How to make a Flash 'loading page'

Do I need software, or can this be done simply?

[Nick_W]

Hi all,

I've been asked to make a 'loading....' page for an all flash website.

How can I do this? I've never used Flash before, do I need software or can someone give me an explanation on how to do it?

I put a post in the commersial exchange forum but didn't get much response so maybe I have to D.I.Y. it ;)

Nick

[theboyduck]

I had to learn to do this a while back - don't worry its pretty simple, provided you've used Flash before, but otherwise...Flash isn't difficult.

You should get Flash installed on your computer. Then I recommend doing the tutorials included in the installation to get a feel for the software (this'll take a few hours - definitely doable within a day).

Once you've done those tutorials then head over to flashkit.com and do a search for "preloader tutorial". If memory serves they've got a couple of good tutes there that explain everything you'll need.

[korkus2000]

A basic loading page is quite easy. What you can do is create a movie clip that has a basic loading animation. You will put this as the first frame of your movie. Then you will set the action of ifFrameLoaded. Put the frame number of the last frame in your main scene. Then you will nest gotoAndPlay inside the function. The parameter should be the first frame after the loading animation.

If you want to get more complicated you can show percentages of loading. Say you have a 100 frame animation. You have 5 loading frames for 0, 25, 50, 75, 100% complete. You would set up the first frame with 0% complete to have the action

ifFrameLoaded (25){
gotoAndPlay (2); // frame 2 has the 25% graphic for the loading screen
}

Frame 2 should have the action

ifFrameLoaded (50){
gotoAndPlay (3); // frame 3 has the 50% graphic for the loading screen
}

So on and so forth. You can also set up a seperate movie to call the first movie once it is loaded but it is more complicated.

I know there is a way to check load status of an element in asp. I do not know how to do it but I do know you can. I know your a PHP guy and I would think PHP should be able to do something similar. If you want to go around flash all together I would think serverside scripting or cgi would be your best alternative.

[Knowles]

There is flash stuff in PHP not sure if you can actually make a loading page. I have never played with it. Here is a link to php.net Shockwave Flash functions [php.net]. Of course Nick has probably all ready been their so this is for anyone else reading.

[develclint]

Nick, your question seems really strange to me. Maybe you could clarify something. I would imagine that since you don't know how to do a preloader, you probably didn't produce this all Flash web site yourself, right?
The fact is that the preloader is part of the .swf file itself that has to be programmed into it at development time. It's not a seperate file or something. A preloader takes as little as 2 layers and goes in the beginning for about the first 5 frames. If there wasn't a preloader to begin with (amatures), you'll have to move all the frames over about 5 to make room.
If you want, I could email you a preloader template that you could just copy the layers over and configure the rest to your needs. What you want to do (you have the .fla file, right?), someone with novice experience could do in one night, or shorter depending on how much you want to put into it.
<snip>
By the way, Korkus I'm sure you ment well but thats not how preloaders are done. Try this instead:

loadedBytes = _root.getBytesLoaded();
totalBytes = _root.getBytesTotal();
if (loadedBytes < totalBytes){
percentageOutput = int((loadedBytes / totalBytes) * 100);
_root.loaderBar._xscale = percentageOutput;
gotoAndPlay("preload_loop");
}
else{
gotoAndPlay("begin_movie");
}

You should be able to interpret the how here. It's just an example.

[edited by: korkus2000 at 4:48 am (utc) on Aug. 24, 2002]
[edit reason] TOS provision [/edit]

[korkus2000]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld develclint,
^{Don't forget to check out paynt's welcome post [webmasterworld.com]}

It is always good to have another flash developer in the house. I hope you stick around and add to our discussions about flash and its place in the universe. I am corrected, your preloader is much better. I have stopped creating large Internet flash movies and really have become rusty with preloaders. As you can see my preloader is circa 1999. If you need anything here just let me know. Welcome to the board.