Using the Flash Player Plug-In for Web Browsers
Flash movies can be played only in Web browsers that have the Flash Player plug-in or ActiveX control installed. Macromedia has made huge strides in making the plug-in prepackaged with newer Web browsers and operating system installation programs, eliminating the need for users to manually download and install the plug-in themselves. Unfortunately, the Flash Player 8 version of the plug-in will likely only be included in future releases of Web browsers and operating systems. Remember that earlier versions of the plug-in can try to play Flash movies published for Flash Player 8; however, new features in Flash Player 8-based movies (such as GIF/PNG image support in text fields and loading Flash 8 Video, or .flv files, over HTTP) will not be available.
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The development for the Flash Player is so demanding that Macromedia dedicates an entire department's worth of resources to the job. The Flash Player has been made available for Pocket PC devices using the Pocket PC 2002 and 2003 operating systems from Microsoft. Computer hardware manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard/Compaq and Casio currently manufacture a wide range of PDAs (personal data assistants) that can use the Flash Player via the Pocket Internet Explorer Web browser or a stand-alone player. At the time of this writing, Flash Player 6 was available for most Pocket PCs. As the computer processing power of Palm, Handspring, and Sony devices (that implement the Palm OS) increases, we see Flash Player support being extended to these devices.
Nokia and DoCoMo have released phones in Japan that can play full-color Flash animations as well! These phones use a version of the Flash Player called Flash Lite. With this player, you can create Flash movies that use Flash 5 objects and Flash 4 ActionScript. For more information on Flash Lite and DoCoMo, visit the following page on Macromedia's site:
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www.macromedia.com/devnet/devices/i-mode.html
It's no surprise that the Flash Player is being adopted so widely by computer and device manufacturers. The .swf format allows rich media such as animation, sound, and video to be transmitted over incredibly slow (or congested) networks. Until high-speed wireless access becomes more available, we'll likely need to keep wireless connection speeds such as 19.2 Kbps (CDPD-based networks) or 25 to 60 Kbps (GPRS-based networks) in mind while developing Flash movies that can be accessed by a universal audience.
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| Note | For up-to-date information on the Flash Player plug-in, see Macromedia's download page at www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/alternates. |
Supported Operating Systems
Since Flash 3, Macromedia has greatly expanded its platform support for the Flash Player plug-in. At the time of this writing, you can download Flash Players for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP and for Mac Power PCs. By the time this book is published, version 8 players should be available for Linux x86. At conferences worldwide, Macromedia has demonstrated that Flash graphics can be ported to a variety of GUIs (graphical user interfaces) and operating systems. We've also seen Flash graphics showing up in add-on applications for entertainment consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and set-top boxes from Motorola.
Supported Browsers
The Flash Player plug-in works best with Mozilla-compatible and Internet Explorer browsers. Any browser compliant with Netscape Navigator 2.0's plug-in specification or Internet Explorer's ActiveX technology can support the Flash Player plug-in or ActiveX control, respectively. Note that Mac versions of Internet Explorer or Apple Safari use a Netscape plug-in emulator to use the Flash Player plug-in rather than an ActiveX control.
For AOL subscribers, any version of AOL's 3.0 through 9.0 browsers (except for the earliest 3.0 release that used a non-Microsoft Internet Explorer shell) will support Macromedia plug-ins.
| Caution | The Flash action fscommand, when used to communicate with JavaScript, works only with certain browser versions. Currently, no versions of Internet Explorer on the Macintosh (up to version 5.1) or Apple Safari support the fscommand action. Netscape 3.01 through 4.x (on both Macintosh and Windows) or Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP is necessary for fscommand implementation. Netscape 6.0 and 6.1 do not support fscommand interactivity with JavaScript. If you're developing Flash movies targeted to Flash Player 8, you should use the new ExternalInterface API introduced with Flash 8. We discuss this new feature set in Chapter 22, "Integrating Flash Content with Web Pages." |
For a comprehensive list of supported browsers (and Flash compatibility), please see the Macromedia tech note at www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/browser_support_matrix.htm.
Plug-In and Flash Movie Distribution on the Web
Anyone can download the Flash Player plug-in for free from the Macromedia Web site. You can direct visitors at your Web sites to Macromedia's Flash Player download page, www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer. In fact, according to Macromedia's licensing agreement, if you're publishing Flash movies on your Web site, you need to display the "Get Shockwave Player" logo or "Get Flash Player" logo on your Web site. This logo should link to Macromedia's download page, which we just listed. However, you can't distribute the plug-in installer yourself — you need to license the right to distribute any plug-in installer from Macromedia. For more details on licensing, see www.macromedia.com/support/shockwave/info/licensing/.
You can find the official Macromedia button graphics at www.macromedia.com/support/programs/mwm/swb.html.
Plug-In Installation
In Chapter 21, "Publishing Flash Movies," we discuss the Publish feature of Flash MX 2004 and the use of preformatted HTML templates to deliver your Flash movies to your Web site. The template and/or handwritten HTML that you use for your Flash-enabled Web pages will determine the degree of difficulty your visitors will have upon loading a Flash movie.
Macromedia has also officially named the auto-update experience of the Flash Player plug-in as Express Install. This feature refers to the nearly pain-free process of upgrading from Flash Player 7 to Flash Player 8. Flash Player 7 was released with an auto-update feature, enabling new versions of the plug-in to download without the hassle of installing an updated ActiveX control or downloading a plug-in installer application.
| Web Resource | You can change the auto-update preferences of your Flash Player installation by visiting the following Macromedia Web page:
By default, the Flash Player will check for an updated version of the plug-in every 30 days. You can change the time interval to as little as seven days. |
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