have to keep track of both - and how they relate to each other and to the source video framerate. Flash video is different in this way then standard video which has only a single video framerate. (Note: This does not apply to FLV video.)
2) A factor is a mathematical term that describes one of two or more quantities that divides a given quantity without a remainder. For example 1, 2, 3 and 6 are factors of 6; 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, and 30 are factors of 30, and so on.

Potential reasons for loss of audio sync:
- The video framerate of your output video conflicts with the video framerate of your source video. You may need to ensure that the video framerate of your The media importer video is a factor of your source video framerate.
- The SWF framerate of your output video conflicts with the video framerate. The SWF framerate of your SWF video should be equal to or a multiple of your video framerate.
- The video SWF file created uses up too much RAM for the system it is running on, resulting in a loss of sync.
- The SWF file that the video is embedded (or loaded) in uses up too much processor power for the system it is running on, resulting in a loss of sync.
- The source has errors, which cause loss of sync.
- The source codec used is not 100% supported.
- The computer used to encode lacks the processing power and/or ram required to encode with sync.
- There may be a conflict between the audio settings you are using (frequency and bitrate) and the audio settings of your source video. You can try to experiment by altering your settings to see if it helps the problem. Often, increasing the frequency and bitrate can solve this problem.
- The video framerate being used is very low and the resulting video appears to have audio and video out of sync (especially with talking mouths) but in fact it is in sync and the appearance of sync loss is caused by the very low frame rate.
- The audio and video of the source video was captured with separate cards which results in a loss of sync that gets worse with subsequent generations. We recommend using a capture card with both audio and video inputs to help keep the video and audio in sync.
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17. Does exporting stereo audio increase my file size?
    Usually not, but it may decrease quality at lower bitrates. We suggest using minimum audio settings of 22 KHz and 40 kbps when using stereo audio.
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18. Why does my audio sound distorted?
    There may be problems with your source audio. In addition, some combinations of the sampling rate, bitrate, and stereo/mono that you select can cause your sound to distort. You may have to adjust these settings. Also, if you are using stereo output, we suggest using minimum audio settings of 22 KHz and 40 kbps.
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19. My encoded video has no video and/or audio track, when I know the input media does. What's wrong?
    On the File tab, make certain that the Export options are set properly. That is, if you want video in your output SWF, check "Export Video". If you want the source audio to be encoded into the SWF, check "Export Audio". If this is the case, and you still can not encode the audio and/or video, please make certain that you have all the proper media components for the format. If your source file does not properly play in its native player (eg., MOV files in the Quicktime player), then you most likely do not have the proper components or your source video is corrupt.
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20. How do I change the encoding presets?
    In the media importer, Select View>Options>Edit. The presets file will open in an editor where you can edit the existing presets and add new ones. To add new presets, just use the exact same format that is used in the EncodingPresets file. Make sure to enter your information exactly as even a small typo can cause the presets not to be read by The media importer. Once you're finished making your changes, save the file. Then click "Reload Presets" and "OK" and the presets should be updated. Prior to editing, you may want to save a backup copy of your original presets file.
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    Flair text animator questions
1. How do I add a text effect to a Flairject?
    Flair includes a very easy-to-use text animation engine. Select View>Create Text Effect and the Text animator will open. Simply enter your text, choose an effect and select "Save and insert" and the effect will be generated and added to your Flairject.
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2. How do I change the duration of a text animator effect?
    The duration of the effect can be changed with the "Letter Delay" setting, or if you have multiple lines of text, changing the "Line Delay" setting (any number greater than zero in the "Letter Delay" or "Line Delay" settings will cause the text animator to insert extra frames after the appearance of each letter or line, thus changing the total duration of the effect. If you are using a customizable effect and that custom effect has a speed variable, you can also change that value to change the duration. In addition, all the effects in the Custom FX pack include a speed variable.
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3. How do I apply the effect to the entire text simultaneously?
    In the main tab, set the letter delay to 0.
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4. What different fonts can I use?
    You can use any TrueType font installed on your system, except for unicode fonts.
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5. How do I adjust the delay between each character animation?
    Change the value in the "Letter Delay" field.
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    Using Flair Flash SWF output with other applications questions
1. How do I use Flair Flash SWFs with Frontpage?
    Sample code to modify
Use the <object> <embed> code that you would for any .swf. Here is a sample:

<OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"
codebase="http://active.macromedia.com/flash2/cabs/
swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" ID=banner_2000_08_15_b WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60>
<PARAM NAME=movie VALUE="http://www.wildform.com/Flair.swf">
<PARAM NAME=quality VALUE=high> <
PARAM NAME=bgcolor VALUE=#000099>
<EMBED src="http://www.wildform.com/SDD.swf"
8 quality=high bgcolor=#000099 WIDTH=46 HEIGHT=60 TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash"
PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?
P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>

Change file name (in two places) and width and height (in two places) and background color (in two places).
Copy this code, i.e. everything between and including the object and embed tags.

Open the html file in FrontPage where you want to insert your Flair Flash SWF file.
(Make sure that this html file is in the same folder as the Flair .SWF file.)
Select Insert>Advanced>HTML from the FrontPage Main Menu.
Paste the code above into the HTML Markup window, and click OK
Change to the HTML tab in FrontPage. Your HTML code should be inserted into your web page:
Be sure to save the page in the same directory as the .swf that you are embedding. Your .HTML and
.SWF files must be in the same folder, in order for your Flair movie to play. (FrontPage needs
to know where the .swf is before it can display it, and if nothing else is specified it will look in the same directory
as the source file.)

To see your Flair movie playing, change to the Preview tab in FrontPage.
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2. How do I use Flair Flash SWFs with PowerPoint?
   

Create your Flash SWFs in Flair. Make note of the output SWF movie dimensions located in the project Settings window. In this case we will assume that our output SWF dimensions are 200x150 (w x h).
Bringing your Flair SWFs file into PowerPoint:

  • Open PowerPoint and create a new slide.
  • From your Main Menu bar select View>Toolbars>Visual Basic.
  • From the Visual Basic Toolbar, select the 'Control' Toolbox icon and open the 'Control' Toolbox. Choose the More Controls icon and scroll down the list to Shockwave Flash Object.
  • Draw out a rectangle on your slide to any dimension.
  • Right-click on the rectangle you have just drawn and select Properties. This opens a list of Project Settings. Embedding your SWFs: To embed your SWFs, make the following changes in the Properties box.
  • EmbedMovie: change this value to True
  • Height: change this to the correct dimension of your Flair movie, in this case 150
  • Width: change this to the correct dimension of your Flair movie, in this case 200
  • Loop: change to False (unless you want your SWFs to loop, in which case leave as True)
  • Movie: type in the absolute path of your .swf movie
    Viewing your SWFs: To view your SWFs, select Slide show>View show from the Main Menu. Your Flair SWFs will play on the slide you placed it on.
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3. How do I embed my swf into an html page?
   

In the HTML Tab of the Project Settings window in Flair there is an Export HTML option. If you select this checkbox Flair will automatically output the html code to play the SWF that you are encoding.
Here is a code sample of embedding your effect SWF into a web page:

<OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"
codebase="http://active.macromedia.com/flash2/cabs/
swflash.cab#version=8,0,0 ,0" id="effect"
WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT="100%">
<PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="Flair.swf">
<PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high">
<PARAM NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#000000">
<EMBED src="effect.swf" quality="high"
bgcolor="#000000" WIDTH="100%"
HEIGHT="100%" TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash"
PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?
P1_Prod_ Version=ShockwaveFlash">
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>

Set the "HEIGHT" and "WIDTH" values in both the <EMBED> and <OBJECT> tags to the dimensions of your movie. Set the values to "100%" for the effect to fill the screen.
The <OBJECT> tags are specific to Internet Explorer and the <EMBED> tags are for most other browsers, including Netscape. Therefore, both tags are needed for the Flash SWF to display properly on all browsers. Please make sure that the attributes in both tags match, otherwise unexpected behavior may result.
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4. How do I add Flair Flash output to an email?
    In the Project Settings window>HTML Tab is an "Export E-mail" checkbox. If you select this, Flair will automatically output a text file with the html code you need to embed in an html email editor (such as Outlook Express).
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    Flair Flash specific questions
1. How do I know when my Flair output is done (has reached the end)?
    Flair adds a single variables to your output automatically. This is the variable WF_WPDONE. On the first frame of your Flair output the variable WF_WPDONE= 0. On the last frame of your Flair output, the variable WF_WPDONE=1. In this way you can easily determine when your Flair output has finished playing.
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2. I want to add variables to my Flair output. Is this possible?
    Yes. Under the Flash SWF tab of the Project Settings window you may enter any number of custom variables, which may then be accessed by a larger Flash movie, like any variable.
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3. How many characters can be in one variable?
    A variable in Flash can contain up to 255 characters. Characters may be letters, numbers, or underscores, but you cannot use spaces, punctuation, or other special characters.
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4. How do I access the variables that I put in my Flair SWF?
    Flair stores any variables you input in the Project Settings window>Flash SWF tab on the first frame of the Flair SWF output. In Flash, from the menu select: Debug->List Variables. The variables will appear in the "Output" window. If you load your Flair SWF into a larger Flash movie with the Load Movie command, you may access your variables the same way you would any variable in a movie clip. For example, if you load SWF into a movie clip called "empty" on the top level, and you want to access the "title" variable, the structure would be "_level0/empty:title" (no quotes).
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5. My Flair Flash SWF is playing back in a larger Flash movie at the incorrect speed. Why?
    Most likely, the Flash SWF framerate of your output SWF media file is different from that of the larger Flash movie. When you load a Flair-generated SWF with streaming audio into a larger Flash movie, the larger movie will play at the framerate of the Flair movie. When you load a Flair-generated SWF without streaming audio into a larger Flash movie, the Flair movie will play at the framerate of the larger movie. If you load multiple SWFs with streaming audio into a larger movie, the frame rate will match the framerate of movie loaded into the lowest level of the SWF.
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6. How can I align my SWF in a larger Flash movie?
    There are a number of ways for making alignment within your Flash movies easier. Set the size (width and height) of the Flair movie to match the size of your main movie. Align the text where you think it should be, and save the movie. If you place the target movie clip for the "Load Movie" command in the exact center of the stage, the text effect should appear properly aligned inside your movie when you load it. Use "Load Movie" into a target movie clip in Macromedia Flash and use the "SetProperty" ActionScript (for _x and _y) to move the effect into its proper place. Use the "Trace" ActionScript command with the "GetProperty" command to find the current coordinates of the loaded movie.

For example: Trace("x:" & GetProperty("/path/to/load/movie/target", _x)) and Trace("y:" & GetProperty("/path/to/load/movie/target", _y))

Make sure that you enable "Trace actions" in your "Publishing Settings for Flash" to view the Trace information in the "Output" window. These methods should make it easier to align and place your movie.
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7. Why can't I import my Flair Flash SWF output into Flash?
    The Macromedia Flash authoring tool can not import any Flash SWF file higher than version 3. To bring those Flash SWFs into Macromedia Flash you should use LoadMovie actionscript.
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