Copyright: Autorun Action Flash 4.0


 Autorun Action Flash

Program Version: 5.0

PLEASE NOTE: Autorun Action Flash is set to open this Help file by default. Just run the Set-up Wizard (FlashWiz.exe) to set-up the software to open your document.

Available Topics

Introduction

Introduction

Files

Package Contents

Instructions

Step-By-Step

Creating Your Autorun Flash Screen

Commandline Arguments

Animated Flash Screens

Creating a “Browse CD” Flash Screen

Creating a Root Directory Link

Registration Entry & Key

Testing Autorun Action Flash

Commands

Flash Command Summary

Information

Contact Details and Further Information

More Help?

Try our Online FAQ and trouble-shooter! Just CLICK HERE!

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Introduction

Autorun Action Flash is Autorun/ Autoplay software. This software enables anyone to create professional CDs which will, after CD-ROM insertion into the drive, display a flash screen while launching a file. The flash image can be static or animated! You have full control over the image size, appearance time and location. Autorun Action Flash comes with a wizard to make set-up quick and easy. It has the ability to not show itself, play digital sound (.wav file), as well as pass commandline arguments to programs. It could be used to open any file, program or document placed on the CD in the relevant User’s viewer.


Package Contents

When you downloaded this package it should have contained the files listed below. If it did not contain these files, or you suspect the package may have become corrupted, please check our web site for the full software package.

FlashWiz.exe	The Set-up Wizard, run this to set-up your own flash screen.

AutoFlsh.exe	The Main Autorun program.

autoflsh.hlp	This Help file.

autoflsh.ini	The file which contains information about your flash screen settings.

autorun.inf	Autorun set-up file, copy this to the ROOT directory of your CD.

logo.bmp	Background logo image, create your own and replace this file with it.

readme.txt	Basic instructions on location of this file.

start.wav	This sound will play when the program starts, optionally replace.

Gen_CD.ico	This is an Icon that will represent your CD on the end User’s machine, replace if you wish with one of your liking.

Uninstall.txt	Information on removing the software from your system.

VB40032.dll	System File used by the software.

Some of the files in the Autorun Action Flash package are used to create your Autorun program and as such are not required on the CDs you create (please note no harm will be caused by including all of the files on your CD). For your information the files not required on the CD are: FlashWiz.exe, autoflsh.hlp, readme.txt and uninstall.txt.


Step-by-Step Instructions

Start the downloaded AutoFlsh.exe to unzip the files into a directory named “AutoFlsh”. The downloaded package will automatically create this directory and place the software in it for your convenience. Once extracted you can move the directory anywhere you wish without affecting its operation. The program is ready to run. The program does NOT require any installation. To create an Autorun CD follow these steps:

•	Autorun Action Flash will display a bitmap while it launches your chosen file. Before starting the wizard it is a good idea to have a bitmap ready. Autorun Action Flash also supports animation of frames (see the Animated Flash Screens topic for more information). If you wish to have your flash screen animated save the sequentially named bitmaps to be animated into the AutoFlsh directory.

•	Run the Set-up Wizard (FlashWiz.exe), this will allow you to set-up Autorun Action Flash for your use. It will also load up any existing Autorun settings and allow you to change an existing set-up.

•	If you would like a different sound for the Autorun program start up you can optionally replace the "start.wav" file with your own wave sound.

•	Write the “AutoFlsh” folder to your CD, but move the provided autorun.inf file out of the folder to the root directory (base level, not contained in any folders) of the CD. Congratulations! You have created your Autorun CD.

NOTE: Some of the files in the AutoFlsh folder are used to create your menu and are not required on the CD. If you would like to remove any unnecessary files remove the following files from the AutoFlsh folder: FlashWiz.exe, autoflsh.hlp, readme.txt, uninstall.txt and AutoFlsh.GID.

NOTE: the supplied autorun.inf assumes you copied the program into a directory call AutoFlsh, and that you will use the “Gen_CD.ico” icon provided in the package to represent your CD. Open the autorun.inf file to change these details if required, but ensure that the formatting remains exactly the same. Any format changes can make the INFnot function, and as a result the CD not Autorun.


Programming the INI

Creating Your Autorun Flash Screen

Autorun Action Flash offers a step-by-step wizard with topical information to help you quickly create an Autorun program. Simply start the FlashWiz.exe and follow the instructions. If you have not used Autorun Action Flash before, the default Autorun program settings will be shown in the wizard as an example. Any changes you make and save in the wizard will be displayed for easy changing when you next open the wizard. If you wish to revert to the sample program settings at any time simply delete the “autoflsh.ini” file and run the wizard again. The steps are as follows:

Step 1 -	Locate the bitmap you would like Autorun Action Flash to use for the flash image. Autorun Action Flash will automatically copy and save this image as logo.bmp in the same directory as the Autorun program.

Step 2 -	Select where on the computer screen you would like the flash image to appear.

Step 3 - 	Enter how long you would like the flash image to appear on screen. Flash delay is in 1/10 of a second. Such that "10" = 1 second and "300" = 30 seconds (although I wouldn't put 300 in!). Decide whether you would like the file to be launched immediately, during or near the end of the time the flash image is displayed for. If your file takes a while to open you might wish to have it start launching immediately so that it is ready once the flash screen is finished.

Step 4 -	Autorun Action Flash allows you to have animated flash screens by moving through a sequence of images. If you would like to create an animated Autorun program see our Animated Flash Screens topic.

Step 5 - 	Autorun Action Flash can open any file or program or even another of our Autorun menuing programs. Simply click the appropriate option and a pop-up screen will appear to allow you to browse for the file or directory. Please note that the command path should be for where the file/ directory will be located once on CD. Therefore if the path will differ from its present path you should alter the command now to its intended location. If the path is entered incorrectly Autorun Action Flash now includes an automatic search for the file name. However, if the file path is entered incorrectly it may take a little longer for Autorun Action Flash to locate the file. For examples of commands see the Flash Command Summary topic.

Step 6 - 	Commandline arguments are generally only required by advanced users. Please see Commandline Arguments for more information on this topic.

Step 7 -	Some end users may not have a relevant program to view the file you have chosen to launch. Autorun Action Flash enables you to offer the end user the ability to install the required program. For example, if you are launching a web site you could also include an Internet Explorer installation file on the CD and enter the path and filename to the installation file in this step. Autorun Action Flash will detect if the end user does not have an internet viewer and offer the user the choice of installing your viewer.

If you do not wish to include a viewer installation file simply blank the “Path to Viewer” field. If Autorun Action Flash detects the user does not have a viewer it will display a message telling the user “You do not appear to have a program to open the file” and close.

Step 8 - 	If you have chosen to offer an installation file at Step 7 enter here the message you would like the end user to see when being offered the choice to install your viewer.

Step 9 - 	If you have placed your Key file in the root directory of C: your registration details will automatically be filled in for you (see Registration Entry & Key for more information). Alternatively you can enter your details manually each time you run the wizard. Click the “Submit” button to ensure you have entered your details correctly.

Step 10 -	Click the “Finish” button to save your changes. You have created your Autorun program!

When you are happy with your Autorun program copy the “AutoFlsh” directory over to the CD with your other files. However, make sure you move the Autorun.inf file out of the “AutoFlsh” directory and to the root directory (base level, not contained in any folders) of the CD.

If you would like to test the software please see topic Testing Autorun Action Flash.


Registration Entry & Key

After you register Autorun Action Flash you will be emailed your registration details as well as a Registration Key. This file contains your registration name and number, this file should be placed in your computer’s root directory on C: drive. There is no need to open the key file. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS KEY. The Set-up Wizard will retrieve these details as needed when creating your flash screens.

If this is unsuitable, then you can enter these details manually into the Wizard. Click the “Submit” button after entering your details to make certain you have entered them correctly. However you will need to re-enter these details each time you run the wizard.

If you created your Autorun program before you registered, once you have your key in place, remember to run through the Wizard and click the Finish button to save your registration details into the program.


Commandline Arguments

Commandline arguments are strings which you pass to programs to instruct them in their operation. The most basic is often where a program will open a file that is passed as a commandline argument. An example of this might be the following string passed to MS Windows NotePad:

C:\Windows\Readme.txt

which is simply instructing NotePad to open the windows Readme file. Commandline arguments are often referred to as "slash codes", as the string of text passed to the program often starts with a slash. One real use in CD Authoring is when you wish to include a viewer for documents you are distributing on the CD. In this way you can open a document on the CD in a program on the CD.

You can now pass commandline switches ("slash codes") to programs with Autorun Action Flash. To do this just add your commandline argument in the configurations box titled "Commandline Argument (for programs only)".

In many instances you will want to refer to the CD-Drive when passing Commandline arguments to your program. Some programs (very few) will allow a relative path as a commandline argument, but most require you put the full path to the file you wish to open. If an absolute path is given, problems occur when the User places the CD in a drive with a different Drive Letter (Your CD Drive might be E: drive, but theirs may be D:, or F: or...). To overcome this problem we have introduced a variable (%CD%) which replaces the drive letter in your commandline argument. Then the software replaces this variable with the drive letter the CD is currently being run from. In this way your Commandline argument, and your CD, will work in any drive, regardless of the CD drive letter.

Therefore the above string would be:

%CD%:\Windows\Readme.txt

Please note the inclusion of the colon above. Please note that the %CD% variable is ONLY used on Commandline arguments, not on the command at Step 5.


Animated Flash Screens

With Autorun Action Flash you can set-up your flash screen to animate through as many frames as you wish. Setting up your animated flash screen is easy, just follow these simple steps:

Include your default flash screen, "logo.bmp" in the Autorun Action Flash directory. This will be the first frame in your animation. Next create the rest of your animation frames and name them sequentially, "logo(number).bmp. Such that your next frame (after your default first) would be called "logo1.bmp", the next, "logo2.bmp" and so on. The size of the animation screens is set by the logo.bmp screen. Therefore you should make all of your images the same size as the first screen.

You can adjust the speed at which your flash screen animates by changing the "Frame Delay" setting in the Wizard at Step 4. This value is the time to wait before loading the next image. It is measured in milliseconds, such that a value of 1000 would equal 1 second. You can also choose to "Cycle" your animation. This will cause the animation to immediately start over when the last available frame has been shown for the set length of time.

You may wish to take into account the speed of your User's CD drives when planning your animated flash screen. Very large animated frames will be taxing on their CD drives, as each image will take time to load from the drive. Excessively sized images will also cause a delay of the flash screen start-up, as for display purposes the program preloads the images before attempting to animate through them.

Remember as well that you may well wish to have, for example, only two frames which are not cycled and tell the User more information. This would be suited to say a copyright screen, where the first frame is your logo, and the second frame a copyright notice about the contents of the CD. For this use you would put in a long delay, perhaps 1 or more seconds (1000 or more in the animation delay setting).


Flash Command Summary

The flash command can be to a file, program, directory or Internet site as follows:

File:

"\directory\file.doc" (on the CD), or "C:\windows\readme.txt"

Program:

"\directory\program.exe" (on the CD), or "C:\windows\Notepad.exe"

Directory:

"\directory\directory\" (on the CD), or "C:\windows\", even "C:\windows"

Internet Site:

"http://www.pollensoftware.com/register.htm" or

website on CD enter the path to the main page, “\directory\index.html”

Do not include the inverted commas (") when entering commands.

The absence of the drive (e.g. C:) means that the link is to the CD.

Slash directions above should be followed. These are Operating System "backslashes" not Internet style "forward slashes".

Trailing slashes on directory links do not matter.

The image displayed must be in Bitmap form, named logo.bmp and placed in the same directory as autoflsh.exe.

If you would like to use an Autorun Flash screen and a menuing program, simply use Autorun Action Flash with the Command to which ever Autorun menuing program you wish to use.


Creating a “Browse CD” Flash Screen

If you wish to create a "Browse CD" button, as many simple CDs feature, simply use a single backslash (\) as the command (Step 5). Then, when the flash screen launches, the CD will be opened in the root directory in Windows Explorer.

To open a particular directory for the user to view, simply enter the path to the directory e.g. “\directory\my directory\” (without the inverted commas). Note: if the path and directory are not entered with the correct location for the CD, Autorun Action Flash will be unable to find the directory and will open the AutoFlsh directory.


Creating a Root Directory Link

Many CD authors like to provide a link to the software from the root directory of the CD, in case the User has auto-insert notification turned off. If you wish to add a link, the best way is to create a batch file. A Windows Shortcut will not function correctly as it contains drive information, therefore if the User's CD drive is a different letter to yours (highly probable), then the link will not work. Create a batch file which has a single line, something like:

directory\program.exe

You may also wish to add a note to the User that the window can be closed after the menu comes up.


Testing Autorun Action Flash

When entering the Autorun command and Viewer Installation Command in Autorun Action Flash, the file’s path information should have been entered according to its location once on CD. Therefore it is always best to test Autorun Action Flash on CD. When writing test CDs it is recommended to write the CD as an “Open CD”. By doing this you should never need to use more than one CD for testing. With an Open CD you can simply rewrite any changed files to the CD.

Autorun Action Flash now includes a search feature. This means that if you enter the file’s path information incorrectly, Autorun Action Flash will now conduct a search of the drive for the File. This also means it is possible to test Autorun Action Flash while it is on your computer, although we do not recommend this. When testing on your computer it is likely the file’s path entered in the command (Step 5 and 7) will be incorrect (as the file’s path will be as per its intended CD location). This will cause Autorun Action Flash to search the entire drive it is running from for the file. Depending on the hard drive size this is very likely to result in a long delay before the file is opened. Please note that this delay will not occur on the CD even if you enter an incorrect file path, as the directory structure will be much simpler. Therefore we recommend testing Autorun Action Flash on a CD for actual results.

Autorun Action Flash will open any files in the Windows default viewer for that file type. For users that do not have a relevant program installed to view your file, Autorun Action Flash can optionally offer the ability to install the required program. For more information on this topic see Creating Your Autorun Flash Screen Steps 7 and 8.

If you would like to view or test the installation screen, rename your command file to an extension that is unassociated with a viewer (e.g. myfile.ZZZ) then set-up Autorun Action Flash to open this new document. It will not be able to find a viewer for a ZZZ file and will bring up your installation message.

PLEASE NOTE: It is not sufficient to delete, rename or remove an installed viewer to test an installation screen. You must fully uninstall the software, such that it is removed completely and unassociated with the file type. If you simply hide the program, then Windows will give an error. This is because the software knows what type of file it is, and knows where the viewer should be, but cannot find the program. This is not a function of our software, and will not occur on machines that do not have a viewer installed. To test the software try renaming the command file to a zzz extension as mentioned above.


Other Information

This program is shareware and may be freely used for testing purposes in its shareware state. For full information on what usage you are authorized for please see our site.

This program, makes no modifications to your system. It does not add files, it does not make registry entries. To completely remove the program, simply delete the directory which you unzipped it into.

PLEASE NOTE: the program is a 32-bit application, and as such will not run on anything previous to Windows 95.

This program was written by Sean C Flanagan, and is copyrighted 1999-2003, by Pollen Software.

To register this program (for personal use or for distribution for commercial or non-commercial applications), please see our site:

You can find us on the Internet at:

Autorun Software Central (http://www.pollensoftware.com/)

Registration Details can be found on our Online Registration Page

Program Information and Updates can be found at the Homepage for Autorun Action Flash

You can contact us at admin@pollensoftware.com

Our mailing Address is:	Pollen Software
PO Box 314
Morningside, QLD 4170
AUSTRALIA

This package, its files and programs are © Pollen Software Pty Ltd, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003.