Janet's Star Trek Voyager Site

ABOUT FLASH AND ITS USE ON THIS SITE

 

CONTENTS
1. FLASH ARRIVES ON THIS SITE 2. SITE DEFINITION OF "FLASH MOVIES"
3. HOW TO PLAY/CONTROL FLASH MOVIES
or guide (small animated .gif)		 4. FLASH SNIFFER
5. FREE FLASH PLAYER/FREE UPGRADE 6. MOST WEB-USERS CAN WATCH FLASH MOVIES
7. QUICK AS A FLASH: ADVANTAGES
OF FLASH OVER ANIMATED .GIFS		 8. CREATE YOUR OWN FLASH PRESENTATIONS

Off-page: TROUBLESHOOTING FLASH

 

1. FLASH ARRIVES ON THIS SITE
From March 2002 I use Macromedia's program Flash 5 to create movies e.g. episode excerpts, and am unlikely to create more animated .gif screenshots.

From late April 2002 I shall be adding Flash items to this site without necessarily giving on-page/prior-page notice or sniffer. This is because, according to Macromedia "Over 98.3% of all web users have the Macromedia Flash Player." and the percentage is rising. You can download the free Flash Player or upgrade to the free latest version at www.macromedia.com.

Concept and realisation of Flash files on this site are by me unless otherwise stated. However, I have not got much beyond the beginner level. Items may be amended as I learn better technique. Please bear with me.

 

 

2. SITE DEFINITION OF "FLASH MOVIES"

Episode excerpts, presentations e.g. tour of the bridge (access at SHIP: Bridge Index). Section 3 below describes how to play/control "Flash movies".

Strictly speaking, anything generated for the Flash Player is a Flash movie e.g. Flash splash pages, Flash banners, Flash buttons, Flash sounds, Flash text etc. But for clarity on this site, I shall not call those "Flash movies".

 

 

3. HOW TO PLAY/CONTROL FLASH MOVIES

With some movies, you can control individual aspects of playback. The animated .gif below shows you how to do it.

movie controls

 Some Flash movies are displayed on either of two screens in a pop-up window. A reduced size screenshot of the smaller screen is shown below. The larger screen displays Flash movies within a "television set screen" - these are my newer (and better quality) Flash movies. You can call up a description if you have the ALT TEXT feature enabled in your browser.

 

 

All Flash files on the site are .swf format which cannot be saved.

inactive button, for illustration only The image-button (shown left) indicates a Flash file comprising an audio clip from an episode which is accompanied by still screenshot(s). The format is so that you can look at picture(s) while listening to an audio clip from an episode.

Wherever you see this button on site, click it to call up the Flash file, which opens in a pop-up window.

Help/Instructions are with each file. They are also in the SITE FAQ, and it provides additional information such as the listening/viewing requirements.

 

 

4. FLASH SNIFFER
Visit Macromedia's site, which automatically detects whether you have Flash Player installed, with the option to download the free up-to-date Flash Player. Almost all modern browsers come with a version of Flash Player automatically pre-installed, assuming the full authorised default browser configuration is installed.

 

 

5. FREE FLASH PLAYER/FREE UPGRADES
The Flash Player and upgrades are free. Visit Macromedia's site to obtain/check version/update your Flash Player (as at spring 2002, version 6). However, you might already have it without realising it - check with the Flash sniffer.

 

 

6. MOST WEB-USERS CAN WATCH FLASH MOVIES
Macromedia claims: "Over 98.3% of all web users have the Macromedia Flash Player." The percentage increases as older browsers are upgraded as it comes as standard in fully-installed versions of almost all new browser versions - see Macromedia's site for a regular update of user figures.

 

 

7. QUICK AS A FLASH: ADVANTAGES OF FLASH OVER ANIMATED .GIFS
Flash produces smoother-playing animations/movies, with faster downloads than animated .gifs due to Flash's compression and streaming methods and use of .jpgs which are generally, as regards screenshots, smaller than .gifs.

 

 

8. CREATE YOUR OWN FLASH PRESENTATIONS
Visit Macromedia to try/buy online or buy via their resellers whom they list. FlashMX, the upgrade of Flash 5, was released 15 March 2002. Flash 5 may be available at a reduced price. There are web tutorial sites, forums etc, and/or I recommend the book "Teach Yourself Flash 5 In 24 Hours" by Phillip Kerman, SAMS Publishing, ISBN 0-672-31892-X.

 

TOP BACK SITE BEST VIEWED WITH / ESSENTIAL & RECOMMENDED SETTINGS
OFF-SITE: www.macromedia.com BRIDGE