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Optimizing a Flash Movie

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13. Additional Compression

The more you compress something the more processing power it takes to open the file back up again. In general things which go Internet should be compressed as much as possible as the computers processor is almost always faster than the speed that a modem takes to download the file.

In the Publish settings Flash offers additional compression to all of the above. If your Flash movie is going online I suggest you use it. I have never noticed any additional reduction of quality by using this additional compression. The total file size can be reduced by up to a massive 20% !!

If you are in Test mode go back to Flash's normal edit mode.

1. Go to: File > Publish Settings
2. Tick the Flash Selection Box:
3. Go to the: Flash Tab
4. Select Compress Movie:
5. Click on: Publish
6. Click on: OK

When you have done this Flash does not tell you how much smaller the Shockwave (swf) file has become. You need to do that manually. Make a note of the file size before changing the settings, make the change, and then re-publish. Have another look at the file size. You can check the file size in any file management program such as My Computer. Make sure that when you return to check the size after you have made the changes that the information being displayed in the file management program has been up-dated. If need be close the program and then re-open it.

This is true for all the compression settings available in Publish Settings: Sound and Jpeg compression.

With a little care you should now be able to create the sleekest, meanest Flash movies online !!  Enjoy.