Darshan Sawardekar

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Modifications:
1. Although the primary purpose of the component is to create a slideshow, you can easily create other website interfaces around it, with the getAllAttributes () method.
2. Since swfs can be loaded into it, any thing that you can do with swfs, can be done here.
3. You could even load an swf containing a slideshow component into it!!!
4. Although this component loads images only when requested, using the Slideshow preloader component a chain to preload the images first could be easily created.

Bugs / Issues: 1. You cannot mask non-embedded or device fonts. However at the time of writing this tutorial, macromedia has released a beta player (v 6.0.39.0) that allows masking of devices fonts/non-embedded fonts. However you still cannot use device or non-embedded fonts as masks. But alpha transparency is still not available to device fonts. To be sure try not to use device fonts on the masking frame, for effects like fade, sweep1 or your customMasks

2. Flash movie stops responding. This is caused due to using very high piece parameter inside Easy slideshow component. As explained earlier, Transition effects like dissolve, sweep1, stripesDiag, etc. are processor intensive tasks. To avoid slowing down the system, do not set the pieces parameter very high.

3. Slideshow does not get the new file, when a transition is occurring. This is not a bug! The masking is based on creating individual movieclips that mask the image. Hence depths have to be preserved. To do so the slideshow won't be accessible during the transition. However it is accesible even a file is loading.

4. Any other bugs / issues are welcome.

Documentation / Samples:
If you installed the .mxp , full documentation is available in the reference panel of Flash MX. Also a samples folder would be created containing the SlideshowPlayer.fla sample, the data files, and the files in the sample data file. On windows 2000 or XP, this folder would be located at,

C:Documents and Settings<your computer name>Application DataMacromediaFlash MXConfigurationSamples

If you can't find the files, you can download them here.

Finally, you may use this component for personal or educational purposes as you please, as long as clearly visible credit is given. Please contact me for commercial use.