Linking Multiple swf's to an Embedded player

[kiwiken]

All I want to do is have one page with links to another page that has an embedded player on it so I can have the player controls. I know how to link straight to the swf but will no controls.
The first page will have a tree style menu with links to about 120 swf tutorial videos, the menu I have done.(just have to put the link text in)
What I can't get my head around is what do I put in the link (on the first page) to tell the player what video to play and what to put on the second page so the player knows what swf play.Also when the video has finished,the page closes and go back the the menu page again. Do I need two pages or can it all be done from the menu page.
I just want to organize my files to dvd with an web page interface and that will work offline.
Any help would be good, I have be reading the web for the last month and now have brain fade.
Thanking you, Ken

[infinityspiral]

You'll need to assign the filename to a flashvars variable, the method for doing this is different depending on what version of flash you're using and how you're loading flash onto the page. If you have to click an alert to load the flash through javascript you might as well write a short function in javascript that loads a new video into the player.

[kiwiken]

Hi,
Thank you for your reply, I using flash player 10 but the video's need version 6 .
I want the video's to open full page after clicking on a text link from a tree style menu, I've have already made the menu.
So what i need to know is how to word the link so it passes the video file name to the player on the next page, how to write the script so the video plays with controls and when it finishes the page closes returning to the menu page.
I've been trying scripts that found on the web but haven't gotten them to work, I've asked on a number of forums with very few answers or they suggested PHP which i can not use as I will not be going online with if.
So any help would be appreciated,

Thanking you,
Ken

[Eye for Video]

I understand that you have made considerable effort in the two page direction but you also asked about putting it all on one page. Is the tree structure something that needs to be completely visible for this project or would a video player with a playlist work? Often when there are multiple video to choose from, the titles are organized in a scrolling playlist and the user just scrolls up and down to find the desired video. The playlist can be an xml file, easy to update or edit.
One advantage of the player/playlist is that everything is in one browser window and the window itself requires no scrolling, only the playlist in the player.
http://musicplayer.sourceforge.net/
for a very plain looking player... but you get the idea.
Here's a custom player from my site:
http://www.cidigitalmedia.com/video.html
While not exactly tree structure, there is a heading then indents for sub categories.
Actually for tutorials in my library, I use a special, larger player, 640 X 480, for use offline also. I wanted the larger size because often the tutorials will display code in them and at the smaller size, the code is hard to read or even distorted.
However, if all you want is for the .swf to open full page when clicked, just link the text directly to the swf and in a blank (new) window.
<a href="tutorial.swf" target="_blank">play this .swf</a>
keep in mind that unless you match the original dimensions of the tutorial, the quality may be degraded and the images distorted. So displaying a 480 X 360 tutorial out over the full screen will really degrade the quality and may make fine details in the tutorial very blurry and unreadable.
Anyway, wishing you well on your project,
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com

[kiwiken]

Hi Eye for Video,
Thank you for your reply, yes the tree menu on the first page is needed and due to the size of the video's(1024X798) they need to open on another page.
When the video opens, I want to have the control so I can pause, stop and rewind the video as I follow along with the tutorial.
That is why I need to be able to send the file name of the video from the first page to the embedded player on the second page.
I know I have to send it as a variable in the link e.g H:/Tutorials/test.html?video_id=2008c2t001.
What I can't work out is how to get the movie_id into the embedded player.
Thanking you,
Ken :(

[Eye for Video]

What size monitor are you viewing these tuts on?
EfV

[kiwiken]

I'm using a 19in monitor and when i play one of the video's if takes up the whole screen, just as the program the tutorial is about would.

Ken.

[Eye for Video]

So your controls will have to be over the top of the video, since the video takes up the whole screen, correct? Do you have the player to do that?
EfV

[kiwiken]

I've attached a screen shot of what I'm trying to do.I was hoping to use the player that I took the screen shot with. I can get it to play different video's by playing around with the script, but can't get it to play different videos from the links on page one.
Also it only works with ie and it throws up an alert about active content and do I want to allow it.

Ken

[Eye for Video]

Well just thinking out loud here...
Have you actually placed the player into a Web page and tested a few tuts? I'm just thinking about how the address bar and width constrain of the Web browser may cause horizontal and/or vertical scroll bars to appear. With the player you are now using having the controls at the very bottom that would be a real problem if you had to scroll down to get at the controls. If you have to shrink the player to prevent scrolling, just be sure to maintain the same aspect ratio.
For testing purposes, if you place the player on the bottom of your menu page, do all the links work? I mean so that you don't have to manually change the script every time you want to view a different tutorial? Seems like it might be a good idea to get that far first.
How to transfer the data (file name) to page two... hummm??? I have no idea if .js can do this, you may have to look for a server side solution. In the same way that ...oh say.. a comment form is handled. Page one, the form sends data to a file on the server which processes the form and then returns an answer to page two.
You may also want to look into Flash local shared object as a way of saving the file selection as a sort of cookie when moving to page two. Google for more info.
Or, maybe there's a real easy way with .js .....!!
Anyway, best of luck to ya,
EfV