CS3 Pro ~ clickTAG help

Question

I am still new with Flash in general. I am creating
advertisements to place on Google Adwords for my website:
http://www.oldwestdvd.com . I
read the other threads and I am still having problems with the
"clickTAG" function.
1) This is what my current action looks like verbatim:
on (release) {
if (clickTAG.substr(0,5) == "http:") {
getURL(clickTAG);
Is this complete? Do I need to add my web address anywhere?
2) Currently I have this action placed on the first frame of
the bottom layer on a button.
Is this the correct place to put this action?
Thank you in advance for your advice.
-Scott

Answer 1

Scott,
> Flash ads must be 50K or smaller in size
That's no surprise.
> and utilize Flash versions 4 - 7.
Odd. That does surprise me, but hey. It's their site, so
they can call
the shots.
> Does this mean that I won't be able to do this because
> I'm using CS3 Pro? It says that I need to use versions
4-7.
They're talking about Flash Player, so you're fine. Check
out your
Publish Settings and change the version of Flash Player and
ActionScript to
to suit. Flash CS3 is capable of publishing all the way back
to Flash
Player 2.
> Or do I have to remake the ad using a older version of
> Actionscript?
Take care not to confuse ActionScript with Flash Player
versions (or
Flash authoring environment versions). A FLA file, for
example, can be
published specifically for Flash Player 9 but use
ActionScript 1.0. Flash
Player 9 features two virtual machines for ActionScript, AVM1
(for AS1 and
AS2) and AVM2 for AS3, so it can do either. Flash Player 6
through 8 can
handle AS2 or AS1. Flash Player 3 through 5 can handle
versions of
ActionScript that don't have a number at the end -- back when
it was just
called ActionScript. When you look through the Help docs,
specifically the
relevant ActionScript Language Reference, just make sure to
check the
Availability heading on each entry to see what version of
Flash Player
supports the particular function you're trying to use.
In this case, I would configure my Publish Settings for
Flash Player 7,
ActionScript 2.0.
> I really need a book on this stuff. I'm sure you are
getting
> tired of being my Guru. Do you know of any good
> Actionscript books?
Heh, no worries ... I'm happy to help when I can. :) Thanks
to Flash
CS3, the Flash authoring environment is now capable of
publishing in
ActionScript 3.0, so your horizons are pretty open. I do a
lot in both
languages (AS2 and AS3), so it's hard to choose which a
newcomer should
learn first. AS3 is certainly the "cleaner," better
organized, all around
improved edition of ActionScript (which makes sense, because
it's the
newest), but using AS3 means you're bound to publishing for
Flash Player 9
or higher. Ultimately, you should learn both.
Your best bet is to wrap your brain around the concepts of
Object-Oriented Programming. AS3 meets those principles
better than AS2,
and AS2 meets those principles better than AS1. So maybe ...
start with AS3
to get the Big Picture.
I like Elst, Yard, and Jacobs' Object-Oriented ActionScript
3.0 (friends
of ED). You'll also find a Flash 8 (AS2) version of that one,
too. I just
finished a book of my own, co-authored with Tom Green, called
Foundation
Flash CS3 for Designers (friends of ED), which deals with AS3
almost
exclusively and is aimed more at designers than developers
(programmers).
While not an AS-based book, it covers a decent amount of
programming. The
book I'm most looking forward to reading cover to cover is
Colin Moock's
Essential ActionScript 3.0 (O'Reilly), and he also has an
Essential
ActionScript 2.0 (O'Reilly) that covers object-oriented
programming in great
detail.
David Stiller
Co-author, Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers
http://tinyurl.com/2k29mj
"Luck is the residue of good design."