Using Flash with an HTML Editor
Introduction
Flash's Publish feature is a quick and easy way to publish an HTML document for running a Flash movie in a Web browser. The Publish command creates a simple HTML document that inserts the proper tags for displaying the Flash movie. However,it's often necessary to incorporate Flash movies into an existing HTML document, either to insert additional content or to maintain overall site design and organization. This document outlines three basic methods of inserting Flash content into an existing HTML document.
Inserting Flash files into an HTML editor:
| 1 | Using Macromedia Dreamweaver: Macromedia Dreamweaver is a visual HTML editor with built-in objects that allow you to easily insert Flash content. The required HTML tags are automatically inserted by Dreamweaver. 1 Use Flash to create a Flash movie (SWF) file. Copy this file to the same folder as the Dreamweaver HTML document, in your root directory. 2 In Dreamweaver, select the location of the page where you wish to add the Flash content (including inside a table cell or frame). 3 Click the Insert Flash button in Dreamweaver's Object palette, or choose Insert> Media > Flash. Browse to and choose the SWF file. 4 Upload both the SWF and HTML files to your Web server,placing them in the same directory. |
| 2 | Editing the Flash-created HTML page in another HTML editor: 1 Use Flash's Publish feature (File > Publish) to create both a Flash (.SWF) and HTML (.HTML) file. 2 Copy both the SWF and HTML files to the root or current working directory of your HTML editor. 3 Open the HTML page in your HTML editor and make any desired changes to layout or format of the document. FrontPage users: See note at the bottom of this TechNote. 4 Upload both the SWF and HTML files to your Web server, placing them in the same directory. |
| 3 | Copying Flash-created tags to an existing HTML page: 1 Use Flash's Publish feature (File > Publish) to create both a Flash (.SWF) and HTML (.HTML) file. 2 Open the Flash-created HTML document in a text or HTML editor, and copy all content between but not including the <BODY> tags. This should contain the <OBJECT> and <EMBED> tags. Note:This should copy all of the object and embed tags for the SWF file. 3 Openyour HTML page, and paste the text into the desired location in the body of your document. This can also be pasted into a table cell or frame. 4 When uploading documents to the server, ensure both the SWF and your HTML files are uploaded to the same folder. The Flash-created HTMLpage is no longer required. |
| 4 | Manually adding the proper tags to an existing HTML page: Use Flash to create the SWF file, and then manually insert the<OBJECT> and <EMBED> tags into your existing HTML page.For complete information on using this method and to see the proper OBJECT/EMBED tag syntax see: Flash OBJECT and Embed Tag Syntax (TechNote 4150) When complete, upload the HTML and SWF files to the same folder on the Web server. |
Information for FrontPage users
Opening and editing HTML documents that contain embedded Flash movies (SWFs) in FrontPage can cause unexpected results. If you use FrontPage, the suggested method for inserting Flash movies into an HTML document is to copy and paste the required OBJECT and EMBED tags, as discussed above. Also, do not double-click the Flash movie in the FrontPage WYSIWIG editor, which will cause FrontPage will replace the pasted information with proprietary tags that won't work correctly when viewed in a Web browser.
Additional information
For more information on using Macromedia Dreamweaver, please refer to the Using Dreamweaver manual.
For information or help using other HTML editors, please refer to the documentation or support provided by the software manufacturer.
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