Dreamweaver

Insert and preview Flash content

Use Dreamweaver to add Flash content (SWF files and Shockwave movies) in your pages, and then preview it in a document and a browser. You can also set properties for Flash content in the Property inspector.

For a tutorial on adding Flash content to web pages, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0150.

Insert a SWF file (Flash content)

  1. In the Design view of the Document window, place the insertion point where you want to insert the content, then do one of the following:

    • In the Common category of the Insert bar, select Media and click the Flash icon .

    • Select Insert > Media > Flash.

  2. In the dialog box that appears, select a Flash file (.swf).

    A Flash placeholder appears in the Document window (unlike Flash button and text objects).

Preview Flash content in the Document window

  1. In the Document window, click the Flash placeholder to select the Flash content you want to preview.
  2. In the Property inspector, click the Play button. Click Stop to end the preview. You can also preview the Flash content in a browser by pressing F12.
    To preview all Flash content in a page, press Control+Alt+Shift+P (Windows) or Shift+Option+Command+P (Macintosh). All Flash objects and SWF files are set to Play.

Set Flash and Shockwave movie properties

To ensure the best results in both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, Dreamweaver inserts Flash and Shockwave movies using both the object and embed tags. (The object tag is defined by Microsoft for ActiveX controls; embed is defined by Netscape Navigator for plug‑ins.) To view the following properties in the Property inspector, select a Flash SWF file or a Shockwave movie.

 Select a Flash SWF file or a Shockwave movie and set the options in the Property inspector (To see all Flash SWF file properties, click the expander arrow in the lower-right corner of the Property inspector.)
Name
Specifies a name to identify the movie for scripting. Enter a name in the unlabeled text box on the far left side of the Property inspector.

W and H
Specify the width and height of the movie, in pixels.

File
Specifies the path to the Flash or Shockwave file. Click the folder icon to browse to a file, or type a path.

Src
Specifies the path to a Flash source document (FLA), when Dreamweaver and Flash are both installed on your computer. To edit a Flash file (SWF), you update the movie’s source document.

Edit
Start Flash to update a FLA file (a file created in the Flash authoring tool). This option is disabled if you do not have Flash loaded on your computer.

Reset Size
Returns the selected movie to its original size.

Loop
Makes the movie play continuously; when unchecked, the movie plays once and stops.

Autoplay
Automatically plays the movie when the page loads.

V Space and H Space
Specify the number of pixels of white space above, below, and on both sides of the movie.

Quality
Controls anti-aliasing during playback of the movie. A movie looks better with a high setting, but it requires a faster processor to render correctly on the screen. Low emphasizes speed over appearance, whereas High favors appearance over speed. Auto Low emphasizes speed at first, but improves appearance when possible. Auto High emphasizes both qualities at first, but sacrifices appearance for speed if necessary.

Scale
Determines how the movie fits into the dimensions set in the width and height text boxes. The Default setting displays the entire movie.

No Border
Fits the movie into the set dimensions so that no borders show and maintains the original aspect ratio.

Exact Fit
Scales the movie to the set dimensions, regardless of the aspect ratio.

Align
Determines how the movie is aligned on the page.

Bg
Specifies a background color for the movie area. This color also appears while the movie is not playing (while loading and after playing).

Parameters
Opens a dialog box for entering additional parameters to pass to the movie. The movie must be designed to receive these additional parameters.