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Test document download performance

Flash Player attempts to meet the frame rate you set; the actual frame rate during playback can vary on different computers. If a document that is downloading reaches a particular frame before the frame’s required data is downloaded, the document pauses until the data arrives.

To view downloading performance graphically, use the Bandwidth Profiler, which shows how much data is sent for each frame according to the modem speed you specify.

In simulating the downloading speed, Flash uses estimates of typical Internet performance, not the exact modem speed. For example, if you select to simulate a modem speed of 28.8 Kbps, Flash sets the actual rate to 2.3 Kbps to reflect typical Internet performance. The profiler also compensates for the added compression support for SWF files, which reduces the file size and improves streaming performance.

When external SWF files, GIF and XML files, and variables are streamed into a player by using ActionScript calls such as loadMovie and getUrl, the data flows at the rate set for streaming. The stream rate for the main SWF file is reduced based on the reduction of bandwidth that the additional data requests cause. Test your document at each speed and on each computer that you plan to support to ensure that the document doesn’t overburden the slowest connection and computer for which it is designed.

You can also generate a report of frames that are slowing playback and then optimize or eliminate some of the content in those frames.

To change the settings for the SWF file created using the Test Movie and Test Scene commands, use File > Publish Settings.

Test download performance

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Select Control > Test Scene or Control > Test Movie.

      If you test a scene or document, Flash publishes the current selection as a SWF file using the settings in the Publish Settings dialog box. The SWF file opens in a new window and begins playing immediately.

    • Select File > Open, and select a SWF file.

  2. Select View > Download Settings, and select a download speed to determine the streaming rate that Flash simulates. To enter a custom user setting, select Customize.
  3. When viewing the SWF file, select View > Bandwidth Profiler to show a graph of the downloading performance.

    The left side of the profiler displays information about the document, its settings, its state, and streams, if any are included in the document.

    The right section of the profiler shows the Timeline header and graph. In the graph, each bar represents an individual frame of the document. The size of the bar corresponds to that frame’s size in bytes. The red line beneath the Timeline header indicates whether a given frame streams in real time with the current modem speed set in the Control menu. If a bar extends above the red line, the document must wait for that frame to load.

  4. Select View > Simulate Download to turn streaming off or on.

    If you turn streaming off, the document starts over without simulating a web connection.

  5. Click a bar on the graph to show settings for the corresponding frame in the left window and stop the document.
  6. If necessary, adjust the view of the graph by taking one of the following actions:

    • Select View > Streaming Graph to show which frames cause pauses.

      This default view displays alternating light and dark gray blocks that represent each frame. The side of each block indicates its relative byte size. The first frame stores a symbol’s contents, so it is often larger than other frames.

    • Select View > Frame by Frame Graph to display the size of each frame.

      This view helps you see which frames contribute to streaming delays. If any frame block extends above the red line in the graph, Flash Player stops playback until the entire frame downloads.

  7. Close the test window to return to the authoring environment.

    After you set up a test environment using the Bandwidth Profiler, you can open any SWF file directly in the test environment. The file opens in a Flash Player window, using the Bandwidth Profiler and other selected viewing options.

Generate a final report

  1. Select File > Publish Settings, and click the Flash tab.
  2. Select Generate Size Report.
  3. Click Publish.

    Flash generates a text file with the .txt extension. (If the document file is myMovie.fla, the text file is myMovie Report.txt.) The report lists the size of each frame, shape, text, sound, video and ActionScript script by frame.



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