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[FONT=Calisto MT][SIZE=3]Using Flash MX, ActionScript 2:[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calisto MT]I’ve been struggling for several weeks, trying to get a preloader to work on a large (~80 MB) photo portfolio file (using the method where the preloader is on frame 1 of the file, and when loading is completed, it jumps to the content). I’ve done countless tutorials, and none seem to work on my presentation. I even tried downloading a trial version of CS4 so that I could export every one of the file’s library movie clips and images so that they load on Frame 2 (a feature MX doesn’t have). It takes about 20 seconds for the .exe to load from a CD, and no matter which preloader construction I use, it always seems to appear in the last few seconds before the movie loads completely. During the initial wait time, there’s no indication that anything is happening: no hourglass on the mouse, and not even a blank screen. This is only true for the first time that the file is loaded from the CD; on subsequent loads, the file must already be in RAM, because it loads within a few seconds. [/FONT][/SIZE]
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[FONT=Calisto MT][SIZE=3]I decided that I’m going to try and make the file which the user clicks on (one named Windows_Portfolio.exe or another called Mac_Portfolio.exe) the preloader so that it would be tiny, and would load instantly. I want that file to launch the external huge portfolio file (renamed files.swf), keep track of its loading progress, and cycle through a slideshow (10 thumbnail images that transition into each other over 100 frames) proportionally, based upon the percentage of files.swf that had been loaded.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Calisto MT][SIZE=3]I assume that there should be a loadMovie() or a loadMovieNum() command on the preloader’s timeline to launch files.swf, and that the initial code of files.swf should have some sort of this._parent._visible=false or other way of deleting the preloader on level0. Can anyone explain the steps to me, or direct me to a good Flash MX tutorial that explains how to launch another external swf from a preloader .exe, keep track of its load progress, and delete the preloader .exe once the external swf had been loaded?[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Calisto MT][SIZE=3]Also, I’ve read that, using this construction on a CD, every file has to be in the same place, and that I can’t nest files.swf in a folder named “files,” and reference it with files/files.swf. Is this true?[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Calisto MT][SIZE=3]Thanks for any assistance you can offer.[/SIZE][/FONT]