Flash rollover buttons and hyperlinking to slides

[DavidAnderson]

We had a few questions recently around Flash-based rollover buttons and linking to specific slides. While rollovers aren't currently supported in PowerPoint/Presenter, there are a few options for those comfortable with Flash.

Here's a quick example of Flash buttons w/ActionScript that links to specific slides in a presentation.

Preview final project: Flash Rollovers
Source Files: Download



Key points:

• Because Flash buttons link to slide numbers and not slide titles, you'll have to update your Flash code if you add or delete slides from your presentation.
• Presenter remembers the path to your published Flash files. This is great for when you make updates to Flash (links, buttons) but don't want to re-insert .swf files back into PowerPoint. Just re-publish your Presenter course and Presenter will update with your latest Flash .swf files. Here's a screencast for more information.

Insert options:

• For "Advance to next slide" select "When user clicks next"
• For "Synchronization" select "Movie plays independently of slide"

Additional resources for Flash Rollovers in PowerPoint & Presenter:

• Rapid E-learning Blog: Get Creative and Build Better E-Learning Courses
• Community discussion
• Screencast

[Willoughby]

Schweet! Question: Instead of re-publishing each time, couldn't you swap out the "fm_menu-large.swf" file from the data\swf folder?

Thanks for sharing that work around!

[DavidAnderson]

Thanks and good point. Yes, you can swap out the file each time. Just be sure to rename it with the "fm_" prefix and all will work well:-)

[marc pageau]

Hi
Just want to say thanks for this amazing solution, it save my day.

[DavidAnderson]

Hi Marc - Welcome to the forums!

Thanks for that awesome feedback. It works really well so long as your slide count stays the same.

David

[fdneal]

Dave,

This is brilliant! Thanks a heap! Of course, I'm a HUGE fan of free stuff, so I figured out how to make Flash rollovers with a free tool. Then, I put together my first real Screenr to share it. It's a bit code-intensive, but it works like a charm.

~Dave!~

[DavidAnderson]

That's awesome Dave! Never heard of SWF Tools but it looks like a great (free) alternative to Flash.

Had you worked with SWF Tools before this example?

Great contribution. Thank you for sharing!

David

[fdneal]

I've played around with it, mostly used the other tools in the kit though. I just KNEW that there must be a free way to make those rollovers...SWFTools did the trick!

[DavidAnderson]

Mike Enders just shared another way for creating Flash rollovers using SwishMax. This is probably a better option for those who aren't using Flash since SwishMax is considerably more intuitive.

[Lonerhino]

I just discovered your post as I was struggling to get a Flash button to advance to a specific slide in an Articulate project. I'm not a code jockey but I have been able to get some basic Flash things to work. I tried your code snippet, and after a few hours of getting past some syntax errors, it compiles cleanly. The only problem is, it doesn't work. When I insert the movie into Articulate the rollover works, but it doesn't execute the script and advance on click.

For some reason I can't attach the .FLA file here (says it's an in valid file). Here are the relevant points:

- I'm publishing to Flash 7 with Action Script 2.
- There are three layers: a base graphic, a button, and the Action.
- The graphic is a symbol that just sits there.
- The button is set to be an instance of a button (neither is a movie clip).
- I have the code in an Action layer on frame 1 (only one frame in the timeline).

I'm sure I have overlooked something and committed a newbie gaffe, but I need to finish this project and move on. Any help is appreciated.

By the way, this is the best community I've been associated with.

UPDATE: The .FLA is now attached in a zip file.