XWD6 - Pre-loaders and Progress Bars

Like a lot of folks, I used to think that pre-loaders with percentage-already-loaded displays or indicators were carefully constructed by programmers to prevent a program from running until a particular file or files necessary to the running of the program had been loaded but come to find out that in many cases, preloaders are just tacked on to a program to distract or entertain the viewer while a program loads without regard to measuring anything and calculating exact times.

My layman's understanding of pre-loaders is that they are analagous to the opening act of stage show. The act quickly comes out on stage to keep the audience from squirming in their seats while the main act gets ready to perform. In some cases, the opening act is actually entertaining but in other cases its just something that show promoters think necessary.

Like many people who create websites nowadays, I'm not a programmer in the strict sense. I wouldn't know how to create code that precisely calculates when a website has loaded all the files it needs in order to run without skipping or failing to show images, etc. What I would do is look for some kind of prefabricated script that I could add to mywebsite.html which would allow me to adjust the time before the website actually runs. Such a program would also offer me a choice of preloader styles and allow me to customize the styles by adding my own text information and/or graphics.

O.K., I have gone to Dogpile, done a search of pre-loaders and find any number of companies offering packaged pre-loaders so this tells me that people are purchasing these and possibly adding them to websites they have created after the fact once they have discovered that they need something that will keeper viewers with short attention spans from immediately switching "the Internet channel" at the first sign of slow loading. I am seeing more and more sites with preloaders and not sites necessarily created exclusively with Flash.

In reading the forums, I note that lots of people are adding additional scripting into Xara web design program html placeholders. They are also added Flash and having the programs call (I don't know the proper word) external widgets. Logic tells me that these additions must be slowing down the loading of their websites to some degree. I know that when I change my website and then immediately go look at the changes on-line to see how the site looks, lots of images and features are missing and don't appear until some time has passed.

Questions:
1. How does one test their web site to know if they need a pre-loader?
2. How would one add a pre-loader to a completed XWD6 website after the fact?
3. If, for example, I were to create a simple Flash pre-loader of my own design in Xara Xtreme 4 or SwishMiniMax3, which I already own, how would I add myflashpreloader.html and myflashpreloader.swf to mywebsite.html or mywebsite.web?
4. Would it not be advantageous to Xara users for the company to provide a few user-configurable preloaders with its web creation software?
5. Are some web site creators using pre-loaders when pre-loaders aren't really necessary? As attention getters rather than timers?

A few reasons that I would prefer to design my own pre-loader is:
1. the ability to match pre-loader colors with those of my website
2. to show a small matching website logo in advance of the loaded site
3. to not go to the expense of purchasing additional software when I already have capable software

Unsuccessful attempts:
I created a blank page in XWD6 and moved it up so that it preceded the first page of my web site but I could not figure out how to tell the page to advance to the main page of my site once a Flash pre-loader with Progress Bar (included with SwishMiniMax3) showed 100% loaded. The 100% had no bearing in fact. It was whatever timing the pre-loader creator had scripted into the component. If I had to, I suppose I could figure out how to increase or decrease the time.

I also did not necessarily want a Xara full page loader with a white screen. My website background is black (shades of velvet Elvis paintings). All I really wanted was a small, black rectangle large enough for a progress bar with my website logo atop the bar. I'm talking maybe 1.5" in height and 3" max in width.

Surely I can't be the only one who has wondered about this but I cannot find anything in the Xara web designer forums or XWD6 Help File that discuss pre-loaders. I've looked under loader, preloader, progress bar and in the Help section specifically dealing with the creation of Flash animation.

Search "html redirect" that should give you some ideas.

You can use a placeholder and html code to redirect to another page after a set number of seconds - However, pages load at different rates on different machines, so that wouldn't work correctly on most peoples systems. You need to be able to make the redirect work after the page reads 100%.

After a little research, I've found the following suggestion that may help:

In the last frame of the flash movie attach a getURL action to send the browser to the desired page i.e. getURL("http://www.wherever.com");
__________________

Keith-

Thanks for taking the time to respond and offer suggestions. I'm sure that some people have been be put off by the length of my post.

I'm gonna try to run with your getURL suggestion. It seems the most promising... "In the last frame of the flash movie attach a getURL action to send the browser to the desired page i.e. getURL("http://www.wherever.com");"

Swish has that getURL Flash command. Only thing is, Swish presumes that you will be creating your entire website in Flash using only their products so loader samples are constructed to be placed in the first scene of your Swish Flash creation. When the loader gets to 100% in the first scene, it triggers the second scene which is the start of your Swish Flash website. When you save your Swish creation, you get an index.html file and a corresponding swf file. In other words, myswishcreation.html and myswishcreation.swf.

I will need to get with the Swishzone forum folks to see how to modify the loader script to end the script with the getURL action rather than have the loader go to a next scene.

Then, I think that all I would have to do is create two XWD6 "websites". One would consist only of the loader in a placeholder and be named index.html. The other would be the actualxwd6 website ie. actualxwd6website.html. All I would have to do is figure out the correct Magix server URL location for the getURL. Then I would place both files in the XWD6 web folder and upload them to the server. Does that sound to you like it would work?

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through when Xara could make it lots easier by offering a few easily-modified loaders that a person could just drag from the Designs Gallery and place, if they so chose to use a loader, in the first page of their website.

Still hoping that someone will discuss the need for a loader when creating XWD websites containing lots of Flash and other non-Xara programming "stuff".

Best woofs,
DogThiefGuy

Hey DTG,

Why don't you address this in the Dear Xara forum. Maybe someone from Xara will see it.

BTW, even though your post was long, I read all of it, though there were some things I didn't understand, that will come later.

Very interesting idea though.....keep thinking of ways for improvement, if we all do that, it will help Xara become the best there is to be for any web design program.

And....leave my cat alone.....:eek:

XWD6 - Maximizing a static Text Panel - Really

Karateed-

Will address loaders in the Dear Xara Forum as you suggested but first I need to make some ZZZZZZZZ's.

It's not "leave my cat alone". It's Leave My Kitten Alone recorded by Little Willie John on the King Records label in 1959. He also recorded the original R&B version of Fever made popular by Miss Peggy Lee who also recorded the Siamese Cat song. Anyway, Leave My Kitten Alone was later covered by Johnny Preston, a fellow Texan, who recorded Running Bear on the Mercury label. You really need to write all this down. It will be on the test.

Not to worry. Your cat is safe. I've only "liberated" one dog in my life and that was from someone who physically abused him. I turned him into my farm dog and had him 12 years. He passed away a few weeks ago. I was going to show you a picture of my current F.A.R.C.S. (Feline Agrarian Rodent Control Supervisor) but didn't want to chance violating forum protocol so I am instead attaching a web file which shows you how to maximize the use of a static text panel.

DogThiefGuy
http://dogthief.magix.net/public/

Now that is funny, I didn't know I was referencing a song....wonderful.

Sorry to hear about your dog....the cat (kitten) in the picture is our 19-1/2 girl, she was a sweety, she died the day before Halloween last year. A very tough day to say the least, I found out a work and could barely handle getting out of there....so I know the pain....sorry to hear for you.....

Take care.....

OK, I'll get on topic now.....

I think loaders are a great idea.....sounds like you've got a good head start on the idea for Xara.

Just posted my Feature Request to Dear Xara. Won't show until a mod approves it.

Here's 3 quickie pre-loader examples I created and attached to the post:

1. bearwifme.swf - Not user configurable in any way. User just drags one of several stock pre-loaders provided by Xara onto the first page from the XWD Designs Gallery.

2. one_hamster.swf - User can add one small static image and several lines of static text of their own choosing. User can increase/decrease speed of progress bar. User can perhaps change other parameters such as font color.

3. snack.swf - User can add one static image (.jpg, gif, png) or one swf file (animation). User can increase/decrease speed of progress bar. Text is a scrolling marquee. Speed of text can be increased or decreased. Color of text can be changed.