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The Tip
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When you deliver for the web, you can use the map file to help reduce the work involved in bringing down media and u32's exactly when you want it.
If you're like me, you've experienced the frustration of trying to get certain files not just to download where and when you want them, but also to make them stay around. If the file is critical, we often throw up our hands, and allow the map file to download it by default during the initial period while the user sees that lovely "Made with Macromedia" Logo we all love.
We'd all like to use the "ondemand" flag, but the documentation warns us not to do that with u32's. The truth is, if you use this flag properly, the boogie man will not get you. Just make sure you "demand" it before you try to use it in your piece. That means either use NetDownload() or NetDownloadBackground().
The nice thing about using a line in your map file even for files you plan to download in script is that you get the benefit of "recycle" without having to go to all the bother of trying to move or rename your file just to get it to hang around. And with Authorware 6 and One Button Publishing, it has never been easier to add the bin line!
This is how it goes together:
In your map file, you have a bin line that looks like
| bin |
win |
"rtfObj.u32" |
"rtfObj.u32" |
recycle, ondemand |
Then, in your Authorware file, at some point before the first time you use an rtf Object, you specify NetDownload("rtfObj.u32"). Because all the other information is specified in the map file, you don't have to worry about it.
Another benefit is that downloads that are specified in the map file seem to me to go faster, smoother, and more error-free than when I do it completely with script. Note this is just my opinion, and is not gospel because I happen to be putting out a newsletter :-).
You may have noticed that I did not include a length flag in the bin line. When you use this technique, you are in control of when overwrites occur, so you don't need to rely on the preempt flag. When you use this technique to download media that is updated frequently and don't want to change your map file, leaving the length parameter off can really save you a lot of hassle.
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Did You Know?
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If you Ctrl-Click on the title bar of an Authorware window, a drop-down list will pop up that allows you to select any of its parents.
Authorware 6 has even better ways to navigate through the windows. Just right click in any window and see what I mean!
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Next Scheduled Chat is April 13
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Delivering Authorware on the Web
The voting in the Chat poll on my site was overwhelmingly in favor of Delivering Authorware over the web. So, the next scheduled chat will be on that topic.
Steve Howard and Alex Hogan have agreed to add their expertise to this chat. Both of these gurus are well known for their expertise in delivering Authorware pieces over the web.
Please join us to ask your questions, add your expertise, or just hang out. In consideration of our international friends, we will have it from
10:00-11:30 am CDT this coming Saturday, April 13. This translates to 4pm in Greenwich, UK, this time of year, for the internationals.
To get to the chat room, go to my website. Click the CHAT button at the top of the page, just under the logo.
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Blog
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Today, someone at work was leaving for a new job, so we had a going-away luncheon for him at a restaurant overlooking the San Marcos River. Directly behind us, there was a group of elderly ladies, apparently on an outing from the nursing home.
The local duck population was engaged in, well, activities designed to ensure that there WAS a local duck population. Just as we noticed this phenomenon, apparently the ladies behind us did, as well, because a voice behind us said "Look, those ducks are fornicating!"
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