What's the best method for creating a Flash movie to use with Articulate software?

Creating the ideal Flash movie for use in Articulate Presenter

Articulate Presenter supports the ability to insert both interactive and non-interactive Flash movies in Articulate Presenter. This guide is intended to give some instruction on what can be done to make sure the Flash movies will work in Articulate Presenter.

Flash Settings
If you are publishing from Macromedia's Flash, you should use the following settings for your files:

• File Dimensions
  The maximum allowable size for an inserted Flash movie in Articulate Presenter is 720 pixels by 540 pixels, so you should ensure that your inserted Flash movie is 720x540 or smaller.
  
• Player Version
  Articulate Presenter is designed to run in any browser that utilizes Flash Player 6,0,79 or later. So when creating your Flash movie, you should target the output for Flash Player 6,0,79 in order to ensure that the movie will play back correctly in Articulate Presenter.
  
• Frame Rate
  Although Articulate Presenter does allow you to change the frame rate at which slides are played, it is recommended that you change the frame rate of the inserted Flash movie to the Articulate Presenter default of 30 frames per second. This will help ensure that your Flash movie plays back at the correct speed in Articulate Presenter.
  
• Codec
  Articulate Presenter supports the use of Sorenson Spark codec. Avoid using the On2 VP6 codec when generating your flash movies.
  
• Duration
  We recommend that you keep your Flash movies below 8:53 minutes ( in duration. Flash has a maximum number of frames: 16,000. At 30fps, that translates to 533.33 seconds (8.53 minutes).
  
• Test your Flash Movie outside of Articulate Presenter
  We recommend viewing your Flash movie in a free standalone player called Swiff Player.

  This will allow you to determine the frames per second of your Flash movie, the version of your Flash movie and will also allow you to see how your Flash movie plays as a standalone movie which assists in diagnosing Flash movie issues with Presenter.
  

• Incorporating your Flash movie into Articulate Presenter
  When incorporating a Flash movie into Presenter at the slide level there are two methods that you can choose from:
  
  • Play Flash movie and slide in sync: Select this item for Flash movies that have defined beginning and end points such as videos, screen recordings and many simulations. This item will automatically set the slide length to match the length of the Flash movie. You will also be able to play/pause and seek within the Flash movie using the Articulate Player controls.

    It is recommended that when possible you place your video and audio on the main timeline of your Flash movie to avoid syncing and playback issues.

  • Play Flash movie after slide has begun: Select this item for highly interactive Flash movies that don’t have a clearly defined end point such as interactive "click and explore" movies.

  Using ActionScript
  If your Flash movie contains ActionScript, it is recommended that you follow these guidelines to ensure your movie will play correctly:
  

  • Don't use references to _root or _level0
    Any references to _root and _level0 can cause issues with the Articulate Presenter player and should not be used. For more information on how to avoid using _root or _level0 references, visit www.macromedia.com/support/flash.

  Note: If you are using ActionScript in your embedded movies, it is recommended that you follow sound programming techniques to ensure the movies will play properly in Articulate Presenter. If you have additional questions on programming techniques for ActionScript, please visit www.macromedia.com/support/flash.

  Articulate content is compatible with ActionScript 2.0 and below. Since Articulate generated content is published for Flash player 6, ActionScript 3.0 is not supported.

  Limitations
  Below is a list of known limitations of using Flash animations in Articulate Presenter:
  

  • Flash movies that contain "off-stage" elements will appear in Articulate Presenter
    
  • Articulate Presenter only supports a single Flash movie per slide