Step 8. Testing the Component Install within the Component Panel
Before you install the component, we recommend that you place the component movie clip into a new Library folder with the name of your component, as well as any other symbol you use within the component. When a person takes your component out of the Component Panel and into a movie, Flash copies the component into the Library. If you organize your component symbols in a folder, they will all be transferred in that folder and it will be easier for the user to know which symbols belong to the component.
| The data storage place depends on your operating system. It is stored in a per-user Configuration folder, wherever your operating system stores application data. Here are some example places: | |
| Windows 2000 and XP | C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash MX\Configuration\Components\ |
| Windows 98 and ME | C:\Windows\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash MX\Configuration\Components\ |
| Windows NT | C:\WinNT\Profiles\User\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash MX\Configuration\ |
| MAC OS X | Hard Drive:Users:Library:Application Support:Macromedia:FlashMX:Configuration:Components |
| Mac OS 9.x (multi-user) | Hard Drive:Users:User:Documents:Macromedia :FlashMX:Configuration:Components: |
You probably are eager to see and test your component in the official Component
Panel, rather than just pulling it out of the Library. The best installation
method is to use the Extension Manager, but for now all you need to do is to
place your fla file in a special location (see table on the right) and Flash
will install your component into the panel on startup.
Here are some things to check if you do not see your component in the Component
Panel (accessible by selecting Windows > Components). The Component Panel
comes up with the set of Flash UI Components by default. Next to the title is
a drop-down list. Click on that, and see if the filename in which you saved
the trangle appears there. If so, choose it and your component should be displayed
in the box, with the icon you chose. If the file is there but your component
is not, you probably forgot to check the box "Display in Component Panel"
on the Component Definition window (Step 4). If the filename is not in the drop
down list, you did not place the file in the correct folder.
If you find that you need to change the code, it is best to remove the existing
file from the First Run directory and the special data storage area, make the
correction to a separate copy, and then put it back into the First Run directory.
If you still cannot find the file, use the operating system's search function to locate it.
| » Level Intermediate |
|
Added: 2002-04-16 Rating: 8 Votes: 55 |
| » Author |
| Jonathan Kaye, PhD, is the President and CTO of Amethyst Research LLC, an award-winning interactive design and engineering firm specializing in the creation of online device simulations. He and David Castillo are the authors of "Flash for Interactive Simulation: How to Construct and Use Device Simulations", to be published by Delmar Thomson Learning in November, 2002 (the accompanying web site will be www.FlashSim.com). |
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