SWC-based Components

SWC-based components have a FLA file and an ActionScript class file, too, but they have been compiled and exported as a SWC. A SWC file is a package of precompiled Flash symbols and ActionScript code that allows you to avoid recompiling symbols and code that will not change.

The FLVPlayback and FLVPlaybackCaptioning component are SWC-based components. They have external, rather than built-in, skins. The FLVPlayback component has a default skin that you can change by selecting one from a collection of predesigned skins, by customizing controls from the UI controls in the Components panel (BackButton, BufferingBar, and so on) or by creating a custom skin. For more information, see Customizing the FLVPlayback component.

In Flash, you can convert a movie clip to a compiled clip as follows.

To compile a movie clip:

Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the movie clip in the Library panel, and then select Convert To Compiled Clip.

The compiled clip behaves just like the movie clip from which it was compiled, but compiled clips appear and publish much faster than ordinary movie clips. Compiled clips can't be edited, but their properties can appear in the Property inspector and the Component inspector.

SWC components contain a compiled clip, the component's pre-compiled ActionScript definitions, and other files that describe the component. If you create your own component, you can export it as a SWC file to distribute it.

To export a SWC file:

Select the movie clip in the Library panel and right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh), and then select Export SWC File.

NOTE

The format of a Flash CS3 SWC file is compatible with the Flex SWC format so that SWC files can be exchanged between the two products, but not necessarily without modifications.

For information on creating SWC-based components, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_fl_creating_components.

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