 |
| Adding
a Preloader to your WildPresenter project |
|
| This tutorial applies to WildPresenter Pro 2+. |
|
|
|
| Top |
 |
|
| Introduction |
|
This is a very basic tutorial to help you add a preloader to your WildPresenter Flash SWF output. WildPresenter contains many features that are not covered here. Instructions on how to use these features are located in the Help file of the WildPresenter program itself. We also offer numerous tutorials on how to use WildPresenter in the tutorials section of our web site.
Please note that this tutorial covers adding a preloader to your entire WildPresenter Flash SWF output, not individual objects within your project. This method will not work to add a preloader to FLV files. Using WildPresenter it is also possible to add preloaders to any SWF or FLV within a project using the “Add Player/Preloader” feature (Objects Menu>Add Player/Preloader) which will is covered in this tutorial. |
| Top |
|
|
| Getting
Started |
|
| To
add a preloader to a project open the Project
Settings window (from the menu: View>Project
Settings) and select the Flash SWF tab. In the
Flash SWF options section click the Preload button;
you may also customize your preload options here. |
|
 |
| Top |
|
|
| Options |
|
| Preload |
|
The
Preload option allows you to program an automatic
preloader into your WildPresenter Flash SWF output.
This is for web streaming purposes only. Preloaders
will not work on WildPresenter Flash SWFs played
locally from a hard drive or CD. The purpose
of using preloaders is to ensure smooth playback
of larger Flash SWFs for users on slower connections.
In this way, users on slower speed connections
(e.g., dial up modems) can view larger Flash
SWF files without buffering or the Flash SWF
stopping and starting. For instance, if someone
on a 56k connection tries to view a Flash SWF
that was created to stream to a broadband, 256k
connection, the Flash SWF is still going to play,
but the amount of information contained in the
Flash SWF will be much larger than it would be
for a Flash SWF specifically created for a 56k
connection. This will cause an inconsistent and
choppy playback experience for the 56k user.
The purpose of a preloader is to ensure that
enough of the Flash SWF has loaded before it
starts to play so that there will be no interruption
once the Flash SWF begins to play. While there
is a delay while the user waits for the Flash
SWF to begin playback, if you preload enough
of the file, once it starts to play, it will
continue to play uninterrupted until it finishes.
The preloaders have a "__% loaded" indicator
that shows how much of the Flash SWF has loaded
until the specified percentage has loaded and
then the Flash SWF begins to play.
There are two preload options:
- Fixed: When
selected this causes the Flash Player to
preload a specified percentage of your WildPresenter
output prior to beginning playback. You specify
the percent of the movie to load (from 1%
- 100%) in the box directly to the right.
The Fixed preloader works with any Flash
player version 4 and higher.
- Adaptive: An
adaptive preloader is an "intelligent" preloader
that will preload a variable amount of your
Flash SWF based on the size of the Flash
SWF and the viewer's internet connection
speed so that the viewer can watch the Flash
SWF without stops and starts - no matter
what speed they are connected to the internet
at. The adaptive preloader determines the
user's connection speed and based on that
figure and the size of the Flash SWF file
you are preloading, it preloads precisely
the amount of the Flash SWF required to enable
the Flash SWF to begin playing as soon as
it possibly can and still not stop at any
point until it is done. In this way, the
preload process is optimized so the amount
of time taken for a Flash SWF to preload
is minimized as much as possible. The Adaptive
preloader works with any Flash player version
5 and higher.
|
|
| Buffer
factor |
|
| The
buffer factor will cause the preloader to preload
more (or less) of the Flash SWF than the initial
calculations determine is the minimum amount
of time required. This is useful because a viewer's
connection speed often varies, even during the
course of watching a single Flash SWF. The time
needed to load the Flash SWF file to the end
is multiplied with this factor. If you don't
want to use a buffer you set the factor to 1.0
(a factor of 1.0 means no buffer - loadingTime
* 1.0 = loadingTime). To be on the safe side,
you may want to use a factor larger than 1.0.
If you think the viewer's connection will get
faster during the visit (e.g., perhaps a download
ends) then you can change the buffer factor to
a number smaller than 1.0. If you think the viewer's
connection will get slower during the visit (e.g.,
because the viewer starts a new download) you
should change the buffer factor to a number greater
than 1.0. As a general rule, it is a good idea
to make the buffer factor larger than 1.0 to
be on the safe side. The default value is 1.1
which should provide good results. The buffer
factor can be a number from 0 - 2 in increments
of 0.1 Please note that if you have files set
to the Preload play mode, those files will preload
100% before playing and adding a preloader will
not affect them.
As a general rule we recommend that you use
the “Adaptive Preloader” with a
1.1 buffer factor.
To show users the percentage (0-100%) that
has been loaded check the Include Preloader
Text box. To edit the font, color or size of
the text click the Format Text button. Depending
on the background color of your project you
may want to change the color of the font.
|
|
 |
| Top |
|
|
| Conclusion |
|
| We
have now covered everything necessary to add
a preloader to your WildPresenter project. You
can do much more with WildPresenter and other
tutorials will cover these subjects. The WildPresenter
help file also addresses these topics. |
| Top |
