Note: This method requires
that the Web browser in which the movie is running be configured to send
e-mail. Most, but not all, browsers support this feature. Also,
some decide to disable their browser's e-mail feature for security
reasons. If sending e-mail is an optional movie feature then this method
provides a quick and easy way to accomplish that. However, if the ability
to send e-mail is a requirement for a Flash movie then a more robust and
reliable technique is to use a CGI form mailer or similar server-side
application. For more information on this technique refer to Using
Flash with a CGI form mailer (TechNote 14158).
Launch an e-mail
composition window from a Flash button A button in Flash can
have an action assigned that will launch an e-mail composition window with
an address already specified.
Assign the Get URL
action to the button The Get URL action can
be used to link to an e-mail address. By adding additional parameters, the
resulting e-mail browser window can be configured with pre-written text in
the subject line or body of the message. Browser support for e-mail
parameters varies. If unsupported parameters are encountered, the browser
will ignore them.
To create
an email link for a button, follow the steps below:
1
This
technique can be applied to any button. You may design your own
button, or use an existing button from Window> Common
Libraries> Buttons. Place an instance of the button
onstage.
2
Select
the button and open the Actions Panel. Depending on preferences, at
this point the Actions Panel may be in Expert mode. The basic
technique in this technote can be applied in Normal mode. However,
for the more advanced techniques below it will be easier to use
Expert mode. Click the popup and choose Normal
mode.
In the
left pane, expand the Basic Actions. Double click "Get URL" to add
the basic action to the button instance.
4
In the
"URL" field, add a URL beginning with 'mailto:' followed by the
email address that the mail should be sent to:
5
The
"Window" field should be left blank, and the "Variables" field
remains "Don't Send"
This is the
simplest method of sending a message to the system to launch it's default
email application and create a new mail. However, the only that will be
filled in at this point is the receivers' address.
Filling out the
Subject, Body and other headers Flash 5 can also use
input text fields and variables to pre-fill the common headers in the
email, such as "Subject", "Body" and "CC", for example. There are several
methods for doing so.
Using search
parameters:
1
Use a
question mark following the e-mail address, then a parameter
followed by an equal sign to set the text. Additional parameters can
be added by typing an ampersand between them. The entire customized
string of parameters can be entered into the URL field in the URL
field to set the fields of the e-mail composition window as desired.
For example:
2
If the
URL field is not long enough to enter all of the desired text,
switch the Actions Panel to Expert Mode and enter the text directly
in the action
Using
search parameters with input text fields:
1
The
second method sets the e-mail headers using search parameters also.
But this method takes the text that should be placed in the headers
from the contents of input text fields entered by the viewer,
similar to an HTML form.
The
following is a working example of this technique. Enter appropriate
responses in the fields, then click the "mail" button to e-mail the
results:
2
Each
field is created as an Input Text Field. Each is then assigned
the variable name that matches the name of the email header
it correspon
ds to. For example, the variable name of the "recipient" field
inside Flash is actually "recipient".
3
The
button action used to pick up the text held in the variables
is:
on (release){ getURL ("mailto:" +recipient+ "?cc=" + cc
+ "&subject=" + subject + "&body="
+body) }
Pay
attention to the order of the strings and the variables. The '+' is
the Flash 5 concatentation operator. When the action is run it
concatenates the items withing double quotes with the contents of
the input text fields. The final string sent to the email system
looks
like: "mailto:joe@server.com?cc=webmaster@yoursite.com&subject=sendmail&body=some
text here"
The
email application then strips this text into the appropriate headers
in the final mail.