Inserting Movies

You can insert Flash, Windows Media, or QuickTime movies directly into your Flare topics or snippets.

Note: You can also insert a link to a MadCap Mimic movie file (if you have Mimic installed). This lets you insert videos generated with any of the following output types: Mimic Movie Format (MMF), Microsoft Silverlight, or Adobe Flash. MMF offers several advantages (such as quicker compilation and smaller files). For more information see Inserting Mimic Movie Links into Topics.

How to insert a movie (embedded)

Open the topic (or snippet).
In the XML Editor, place your cursor where you want to insert the movie.
Do one of the following, depending on the type of file you want to insert:
- Select Insert>Multimedia>Flash Movie.
  OR
- Select Insert>Multimedia>Windows Media Player.
  OR
- Select Insert>Multimedia>Quicktime Movie.
The Insert Multimedia dialog opens.
Select the General tab.

Select a movie file to insert. You can do this in various ways.

You can select a movie file already in the project by finding and choosing it in the Select File Area. Use the buttons in the local toolbar to view all files in a list, view files in their folder structure, etc.

	Shows all of the files in the project in a list in the area below. If you click the button again, it switches to a folder tree view. In the list, you can click the "File," "Type," or "Path" column headers to sort the list alphabetically by that column data.
	Shows or hides the folders that the files are stored in.
	Shows or hides the files. If you click this button when the "Show Folders" button is selected, the area splits into two halves. The folder is shown on the left side, and the files and subfolders within it are shown on the right.
	If the "Show Files" button is the only one selected, you can click this button to move up one folder level.

The drop-down field lets you filter the area below to show only certain kinds of files.

You can click to find and select a movie file outside of the project.

If you want to select a movie file that you recently inserted somewhere in your project, click the down arrow in the field next to the Browse button and select the file from the list.

Note: If you select a movie file outside the project, that file is then copied and placed inside the project. The movie file is stored in the Resources\Multimedia folder of the Content Explorer.

(Optional) If you want to apply a specific style class to the movie, you can select it from the Style Class field. For more information see About Styles and Style Sheets.

example

Let's say that you have created in your style sheet a class of the <object> tag called "BigMargin" (i.e., object.BigMargin) and you have set the margin for all sides of that class to 1 inch. Rather than using the default parent <object> tag when you insert the movie, you select object.BigMargin from the Style Class drop-down. As a result, 1 inch of space is added around the movie in the output.
(Optional) Select the Advanced tab and complete the options as necessary. The options shown depend on the type of movie file you are inserting (Flash, Windows Media, QuickTime).
Flash options:
- Quality Select the quality of the video, from "Low" up to "Best."
  - Low Favors playback speed over appearance and never uses anti-aliasing.
  - Auto Low Emphasizes speed at first but improves appearance whenever possible. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned off. If the Flash Player detects that the processor can handle it, anti-aliasing is turned on.
  - Auto High Emphasizes playback speed and appearance equally at first but sacrifices appearance for playback speed if necessary. Playback begins with anti-aliasing turned on. If the actual frame rate drops below the specified frame rate, anti-aliasing is turned off to improve playback speed. Use this setting to emulate the View>Antialias setting in Flash.
  - Medium Applies some anti-aliasing and does not smooth bitmaps. It produces a better quality than the Low setting, but lower quality than the High setting.
  - High Favors appearance over playback speed and always applies anti-aliasing. If the movie does not contain animation, bitmaps are smoothed; if the movie has animation, bitmaps are not smoothed.
  - Best Provides the best display quality and does not consider playback speed. All output is anti-aliased and all bitmaps are smoothed.
- Scale When you insert an embedded movie, a square container represents the area where the video will be displayed. Just like a regular picture, you can resize the container either by using the settings on the Size tab or by clicking the clicking and dragging the icon in the lower-right corner of the container. The settings in this field determine how the video is displayed in the area represented by the square container.
  - Default (Show All) Makes the entire movie visible in the specified area without distortion, while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the movie. Borders may appear on two sides of the movie.
  - No border Scales the movie to fill the specified area, without distortion but possibly with some cropping, while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the movie.
  - Exact fit Makes the entire movie visible in the specified area without trying to preserve the original aspect ratio. Distortion may occur.
- Alignment Select where you want the video to be displayed within the container area (e.g., Left, Right, Bottom, Bottom Right).
- Auto play Select this option if you want the video to automatically begin playing when the topic displays. Otherwise, the user must click the Play button to start the movie.
- Loop Select this option if you want the movie to play repeatedly.
- Show menu Select this option if you want to display the full menu, allowing the user a variety of options to enhance or control playback. If you do not select this option, the menu contains only the Settings option and the About Flash option.
- Enable SWLiveConnect Select this option to specify whether the browser should start Java when loading the Flash Player for the first time.
Windows Media options:
- Player Controls Select an option for displaying the player controls (e.g., Play, Pause, Volume).
  - Full Displays all of the available player controls.
  - None Does not display any player controls.
  - Mini Displays only some of the player controls (Play, Pause, Stop, Mute, Volume).
  - Invisible Hides the movie entirely, while still playing the audio. If you select this option, you might want to resize the container square in your topic so that it does not take up so much space in the output. The user will simply see blank space where the container exists.
- Auto start Select this option if you want the video to automatically begin playing when the topic displays. Otherwise, the user must click the Play button to start the movie.
- Full screen Select this option to display the movie using the entire screen.
- Stretch to fit Select this option to automatically resize the movie so that it exactly matches the size of the container area.
- Play count Enter the number of times you want the video to repeat.
- Audio Select options for the sound (mute, volume level, balance).
QuickTime options:
- Scale When you insert an embedded movie, a square container represents the area where the video will be displayed. Just like a regular picture, you can resize the container either by using the settings on the Size tab or by clicking and dragging the icon in the lower-right corner of the container. The settings in this field determine how the video is displayed in the area represented by the square container.
  - To Fit Automatically resizes the movie so that it exactly matches the size of the container area.
  - Aspect Automatically resizes the movie so that it exactly matches the size of the container area. However, the image is not stretched, but rather kept in its original proportion. For example, the width of the movie might be increased to match the width of the container area, but extra empty space might be shown above and below the movie in order to compensate for the height of the container area.
  - Value Enter the value that you want to increase the display of the movie. If you select 2, the movie will be twice as large as 1, and so on.
- Show controls Select this option to show the player controls (e.g., Play, Pause).
- Auto play Select this option if you want the video to automatically begin playing when the topic displays. Otherwise, the user must click the Play button to start the movie.
- Loop Select this option if you want the movie to play repeatedly.
- Audio Select the volume level for the movie.
(Optional) Select the Size tab and complete the options as necessary to resize the container area where the movie will be displayed. As an alternative, you can click and drag the icon in the lower-right corner of the container.
To set a precise width and/or height:
- In the Width and/or Height field of the Size section, provide the settings. First you need to select Length in the top drop-down list. You can then enter a value in the lower-left area and choose from several different units of measurement (points, pixels, centimeters, etc.) in the lower-right area. See About Units of Measurement.
  Note: When resizing objects, you can ensure that the aspect ratio is maintained. For example, if you want certain objects to be resized so that each is exactly 3 inches high, you can make sure that the width of each object is adjusted accordingly so that it stays in proportion. To do this, you would first set the height at 3 inches. Then for the width property, you would select Automatic (instead of "Length") from the top drop-down list. In the same way, if you were to specify an exact width, you could maintain the aspect ratio by setting the height to "Automatic."
To set the minimum width and/or height:
If the original object is smaller than the minimum width or height that is set, it will be enlarged so that it reaches the minimum value. If the original object is larger than the minimum width or height, it will not be resized.
- In the Width and/or Height field of the Minimum Size section, provide the settings. First you need to select Length in the top drop-down list. You can then enter a value in the lower-left area and choose from several different units of measurement (points, pixels, centimeters, etc.) in the lower-right area. See About Units of Measurement.
  Note: When resizing objects, you can ensure that the aspect ratio is maintained. For example, if you want certain objects to be resized so that they are at least 2 inches wide, you can make sure that the height of each object is adjusted accordingly so that it stays in proportion. To do this, you would set the minimum width at 2 inches. You would then leave the minimum height property unspecified. In the same way, if you were to specify a minimum height, you could maintain the aspect ratio by not setting the minimum width property.
To set the maximum width and/or height:
If the original object is larger than the maximum width or height that is set, it will be reduced in size so that it is no greater than the maximum value. If the original object is smaller than the maximum width or height, it will not be resized.
- In the Width and/or Height field of the Maximum Size section, provide the settings. First you need to select Length in the top drop-down list. You can then enter a value in the lower-left area and choose from several different units of measurement (points, pixels, centimeters, etc.) in the lower-right area. See About Units of Measurement.
  Note: When resizing objects, you can ensure that the aspect ratio is maintained. For example, if you want certain objects to be resized so that they are no more than 5 inches wide, you can make sure that the height of each object is adjusted accordingly so that it stays in proportion. To do this, you would set the maximum width of the style at 5 inches. You would then leave the maximum height property unspecified. In the same way, if you were to specify a maximum height, you could maintain the aspect ratio by not setting the maximum width property.
(Optional) Select the Position tab and complete the options as necessary to determine how the movie is positioned in the topic. You can select a Float and a Clear setting. You can also set the Vertical Alignment of the object.
Float Use this field to specify where to place the object on the page.
- None Does not place the object in a specific location.
- Left Positions the object on the left side of the page frame, allowing you to type text to the right of the object.
- Right Positions the object on the right side of the page frame, allowing you to type text to the left of the object.
- Center of Column Positions the object in the center of the column on the page.
- Outside Left Margin Positions the object beyond the left margin of the topic text.
- Outside Right Margin Positions the object beyond the right margin of the topic text.
- Outside Frame Positions the object outside of the page frame.
- Outside Frame, Top Align Positions the object outside of the page frame, as well as aligning it with the top of the frame.
- Left of Frame Positions the object to the left of the page frame.
- Right of Frame Positions the object to the right of the page frame.
- Center of Frame Positions the object both vertically and horizontally in the middle of the page frame.
Clear Use this field to position an object so that it is "clear" of an adjacent object. For example, let's say you have already inserted an object and applied the float left property to it. If you then insert another object immediately after the first object, you want to make sure that the second object doesn't rest next to the first object. Instead, you want the second object to be placed completely below the first object. Therefore, you can apply a clear property to the second object.
- None Does not apply the clear property to the object.
- Left Side The object will be placed below the bottom outer edge of a previous object that is floating left.
- Right Side The object will be placed below the bottom outer edge of a previous object that is floating right.
- Both Sides The object will be placed below the a previous object, whether it is floating left or right.
Vertical Alignment Use this field to adjust where the item is positioned vertically.
- Baseline The baseline of the box will be aligned with the baseline of the parent box.
- Text Top The top of the box will be aligned with the top of the parent element's font.
- Text Bottom The bottom of the box will be aligned with the bottom of the line box.
- Top The top of the box will be aligned with the top of the line box.
- Middle The vertical midpoint of the box will be aligned with the baseline of the parent box, plus half the x-height of the parent.
- Bottom The bottom of the box will be aligned with the bottom of the line box.
(Optional) Select the Borders & Margins tab if you want to specify margins, padding, or borders around the movie.
Margin: Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the margins around the object. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the margin fields.
Padding: Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the padding. In the left side of the field, enter a number for the amount of padding. In the right side of the field, select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See About Units of Measurement. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the padding fields. When you click that down arrow, a small popup displays.
Borders:
1. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the border. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the border fields.
  When you click that down arrow or in one of the individual fields, a small popup displays.
2. Use the lower-left area of the popup to enter a number for the border thickness.
3. Use the lower-middle area to select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See About Units of Measurement.
4. Use the upper-right area to select a color for the border.
5. Use the lower-right area to select a line type (e.g., solid, double, dashed) for the border.
6. Click OK.
(Optional) Select the Background tab if you want to add background settings to a movie interface. This includes the ability to specify a color, an image, and a repeating pattern for the background image.
Set a color for the background:
- In the Color field, click the down arrow and select a color from the popup. For advanced color options, select More Colors and use the fields in the Color Picker dialog.
Add an image to the background:
1. Next to the Image field, click the Browse button.
  The Insert Picture dialog opens.
2. Select an image file to insert and click OK.
3. If you want the background image to repeat, select one of the options from the Repeat field. You can also set the image position horizontally and vertically by using the X and Y fields.
Click OK.

The movie is added to the topic, represented by a gray square or rectangle, which is the area where the video will be shown in the output.
Press CTRL+S or click to save your work.

How to insert a movie (linked)

Add the multimedia file to the project (Project>Add Multimedia). See Adding Multimedia Files to Projects.
Open the topic (or snippet).
In the XML Editor, highlight the text that you want to use as the link (or "hotspot") to the movie.
Select Insert>Hyperlink or click in the local toolbar.
From the Link to field select File in Project.
Navigate to the movie that you want to link to and select it.
(Optional) The Link text field displays the text that you highlighted in the topic, which will be used as the hyperlink. Leave the text as it is, unless you decide you would like to change it. If you want to change the link text, type the new text in the field. It will replace the previously selected text in the topic.
(Optional) In the Screen Tip field, you can type a phrase that will appear when the end user hovers over the hyperlink in the output.
(Optional) Next to the Style Class field, click the Select button. This opens the Select Class dialog, which lets you apply one of the defined hyperlink styles from your style sheet to the link. You can change the appearance of the link in the Stylesheet Editor. After you select a style class in the dialog, click OK. The Style Class field displays the selected style. (If you do not specify a style class, Flare uses the parent <a> tag.)
(Optional) In the Target Frame field, click the drop-down arrow to select the way the linked destination will open (e.g., in another window, in a popup).
- The destination file will open in the same window as the output window.
- The destination file will open in the parent frame of the current topic while hiding that topic.
- The destination file will open in a new browser window.
- The destination file will open in the same window frame as the current topic.
- The destination file will open in the same output window, removing all other framesets. You might use this option, for example, if the destination topic has its own frameset.
Click OK.

The hyperlink is added to the topic.
Press CTRL+S or click to save your work.

MULTIMEDIA NOT WORKING? Due to issues with Windows Media, these files will not work in the compiled output if the link from the topic to the media file has ../ at the beginning (to read the Microsoft KB article, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/819105). For example, let's say you have a topic at the root level of the Content Explorer and another topic that is in a folder you created. Suppose that each of these topics contains a link to a Windows Media file that is stored (by default) in the Resources/Multimedia folder in the Content Explorer. The file will work in the first topic but not in the second. The solution is to move either the topic or the multimedia file to fix the link. Therefore, you might decide to move the multimedia file into the folder where the topic is stored. Alternatively, you might move all topics that use multimedia into one folder. Then, you might place all multimedia files in that same folder or a subfolder within it.