Not sure how i should go about creating this flash to accomplish what i need.

Question

First let me start by saying my flash file is currently 740kb
in .swf form and I'm not done with it. I'm taking this which was
developed from another developer and trying to customize it to work
for what i need. The flash was bought from template monster. I'm
using actionscript 2.0 in the flash.
Is 740kb big for a flash file that is basically an entire
website?
I'm trying to make this flash load as fast as possible while
implementing the best practices so i can use it for future
projects. Also i would like advice on using various techniques to
accomplish some functionality.
The flash file i'm working on is basically like a brochure
for a client. It consists of "8" main pages, along with several sub
pages.
I have the following questions though.
1. Currently the navigation is on the left hand side, and has
a mouse over animation as well as sound effects with rollover and
being clicked. The mouseover effect just moves the text to the
right a little and brings it back to the original position..
However each button in is an individual movie symbol.
- Should I consolidate the navigation so it's one movie
symbol instead of 8 movie symbols on one page? Keeping in mind that
even if i do make it just 1 symbol i might need to add the 8
navigation movie symbols into that one to maintain the animation.
- Should the buttons even be movie symbols or is there a
better way this should be done?
2. Because of the text for each page, I was using adobes
built in scrolling component for the dynamic text boxes.
Considering there is more then 8 dynamic text instances converted
to graphic symbols.... Is there a more efficient way of doing this,
or is the above method just fine?
3. The flash file contains a photo gallery. Currently all the
images from the gallery are in the same flash file. I was thinking
it would be more efficient to load the images in the gallery from
external .swf files. However i'm not sure if that would be the best
method, and i'm also not sure how to correctly accomplish within
standards.
4. I would like to implement a contact form within the flash
so users can contact me.
5. I would also like to have a testimonials page where users
can submit testimonials. However i'm not sure how to create the
form, but i had an idea on displaying the text in the flash using
xml so it can be easily updated . Just not sure on the proper and
more efficient way of doing this.
6. I would also like an event calendar that displays within
the flash. Was thinking of having this loaded from an external .swf
file as well. Would like the calendar to be xml based so I can
update it myself. Don't need nothing advance, just something that
says "Busy", "Not Busy", and "Book" which would just take them back
to the contact form to book me.
I know many of you don't know who i am, but I would really
appreciate some assistance. Whether its sample flash files, links
to tutorials, advice, anything.
I really want to do all of the above, but also as i'm
learning i would like to make sure i'm doing the above in the most
efficient way possible and up to standards while also keeping the
size low. Would like to do it right the first time, so as i
continue making flash files in the future I'm not writing sloppy
actionscript coding, having sloppy timelines, and or having sloppy
structure in my .fla files.
Also i know alot of you are very busy people, and i'm not
asking for you to do the flash for me but any and all help will be
very greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for you comments, advice, and replies.
:)

Answer 1

Wow, you're really looking to get your money's worth here. :)
I haven't read through your entire list of questions, but
I'll do what I can to help - others here will probably have
different ideas, so feel free to pick and choose which (if any - or
all) you want to integrate.
1. So far, my experience has been that the people that create
the templates on TemplateMonster have a pretty good handle on what
they are doing, and have done what they do for a pretty good
reason. Unless you are quite good at ActionScript, I probably
wouldn't make any major changes to the back end. After all, you
bought the template for a reason. If you want to move the buttons
around the stage, great - edit them to change the colors, great.
But to try to create a button array may be more than you want to
bite into here. That said, it can be done. I've done it. If you
want a sample of the code, drop me an e-mail and I'll send it to
you. FYI: I only do AS3.0 at this point. If your template is in AS2
then one of the other Flash gods would be better suited for code
samples.
1a. The buttons are movie clips for a reason - flexibility.
Leave them as movie clips unless you really like migraines.
2. I hate having to convert text to symbols, but sometimes it
is the most efficient (or only) way to do things. If you want to do
any tweens with the text, it has to be a symbol.
3. You can load the photos from external SWF's or you can
load the JPG's directly using XML. If you are using AS3, I know
that there is tight, simple integration with XML. I'd review a
couple tutorials on XML from some place like www.tutorialized.com
to get a feel for it. Also, look up "Working with XML" in the Flash
Help file (F1). Once you have decided on an approach, come back
here with specific questions and you will get good answers.
4. Doable. Search these forums for "Email from Text Box".
This was covered several times in the last couple of days.
5. XML is one option. You can even have XML give a photo of
the person doing the testimonial and load it all into a single
page. What you can do with this is limited only by your
imagination. This is a very broad question.
6. Someone posted a message about a calendar on here today.
Search for "Calendar" and I'm sure you will get some ideas from
there. Also (and again) www.tutorialized.com is a great resource
for general code and ideas.
You're right, we don't know you. And guess what? That doesn't
matter. We are equal opportunity abusers here. :) I mean that with
the kindest grin.
The things you have asked are very broad in nature and
therefore are quite difficult to give specific answers. We are
always happy to help you when you get stuck, and even to spend a
great deal of time walking you through a specific topic. However,
what you've asked here would take a six-week course to answer to
the level you will need. Grab some free code. Try it out. Play with
it. Break it. The Flash gods will rescue you. But remember, the
more specific your question, the better answer you will get.
I hope this helps (at least some).