Anyone know about Flash?

[cactus.]

Recap: I’d been working with JoomlaCMS at my job and thought “hey, this isn’t so hard to maintain a website” and decided to start my own. I got my domain name, purchased hosting, and downloaded Joomla as my CMS. I was ready to build the site of my dreams until I ran into a seemingly small problem that I’ve been stuck on for several months now. I’ve exhausted Google seeking help, and posted on a few Web Design forums with little response… so now I’m turning to the GTA community with 100% faith!

 

My problem: how can I edit a flash file? More specifically, how can I exchange images within an SWF file? That’s all! I just want to remove some images from an existing SWF file, insert some new ones and have it uploaded onto the site. But my quest for solutions has come to failure thus far.

 

As you can see on the homepage of the site (Foreign Football) there is a big flash file. This is just the filler content of the template from when I’d purchased it. Obviously, I’d like to substitute these images with more relevant ones and also edit the text.

 

If anyone can offer even the smallest tidbits of advice, it will be utmost appreciated! Thanks for reading.

 

[For the record, I have Macromedia Flash 8, Dreamweaver 8, and a Flash Decompiler program, but don’t know how exactly to get them to do what I want them to]

[fred]

Did you get a .fla file with the template? You should be able to open the .fla in Macromedia Flash 8, change the images and publish as a new .swf.

[K^2]

If you only have a .swf, you can try a decompiler. Sothink Flash Decompiler is pretty descent. But keep in mind that decompiling is not an exact science. Your mileage may vary.

[cactus.]

Thanks for the replies

 

No, an fla. file didn't come with the template package, just the swf. So, I imagine what I need to do is:

1. Decompile the SWF, thus bearing an FLA. file

2. Open said FLA in Macromedia Flash 8

3. Simply change the images

4. Publish as a new SWF file and upload this file through my hosting service

 

Sound accurate enough?

 

Question about #3 - is there a particular way to do this? (e.g. do i delete the images and then add the ones I want? or is there a specific function/tool for "exchange image" or something like that?)

 

Question about #4 - is "publishing" a new SWF file somehow different than, say, "saving" this new SWF file?

 

I know these are novice questions, bear with me. But i think part of my problem of executing a seemingly simple task as this one is my lack of understanding wed design vernacular

[fred]

If there's any chance of still getting hold of the original .fla, that's your best bet. You can try your luck with a decompiler but there's no guarantee it'll give you anything useful. SWFs are not intended to be editable so it's a bit surprising you weren't given the original .fla when you bought the template.

[cactus.]

 

If there's any chance of still getting hold of the original .fla, that's your best bet. You can try your luck with a decompiler but there's no guarantee it'll give you anything useful. SWFs are not intended to be editable so it's a bit surprising you weren't given the original .fla when you bought the template.

hmm, i did not know that, very interesting. I could very well be overlooking it or something, but I'm checking as I type this and, within the few files I have for the template, I only see a file titled "header_v8.swf" which I believe is the Flash file that is presented on the homepage of foreignfootball.com

 

edit: Within a folder titled "stories" I've found "header_v8.swf.fla" ...but i imagine this is merely the file that I'd decompiled months ago..

 

I should have been asking this a long time ago, but what is the standard procedure for people/web designers to edit Flash files from purchased templates? Clearly, they're not expected to use the filler content and therefore must edit it, so do they all use Macromedia Flash 8 too?

Edited January 30, 2011 by TheCacti

[fred]

This is one (of many) of the reasons Flash is rarely used for layouts these days. You need specialist skills and expensive software to work with it. If you buy a layout using Flash, there's probably three options:

1. the seller offers to do minor tweaks and adjustments before you buy it but then you're stuck with it
2. the swf reads a configuration file that is in a format you can edit (yours is reading an XML file but looks like that only controls the links)
3. the sale includes the original fla file

If you're working with Flash, yeh, you need something like Macromedia Flash 8 (I don't know how old that is; I think it's called Adobe Flash now). Since you've already decompiled it, you might as well open it and see if you can make sense of it.

[Otter]

Don't most CMS's integrating flash reference image files outside of the published swf? Kinda what fred's saying with #2. Or am I talking crazy talk?

[cactus.]

edit:

 

So i've decided just to do away with the SWF file altogether. so far, I've rendered it "unused" so it simply doesn't appear, but there is still the gaping hole on the homepage where it used to be. Now my mission is to modify the source code so that the content on the lower half of the page comes to the top and fills the space. I'm reading up on HTML and CSS on how to do this, but if you happen to know exactly what to do, I'm open to shortcuts

 

question: how can I "eliminate the gap" (for lack of better terms) on my homepage? I'd imagine by just deleting certain code, but I'm not sure which one(s)..

 

 

 

 

otter,

is your avatar a scene from Wet Hot American Summer?

Edited February 7, 2011 by TheCacti

[cactus.]

sorry for double post..