Checking for Flash

[eric_darling]

Here's a little conundrum I've run up against...

I'm trying to have Flash objects deactivated in various places in one of my projects when the computer reports that Flash is not installed. In some instances, (like when someone ran the Flash uninstall program from Macromedia that removes the Flash plug-in but not the actual player application), Flash is still sensed as the default viewer for .SWF files (because the player still exists).

I know my current method, which checks for the default .SWF viewer, would work most of the time, but like any other anal rententive programmer, I want it to work all of the time. Using my current method will actually still try to use the Flash object since the player exists on my computer still, even though I uninstalled the Active X control via the Macromedia application mentioned above.

So, is there a way to check for the Active X control instead of the default viewer? Would love to know this one ASAP.

[Corey]

Re: Checking for Flash

There's tons of ways but I'll tell you the best one in terms of reliability. Create a 1 X 1 flash movie which fires an fscommand and place that on your first page (with plug-in detection disabled) and then set it to page jump on fscommand to Page 2 or whatever.

Complex detection schemes aside this is 100% accurate and sooper easy to do, if they have appropriate player installed the page jump will occur and if not it won't, there's no mistakes, no dialogs, no errors.

OK so that being said. Don't forget to use page inheritance to heavily simplify your flash.non-flash config, i.e. make a master page(s) with all the objects which are common to both your flash and non-flash pages and then it's way quicker to create optional contextual stuff.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[eric_darling]

Re: Checking for Flash

I just did a little Snoopy dance (the one where he tilts his head back about 90 degrees and looks awfully happy). Thanks, Corey.

[Corey]

Re: Checking for Flash

Yip. Just make sure your 1 X 1 Flash is published with a version setting at least as high as your main flash content...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[eric_darling]

Re: Checking for Flash

Don't you mean to include "low" also? I have Flash content on the CD that is playable in the version 5 player. If my fscommand swf is version 6, a potential situation arises where it might not work whereas the other content does, but gets ignored.

[Corey]

Re: Checking for Flash

Well fscommands go back to version 3 or whatever so it's not the command per se, it's the header info in the .swf. But in your case if your main flash is ver 5 and your detection is ver 6 you may miss some people who have only ver 5 (not many) but to those who have ver 6 your content will be fine.

If you plan on adding any flash later or are doing anything dynamic always use ver 6 regardless so you don't get hooped down the line.

I used to avoid Flash for important stuff but we're pretty well at that point where about 70% of systems have the Flash 6 plug-in so I figure it's OK nowadays... Same thing for Javascript...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Brett]

Re: Checking for Flash

The most reliable way to see if the Flash ActiveX control is installed is to use the %FlashVersion% variable. Internally, this variable is obtained by checking the actual GUID in the Regsitry, finding out the filename of the InProcServer (the ActiveX Control) and then checking the version of it.

Basically, I don't think that there is any more reliable way to check for a system's ability to show Flash files.

[eric_darling]

Re: Checking for Flash

I didn't even realize there was a built in variable for that! Here I am trying to finesse a file.existence command. Corey's suggestion works perfectly for my purposes on this project, but I'll remember this for future jobs. Thanks, Brett.

[Corey]

Re: Checking for Flash

Respectfully I disagree. The most reliable way to detect Flash is the 1 X 1 Flash method, it is 100%. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] If they can see it, it jumps, if they can't it doesn't. It is one of the reccomended methods by Macromedia (http://www.macromedia.com/support/fl..._detection.htm). Very easy and compact for users to implement too, only one action required, no IF statements, etc. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[thesven]

Re: Checking for Flash

question or statement, maybe I'm missing something but why not compile the projector to run the flash app, it will work everytime for sure.

[Corey]

Re: Checking for Flash

Lots of reasons such as it can't be embedded, interaction becomes very difficult, projectors are less dynamic, file size is much larger, there is a delay in launching, if you have multiple objects the whole thing becomes a mess, etc, etc, etc. Most Flash developers use projectors very sparingly.

If you have a very critical scenario and a single flash object then maybe projectors might work wwell for you though.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[eric_darling]

Re: Checking for Flash

I'm not using a Flash projector. I'm using an AMS project that contains Flash SWFs.