Creating Projectors

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Projectors are self-sufficient run-time applications. To play a projector file, you simply double-click the projector icon. Projectors are an excellent way to distribute movies directly to people, such as to e-mail a Flash-animated greeting card to a friend. Projectors are platform-specific, but you can make projectors for both platforms from either platform.

Playing Macintosh Projectors Created in Windows

When you publish a Macintosh projector on a computer running the Windows operating system, Flash gives the projector the extension .hqx. That extension indicates a file encoded in binhex format. Macintosh users need to translate the file by using a program such as BinHex or StuffIt Deluxe to play the projector on the Mac OS.

To create a projector:

1. Open the Flash movie from which you want to publish a projector.

2. Choose File > Publish Settings.

   The Publish Settings dialog box appears.

3. In the Formats tab (Figure 16.44), choose one of the following options:

   Figure 16.44. To create a run-time version of your movie, choose Windows Projector or Macintosh Projector in the Formats tab of the Publish Settings dialog box. You have no other options for formatting projectors.

   

   • To create a projector that runs on a Mac, choose Macintosh Projector.

   • To create a projector that runs in Windows, choose Windows Projector (.exe).

4. Click the Publish button.

   As it creates the projector files, Flash displays the Publishing dialog box, which has a progress bar and a button for canceling the operation. Flash places the projector files in the same location as the original Flash movie. A projector has a distinctive icon (Figure 16.45).

   Figure 16.45. The projector is a stand-alone run-time file. Double-click the icon to launch the projector.

   

Tip

• If your projector movie includes any loadMovie or getURL actions, you must keep the additional files at the same hierarchical level as the projector. Place the projector and its ancillary files together in one folder; otherwise , the projector can't find the files to load.

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