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**george** · 10-Aug-2004, 10:13 AM

Not much help Mick, but I'm wondering about small flash `bits` as well. They seem to fit into some sites well but don't know if many/some/very few vistiors will get the small red cross box view? What software are you using if you don't mind me asking?

Btw, I am NOT into intro pages. I've been using the 'net for years and I don't think I've watched a flash into yet, always clicked on the `skip` option. Thats just me though.

**newshopbloke** · 10-Aug-2004, 10:38 AM

George,

Im using a program called "swish" and its very easy to use and costs a lot less than flash.
I think im going to carry on with my intro but try and squeeze a "click here to skip intro" or "click here if page does not view" link at the bottom.

Mick

**crazylegsreilly** · 10-Aug-2004, 10:49 AM

Flash

Personally, I don't like flash. I have it on my home PC, which doesn't cause problems. However, many business users don't have flash, as bigger companies seem to perceive flash to be a security risk, so don't allow it. I find that a lot of people I work with tend to buy things online when they get a moment spare, often while they are at work, (breaks and lunches only of course!). It's very annoying when a site just hangs. My advice would be that you have some way of bypassing the flash intro, should the user not have flash. That way, people who have it get to enjoy the intro and people who don't, haven't a clue that it exists in the first place!

**imis** · 10-Aug-2004, 11:28 AM

Hi,

We have developed some sites that include Flash and others that don't - it's pretty much down to the requirements of the client but we always make it clear that Flash = more download time (usually) but can give impact to sites where it's appropriate. We also stress that it is wise to provide non-Flash versions of the site where possible. Considering the number of high profile sites that use Flash these days it's pretty safe to assume that most people have the capability to view Flash content - even if they're not aware of it.

As has already been mentioned it's always a good idea to provide a "skip" button, particularly on intro pages.

One Actinic client who also thought that Flash was for them is:

http://www.crombie.co.uk

Cheers

IMIS

**Charlesn** · 10-Aug-2004, 11:44 AM

I used Flash in an Actinic site I built, but only to display various items with multiple views (a bit like a cheats version of the Quicktime 3D software). Check out the bronzed figurines and Coalport/Wedgwood:

www.ahapremier.com

I dont really see the harm in having a Flash intro as long as you offer the option to skip it. A little bit for some interactivity would be nice throughout the site too, but I wouldnt add it in if people might be missing something.

I'm confident that over 90% of people on the web have Flash, but 90% of people dont have the patience to sit and wait for ages for something to load! If you dont have to see it, include a skip it option. If you HAVE to have it to get the best out of the site then I'd avoid.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Charles

**newshopbloke** · 10-Aug-2004, 01:59 PM

Thanks for the input.

Im slowly going against the idea of flash but still want a 'visual' start page. Im a bit fed up with copying and pasting the html code from actinic to a wysiwyg and back again etc.

Are there any new features in v7 that make it easier to spice up my home page ?

Also, why does my flash file appear on the More_Info.html page when the code was only inserted to the index.html page ?

Cheers

Mick

**imis** · 10-Aug-2004, 02:18 PM

Hi,

You'll probably find that both your index.html and More_Info.html files are based on the same template - Act_BrochurePrimary.html.

Just a guess but may be worth checking out.

Cheers

IMIS

**newshopbloke** · 10-Aug-2004, 03:11 PM

Thanks Imis,

After hours of messing about with a flash intro I have decided to delete it.
It caused a lot of problems with Actinics navigation structure and Ive decide on a redirect to /acatalog/index.html so my customers go straight to the Actinic based store.

One thing I need to do is get the "More" button (for more info) showing in the stores navigation because it dissapears after navigating away from index.html ?

Mick

**garyhay** · 10-Aug-2004, 09:29 PM

Flash has its place and if anyone has seen the Macromedia roadshow then they will have seen the applications both for media and shopping.

I have used Flash (well swf files) in a couple of sites http://www.myfamilyname.org.uk/acata...me_Scroll.html to make the choosing of components easier and also on a music site where the swf file was passed a custom var telling the swf file which bank of samples to load. It made life so much easier.

If you want to see what Flash can do try these sites. Each has a totally unique approach.

http://www.eye4u.com click the Enter Site Button

http://juxtinteractive.com/theproces...ground_f4.html

**cdicken** · 11-Aug-2004, 09:46 AM

One thing I need to do is get the "More" button (for more info) showing in the stores navigation because it dissapears after navigating away from index.html ?

You will need to manually hard-code a link to this file within the overall layout template for your store. I suggest using a link of the format:

http://your.URL/cgi-bin/ss00000x.pl?SECTIONID=More%5fPages%2ehtml&NOLOGIN=1

Where:
� http://your.URL/cgi-bin/ is the URL of your CGI-BIN
� ss00000x.pl is the name of your search script with the 'x' replaced with your CGI ID number
� More%5fPages%2ehtml is the filename of your desired page. Note that you have to encode any non-alphanumeric characters so an underscore '_' becomes '%5f' and a full stop '.' becomes '%2e'.
� &NOLOGIN=1 is an essential thing to add to the end of the URL to order to bypass the login page

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To Flash or not to Flash ?

To Flash or not to Flash ?

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