Making an AutoRun CD	Home • Food • Mates • Members • Tutorials • Forum • Buy Templates • Contact Us

Flash Tutorial - Making an Auto Run CD

Access: Free Tutorial

Making a Flash Movie that will Auto Run when you create a CD is remarkably easy. AutoRun is a feature that enables CD to start a program automatically. If you want to create a Flash Movie that runs automatically from a CD you would use the AutoRun feature. You simply have to add  a small file to the CD at the time when you burn your CD. On Windows is made by putting an INF file in the parent directory of the CD. This tutorial explains the few simple steps you need to achieve this.

Note: The AutoRun feature can be disabled on each individual computers and these machines an AutoRun-enabled CD will not automatically launch.

This tutorial describes how to do this on a PC.

Step One: Full Screen Option

1. It you want your Flash Movie to run in full screen mode place this ActionScript in frame 1 of you Flash Movie:
   
   
   fscommand("fullscreen", true);

   Note: This full screen mode will only work when you are running the Flash Movie from your local computer (like from a CD) and will not work if the Movie is viewed on the Internet.

Step Two: Publishing your Flash Movie

1. Create a Flash Movie or open the Flash Movie that you want to use place on the CD.
2. If your file name has spaces in it re-save it so the spaces are removed: File > Save As
3. Go to: File > Publish Settings (Short Cut Key: Ctrl + Shift + F12)
4. Select: Windows Projector (.exe) Nothing else needs to be selected.
5. Click: Publish

   Note: This will create a file with the same name as the original Flash Movie except it will be called OriginalName.exe It will also be in the same location or folder as your original Flash Movie such as the Desktop or My Documents etc. You need to know the location of this file.
   
   The exe file it creates contains the Flash Movie and the Flash Player. This file is executable. That means that Windows can start the file like a program. All the instructions are included in the exe file. This does not mean that it will Auto Start - only that if you ask it to start Windows will do.

Step Three: Creating the AutoRun CD

1. Open your favourite Text Editor such as Windows Notepad. It is normally located at: Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad

   Note: This may differ on some PCs.
   

2. Type the following:

   [autorun]
   open=myFlashFile.exe
   icon=myIcon.ico
   
   Note: Replace myFlashFile with the name of your file!! Do not use spaces in the file name. Windows is not normally case sensitive - but why take the risk - stick to the same case as your Flash Movie.
   
   The line icon=myIcon.ico is to display an icon that you might have. If you do not have an icon do not use this line. The myIcon section should be replaced with the same name as your icon.
   
   If you want to make an Icon you cannot normally use standard image editing programs like PhotoShop. Go to one of the shareware sites such as shareware.com and search for an Icon Maker. You should be able to find a freebie program that will make your icon file for you.
   
   

3. Save the file with the name: autorun.inf
   
4. Burn your CD with the following files in the root directory (NOT in a folder):

   autorun.inf
   myFlashFile.exe
   myIcon.ico
   
   

   Now all that is left to do is test your CD! And testing is important. In my experience home made CD are not reliable. Always test it before giving it to a client or showing off in front of your friends!! As a general rule of thumb home made CDs will normally be more reliable when played in a CD Read Writer than in a normal CD Rom or DVD drive.