Want slide level FLV but don't have Flash?
8 Comments Dave blogged on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 11:54 PM.
Check out this new post on this topic! (8/31/06)So back in March I created a blog posting about using FLV video at the slide level and have been getting a lot of positive feedback on the topic and I am beginning to see more and more people incorporate video into their Articulate presentations (Flash Video in a Slide).
Well the example is great and all, but the it doesn't help anyone who does not have access to the Flash authoring environment. So I have been trying to think of ways to allow users to take advantage of using FLV video at the slide level without having to go purchase Flash, or learn the Flash authoring environment, because after all, who really wants to, or has time to learn Flash, right?
Well here is what I have done. I have created a SWF that can be inserted into Articulate Presenter that will read in an XML file that will tell the SWF which FLV to play, and where to position the FLV on the slide. This is great because it allows anyone to take advantage of using Flash video at the slide level without having to use, or know Flash.
Quick Instructions for use (the zip file contains more detailed instructions via a readme.txt):
- Download and unzip the zip file from:
http://www.mozealous.com/downloads/dwmslidevideo.zip (830 kb) - Insert the slidevideo.swf in Articulate using Articulate>Insert Flash Movie menu item
- Set the Flash Movie to 'Play Flash movie after slide has begun' when prompted
- Publish your project
- Navigate to the directory you published to
- Copy the flv.xml file contained in the zip file downloaded in step 1 into the output directory
- Open the flv.xml file in notepad
- Change the video.flv file to the name of your FLV
- Change the x-location tag to the location that you would like your FLV to appear on the x-axis
- Change the y-location tag to the location that you would like your FLV to appear on the y-axis (note: upper left hand corner is x-location=0 y-location=0)
- Copy your FLV into the player folder
- Launch the player.html file
Your presentation should now launch and your FLV will play in the slide, and you didn't even need to touch flash to do so!
Limitations
Although this example works well, there are some things that currently just don't work in this example. Below is a partial list of known issues/limitations.
- Articulate Player playack controls don't control FLV
- Only works in Flash Player 7 or later
- Slide must be set 'Play Flash movie after slide has begun'
- Doesn't support On2 VP 6 codec since that is only supported in Flash Player 8
Additional Questions?
If you have any addtional question on this example please feel free to either leave a comment on the blog, or email me via the email address provided in the zip file. But please read all instructions carefully.
Hope this helps everyone out!
AICC
Articulate Presenter SDK (2:03)
Articulate
Dave, this is great. It looks like it will work for one .flv, on one slide.
Are there any tips or modifications that a person might be able to make if they have more than one video to display on more than one slide of their presentation?
Wow, I can't believe I didn't think of the problems related to adding videos to more than one slide. No problem though, I think I found a solution.
Try this:
1. Download this new zip:
www.mozealous.com/downloads/slidevide11.zip
2. Insert this new swf inside of the Articulate Presenter slide that you wish to add video too
3. Copy the flv.xml file to the same root folder, but name it according to the slide number. So for example, if you insert the SWF on slide 1, the xml file should be named "1.xml". You will need to create a new XML file for each slide you want to add video too.
Then just follow the rest of the instructions.
Does this work?
Dave, sorry, been on vacation amongst other things... I just tried to download your new zip file and got an error, but would be more than happy to test it out once I get the download.
Oops...try this instead:
Download link.
Hi,
I want this file to be part of another swf files (GENERATED BY ARTICULATE USING POWERPOINT).
is that possible...?
anyhow, I have achieved it. Thanks for your reply.
Dave,
Would you possibly be able to post / share the .fla file? I'm thinking that this would allow folks who have the SDK to add the "auto forward" feature to the flash file?
This is a great solution that I'm thinking we will be able to use to allow our non-flash content creators to be a little more self-sufficient.
Thanks for sharing this great resource!
Hello Brian,
Unfortunately I can't make it public for all, as it exposes a bit of the SDK. Send me an email though and I will forward it to you. My email address is dmozealous at articulate.com.
We have been doing this in Articulate for a while. However, we are now using Engage and having a few problems.
Anyone else using engage with video?