How to use the runtime folder
In short, the runtime folder option is fairly easy to use. Just enable it, give the folder some name, save the project and you are ready to go – any flash files placed in that folder will automatically play in the project. However, you better read on for some details.
When you enable the Create/use runtime folder checkbox the List of Flash Files is disabled automatically together with all related buttons and labels. That is because the only thing relevant to the content that will be displayed by the media object set in this way is the runtime folder name that you should simply enter in the textbox.
If you thought about pasting the entire folder path here and asked yourself where is the Browse button to make that task simpler then you were on the wrong track. Once again, you just have to type in a valid folder name (e.g. Runtime Flash Collection) and that is all needed for this feature to work.
What happens next is that when you save the project, or launch the project preview, the folder that you just named will be created in the project's folder under the corresponding scene and object content folders. In other words if you place a new Flash Content media object on the Scene 2 that you have in the Project Timeline and set it to Create/use runtime folder named Runtime Flash Collection, then after saving the project you will get an empty folder named .../Scene 2/Flash/Runtime Flash Collection/.
The folder is empty so what do you do with it? Simply copy any flash file directly into that folder and it will play in the project automatically. Put more than one file in the folder and they will all play in a sequence one-by-one always sorted by file name in the ascending order. This way you can easily update the project without opening it again in Dynamic Info Screen and anybody who has access to the playback computer can do the same. The list of flash files from the runtime folder is refreshed automatically on each completed playback cycle. However, pay attention that if you remove some files from the runtime folder while the project is running that will cause the Flash Content media object to refresh the list of flash files and restart automatically when it comes to the point where the now missing file is needed.
You should also know that if you use the Preview scene option in Dynamic Info Screen the object will not show any content even if you place some files in the runtime folder. The content of the runtime folder will show up only if you use the Preview project option. |
