SWF Image Creator v1.0
HTML Help/Documentation

Index
 
Welcome to "SWF Image Creator 1.0"
About XYZSoftware
Software License Agreement
How to Register?
About Gif (Graphic Interchange Format)
Using "SWF Image Creator v1.0"
  Menu Bar Options
    File Menu
    Edit Menu
    Tools Menu
    Run Menu
    Help Menu
  Project Options
  Split Animated Gif
Working as a Batch Process
"How do I..." Section
  Change Application Interface
  Create a new project
  Load an existing project
  Add Images to a project
  Remove/Duplicate Images
  Change Order of Images
  Create a SWF Image Library
  Use Spawn Session
  View generated SWF's within application
  Put link on SWF
  Work with animated GIF's
Tutorials
 
Creating Your First Project
Using Split Animated Gif Tool
Creating SWF Image Library


(SWF Image Creator v1.0 By XYZSoftware)

 

Welcome to "SWF Image Creator 1.0"
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  XYZSoftware is proud to present "SWF Image Creator v1.0", a powerful and user-friendly tool that will enable you to create .swf files and .swf image libraries from .jpeg files, from animated .gif files (Gif89a format), as well as from static .gif files (Gif87a format). "SWF Image Creator v1.0" intended to be used by all levels of web designers; beginners, intermediates and also professionals. Its easy-to-use interface, SWF library creation option, animated gif splitter tool, XML based project creation, and high compression rate make "SWF Image Creator v1.0" an indispensable tool for Macromedia Flash designers. XYZSoftware wishes you to enjoy our product.

Director Arda ORCAN        
  XYZSoftware            

Welcome to "SWF Image Creator 1.0"
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About XYZSoftware
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  Since 1998, we are developing programs,tools and components that help the developers as well as the end-users. We have a wide range of programs both written by Java, C++ and Delphi.

  Our company have some unique tools that can be downloaded anywhere from web, but generally, we are working on personalized solutions for our customers. We have a professionalized group of designers and programmers that work 7/24 for your satisfaction. If you need a solution for your company and want to work with a company which can create the most efficient, and effective solutions, we will be glad to be working with you. For finding out more about our company or downloading other programs by XYZSoftware, please do not hesitate to contact us:

E-mail: contact@xyz-software.com
Web Site: www.xyz-software.com

 

About XYZSoftware
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Software License Agreement
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SWF Image Creator v1.0 Copyright © 1995-2005, XYZSoftware, Inc.All Rights Reserved.
Software License Agreement

You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software.

DISCLAIMER
----------
Users of "SWF Image Creator" must accept this disclaimer of warranty: ""SWF Image Creator" is supplied as is. XYZSoftware, Inc. disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of "SWF Image Creator"."


DISTRIBUTION
------------
The registered version of "SWF Image Creator" cannot be distributed without the expressed written permission of XYZSoftware, Inc.

You may copy and distribute the unmodified evaluation version of this software in electronic form. You are prohibited from charging for or distributing this software with other products (commerical or otherwise) without the expressed permission of XYZSoftware, Inc.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
---------------------
This program is owned by XYZSoftware, Inc. and is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. Violation of this copyright is a serious offense VIOLATION OF COPYRIGHT IS A SERIOUS OFFENSE.

EVALUATION VERSION
---------------------
This is not free software. Subject to the terms below, you are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 10 days. If you use this software after the 10 day evaluation period a registration fee is required. Credit card ordering is available, as described in the section
Ordering Information/Order Form. When payment is received you will be asked for the Registration Code which is a unique number for each machine and
which can be found on the 'Registration Confirmation' window of the program. (The Number which is written in red.) After XYZSoftware gets the Registration
Code they will send you an Unlocking code for full version of "SWF Image Creator". For more information about Registering and payment methods visit http://www.reg.net/

REGISTERED VERSION
---------------------
One registered copy of "SWF Image Creator" may either be used by a single person who uses the software personally on one or more computers,or installed on a single workstation used nonsimultaneously by multiple people, but not both.

You may access the registered version of "SWF Image Creator" through a network, provided that you have obtained individual licenses for the software covering all workstations that will access the software through the network. For instance, if 5 different workstations will access "SWF Image Creator" on the network, each workstation must have its own "SWF Image Creator" license, regardless of whether they use "SWF Image Creator" at different times or concurrently.

NO DISASSEMBLY OR DECRYPTION
----------------------------
You may not disassemble, decompile or decrypt the Software without the expressed permission of XYZSoftware, Inc.

USER LICENSE
------------
You may use this program only on a single computer. This program is the property of XYZSoftware, Inc., and is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. VIOLATION OF THIS COPYRIGHT IS A SERIOUS OFFENSE, PUNISHABLE BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Software License Agreement
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How to Register?
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  Registration procedure for "SWF Image Creator v1.0" is quite simple. After 10 days of evaluation you must buy "SWF Image Creator v1.0" in order to continue using. For buying instructions of "SWF Image Creator v1.0" please have a look at our web site.

  After buying the program Reg.Net will notify us about your purchase. Then you will get an email from us asking for your Customer Code. Each computer has an unique "customer code" for "SWF Image Creator v1.0". You can find out your customer code by clicking 'Enter Reg Code' button on the Nag Screen.

  A window will popup asking an unlocking code for the program.

    In this window the Numbers Written in Red and with bigger fonts is the Customer Code for the machine which the program has been installed on (Registration Number). You must send us your Customer Code by email to us. (Addition to your customer code we will appreciate if you also send us your Organization Name and your License Name)

  After getting your Customer Code we create an unlocking code and optionally an organisation name and a License Name and send you an email containing these values.

  When you apply these values your program will be registered and the nag screen will go away.


How to Register?
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About Gif (Graphic Interchange Format)
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GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a common format for image files, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color. GIF format files of simple images are often smaller than the same file would be if stored in JPEG format, but GIF format does not store photographic images as well as JPEG. Because GIF files contain a maximum of 256 colors, this file format is ideal for simple graphics with minimal shading or color variation. That is why Graphics Interchange Format is the most common format for graphic images on the Internet. This highly-compressed format is used to display 2-dimensional raster images. A newer version, GIF 89a allows for an animated GIF, which is a short sequence of images within a single GIF file. GIF can do more than displaying pictures one after another, such as:

A major limitation of GIF is that it supports only 256 colors. You may be disappointed to see that a 24 bit color picture you produced looks so bad once you have converted it into a GIF file. One solution for this is that you create the picture with only 256 colors. This way you have control on the final look and feel of the picture.

About Gif (Graphic Interchange Format)
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Using "SWF Image Creator v1.0"
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Below is a screen capture of "SWF Image Creator v1.0".

  "SWF Image Creator v1.0" main screen consists of several parts which are explained in detail below
  Menu Bar: The Menu bar displays the menu headings. The menus that are available depend on what is open in the workspace. Menu items that appear in grey either do not apply or are unavailable based on the project selections.
You can display menu commands using the following methods:

You can select or execute a menu command using the following methods:

  Toolbar:The toolbar provides buttons that access some of the frequently used commands in the menus. To activate a command, click its toolbar button. If a command is unavailable, its buttons appears greyed-out.

  Main Panel:Main Panel consists of "Gif Image List", "Image Info" and "Output Preview". The user can open or close these panels by his choice.

  Gif Image List:Gif Image List shows the physical location and names of images used in the project. With a single click on an item in the Gif Image List, the image appears on the preview screen. By double-clicking on an item, you can see the image in its original size and general info such as size, color info, creation date, etc... By right clicking on an item, you open a pop-up menu, in which you can duplicate or remove the image from the list. Note that, images will appear on generated SWF in the top-down order, as seen in the Image List. The order of the images can be changed by drag and drop functionality of the Image List. For more about ordering, please refer to

  Image Info:Image Info shows the general information about an image, such as width, height, quality, format, etc. Additionally, the image is shown full size in this panel.

  Output Preview:In Output Preview, you can see the generated swf movie.

  Preview Screen:Preview screen shows a thumbnail of the image selected in the Image List

  Options Panel:In Options Panel, general project options can be set. The user can select whether to generate a SWF file or a SWF library with given options. In addition, here, background color can be set different than the original gif file.

  Log Panel:Shows information on generated SWF files on current session. When double clicked on an item in log panel, the SWF file will be executed with your current flash player.
Using "SWF Image Creator v1.0"
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Menu Bar Options
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File Menu:
File Menu > New: Used to create a new project. If the project currently worked on is modified, the application will ask whether to save it or not.
File Menu > Open: Used to load a previously saved project. If the project currently worked on is modified, the application will ask whether to save it or not.
File Menu > Save: Used to save the changes made to a project. If the project is not previously saved, save as dialog box will appear to give a name to the project.
File Menu > Save As: Used to save a project with a different name.
File Menu > Save Log: Used to save the log created by the project. If the log panel is empty, this option appear grey.
File Menu > Clear Log: Used to clear the text in the log panel. If the log panel is empty, this option appear grey.
File Menu > Exit: Used to close the application. If the project currently worked on is modified, the application will ask whether to save it or not.
Edit Menu:
Edit Menu > Add Image(s): Used to add images to the project. When clicked, a selection dialog box will appear, where multiple selection of files are allowed.
Edit Menu > Remove Image(s): Used to remove selected images from the project. If no image is selected, this option will appear grey.
Edit Menu > Duplicate Image: Used to duplicate selected images on the project. The images are added to the end of the image list in top-down order. If no image is selected, this option will appear grey.
Edit Menu > Select All: Used to select all images on the project.
Edit Menu > Invert Selection: Used to invert selections on the image list.
Tools Menu:
Tools Menu > Split Animated Gif: Opens a new window, where you can select an animated gif, split it into parts, and save each part to be used in the project. A detailed explanation of Split Animated Gif Tool screen can be found here. In addition, check "Using Split Animated Gif Tool" tutorial to learn how to use it.
Run Menu:
Run Menu > Start Conversion: Creates the SWF file with defined project options and images. If no image is added to a project this option will appear grey.
Run Menu > Spawn Session: Creates a new session. Sessions can be worked simultaneously and you can able to drag-drop images between different sessions.
Window Menu:
Window Menu > Preview: Opens/Closes Preview Panel.
Window Menu > Images: Opens/Closes Images Panel.
Window Menu > Project Options: Opens/Closes Project Options Panel.
Window Menu > Output Logs: Opens/Closes Output Logs Panel.
Window Menu > Reset Panel Layout: Resets Panel Layouts to application default.
Window Menu > Reset Menu Layout: Reset Menu Bar and Toolbar layouts to application default.
Window Menu > Reset All Items: Reset all panels to application default.
Help Menu:
Help Menu > Tip of the Day: Opens the "Tip of the Day" screen.
Help Menu > Help: Opens help screen of the application.
Help Menu > Web Page: Opens www.xyz-software.com in web browser.
Help Menu > Register: If the application is registered, shows registry information. If not registered, opens registry screen. For more detail on registering the product, refer to "How to Register?" section.
Help Menu > About: Shows version and registrant information. If the application is not registered, the days left in trial version can be learn.
Menu Bar Options
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Project Options
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Project Options:
Action Type > All GIF's in 1 SWF: When selected, one SWF file is created including all images in Image List.
Action Type > 1 SWF for each GIF: When selected, for each image in Image List, a seperate SWF is created.
Action Type > SWF Image Library: When selected, a SWF Image Library is created with the
Output: The name of the output SWF file can be given here, or an existing SWF file can be selected to be overwritten.
Background Color: By double-clicking here, background color of SWF file can be set.
Frame Per Sec: The user sets frames per second.
Frame Count Between Images: The user sets frame conts between images.
Http Link: URL which will be opened when user clicks on the SWF.
Location: Web browser window HTML name. (i.e. "_blank" refers to new window)
Project Options
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Split Animated Gif
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Split Animated Gif: In this screen you can work with an animated GIF file, see each of its frames seperately and save any frame as an image to be used in your project. When you select an animated gif as the source file, all of its frames are shown on this screen. After that, you can select which frames you want to add to your project and also able to give autonames to this frames.
There are three checkboxes in bottom-right section of the screen:
Add Images to project after saving: When checked, saved frames are added to project's Image List automatically.
Show message after an image is saved: When checked, a message box appears about saving information.
Auto Name Images being saved: When checked, the program assigns autonames to the frames and do not ask user for filenames. If it is unchecked for each save action a dialog box appears.
There are two ways to save frames as images. You may click "Split All" button if you wish to save all of the frames. In addition, you may prefer selecting only some of them, where you should double click on a frame to save it seperately.
Split Animated Gif
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Working as a Batch Process
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SWF Image Creator tool has the ability to be used as a part of an automation project, or a web site. All of the functionality of the program can be manipulated with the command prompt. The task manager can be assigned to run the program from the command prompt (DOS) with the parameters needed. Also this program can be interacted with popular databases like Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, MS Access for performing some routine automation processes with the help of the parameters sent within the command prompt.

The command prompt parameters for SWF Image Creator tool are as follows:

SWFIMAGECREATOR -AUTO -F:filename [-HIDE] [-SHUTDOWN]

Note that, by setting -HIDE parameter without -SHUTDOWN, application screen is just hidden, until the processing is completed.

To use batch processing in SWF Image Creator, you should know the XML structure of .imx files, which is shown below:

<swfimagecreatorproject>
<prgid>XYZ1000</prgid>
<filever>1.0</filever>
<name>C:\example.imx</name>
<output>untitled.swf</output>
<type>0<type>
<framerate>12<framerate>
<delay>1<delay>
<link>http://www.xyz-software.com</link>
<target>_blank</target>
<backgroundcolor>0</backgroundcolor>
<imagelist>
<image>C:\imgs\anigif_F1.gif</image>
<image>C:\imgs\anigif_F2.gif</image>
<image>C:\imgs\anigif_F3.gif</image>
<image>C:\imgs\anigif_F4.gif</image>
</imagelist>
</swfimagecreator>

SwfImageCreatorProject, Prgid, Filever : These tags must exist in a SWF Image Creator project file.
Name : This tag stands for the project name and file path of the project.
Output : Defines name of the output file.
Type, FrameRate, Delay, Link, Target, BackGroundColor : These tags sets the convertion options for the project
Image : Sets the image path and names of the project as the input.

Working as a Batch Process
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"How do I..." Section
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  1. How do I work with application interface?

  2. How do I work create a new project?

  3. How do I work load an existing project?

  4. How do I work add images to a project?

  5. How do I work remove/duplicate images?

  6. How do I work change order of images?

  7. How do I work create a SWF image library?

  8. How do I work use spawn session?

  9. How do I work view generated SWF's within application?

  10. How do I work put link on a SWF?

  11. How do I work work with animated GIF's?

Work with application interface: When using "SWF Image Creator", you can customize the application interface easily. All of the panels and menus are draggable and their positions are saved when you close the program. Also from the Window Menu you can open/close the panels you wish. In addition, from Window Menu you can reset the application interface to defaults.

Creating a new project: To create a new project, select "File > New" from Menu Bar. You can also click on the "New" icon from the toolbar.

Load an existing project: "SWF Image Creator v1.0" saves project information in XML file format with ".imx" extension. When you select "File > Open", or click on "Load" icon from the toolbar a Load dialog box will appear. Select the ".imx" file containing project information and press "Open" button on the dialog box. If there is an open and not saved project at that time, you will be asked whether to save the project or not.

Add Images to a project: There are several ways to add images to a project. You can choose from to Menu Bar "Edit > Add Image(s)" option (same button is also available on toolbar). A dialog box would appear where you can select multiple files by using CTRL and/or SHIFT keys. In addition, you can also select images in Windows Explorer and then drag and drop to the Image List Panel.

Remove/Duplicate Images: When at least one image is selected, you can remove or duplicate images selected. By right clicking on a selected item or choosing from "Edit > Remove Item" or "Edit > Duplicate Item" you can remove images from a project, or duplicate these images.

Change order of images: On Image List, click and hold the left mouse button on an image name. When you move your mouse over another image name, you will see that your mouse icon will change. Releasing mouse button will get the selected image to the specified place. Below images will be shifted down.

Create a SWF Image Library: In Options Panel, from Action Type combo box you can select to create a SWF Image Library. All static gif and jpeg images will have the same name in the library. If an animated gif is selected all of its frames are added to the library with _F# extension. Refer to SWF Image Library Tutorial for more information.

Use "Spawn Session": By session spawning, it is meant that you can run multiple "SWF Image Creator" application simultaneously. You can work with different projects at the same time.

View generated SWF's within application: The bottom frame on the application shows the conversion logs. When a conversion is completed it shows whether the conversion is successful. When you double click on this line, you can see the generated SWF. This makes your project options trials much more easier.

Put link on a SWF: A link with URL and location information can be set for the generated SWF. If "Http Link" field is left blank by the user, the generated SWF will not respond to mouse clicks.

Work with animated GIF's: By adding an animated gif image to a project, you can generate the same animation as a SWF movie. However, if you want to use only some of the frames of an animated gif image you can select "Tools > Split Animated Gif" from Menu Bar. A detailed information on this tool can be found in "Split Animated Gif" section.

"How do I..." Section
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Creating Your First Project - Tutorial
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  In this tutorial, we will explain how you can create a simple SWF step-by-step.

  1. Start SWF Image Creator from Start > Programs > XYZSoftware > SWF Image Creator > SWF Image Creator or by double-clicking on the SWF Image Creator shortcut on the desktop. The application starts with a new project by default, unless you open an .imx file, SWF Creator Image project file. In addition, a new, unsaved project is named as "untitled.imx".

  2. Now to start with, we should add images to our project. There are several ways to add an image.
    A dialog box appears, where you can add multiple images into the project. Click "Open" button after you select images.

  3. When selected images are added to the project, you can change order of these images.


    Now, drag and drop images to change their order. Also, by double clicking an image you can see its general information in Image Info Panel.


  4. Next step we need to deal with, is arranging project options.
  5. Now we are ready to generate our first SWF. To create SWF you can:
  6. When convertion is completed successfully, "Output Logs" panel is updated. When you double-click an item on the panel the generated swf will be played.


  7. If the animation of the generated SWF movie is slow, or you want to change linkage information, you can easily change "Frame Options" and then start conversion again until you are satisfied with the output.
     
  8. Now save this project for future. Click on File > Save As from Menu Bar.

    Or, click Save from Toolbar.

    Or simply click <"CTRL+S"> from keyboard.

By completing this tutorial, you have learnt how you can create a SWF with SWF Image Creator and save a project.

Creating Your First Project - Tutorial
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Creating SWF Image Library - Tutorial
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  In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a SWF Image Library using SWFImageConverter and how to use the library in your SWF projects.

  1. First of all, in this tutorial we do not intend to explain all project creation details, so if you are new user, start with Creating Your First Project tutorial.
  2. Assuming that you have added images to your project and ready to create a SWF Image Library, select SWF Image Library from Project Options.
  3. Now, you are ready to create an image library.:
  4. The generated swf file is an image library, which consists of all the images in the project and ready to be used in your Macromedia Flash projects.

  By completing this tutorial, you can create a SWF Image Library using SWFImageConverter and use this library in SWF projects.

! Importan Note ! Export names of static gif images and jpeg images do not change in the image library. However, animated gif files are automatically splitted into their frames and each frame is added to image library, seperately. This frames are autonamed as [ImageName_F#.gif] when added to the library, where # is the frame number of the frame.

Creating SWF Image Library - Tutorial
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Using Split Animated Gif Tool - Tutorial
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  In this tutorial, we will look at the features of Split Animated Gif(SAG) tool and learn how to use them.

  1. To start Split Animated Gif, click Tools > Split Animated Gif from Menubar.
  2. First of all, we need to open an animated gif file. Click on the button to open the dialog box.
    Select an animated Gif image and click "open" button.
  3. If you have selected an animated Gif file, all of its frames can be seen on the SAG screen.

    SAG screen consists of two parts namely, Animated Gif Frames and Gif Selection. In Animated Gif Frames part, frames of a gif image is shown, whereas in Gif Selection part, we can change the image file worked on, save the frames or set SAG options.
  4. Let's look at the SAG options:
  5. Now you are familiar with the SAG screen. In our last step, we will look how to we can save the frames for our projects. You have two options to save; either you can save all frames by a single click on Split All button, or save each frame by double-clicking on its image:

By completing this tutorial, you have learnt how to use Split Animated Gif tool and save frames of animated gif file to be used in your projects.

Using Split Animated Gif Tool - Tutorial
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Creating SWF Image Library - Tutorial
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  In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a SWF Image Library using SWFImageConverter and how to use the library in your SWF projects.

  1. First of all, in this tutorial we do not intend to explain all project creation details, so if you are new user, start with Creating Your First Project tutorial.
  2. Assuming that you have added images to your project and ready to create a SWF Image Library, select SWF Image Library from Project Options.
  3. Now, you are ready to create an image library.:
  4. The generated swf file is an image library, which consists of all the images in the project and ready to be used in your Macromedia Flash projects.

  By completing this tutorial, you can create a SWF Image Library using SWFImageConverter and use this library in SWF projects.

! Importan Note ! Export names of static gif images and jpeg images do not change in the image library. However, animated gif files are automatically splitted into their frames and each frame is added to image library, seperately. This frames are autonamed as [ImageName_F#.gif] when added to the library, where # is the frame number of the frame.

Creating SWF Image Library - Tutorial
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