Problems running SWF in final build

[lissaSB]

This problem is driving me crazy, so I hope someone can help...
I'm trying to add some movies to the WebHelp I'm creating. All the movies are .swf format. None of them were created by me (although I did speak to the person who created them, and he had no insight into the problem).
Movie 1 works. It is a stand-alone .swf with no other supporting files.
Movies 2 and 3 had several files in a folder along with them (expressInstall.swf, ProductionInfo.xml, swfobject.js, and a couple of others). Both work in the preview but not in the final build (I've tried IE and Firefox). Both show the box where the movie should appear and the play button, but when you click the play button it just hangs - grey box, nothing happening (as an aside, the movie that works is designed to start automatically. No play button).
When I put the movies into the new presentation, I get this error:
Warning: Skipped updating links in V:\Documents\Project\Project_WIP\Content\Resources\Images\Folder\FileOfUnknownFunction.html since the file failed to load as XML document
Just to make things extra weird, all movies (1,2, and 3) work in the original Flare project they were used in. I've tried moving them (copy/paste within Flare) to two different projects and Movies 2 and 3 don't work in either new project.
Things I've tried that didn't work:
- Compiling the output locally (usually I work off a server)
- Adding the movies in mv4 format
- Deleting the .html file referenced in the warning (in both old and new projects. It didn't affect the movie running in the old project)
- Deleting all the supporting files except the .swf file (so including the .html file referenced in the "Warning")
- Copy/pasting back from a new project to the original (into a new directory in the original) and the Movies 2 and 3 still play just fine in the original project.
I am out of ideas...

[bobmoon]

Can you clarify which version of Flare you're using, and what tool was used to create the movies?

We use SWF videos created in Captivate in our projects all the time, but we do not link directly to the SWF. Instead, we generate the movies with an accompanying HTM page, and we link to the HTM. When that is opened in the help, it launches the SWF.

So I put everything in a Videos folder in the project, and it looks something like this:

• movie1.htm
• movie1.swf
• movie2.htm
• movie2.swf
• standard.js

The standard.js file is generated by Captivate, and all of the HTM files use it.

My guess is you need all of those files that came with movies 2 and 3 in the folder with the SWF. Do you know much HTML? You might be able to look around in the HTML and XML files in there and see if there are references and dependencies.

Note that inside Flare we cannot open the HTM files that Captivate generates, because they are not XML. (It sometimes is confusing that Flare topics use the HTM extension when they are really XML under the covers. That is probably the issue with your FileOfUnknownFunction.html. )

Bob

[lissaSB]

I'm using Flare V6 and the movies were created in Camtasia (which I'm not familiar with).
I tried systematically deleting and adding back files until the preview stopped working. I could delete everything except the .mp4 file and the movie would still run in the preview. When I deleted the .mp4 it behaved in the preview the same way as the build (ie, showed the square movie panel with a play button in the middle, but just hung on a grey square when play is clicked).
Even when I leave all the files in place the movie doesn't play.
I know a bit of html. Looking in the markup for both topics (in the old project where inserting the movie worked and in the new one where inserting the movie did not) I don't see anything out of the ordinary, just the src="" attribute and image dimensions. Is there something/somewhere else you were referring to that I should check?
In the old project the movie is tagged with <img> and in the new project it is tagged with <object>. I will try changing the tag to <img> for the new project...
You've given me a couple of ideas. I'll let you know if any work.
Thanks

[bobmoon]

So the movies play in the Flare preview window, but not in the compiled help? The gray box seems like it knows the size and shape of the movie, but there is something in the configuration that is not right. I thought that if you looked in the configuration files, you might find that they expect the supporting files to be in a particular folder or subfolder. Maybe there is something amiss in the .JS or .XML file. Can you look through those and see if you can find a reference to the .MP4 file (maybe open them in Notepad and search for MP4)?

Is it possible to get the problem movies to be recompiled in Camtasia so that they run in stand-alone mode?

Bob

[SG]

I do a lot of work with Flash in my help sites. I think I've seen this problem before--and it was caused by an inconsistency of names (including upper and lower case). Make sure that the name of each saved movie is exacly the same as it is in every html file that utilizes the movie. Note that in the html file,the name of the movie may appear more than once. Make sure everything is consistent.

Hope this helps,

SG

[lissaSB]

I tried several things, based on your comments:
- the file names are identical in both the old project directory (where the movies work) and in the new (where they don't). They were last modified at the same date/time.
- I searched in the .html file and didn't find the name of either the .mp4 or .swf movies
- the swfobject.js file was very hard to look through (no line breaks) but by searching I didn't find the name of the .mp4 or .swf movies
- in the .html file the name of the movie seems to be correct
- in the ProductionInfo.xml file I found the mp4 file and .swf file several times - both appeared to be correct throughout
One thing I noticed that was weird in the ProductionInfo.xml file was that a path kept showing up which is not local to my computer, inside tags such as <FileName> and <VideoFilenameWithPath>. They referenced a "Camtasia Projects" folder on a G drive - not my computer. But this path was the same for both Flare projects, old and new, which I'm pulling off the same server when I work on them... Does that make any sense?

I tried a few other things too:
- adding just the .mp4 file (only works by insert>multimedia, btw, not by drag-and-drop) allows the video to show up, but without the play/replay options. Instead it starts automatically and loops - basically all the content that's MISSING when I add the .swf file. Which makes me think that there's some faulty link between the swf and the mp4 that it needs to call when compiled. But that's an uneducated guess on my part. I'm going to try and download a free trial of Camtasia and see if I can recompile the movie files (although I don't know how to use Camtasia )

Brief summary of other recent things I tried that didn't work:
- pointing src="" in the new project to the directory in the old project
- changing <object> to <img> (because that's what it is in the old project). It doesn't show up at all in the new one. No grey box. Nothing.
- putting the movie files into the same directory as the topic calling them (the structure used in the old project)
- adding an href to the .html file (opens a big black box that does nothing in the Output)

[bobmoon]

Wow, this is a sticky problem!

- putting the movie files into the same directory as the topic calling them (the structure used in the old project)

I think you must replicate the directory structure where the movie worked. If the files were all in the same folder before, they must be that way in the new project. If some files were in a different folder, then try to copy that. There may be some relative path references ("../../") in one of the files.

- I searched in the .html file and didn't find the name of either the .mp4 or .swf movies
<snip>
- in the .html file the name of the movie seems to be correct

These seem to be contradictory. What do you mean that "the name of the movie seems to be correct?"

Also, how are you linking to the topic in the web help? Maybe you could try opening the HTML page with the movie in a separate browser window. In the hyperlink properties, in Target Frame, select New Window. Maybe it's something about opening it inside the web help frameset.

[lissaSB]

Sorry - I did contradict myself in there, didn't I? Brain must have gotten away from me for a moment... The name of the .swf movie in the html file is there and correct. "Seems to be" because the .mp4 movie is not referenced.
It's the .js file that doesn't contain either the .swf or .mp4 movie.
I tried putting the files in the same place relative to the topic that was calling them. It doesn't make a difference (but I can troubleshoot from that structure from now on). I would have thought, though, that Flare should be able to look at where I added the file FROM and then set up the link at that point using the correct path. Then, of course, if I were to move the linked file I might cause problems. The multiple movie files have always been in the same folder, it's just where that folder is with respect to the topic calling them that changes.

Also, how are you linking to the topic in the web help? Maybe you could try opening the HTML page with the movie in a separate browser window. In the hyperlink properties, in Target Frame, select New Window. Maybe it's something about opening it inside the web help frameset.

The movie is embedded into the topic, not as a stand-alone topic accessed via hyperlink. When I tried adding a hyperlink to the html file located in the movie files folder it just opened a black box in the Flare output. If the hyperlink is set to open in another window, it's the same black box in a new window. It opens in IE as a movie functioning exactly as it should when I double-click the html from the folder.

[SG]

Just a few notes--which I hope won't confuse things more:

As far as I remember, your .swf files were created in Captivate. I'm not sure how your swf files were created in Captivate--nor what version in Captivate--but all of my swf files also include a "skin" file as well. For instance: I would have: movie1.swf, movie1_skin.swf. In my Web help page I open a window using a javascript link to open an html file that plays the movie--this html file is named: movie1.html (by Captivate). Captivate's standard.js file is in the same directory--it does not refer to any movie specifically.

sg

[bobmoon]

lissaSB, at this point I'm about stumped. If you want, you can contact me offline via private message and maybe I can look at your files.

Looking back at your original message, I thought of one more way to troubleshoot. You said that everything works in the original Flare project. You could make a copy of the entire old project in another folder and start deleting stuff out of the copy to see if you can "break" it. That might help you figure out if there is something missing in the new project.

So for example, copy the old project into a new folder and compile. Do the movies work? If not, then there is something going on with the version of Flare, or perhaps a link to a file on the network. If they work, try to delete a bunch of the topics that aren't related to the movie and compile again. Keep doing that until you're left with just the minimum files, or until the movies stop working.

That may be tedious, and I can't guarantee that it will tell you anything, but I'm about out of ideas.

Bob

[lissaSB]

SG - The movies were created with Camtasia (version 6, I think), not Captivate. Maybe the two work similarly? I'm not sure what you mean when you say in your web help you use a javascript link to open the html file with the movie - why not a regular <html> link? That's one thing I tried and it didn't work. Although, I really want to embed these movies in the topic page itself, rather than have the user click on them and get them to open in a separate window. For the content I have I think that's the better way to present it.

Bob - I'm trying your suggestion (might be a while) re: the old project. If that doesn't work I may contact you offline for a hand...

[SG]

Sorry--thought you were using Captivate.

Here's an example of the type of javascript I used to create a link to the HTML that loads my Flash movies:
<a href="#" OnClick="javascript:newwindow=window.open('LoginTutorial.htm','name','height=650,width=1065,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,menubar=no');"><b>Logging In</b></a>

I do this because it allows me to control the window size. The screen size of most of my movies is larger than the screen size of the Help Window. The separate window allows the user to change the window size, if desired.
Also, I think this technique allows me more flexibility (via Captivate) in creating the skin for the movie.

SG

[mymojo]

Has anybody found the solution to Camtasia files in Flare output? I have mp4's, loaded in a swf controller, housed in an HTML page that is linked from my project pages. The html and controller open up, but it's like it can't find the mp4 (it's fine on the front end, before the build). And the file structure is the same on the output side.

Any clues?

[bobmoon]

The html and controller open up, but it's like it can't find the mp4 (it's fine on the front end, before the build).

Just a thought--if you open the HTML file in the browser in your compiled output, does everything behave? Meaning, go in Windows Explorer to your Output\username\webhelp\... folder and just open up camtasiamovie01.HTML without loading it in the help frameset. Does everything work?

If not then I'd compare that page source to your original. I'd suspect that Flare is modifying this page, and maybe that's breaking the scripting. I was having issues with Captivate HTM files in Flare recently.

Bob

[mymojo]

Ok, so here's an interesting addition. It's ok on the input side, ok on the output side (as long as it's on our network), but when we move the files to an ftp outside of our network so that our users can access it, it breaks the videos and they don't display anymore (just the html page and the controller). Maybe it's some sort of net permissions issue?

[bobmoon]

It's ok on the input side, ok on the output side (as long as it's on our network), but when we move the files to an ftp outside of our network so that our users can access it,

When you say "move to an ftp", do you mean that you are using FTP to copy the files to a web server? Or are your users trying to open the help in the browser from an ftp site? Another way to ask the question, when your users access the files after you copied them, are they using http://YourURL.com/help.htm to launch the help?

Bob

[mymojo]

Yes, exactly! They are launching it from a http://www.oursite.com/help

So when I launch a vid, the resulting url is http://www.oursite.com/help/Content/Use ... ation.html

[bobmoon]

Okay, that makes sense. So your Camtasia HTML pages work in your own environment, but fail when you publish them to the web server. A few more thoughts:

* Have you tested the pages in more than one browser (IE 7, IE 8, Firefox)? Is the result always the same?

* When you view the page on the external web site, do you get an error? If you look in the browser "status bar" area, is there an error notification? If you're using IE, try using Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Browsing > Display a notifiation about every script error. Perhaps the browser is "swallowing" some script errors.

It could be a permissions issue, or an issue with calling the MP4 type video. I've never tried your scenario (HTML page with a SWF container that shows an MP4 video), so I don't know what might be going wrong. I suspect that you have an issue with your SWF controller, more than a problem caused by Flare. Here's a way to test that. Create a test movie and publish it from Camtasia. Then take that set of HTML, SWF, and MP4 files and publish them directly to your web site. Do they work if Flare's not involved? If not, then I suspect it's your server configuration or perhaps your FTP app is messing up the files.

If they work on the web server straight from Camtasia, then the issue must be with Flare whacking your HTML file during compile. If that's the case, why don't you post the source of your HTML file from within Flare here (or send me a private message and we can correspond offline), and maybe we can find the culprit.

Bob

[mymojo]

Well, I just re-rendered all the files in FLV to skirt around this issue. I'm not sure exactly what caused it but my inclination is that something was hard-coded in in the controller itself that kept it from seeing the files in their relative positions after publishing. I'm not having this issue with the FLV files, so that's the solution I'm gonna stick to for now.

[Scotty]

Solution?...

I think a new thread I recently created might solve this issue: http://forums.madcapsoftware.com/viewto ... 41&p=92061