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| Creating
Windows, Macintosh, & Linux projectors for
new & existing SWF & FLV files using
Flix Pro |
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| Contents |
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| Introduction |
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| Flix
has a very useful feature that enables you to
automatically export Windows, Mac and Linux projectors
for: 1) any SWF or FLV files you encode using
Flix, and 2) for any existing SWF or FLV file
whether the file was created using Flix or another
program. Projector files can be very useful for
deploying 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. |
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| Three
types of projectors |
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Flix
Pro 4 exports three types of projector files:
- Export Win Projector: Selecting
this box will cause Flix to export a Flash
projector file for Windows (an .exe file)
that will play your output video. If you
are exporting a SWF video Flix will export
a single projector that contains the SWF
and the player in one file. If you are exporting
an FLV video Flix will export both a projector
and an FLV file which will be loaded into
the projector (both files must be distributed
to play the FLV).
- Export Mac Projector: Selecting
this box will cause Flix to export a Flash
projector file for the Mac (an .hqx file)
that will play your output video. If you
are exporting a SWF video Flix will export
a single projector that contains the SWF
and the player in one file. If you are exporting
an FLV video Flix will export both a projector
and an FLV file which will be loaded into
the projector (both files must be distributed
to play the FLV). The .hqx file created by
the Windows version of Flix must be expanded
on a Mac user's computer prior to playing.
The Mac projectors created with the Mac version
of Flix do not have to be expanded.
- Export Linux Projector: Selecting
this box will cause Flix to export a Flash
projector file for Linux (Linux projectors
have no extension) that will play your output
video. If you are exporting a SWF video Flix
will export a single projector that contains
the SWF and the player in one file. Currently,
you cannot export a Linux projector for FLV
files, because Macromedia has not yet released
the standalone Flash 7 Player for Linux which
is required to play FLV files. Once they
do, we will update Flix Pro to include this;
then if you export an FLV video Flix will
export both a projector and an FLV file which
will be loaded into the projector (both files
must be distributed to play the FLV).
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| Exporting
projectors during encoding |
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| Open
Flix Pro. You will see the File tab. |
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Browse
to your source video.
Select a preset. If you don’t want to use
a preset, you can fill in your own settings in
the Video/Audio tab.
Open the Output tab. |
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Choose
the type of projector you wish to export by selecting
the corresponding checkbox. (You may export more
than one at a time.) The output filename will
automatically fill in. If you want to change
the name or location for the output file, you
can type the changes directly into the field.
Encode your file (you can use the “encode” button
in the File tab, the Encode icon in the toolbar
or the Encoding>Encode menu item. Once you
have encoded your file, the projector file(s)
file will be in the location specified in the
Output tab. |
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| Exporting
projectors using an existing SWF or FLV file |
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| To
export a projector for an existing SWF or FLV,
use the Existing SWF/FLV tab of the Flix Pro
Players window. You can access this window by
selecting the Player Maker icon from the toolbar
or the View>Create Player menu item. |
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Browse
to find your source FLV or SWF file. The output
filename will automatically fill in and add “_player” to
the name. (This is so you don’t overwrite
your original SWF file by accident.) If you want
to change the name or location for the output
file, you can type the changes directly into
the field.
> Select the “Blank” player from the players list. The blank player
does not actually add a player to your output, but it creates a placeholder that
is the same dimensions as your source SWF file and can be used to add any of
the features in the Existing SWF/FLV tab of the Players window to any existing
SWF or FLV file (but remember you can only convert SWF files to a screensaver – not
an FLV). While this tutorial uses the Blank player, you can use any player that
you want.
Select the desired projector output option(s)
from the Export options list. The output filename
will automatically fill in. If you want to change
the name or location for the output file, you
can type the changes directly into the field.
Click “Create Now”. Once you have
created your file, the projector file(s) will
be in the location you specified. |
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| Using
Projectors |
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For
more information on using projectors check out
our tutorial
“Preparing
Flash Video, Audio and other .SWF Files for CD Rom Projects”
This tutorial provides information about creating
CD-ROM projects using Flash SWF files. If you
want to add Flash video to a CD-ROM, you should
strongly consider using FLV output as opposed
to SWF output, especially for video files larger
than 10MB. FLV output provides superior performance
when played from a CD-ROM. For instance, unlike
SWF files, FLV files do not preload 100% when
played from a CD.
Note: In addition to using the
existing SWF tab of the Players window to export
projectors for any existing SWF or FLV file,
you can also use this feature to:
- add a player with play
controls to any existing SWF or FLV file
- convert any existing
SWF file into a screensaver
- add a preloader to any
existing SWF or FLV file
- export the HTML code
to play your SWF files in a web browser or
an email client.
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