Distributing Content

Creating Custom Icons

The default icon for your Flash application looks great, but sometimes you want to use your own custom application icon. Unfortunately, stand-alone Flash Player doesn't have a feature to define custom icons, however, there is a workaround.

Ian Chia (ian@hyperphonic.com) created the following workaround, and originally posted it on the Flash: the Future website.

1. Create your own Pocket PC projector. Launch SAP and select File > Open. Select Browse to locate a SWF file and then click OK.

   

   Figure 2. Opening a file in stand-alone Flash Player

2. Select File > Create Projector and enter a target name for the projector (for example: Sample-1).

   

   Figure 3. Save As settings

3. Accept the defaults for all other settings and click OK. SAP will save your projector under My Documents.

   

   Figure 4. Saving the projector in the My Documents directory

4. Copy the projector (Sample-1.exe) to the desktop using ActiveSync.

5. Using an icon editor, IconWorkshop 5.03 by Axialis Software, create a single ICO file with two icon resources inside. Both icons should have a color depth of 256 colors. One should be 32 x 32 pixels, and the second should be 16 x 16. Your icon editor may be able to automatically reduce the 32 x 32 icon to obtain a 16 x 16 version. Save the final ICO file with both icons inside.

   

   Figure 5. Editing the icon in Axialis IconWorkshop

6. Download the freeware ResHack by Angus Johnson and launch it. Select File > Open, and open the Pocket PC projector EXE file.

7. In the resource tree in the left pane, select Icon Group > 200 > 1033. Right-click 1033 and select Replace Resource.

   

   Figure 6. Replacing the icon resource with the new ICO file in Resource Hacker

   

   Figure 7. Choosing the 200 resource for icon replacement

8. Select Open File with New Icon and open your ICO file. Under Select Icon to Replace, highlight the 200 resource and click Replace. Just two icons will now replace the previous ones. This is not so important—since the Standalone Flash Player for Pocket PC only supports Pocket PC color displays, which have 4096 or colors or more, the limited 16-color icons were just being wasted anyway. The 256-color icons will render fine on 12-bit or 16-bit color displays.

9. Select File > Save to save the customized projector. Note: The icon for the SAP EXE on your desktop will not change. Only after you copy the updated projector file back to your Pocket PC will the new icon will appear.

10. Copy the projector back to the Pocket PC. You may need to perform a soft reset of the device, as the Pocket PC's operating system can cache icons, which may lead to some confusion. Voila! Your SAP EXE now has a custom icon.

    

    Figure 8. Stand-alone projector with a custom icon

Notice that the EXE file size is now 21K smaller because you replaced icons and removed all of the the icons that the applications did not use. Remember, smaller file sizes are generally better.

Delivery Methods

Now you have built your application and created a custom icon for your application EXE. Now you want to share your application with other users—what are your options?

• Removable media cards
  You can copy the application EXE onto a removable media card and give your card to someone who can copy the EXE from the card to his Pocket PC. This method works well if you're among friends or meeting people in a social setting. It’s quick and easy. If you're planning to sell your application, however, you might want to be careful with how often you freely distribute it this way.
• Zip
  The simplest way to distribute your application widely is to zip up your EXE then e-mail it to people or post it to a URL for users to download. Remember to include installation instructions for your application.
• PC Installer
  You can purchase a third-party software to create a PC installer that looks like a professional product installation. EzSetup 2.0 by Spb Software House is a great product that you can use to customize various aspects of the installer including any Read Me and licensing text, default installation location, and more. This is a much better option than the ZIP method for less experienced end users—most are used to installing applications on the PC and will be familiar with this installation method.
• Over the Air (OTA)
  This method is the coolest distribution method, but may not work for everyone. Create an install file, associate it with a hyperlink on a web page, and make the web page viewable in Pocket IE. Users who visit the web page will see links to applications they can download. They click the links to start the installation process.
  
  This process doesn't involve a desktop PC. As you can tell by the name, all of this happens over the air, so users must have an Internet connection. Users can download applications from anywhere they have an Internet connection. However, the downside is that you limit the number of potential users, and you can’t sell your applications this way. Take a look at Spb AirSetup by Spb Software House for more information.

Selling Your Content

Once you've created your Flash application, tested it, created custom icons, and made a PC installer, you can offer your content for purchase.

You can sell your Flash application on your own site. However, if you don't get a lot of traffic and don't have built-in e-commerce functionality, you may have difficulty attracting customers.

Your best bet is to sell your Flash application on a third-party site such as Handango. Basically, you sign up for their developer program, and you can submit your Flash applications for Handango to post and sell on their website.

By having a third-party manage all of the e-commerce, marketing, and sales, all you need to do is to sit back and wait to receive a monthly check from Handango! Doing some simple math, if you sell your application for $5.00 and 100 people download and purchase your application, you will make up the cost of the stand-alone Flash Player. You'll soon have a recurring income as Pocket PC users download and purchase your application, and, if you create more than one application, you can quickly see how you can make extra money.

Summary

Standalone Macromedia Flash Player 6 for Pocket PC is a great application to use if you're planning to create and sell your Flash content. You can also create full-screen applications with the player.

In an upcoming article, I’ll discuss how to integrate other technologies including Wi-Fi, WAN (mobile carriers), Flash Communication Server, XML, and web services. Also, I’ll show you step by step how to create a full-screen Flash application using Flash MX Professional 2004, how to create a projector file using SAP, and how to create a custom icon and apply it to the EXE. I'll also describe how to sell your application.

If you have any comments about this article please feel free to contact me.

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