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Amar Joseph

Amar "AJ" Joseph

Macromedia

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The FlashHelp Runtime
  3. Elements of a FlashHelp Skin
  4. FlashHelp SDK: Using Templates
  5. Basics of Flash Skin Files (FLA)
  6. Customizing Flash Skin Files (FLA)
Created:
3 May 2004
User Level:
All
Products:
Robohelp

Creating Your Own FlashHelp Skins (Part 1): The Structure of FlashHelp Skins

In a previous article, you learned about Macromedia FlashHelp, an innovative online Help format that Macromedia RoboHelp can generate. FlashHelp combines Macromedia Flash, XML, and HTML into a unique online Help format that is fast-loading, firewall-friendly, and completely consistent across popular browsers and platforms, making it ideal for use with web-based applications.

The real magic of FlashHelp, however, lies in its Flash-based presentation layer, or "skin." You can completely customize FlashHelp skins to match the look and feel of any application, no matter how unique. FlashHelp skins can include animation, audio, and special effects that offer end users an unrivaled online Help experience. What you can create with FlashHelp skins is limited only by your imagination. See the FlashHelp gallery for some examples of live FlashHelp systems. In this article, the first in a three-part series, you'll take a close look at the structure of a FlashHelp skin and see how you can begin customizing some of its elements. The second article will cover customizing the elements in more detail.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Macromedia RoboHelp

Macromedia Flash MX 2004

FlashHelp SDK (included with both the full RoboHelp version and RoboHelp free trial)

This tutorial requires a working knowledge of Macromedia Flash but it does not require that you know RoboHelp.

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About the author

Amar "AJ" Joseph is a Flash designer and developer with eight years of design experience. He is currently a senior designer at Macromedia, where he works on a variety of design projects ranging from application interfaces to marketing campaigns.