Do you want to create attention
grabbing Flash banners without knowing
Flash? Making Flash banners is easy with
the Wildform
Wild FX Text Animator and the Wildform
Linx Easy Flash Editor. Simply make
your text effects in Wild FX, then add
audio and images to your Flash (SWF) files
in Linx and instantly export your Flash
file to an HTML page, or projector file.
It's easy!
Creating
Flash banners is easy!
Simply make your text effects in Wild FX,
add audio & images to your Flash file
in Linx.
This basic tutorial
will show you how to create your text effects
in Wildform Wild FX and import and combine them
in Wildform Linx. It will also show you how to
import audio and images files into Linx, as well
as add fades to your files, rotate them, and
set them to the correct dimensions for a banner
ad. Finally it will show you how to export your
final file from Linx to an HTML page and a projector
file.
The tutorial presupposes no knowledge of either
Wild FX or Linx. It will show you how to create
the file displayed here:
Creating
text effects in Wild FX is easy. Simply open
Wild FX, type in your text in the text field
box, select an effect and click preview. If you
like the effect, click "save" and save
your effect out to a folder.
If
you are already using Wild FX, you may know that "F4" indicates
a Flash 4 effect and "F3" indicates
a Flash 3 effect. The Flash 4 effects (just like
any SWF that is published as Flash 4, 5 or 6)
cannot be directly imported into Macromedia Flash
-- you have to use "Load Movie" action.
However, with Linx you don't have to worry about
what kind of Flash file your text effect is,
because Linx imports every type of Flash (SWF)
file.
The
dimensions of a classic banner ad are 468 x 60
pixels. I can set these dimensions easily in
Linx, however, I can also avoid resizing my text
effects in Linx by making sure they fall within
these dimensions when I create them in Wild FX.
To set the output dimensions in Wild FX, just
enter the dimensions you want in the Wild FX
boxes below:
When
you launch Linx you will see the main window
where you import, layer, edit and preview the
project you are creating. This is the window
you will use the most. One of the first things
you need to do when beginning a Linx project
is to choose an output name and path for the
SWF you are creating. If you have not entered
one, you will be prompted by Linx to create one.
You can also enter this name and path in the
File Tab of the Movie Properties Window. (The
Movie properties window allows you to set properties
for your entire project. The settings applied
in this window will apply to the entire SWF file
that you output from Linx.) To launch this window,
go to the "View" menu and open the "Movie
Properties" window.
I
am going to label my output file "Add_Audio_and_Images.swf".
Next,
I am going to save the settings file I am creating.
The settings file saves all the settings and
characteristics of your Linx project. You will
want to save this file often as you go along,
so you don't lose any of your work by mistake.
In the "File" menu, selecting "Save
Settings" will call up a dialog box in which
you can label the name of your Linx settings
(.lnx) file. I am going to call this file, "AddAudioandImages.lnx".
I use the same name as the .swf file I am exporting
so it's easy to pair the Linx settings file with
the output file - but the output file has a ".swf" extension
and the settings file has a ".lnx" extension.
Next,
I am going to import my first Wild FX text effect
file, "createstunning.swf" into Linx.
Under the "Import" menu, I select "Import
File". The file will appear on the timeline
in Linx's main window. You may also import your
file by dragging the SWF file from your hard
drive and dropping it onto the timeline. (There
are several other ways to import files but these
are two easy and obvious ways.)
Then I am going to change the dimensions of my
output file to the dimensions of a conventional
banner ad – 468x60. I do this in the Movie
Properties Window.
There
are three different "play modes" that
you can choose for any file you import into Linx.
These affect the way the Flash player will play
your SWF. You must select a "play mode" for
each SWF you import. The three modes are "Play
on the main timeline", "Play with LoadMovie",
and "Play independently (in a sprite)",
which is the default setting. Files played in
a sprite do not affect the other files in your
Linx project. (You can change the default import
play mode in the Options window.)
Files played with any of Linx's three play modes
will appear in your Linx timeline and in the
Main window preview pane and can be moved, resized
and cropped in the preview pane.
For the text effects files we are going to use
the default setting, sprite mode. This sprite
mode works fine for smaller files such as the
text effects SWFs we are importing here, but
when we bring in larger SWFs into Linx that we
want to stream, such as audio and video SWFs,
we will use a different play mode.
Before
I do anything else, I want to see the Wild FX
effect I just imported. To do so, I go to the "Preview" menu
and select "Preview SWF" (or I can
select ctrl>P on my keyboard.) The Wild FX
effect I just created will play in the preview
pane of Linx's main window. Please note that
every time you make a change in Linx you must
generate a new preview in order to see the changes
you have just made, unless you turn on the "Auto
Preview" mode. You may turn on "Auto
Preview" from the Toolbar,
or by going to the "Preview" menu and
selecting "Auto Preview".
Next
I am going to add a Fade to the “createstunning.swf” and
then remove it from my project when done playing.
To add a fade to your file simply select your
desired SWF by clicking on it in the timeline,
then open the SWF Properties Window and click
on the "Play" tab. In the "Play
Options" section check the "Image Fade
In" box and designate the number of frames
you want the fade in to last.
Please
Note: Using image fade in and/or image
fade-out with certain SWFs set to the main
timeline play mode may result in increasing
file size. This increase in file size is most
notable with Wild FX's Flash 3 effects. If
this occurs you may want to use either the
sprite or LoadMovie play modes. As we are using
sprite mode in this tutorial we do not need
to concern ourselves with this. But it is worth
keeping in mind for other projects.
Next
I am going to import two more Wild FX text effects
files in the same manner as we did above. First
I will import “addaudio.swf”. I want
the file to start just after “createstunning.swf” fades
out, so I am going to drag the “addaudio.swf” on
the timeline to frame 45.
Now I want to arrange my text effects SWFs differently
in my project file.
Next
I want to align the two files. To move “addaudio.swf” I
can either drag the file in the preview window,
or I can type in the X and Y coordinates in the
SWF Properties Window.
Next,
I want to move these effects. You can do this
in two ways. One way is to turn on the "Preview
Scale Mode" by clicking the "Preview
Scale Mode" icon in the toolbar
or from the Preview Menu select "Preview
Scale Mode".)
Click on the SWF that you want to move. Notice
that a box with a cross in it will appear in
the preview window over the SWF you have selected.
You may then drag that SWF in the preview window
wherever you like. (You can also scale it in
the preview pane.) I am now going to move the "addaudio.swf " above
by dragging it with my mouse.
Next I will import the “andimages.swf” file
in the same manner.
If
you want to align your files with pixel precision,
under the "View" menu, open the "SWF
Properties Window" and go to the "Appearance
Tab." Here you can adjust a number of settings
for the SWFs on your Linx timeline.
To activate a SWF to apply settings to it, you
simply click on the SWF in the timeline.
In this case I am going to click on my "CreateStunningEffects" SWF
in my timeline and then in the "SWF Properties
Window" click the "Appearance Tab" and
then adjust the "Translate X" and "Translate
Y" settings so that the two effects are
perfectly aligned -- so they have the exact same
Translate X/Y values.
(You can also scale, rotate and skew your SWFs
in the SWF properties window.)
Linx can directly import audio files in the .wav
and .mp3 formats. When you import an audio file,
Linx will convert it into a SWF file, the name
of which you specify at the time of importing,
and will then place the file on a new layer at
the top of the Linx timeline. The SWF framerate
of the imported and converted audio files will
be the same as the SWF framerate specified in
the Movie properties window.
To convert audio files you will need to make
sure that you have the complete "recommended" install
of the free Quicktime player (which is not the
default install mode).
When you import an audio file, a dialogue box
appears that lists the input audio properties
and has settings for you to select your SWF audio
properties.
Input
audio Properties
The Input audio properties field describes the
properties of your input audio track: Format: This is the format of the source
media. Sampling Rate: The frequency at which
the audio was encoded. The number of samples
of sound encoded per second. Channels: The number of channels in
the source audio (1 is mono, 2 is stereo). Sample Size: The bitrate of the source
audio. Duration: The length of the source audio
(minutes:seconds).
Output Audio Options
There are three settings which determine the
way your source audio is encoded into a SWF file:
sampling rate, bitrate, and stereo/mono.
Sampling Rate: this is the frequency,
or the number of samples per second, at which
the audio is encoded. This is measured in Hertz
(Hz). Bitrate: this value determines the amount
of information used to store the audio in the
output SWF. This is measured in kilobits (1000
bits = 125 bytes) per second (Kbps). Higher bitrates
lead to higher quality audio and larger SWF filesize.
128 Kbps MP3 audio is generally considered to
be equivalent to CD audio. Stereo: By checking this box, your audio
is encoded in 2 channels. A setting of mono will
result in better audio quality at lower bitrates.
We suggest you use the stereo setting with minimum
audio settings of 22KHz and 40Kbps. Selecting
stereo will not increase your file size.
Output SWF
Here you specify the path and filename of the
SWF file you wish to create. You may select the "Browse" button
to select the output path and name.
Once you have selected your output, Linx will
convert your mp3 file to a SWF.
Your
file will be imported using the sprite play mode.
However if your audio file is large, as this
one is it is recommended that you change the
play mode to Main Timeline or Load Movie.
[NOTE: It’s not the source file size that
matters – it’s the imported resulting
SWF file size that matters.]
Play on main timeline: This
option will cause imported files to be played
on the main timeline (the "main timeline" represents
the internal timeline of the SWF file you are
creating and it is not the same thing as the
physical Linx timeline that appears at the top
of the Main window). Files played on the main
timeline will stream when posted on the Web (this
is not an issue for files played locally). You
should be aware that any actions in a file played
on the main timeline will affect the entire project
you are creating. For instance, if there is a
stop action at the end of a file you import onto
the main timeline, 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
SWF Properties window. Files played on the main
timeline will appear in the Linx timeline and
preview pane of the Main window and can be moved,
resized and cropped in the preview pane.
Play with LoadMovie: This option
will cause imported files to be played using
LoadMovie. This method can be used to load external
SWFs into your project. Files played using LoadMovie
will stream when posted on the Web (this is not
an issue for files played locally). This can
be a useful way to play Flash video and audio
files that you want to stream because they will
not stream when played independently in a sprite.
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. You can load an unlimited number of SWF
files into your project. Files played with LoadMovie
will appear in the Linx timeline and preview
pane of the Main window and can be moved, resized
and cropped in the preview pane. However, files
played with LoadMovie are not included in your
Linx 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.
I am going to put the file on the main timeline.
I do this by right clicking on the SWF.
Next
I am going to move the audio file on the timeline
so that it begins at the same time that the addaudio.swf
begins. I am also going to add an audio fade
in and fade out to the file.
I
am also going to shorten the duration of the
file by dragging the right edge of the SWF to
end at frame 270.
Linx
can directly import the following still image
formats: .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .psd, .tif,
.pic, .and tga. When you import an image file,
Linx will convert it into a SWF file, the name
of which you specify at the time of importing,
and will then place the file on a new layer at
the top of the Linx timeline.
To convert image files you will need to make
sure that you have the complete "recommended" install
of the free Quicktime player (which is not the
default install mode).
When you import an image file, a dialogue box
appears that lists the input image properties
and has settings for you to select your SWF image
properties. Once you select your Image Quality
value and click "OK", Linx converts
the file to the SWF format.
Input
image properties
The Input image properties field describes the
properties of your source image: Format: This is the format of the source
media. Color Depth: This value indicates the
number of colors in the source video. Dimensions: The dimensions are the width
and height of the source video.
Output image options
Image quality: This value, set on a
scale of whole numbers from 1 to 100, reflects
the image quality for your image. The higher
the number, the better the image quality, and
the larger the file size. You may have to experiment
to find your ideal setting. We recommend keeping
your average image quality below 80 as file sizes
can get quite large above that value. You can
set the image quality by entering a number from
1-100 in the field box.
Output SWF
Here you specify the path and filename of the
SWF file you wish to create. You may select the "Browse" button
to select the output path and name.
Next I am going to add in a few more swf files “linx.swf”, “Wild
FX+linx.swf” and “letyourselfgo.swf”… and
complete the layout of my files.
Now
I want to rotate my “LetYourselfGo.swf”.
I do this in the Appearance tab of the SWF Properties
window. In the rotate box, I type in the number
of degrees I want my SWF to rotate. (I can also
skew, scale, and translate, or move the SWF here.)
I
want to create a banner ad, which will loop.
To loop my entire movie, I open to the SWF tab
in the Movie Properties window and click the
loop movie radial button. By leaving the number
of times field blank, the SWF will loop infinitely.
You may export your final SWF by clicking the "Export
SWF" button in the File Tab of the Movie
Properties Window, or you may click the "Export
SWF" icon in the toolbar:
To play your exported SWF,click the "Play
Output" icon in the toolbar.
Linx offers a number of additional export options
that can assist you in the deployment and distribution
of your Linx encoded SWF files.
Export HTML: If
you wish to deploy your SWF in a web page, you
may select "Export HTML", which will
produce an HTML file with the code to embed the
SWF in a web page. Simply copy that HTML into
whatever page you wish.
Export E-mail: If
you want to send your output SWF file in an email,
select this box. Linx will automatically output
a text file that can be cut and pasted into an
html e-mail editor, such as Outlook Express.
The text file will be named according to the
following format: swfoutputfilename_email.txt.
Linx will also output both Windows and Macintosh
projector files. These can be very useful for
deploying your Linx output on CD and for other
methods of offline distribution. Projector files
contain the SWF output and player together, so
you can be certain that the viewer does not need
any additional players to view the files.
Export Win Projector: Selecting
this box will cause Linx to export your SWF as
a Flash projector file for Windows (an .exe file).
Export Mac Projector:
Selecting this box will cause Linx to export
your SWF as a Flash projector file for the Mac
(an .hqx file). The .hqx file created by Linx
must be expanded on a Mac user's computer prior
to playing.
To
play your exported SWF, click the "Play
Output" icon in the toolbar:
We
have now covered everything necessary to make
the banner ad displayed in this tutorial. You
can do much more with Linx including adding video
to your text effects and banner ads.
