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AudryLucy · 02-17-2003, 03:29 PM

I'm creating CD for a client of ours, using Flash MX... He has 7 brouchures in PDF's that he wants to call from a sub page in this CD. I have read the "exec" TechNote by Macromedia and have learned that an "exec" command will not do the trick, since "exec" is not capable of opening a specific file with an application. So, I am considering Jstart by Flashjester which is recommended in this TechNote.

Has anyone used this program before? Is it worth the 50 bucks? I am using a Mac G4... is this program compatible with the Mac Operating systems? I have visited their site and contacted their support department to find out. They have not written me back as of yet.

Is there a program that works like Jstart that will work on Mac OS, just incase Jstart won't?

Thanks for the advice,

Jenny

TheLostMarble · 02-17-2003, 03:45 PM

have you tried just opening it like you would any other URL - using getURL("myfile.pdf", "_blank");

It would open in IE (or the user's default browser).

DiDi · 02-17-2003, 03:56 PM

As far as I know JStart (and all others 3rd party tools/Flash projector enhancers) are PC ONLY...

If opening PDF files is all you need to do, than you won't need a comercial tool. You can achive it with applescript on Mac, and there are free tools for PC/Win systems for opening files. Check Resources section here:

Flash Projectors and Crossplatform CD Burning FAQ (be patient, it's free server and it may be down sometimes

)

Hope this helps ...

DD

PS: Among comercial tools, I would recommend SWF Studio and Flash Studio Pro over JStart, for they have more options and great support as I hear...

chicoP · 02-17-2003, 08:04 PM

All yo need to use is the geturl comand. make sure that the path is correct.

AS well you will need the product from this link. because browsers will not pop up over the cd rom project unless you use a third party tool. and it will not work with MAC. but this tool is great, I use it

http://freemx.arsware.org/

tmhhmt · 02-18-2003, 07:28 PM

i created a cd recently for a client with several pdfs. i spent DAYS trying to find something more elegant than 'get url' that would do something other than open the pdfs in a browser window but never found anything --- i have both a mac and pc so was willing to use anything on either platform but nothing worked properly or was worth the download time.

anyway -- the client didn't mind that the pdfs opened in the browser window because there was also a url/e-mail link on the same 'page' of the presentation so it seemed as though it were all done on purpose.

btw -- didn't need any third party software for opening the pdfs using 'get url' on a mac. creating the cd for mac was easy & worked perfectly -- on the pc had to be careful where i put the pdfs for the projector links to work but can't remember the details.

good luck.

chicoP · 02-18-2003, 10:48 PM

Free mx will open the pdfs in acrobat. Go check it out and read the readme file. you will see how it works,

the Freemx is important, because if the person opens the CD rom and they already have a browser window open, the browser will never show up above the cd rom, the user will keep clicking, and then when they shut down the cd rom there will be a bunch of browser windows open on the desk top

avatar · 02-19-2003, 07:06 AM

Hi AudryLucy,

Sometimes clients don't even mind, that calling the pdf opens a browser window.

If you or your client wants a more neat sollution I would check the link that DiDi posted here. It contains al the info you need.

nicknametaken · 05-12-2003, 02:02 PM

Is there any freemx software for mac>? Anybody know how to open pdf files in flash mx for mac. If i use the geturl command it open the browser but doesn't open the pdf. I want to be able to do this in a swf and not projector

AudryLucy · 05-12-2003, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nicknametaken
Is there any freemx software for mac>? Anybody know how to open pdf files in flash mx for mac. If i use the geturl command it open the browser but doesn't open the pdf. I want to be able to do this in a swf and not projector

Hi,

I don't know of any freemx software for Macs...Everything I came across, when I was searching for software, was for PCs. When I emailed the companies they always said that "a Mac version was in the near future"...whatever.

Because of this lack of Mac Software....I used a work around that you may be interested in.... I including a "link" to each PDF in an external text file, using HTML tags...These links will pull up the PDF files in a browser window (If you don't mind using a browser this is a great solution). You may have already tried this, but incase you haven't, here is an example of the text file that my dynamic text box draws from...I included a link to adobe.com so that the user could download The Adobe Acrobat Reader, if they did not have it already.
(**make sure that your PDF file is in the same folder as your swf ...its a common oversight) Hope this helps

Var1=If you do not have a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may download a free version from this web site: 

<A HREF="http://www.adobe.com/"> www.adobe.com</A> 

Product Brochures List 

<A HREF="gtbro.pdf" target="_blank">454GT Brochure</A> 

<A HREF="mini.pdf" target="_blank">ABB 489 Miniature Circuit Breakers Brochure</A> 

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<A HREF="harm.pdf" target="_blank">Harmonic Filter Pamphlet</A> 

<A HREF="perfect.pdf" target="_blank">Perfect Harmony Brochure</A>

nicknametaken · 05-12-2003, 03:03 PM

This sounds like a good idea.. But I don't think I understand what you mean when you say you link to a pdf in an external text file. Where do you do this? I see the code that I can put into dreamweaver...but In flash what are the commands that I should use to launch this? Sorry if I am slow...I just am not understanding the execution you use.

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