Notes from a FlashLite Seminar by Brian Chau

(Note, I have done minimal editing on these notes, so take it as is :)
There are currently 98 handset models supported by flash lite. FlashLite 1.1 is the player for mobile devices. Some devices handhelds have player 6 installed. For flashcast, the Future vision is coming, it will be the platform for next generation experiences with integration of enhanced content with customized UI, Streamed updates, Cached Content.

With Flashlite for mobile phones you can have a customized UI. The benefits are fast time to market, multi-tier customization, and a variety of themes. The User experience will inclue a wider range of personalized choices for subscribers, easy discovery, and intuitive navigation.

FlashLite can play device sounds. eg midi sounds.. flashlite can render svgt..and has scalable bitmaps.. the rendering svg engine is part of flash lite player.. Device sounds are usually midi. event sounds can play mp3 as streaming sound. With Flashlite you can make wallpapers, screensavers.

flashlite 2. is available soon. It will be based on player 7 and Actionscript 2.0, not crappy flash 4. It can load dynamically load gif and png transparent.. eg via loadMovie.. not just jpeg.. It can dynamically load device audio. and dynamically load device video that is rendered by the device. eg mp4, via htttp load. Shared Object can store local data something like a super cookie. It can store data in flash cache, next time the user visits, it remembers previous data.. You can do same thing with flashlite 2.0. ie it can remember last time visited data.

Japan is market leader in mobile phones. NTT docomo, kddi, vodafone are all flash enabled. They have an OEM flash player in nokia and samsung cellphones. macromedia have signed deals with these companies. FlashLite 2.0 will be availabe to flash professional owners when it comes out. To author flash lite you need flash 8 pro.

With Flashlite 1.1 you dont give buttons or text an instance name- give it a variable name instead.. for dynamic and input text.. for input text dont give instance name, give variable name.. Dont use flash components.. use sdk... use the supplied file - buttons.fla buttons and pull them from your library. dont give buttons instance name.

for mobile phones we dont have mouse.. we can test in flash 8, flashlite player is within flash 8 player, and can simulate flashlite in flash 8..

To play music you need to use a midi file, sound needs to be embedded. Create a sound layer and dump sound in the layer. We need to import a sound file supported by flash 8.. eg.. wav.. it is a proxy.. we cant import midi.. in sound properties.. go to export settings.. device sound and export as midi file you load in.. for device sounds you need to use event type of sound action..

actionscript for playing sound

must put script onto the button directly..

// play button 
on(release){
gotoAndPlay(10);
}
// stop button
on(release){
stopAllSounds();
}

//frame 1.
fscommand2("FullScreen", "true");
stop();

Capture Key events in mobiles

left and right are soft keys.. there are events for them.. flash 4 does not have a key listener so we need to create a button to capture key event.. create an empty button called keyCatcher, it will be an invisible button...

Soft Key Parameters -

FlashLite 2.0

Can use any actionscript. eg.

var mySound:Sound = new Sound();

loadSound("blah.midi")';

var keyListenerObj:Object = new Object();
keyListenerObj.onKeyDown = function(){
dynamic_txt.text = "key code: " + Key.getCode();
}
Key.addListener(keylistenerobj);

Flashlite FAQs

Q. Does flash run on a 3650 nokia or do you need a version of symbian 6.1 to run it
Here is a list of devices that support FlashLite. http://www.macromedia.com/mobile/supported_devices/handsets.html
I'd like to bring to your attention a bug I noticed this week in Flash 8. When using dynamic text with an opentype font (myriad for example), when you switch to embed, and switch it to bold when the app runs the text does not display Is it only this font? Did you embed the characters?
I had embedded, and it seems to be other fonts also It only happens when I embed - happens with arial too! So true type fonts also - And Bell MT, a type 1 font - You are sure you have the bold characters embeded too? I've used ALL GLYPHS to the same effect - takes ages to export, has the same effect - no bold and the same thing happens with Italic
Q. what does APAC in Geographic availability stand for?
A As for APAC, it stands for Asia Pacific and it includes Australia New Zeland too.

Q. Nokia support is unimpressive, Very slim range of phones
A. More will come to this region.
Q I hope macromedia are working to make Flash Mobile availability a standard rather than a privalege for the more expensive phones
A Mobile phones are getting more powerful and is becoming feasible to display richer content.
Indeed, but my 3230 shouldhave the power, but it isn't a feature Macromedia must be responsible to educate the phone companies.

Q will we have to pay for FlashLite 2.0? or will it be a free upgrade? when is 2.0 available ?
Q Will users be able to download, for example, games - or do they have to pre-installed?
Q How will lite be upgraded on the existing 45m phones?
Q what phones in aus will play flashlite 2.0
Q Have Adobe looked at the installation packaging e.g. PIP installers. I meant will they be able to download apps from their phone? (not a PC)
Q. if you want the flash to be the first page of your mobile site, and be full screen, can you do this without embedding it in a mobile XHTML page? how do you embed flash files into a mobile wap or xhtml page? Does the same tags apply?
Q Does Flash Player Lite work on Palm OS5 devices?
Q Can Flash Lite 2 handle Remoting ?
Q. are there any security issues to be aware of with regard to web service calls?
Q. Can flashlite2.0 used for sending sms/mms?
A. Yes , via getURL command

Q How can you know what features are and arent supported in flash lite when you are developing in Flash Professional 8? For e.g. putting an instance name on a dynamic textbox.
A. Look up the reference docs , helpfiles and manual.

Q. in reference to the .midi file, do phones have a directory structure u have to reference to access the phone's midi fileS?
Q. In testing the final version on the mobile device, do u need to purchase a pc-mobile device cable for each device, given that all do not use bluetooth or wi-fi?
Do you have any flash lite 1.1 content examples that are curently available live on Australian mobile providers/handsets?
Q Can you detect, on a server, the device connecting's capability and direct it seamlessly to a WAP, Flash lite or normal site? Or do you need the device to go to directly to the URL it can cope with?
Q. Will Flashlite 2.0 support dynamic PNG. And also, what about progressive images.?
Q. What is the prefer method for retreiving dynamic data in Flash Lite 2, say from a mySQL database.
Q. Does video need to be local (on the phone), or can it be downloaded as needed - Say with a 3G service provider?
Q. When Flashlite 2.0 is released, will you be able to create games like the java ones on the phones these days?
A. Yes , you should be able to produce better games and a lot easier.

Q. what program would you recommend to produce the video content for mobile devices and flash?
A. QuicktimePro is great for creating 3GP. you can export form many different formats

Q. Can FL2.0 combine with RSS technology?
A. Use the XML class and methods.

Q. If I’m using nokia7710 with flash player 6 but my content is built-on flashLite2.0 with loading external file like gif,midi and so on, can I still able to read it?