multimedia ?

[AngryBob]

hey-sorry this doesnt relate to security but i figured some of you could help me

i need to create a multimedia presentation...i need to have someone pop in a cd and have the presentation start...what program should i create the presentation in? i was thinking flash but i dont know if that can autorun especially if people dont have flash plugin installed on their computer. please help!!!

[avdven]

What's your budget? InstallShield has a program that'll do that called DemoShield. A lot of professional packages include it. Also, you can use Microsoft PowerPoint. There's a plugin (don't remember the name, though), which will let you you package your presentation and PowerPoint Viewer (available from the Microsoft site) on a CD. Then, if you write an autorun.inf file, when someone inserts the CD, it will automatically run the presentation if they have PowerPoint, or install the Viewer and then run the PowerPoint presentation. If you need more info on this, I can try to look up the info. Just PM me.

AJ

[(V)/\><]

you might be able to write a batch file that would launch an app, or use a program like AutoRun, AutoPlay MenuStudio, CDStartit or CD Menu Pro to make an autostarting cd. but naturally its gonna depend on the other computer having autoinsert notification turned on.
and to create the presentation, you can't go wrong with MSPowerPoint, easy to use. or swish, that makes flash easy, and there is a tut posted here on using swish. if you make a flash movie, you can easily make a cd autorun to open a html page that your flash presentation is in. put a file called autorun.inf in the cds root and put in it something like this

[autorun]
ICON=dkhtml.ico
OPEN=index.html

use a cdrw first tho, incase i got the code wrong

hope this helped.eof(max)

edit: sorry avdven, your post wasn't there when i went to write this.

[Tedob1]

the most common one used is powerpoint, if your presentations are being given to biz types, i think most of them will be equiped to view it. It makes some nice print outs to use as hand outs and really look professional.

Youd have to make an autorun.inf file to have it autostart:

[autorun]
OPEN=MyPresentation.ppt

Its also possible to make a presentation that will run on boxs that don't have powerpoint installed.

[AngryBob]

thanks! i read somewhere that 95% of people have the flash plugin- and i know flash a bit so i think thats a safe bet? most of the people getting this presentation are in the IT field so i imagine that its safe to say theyll have it.

[RavenLrD20k]

If you have the money or don't need the program for very long... (unless you can... uh... borrow it for an extended period of time), you can download a 30 day trial version of Macromedia's Authorware (that quite possibly can be hacked to full version if you can find the hacks). Although the tools inside Authorware are substandard and more basic than M$Paint, it can incorporate images, animations, and graphics from other apps quite well. Ultimately the presentations can be multi-path tutorials and more professional looking and more controlled by the developer than anything I've seen coming out of powerpoint (although I do admit that I've not used powerpoint for a few years now so I currently don't know what all it is capable of anymore. While Powerpoint 2k may be much easier and intuitive to use, I find it pales in comparison to what Authorware can create using external tools. Anyone able to expain Powerpoint XP as to what improvements were made?)

Basically Authorware is just a conjoining tool to create standalone executables that run Flash apps, put up any kind of graphic, and can create little interactive spots such as Quizes, Interactive Tutorials and other things. But like I said, work fast, be willing to shell out major bucks for an otherwise sub-standard development program, or be willing to take the "dishonest" route and crack it open for long term free usage.

Should I also mention that Macromedia tries to rip you off at $245 USD per licence just for Authorware?

[omin]

If you are using flash or shockwave (Director) then you can package the files as a .exe which includes the flash/shockwave player as part of the file so no need to install it seperatly. The .exe can, of course, be run from an autorun.inf file as mentioned by (V)/\><.

[autorun]
OPEN="whatevermyfileis.exe"

The line starting ICON that is mentioned above is if you want a custom icon and would need a corresponding .ico file on your cd.

[(V)/\><]

The line starting ICON that is mentioned above is if you want a custom icon and would need a corresponding .ico file on your cd.

ty, i can't believe i never explained that line. *kicks himself in ass* i deserved that.