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Web Builder Tips 'n Tricks

The situation: You're looking for that something extra to bring your pages to life. Animation and multimedia is the only answer. The problem is that you're not a code geek, who can churn out dHTML with just one hand on the keyboard and your eyes closed, and an animated GIF consisting of 100+ frames is probably just a bit heavy of a graphical download for most users to endure. What is the solution? A few years back, Macromedia took this problem into account, and presented the world with what at that time was known as "Future Splash" version 1.0. At current date, the name of "Future Splash" has been changed to "Flash", and it is now in version 3.0. So, what can you do with Flash 3.0 in your Web development arsenal? The question should be more correctly phrased "What can't you do with Flash 3.0?".

Are You A Flasher?

For starters, let's explain a bit more about what Flash is. As mentioned above, Flash was created by Macromedia to address the problem of multimedia content delivery over the Internet. Offering everything from super-small file sizes to streaming media capabilities, Flash is certainly one of the most powerful technologies on the Internet at this time, and has the ability to accomplish most tasks that you would encounter in Web-based, multimedia development.

Flash uses vector-based, animated 2D graphics, combined with audio and user interaction to offer intense, multimedia capabilities for any Web site. Needing no special software to run from the server, Flash utilizes either a plug-in for Netscape's Navigator, or an ActiveX control for Microsoft Internet Explorer. It also comes bundled with a software utility known as "Aftershock", which will correctly produce the HTML pages that the Flash object is embedded in, generate script to detect the Flash plug-in or ActiveX control, and automatically present non-Flash enabled users with content that can be accessed by their browser (either a GIF image or a Java applet, depending on your choice during the code generation).

Due to the fact that Flash utilizes a vector image format (as opposed to raster bitmap images such as GIFs and JPGs), the graphical output is very small in size, and has the ability to be scaled without distorting the image. Often times, a Flash movie consisting of a large amount of animation and audio will be smaller in size than a similar JPG or GIF image. An example of Flash can be seen at Macromedia's own site, which contains extensive use of Flash, or even at one of WebSite Designs' current sites, which is under development for the Odyssey Group. These example demonstrate Flash's unique capabilities to deliver high-quality multimedia and interactivity, while remaining bandwidth-friendly.

What about questions of creating Web pages that are accessible to the largest possible audience? As mentioned above, the included Aftershock application can generate code to find out if visitors browsers are Flash capable, and automatically deliver content that is best suited for their current configuration. In addition, Flash has become such a standard on the Internet, that both Microsoft and Netscape support it through pre-bundling with their browsers, as well as Microsoft' inclusion of it with the release of Windows 98. This basically means that the majority of all browsers on the Internet have Flash installed, and will be able to view the content you create.

If you want to find out just what Flash is capable of, Macromedia offers a free trial of Flash that can be downloaded from their Web site. This is a full evaluation edition, including all support files to help get you started using the application, as well as tutorials, which Macromedia has done an excellent job in creating, to get you producing Flash as easily as possible.

So, get your copy of Flash today, and let your imagination run wild. Before you know it, you'll be creating Web pages that add impact, and attract more visitors.

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