Flash 5 Links help

[anthony17uk]

how do i make my links target the main frame in
dreamweaver when i made them in flash 5 and also i want to add a fade effect to the text for these links ? how do i do this right ?

[vazash]

Hi there,

Here is a tutorial on frames and flash, hope this helps
http://www.kirupa.com/developer/flash5/frames.asp

As for the fade effect what do you want, as you click on the button it should fade and then the page should load???

Let me know

[anthony17uk]

hi

i would like it that all my links are continuosly fading so that if the user does not click on them they still fade if u know what i mean thanks for replying before and i hope this makes sense to you

[vazash]

hi there,

i don't know if i have understood your query clearly enough but this is what i've understood from it.... you want your links to continuously fade whether the user clicks on them or not

I have attached a file with one button that fades in and out, if you need further help let me know, but tell me if this is what you
wanted...

[anthony17uk]

yes the way u have understood is correct thats what id like the links to continually fade if the user clicks on them or not and for them to target the main frame in dreamweaver

[anthony17uk]

i forgot to say in the reply that the button u have attached is the way id like the links to fade continually like that

[vazash]

Hi there,

Ok, to do the fade effect is very easy...

Start with pressing F8 the moment you start flash and in the resulting dialoguebox select movieclip and give it a name..
Then type out the names to the links you want in different layers (to control the fade effect) and selecting them individually, press F8 and in the resulting dialogue box, give each of them their own unique names. Then go to windows>panel>instance. Then click on your text (make sure its only one link, if u want to add a different time rate to each one.) and in the instance popup box click on effects and scroll to alpha and put the number 0 (zero). then go to frame 5 (or further down depending on how fast or slow you want the fade effect) add another keyframe and then in the alpha popup type in 100% this has to be done for all the buttons but make sure its all in the movie clip

Then after all the buttons are given their effects, go to Scene 1 (the link to which is on the top left of the movie) and press ctrl+L to open up the library and from there browse to your movie clip and drag it onto the stage.. Press Ctrl+Enter to test your movie..it should work

[anthony17uk]

hi
thanks the buttons work now its just the frames part now i am stuck about that could u tell me how i get the flash buttons to work in the frames instead of the link opening up in a new window without anyone clicking on it it just automatically comes on after the fade would u like to see a preview to see what i mean ?

click on the link here to see what i mean by the frame not working right : Click Here (http://www.geocities.com/pb004a9963/frames.html)

thanks

[vazash]

Hi there,

I clicked on the link you provided and got a msg saying that this page is not there..so can you pls rewrite the link or put up a zip file for me to download..

Thanks

[anthony17uk]

hello i have attached the swf file in a zip file for you to open yourself to see what happens and what happens when the link pops up is the same as when u put in a frameset hope this helps u please let me know what im doing wrong thanks,

[vazash]

Hi

I downloaded your file but since there was only the swf file in the zip file there was not much i could do...so could you pls send me the link again or the fla with one or two html files and then i'll see what is actually happening

[anthony17uk]

hello attached is the files u needed thanks,

[vazash]

Hi there,

I downloaded your file and I guess I did not explain properly..and also none of your html files worked but I did see your mistakes..

1. You made your link into a graphic, instead make it into a button..heres how
Press Ctrl+F8 and in the resulting dialogue box click on button and then in the text box provided give it a name eg. Home.(do this for all the buttons that you require and name each one differently)

2. In order to make them fade in and out continuously, press Ctrl+F8 and click on movie clip and give the movie clip a name different from the names of the buttons. Then create as many layers as you require for the buttons and drag each button into its separate layer. This is done to have better control over each individual button. Once all the buttons have been dragged onto the stage give each of them their fade effects (you already know how to do this).

3. On the first keyframe right-click on the button (the link) and click on actions (you gave the actions in the keyframe and hence the reason why all the windows popped up with their link).Then in the Basic actions panel click on OnMouseEvent and select the option you want eg. Press - When the mouse button is clicked the link will pop up
Release - When the mouse button has been clicked and released only then will the link popup. then click on get URL and type in the address you want the link to go to.

Then go to the main scene and from the library panel (Ctrl+L) drag your movie clip onto the stage.

[anthony17uk]

hello im sorry i havent got in touch sooner ive been away on holiday and taking a break from the computer anyway i did what u have said and i have successfully created the navigation for my website in flash thankyou so much for all your help cause it worked bye take care , Anthony,

[vazash]

Hi there, long time no see

Anyway glad the info I gave you worked and I hope your site looks great. I would love to take a look at it when your done as I am a big animation fan although I haven't worked much on animation although I hope to get there sometime haha..Pls send me the link to your site when its done. Thanks, take care Ashwin

[anthony17uk]

hello ashwin ...i will be glad to give u the link to have a look at my site its nearly finished now so ill give u it very soon ok i have 1 more question though u know in flash 5 i want to create my site so that all the text in the site is made of a flash filenow when i try to do this layout like on a webpage in paragraphs it does not work cause it looks all over the place if u would like a example please ask me and ill send you one so how do i do this ? please let me know thankyou , anthony,

[vazash]

Anthony, I would prefer seeing an example although I think I have understood what you were asking but it would be easier to understand if I had an example..also when you say "so that all the text in the site is made of a flash filenow".....do you mean this to be of an external flash file or another mc or what??

[anthony17uk]

hello ashwin never mind about the last q i have managed to do the pages of text using fireworks so i dont need help with the question but i have another if possible do u know how to make it so that i dont need to keep uploading files so that the site is linked as through scenes u know like a book page after page ? is that possible instead of using html pages and then i will have to upload 1 swf file and thats my website ?

[vazash]

Hi anthony,

Yes it is possible for you to prepare all your scenes in flash itself and then upload only the swf file. To do this create your first scene and at the bottom of the scene create a button that
onRelease() will go to the next scene or to what ever link you would like to go to next. Also in the timeline, on the last keyframe of the scene you will have to put a stop() action. To do this rtclick on the keyframe and select actions. From the actions box dblclick stop(). That should do it. If you do not understand let me know and i'll create one for you to download.

[anthony17uk]

hello ashwin ,,,,,could u please send me a example for me to download please thankyou

[vazash]

Hi Anthony,

I have made a simple file so that it is easier to understand.
Well here it is...

[anthony17uk]

hello ashwin wow !!! its not so easy as i thought i think ill stick to normal pages !!! i do have 1 more question though is there anyway of making a contact form using a script and make it a flash one so no one can take the script ? let me know thankyou

[jsk]

If you're using a cgi mailer, you can make a Flash form just the same way as you make a normal html form. For every field in your html form (visible and hidden) you need to define a variable. To submit your Flash form use getUrl() and sent the variables using POST.

If your server has php enabled the php mail() function is even easier (and a nice way to dip you toes into the php ocean)

< ?php //as always delete the space between < and ?
mail(addressee(s), subject, message [, anyOptionalHeaders]);
?>

One other thing - when you use POST with getUrl() it appends every variable instantiated on the timeline from which the getUrl() is called. Usually this isn't a problem but if you've a lott of clutter on the main timeline then put your mailer vars into a movie clip and call the getUrl() from within the clip

[anthony17uk]

hello ....ok then thanks i will try that