I’m currently working with a number of Flash movies that interact with Javascript for various reasons.
When I try using this method it seems that the Flash player in Mozilla browsers is unable to pick up on either the name or id attribute of the object tag (it typically uses the name attribute of embed).
Does anyone know of a way to use just the object tag but still have FSCommand work properly in Moz?
I’m sorry if this question has been mentioned before. I have looked through and I cannot find a solution in the forum. The flash satay method works excellent in Mozilla and IE, but it will not work on Firebird 0.7 for me (flash simply does not appear). I do not use percentages for the height. The code is below:
This really works and while no container has been used for Flash, the page validates for XHTML. It works in Mozilla, Internet Explorer 6.0, 5.5, 5.01 and other browsers, too.
<div id=“flash”>
<object type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” data=“images/banner.swf” width=“288” height=“128”>
Re: dusoft
“This really works and while no container has been used for Flash, the page validates for XHTML.” Well dusoft, not exactly. Sure your code validates, but it does not work in all situations. First off, when I.E. encounters the data element it will not stream. Just pump your banner.swf up to 1 MB and view it with a dial-up to see what I mean. I.E. will give you a white box and wait for the file to completely download before playing it. Second, your code will not work in a full Flash situation. If you change your width/height to 100% you will quickly see a blank screen in newer Netscape/Firebird browsers. You have to remedy that with the appropriate CSS:
Until Eolas hits, I am using the Javay method over the Satay method to resolve these and more issues. For a more detailed explanation, see previous posts:
http://www.alistapart.com/discuss/flashsatay/26/
Your method works good for a small Flash file and because you are not using percents, but it will not work for other situations beyond that. Also buy cutting out the codebase you are giving up an easy way to upgrade older Flash players for your I.E. visitors. And without a codebase, some web devers will try to use entry pages. Entry pages like, “You must have Flash player X to view this site..”, are a big waste. Most people don’t even know what a Flash player is, let alone what version they have. Hell, even I forget what Flash version I have sometimes. Flash player detection through JavaScript or with a Flash movie itself may be needed. Server-side detection is not yet reliable in all browsers.
Flash detection should always remain invisible to the visitor.
But a lot of what I’m saying has already been covered in previous posts, though.
265 Reader Comments
Back to the ArticleRob Drimmie
I’m currently working with a number of Flash movies that interact with Javascript for various reasons.
When I try using this method it seems that the Flash player in Mozilla browsers is unable to pick up on either the name or id attribute of the object tag (it typically uses the name attribute of embed).
Does anyone know of a way to use just the object tag but still have FSCommand work properly in Moz?
Andrew Cheong
I’m sorry if this question has been mentioned before. I have looked through and I cannot find a solution in the forum. The flash satay method works excellent in Mozilla and IE, but it will not work on Firebird 0.7 for me (flash simply does not appear). I do not use percentages for the height. The code is below:
<object type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” data=“navigationx.swf” width=“730” height=“570” id=“navigation” top:10px; left:10px;” standby=“The page is loading. Please wait…”>
</object>
It is not the standby and it is not the transparency parameter. This can be seen at http://www.xdemi.com/music/main.php
Any solutions?
dusoft
This really works and while no container has been used for Flash, the page validates for XHTML. It works in Mozilla, Internet Explorer 6.0, 5.5, 5.01 and other browsers, too.
<div id=“flash”>
<object type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” data=“images/banner.swf” width=“288” height=“128”>
banner.gif
</object>
</div>
dusoft
I just added them, because I didn’t know how ALA display the code.
RazorX
Re: dusoft
“This really works and while no container has been used for Flash, the page validates for XHTML.” Well dusoft, not exactly. Sure your code validates, but it does not work in all situations. First off, when I.E. encounters the data element it will not stream. Just pump your banner.swf up to 1 MB and view it with a dial-up to see what I mean. I.E. will give you a white box and wait for the file to completely download before playing it. Second, your code will not work in a full Flash situation. If you change your width/height to 100% you will quickly see a blank screen in newer Netscape/Firebird browsers. You have to remedy that with the appropriate CSS:
<style type=“text/css”>
html,body {margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 100%;}
</style>
Until Eolas hits, I am using the Javay method over the Satay method to resolve these and more issues. For a more detailed explanation, see previous posts:
http://www.alistapart.com/discuss/flashsatay/26/
Your method works good for a small Flash file and because you are not using percents, but it will not work for other situations beyond that. Also buy cutting out the codebase you are giving up an easy way to upgrade older Flash players for your I.E. visitors. And without a codebase, some web devers will try to use entry pages. Entry pages like, “You must have Flash player X to view this site..”, are a big waste. Most people don’t even know what a Flash player is, let alone what version they have. Hell, even I forget what Flash version I have sometimes. Flash player detection through JavaScript or with a Flash movie itself may be needed. Server-side detection is not yet reliable in all browsers.
Flash detection should always remain invisible to the visitor.
But a lot of what I’m saying has already been covered in previous posts, though.