again, im new to developing apps in flash so i have some questions regarding design…
most of the flash sites i seem to view have been built with a main html page doing a test for flash and then spawning a new popup where the site itself is contained… is there any advantage to doing it this way rather than the traditional html style withb the whole app just embedded in the one page… why the popups???
anyone out there got some answers… am i not aware of a major design advantage in usng the pop up …
Pop-Up windows for full flash sites are mainly used only because they can make the window the exact size of the movie, instead of having all the blank area around it that you would get in a standard browser window.
That and the ability to irritate me beyond belief. Oh I know, it’s probably just me being weird, but even using pop ups you still get ‘space’ around the movie, it’s just full of your open windows and stuff. Plus it means I’ve got more windows open that I started with and I have to exit twice. Grrr.
popups are a vile vile thing… even on Flash sites.
Keep in mind sir… because Flash is a pretty low cost program as they go, and because creating web pages is such a popular thing these days, you have a lot of people designing who have no practical skill at it. Only 10% of the Flash web sites I’ve seen follow even a fraction of the standard rules used by design firms.
That’s also why 90% of the people who I meet that Flash cannot get a job either. Sure they do good work… but without adhiering to the rules that employers are looking for, they’ll never get hired. Our jobs as designers is to find that middle ground… that ‘centerspin’ which apeals to the most people, and then exploit it. Simple as that.
Popups are like “Blip-verts”. They are good for shoving things down your throat, but anoying as termites.
So… I guess what I’m trying to say is… don’t use popups if you can avoid it. No serious designer would do so unless he had a very very good reason to.
I have a bad habit of automatically closing pop-ups, they annoy me so much. If I wanted two windows open, I’d have opened two. Personally I’d counsel against anyone using them, but if the wage payers insist then you’re generally left with little option.
On the detection things I’ve programmed in the past, you just load the movie into the open page, don’t bother spawning new windows.
I hate em too, that’s why i use a pop-up blocker, and on sites where the source auto-pops the content window without any user interaction, the only way for me to see the content (once i knew there was any coz someone told me!) was to view source/copy the link/paste into url, so the whole effect of the pop-up being the size of the swf was ruined anyway…hate 'em!!
Just now, i used my first ever with the chromeless script, but for another (good?) reason: i want people visiting my board and seeing other users online being able to chat with them while still browsing the board: http://www.flasheyez.com/board/
Is that a valuable excuse?
I think it’s good experience to know how to use them… I am even designing something with a popup which should prove interesting.
As for customers who want it… I usually just have tons of design seminar’s printed and ready to hand to them. Proof in their face that it’s bad bad bad design. Then I say “… it’s still up to you, I just want you to know what you’re doing.” If they still want to go that way… screw em. They’re paying for your advice, but ultimately it’s up to them.
Creating engaging and entertaining content for designers and developers since 1998.
