Preloader problem!

davidgue · first grade Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 22

Hello! I am quite new to flash programming and so this question might sort of be basic Smile

I have a flash file that includes mp3 files and hence is around 2 MB in size. Since that takes a while to load I created a preloader screen. Problem is, the preloader screen takes a while to load and so when people go to my site they see a blank screen. This defeats the purpose of having a preloader. Is there a way around it? Will having the preloader as a separae swf file and loading the main file into it make a difference? I would appreciate any help on this.

Thanks!

guitarman · fourth grade Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 728

Hi david,

What I would do is to make the preloader with some kind of percentage form where user can view the progress. Otherwise, I would be loading the music from external rather than import it into the site itself.

Do you have .fla to share with us? You can upload it to some temporary site so i could help take a look at it.

indogo · fourth grade Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 223

mySound = new Sound();
mySound.loadSound("http://somewhere.com/yoursound.mp3", true);

will load and play an mp3 as soon as enough is buffered

or

mySound = new Sound();
mySound.loadSound("http://somewhere.com/yoursound.mp3", false);

will load without playing...

mySound.start();

will then play it

either way your core movie may be small enough not to need a preloader anyway.

hope this helps
mike

davidgue · first grade Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 22

guitarman and mike,
thanks for your help. i guess i wasnt too clear about what i wanted to do. i do have a percentage box on my preloader screen (which actually is my preloader graphic, i dont have any sliders or anything) and so it takes a while for this percentage box to show up! this is annoying as people are not sure as to whether the site has loaded or if there is an error. i have actually uploaded this. Please take a look and let me know what you think. I really appreciate your help guys.

www.anugrahahall.com

guitarman · fourth grade Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 728

perhaps, u can put up all the content to 2nd frame and the percentage box and script on the frame.
if all else fails, just upload the .fla and necessary files, we will take a look at the codes itself.

indogo · fourth grade Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 223

Well having the preloader as a separate file would solve the immedeate problem...the flash file appears to be about 4.5mb so the sheer size is slowing down the initial appearance of the preloader.

Dynamically loading the large parts is your best route.

For the music use the streaming code I gave you (true) and reduce the bitrate of your audio (mp3pro with nero is good for this or the free thompson encoder) I use a bitrate of 56 kbs (near dialup) which still gives decent quality.

Also dynamically load the gallery images as I suspect they are quite large too judging by the quality.

With the above optimisations you may find the preloader starts much sooner anyway.

I must say I love your design Smile

regards

mike

ps for netscape/firefox your embed code needs 'Anugraha1.swf' to work.

davidgue · first grade Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 22

davidgue · first grade Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 22

indogo · fourth grade Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 223

davidgue · first grade Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 22

Thanks a lot mike! Sorry I havent had the time to post a reply - i am totally swamped here. I will try what you've suggested here and see how that goes.