Zinc and pano2vr

Using Pano2VR/Object2VR SWF files with your own Flash projects
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Smourt
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:15 am

Hello

I need help incorporating pano2vr flash files into a (combined) projector file (using Zinc) which would incorporate 10 panos...

Does anyone offer the service of developing the script for this?

I bought Zinc thinking it would serve my needs but it requires some script... so this is the method I want to pursue...

Regards,

Stephan
erik leeman
Posts: 470
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:51 am
Contact:

I just had a first quick glance at Zinc, and it looks like you need a fullblown Flash development tool (like Adobe Flash Professional) to first build a .swf file that contains not only your own content, but also special 'Zinc' code.
Only then can Zinc turn that .swf into an autonomous executable application.
So using Pano2VR Flash .swf's directly appears to be completely impossible with Zinc, you need to fabricate a dedicated 'man in the middle' .swf that contains the necessary Zinc script and loads the external panorama .swf's.

But can it do that at all?
The Zinc website claims:
With Zinc™ 3.0, your Flash Applications can host virtually any Video Format Files (AVI*, Mpeg*, QuickTime, Real*), PDF Documents and even local or online HTML Webpages. Load external media directly inside your Projector exactly where you want it. * Windows Only
But nowhere (as far as I can see) does it say it can load and play external Flash files.
Or can it?

Erik

edit: Correction, it looks like it can indeed load and play external .swf's, although there seem to be some details that need special attention:
http://www.multidmedia.com/support/live ... %ACpage=33
Smourt
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:15 am

Erik!!!

I really appreciate you looking into that for me!!!
I think this is way over my head...

Regards,

Stephan
erik leeman
Posts: 470
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:51 am
Contact:

Maybe I can adapt one of the preloaders I already made for Pano2VR .swf's to work with Zinc.
I need to find time for that, so I cannot promise you anything at this stage.
And I'll have to be able to use a demo version of Zink, I am not going to buy it just to try it.

Zink appears to be a useful (but rather expensive) tool for experienced Flash developers with a very specific purpose that cannot be met using 'normal' Flash developing programs. That makes it totally and utterly unsuited for the average (intended) Pano2VR user.

Erik
Smourt
Posts: 170
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:15 am

Not to worry then Erik.

Thanks so much for looking into it in anycase.

I have a few other ideas regards projector files... I am sure one of them will pano (pun intended) out...

Regards,

Stephan
erik leeman
Posts: 470
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:51 am
Contact:

Just did some initial tests with a demoversion of ZINC, and at least the basics work, which is nice.

Pano2VR panos as such work with ZINC, and using local addresses the hotspots work as well.
So switching from pano to pano works fine (so far).

Then I tried to use a preloader which loads two local panos on top of each other with a slider to control opacity of the layers, and it worked also.
This is pretty complicated Flash stuff, so things look good indeed.

Some skin elements like the standard loading progress bar do not work as they should, with other elements I see no problems.

Now I'll have to find out if packing of a series of pano files into the .exe goes to plan, and if the hotspots still work after unpacking them into a TEMP directory.

I'll keep you posted.

Erik
erik leeman
Posts: 470
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:51 am
Contact:

Great success so far!

First I made two interlinking Pano2VR Flash panos with hotspot location URL's in my local TEMP directory.

Then I built a Flash preloader that loads one of those panoramas from that local TEMP directory,
Into the AS3 code of that preloader I also included ZINC code to unpack/extract those two panos into that same TEMP directory.

As a last step I let ZINC make an .exe file from the Flash preloader, and into that .exe file I also added both pano files.

Result:
When I double-click on that .exe file, it first unpacks/extracts both Pano2VR panoramas into my (empty) TEMP directory,
and then it opens one of those panoramas in a window, so you can pan it around etc. like normal.
If you click on the hotspot for the second panorama, it is loaded to replace the first one.
A click on the hotspot in the second panorama brings you back to the first one, all as we are used to.

Wonderful!

Now I'll have to find out how to 'wildcard' the user's TEMP directory in the hotspot address.
At the moment I have no idea how to do that yet....

Erik
kellyj994
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2010 2:23 am

erik leeman wrote:I just had a first quick glance at Zinc, and it looks like you need a fullblown Flash development tool (like Adobe Flash Professional) to first build a .swf file that contains not only your own content, but also special 'Zinc' code.
Only then can Zinc turn that .swf into an autonomous executable application.
So using Pano2VR Flash .swf's directly appears to be completely impossible with Zinc, you need to fabricate a dedicated 'man in the middle' .swf that contains the necessary Zinc script and loads the external panorama .swf's.

But can it do that at all?
The Zinc website claims:
With Zinc™ 3.0, your Flash Applications can host virtually any Video Format Files (AVI*, Mpeg*, QuickTime, Real*), PDF Documents and even local or online HTML Webpages. Load external media directly inside your Projector exactly where you want it. * Windows Only
But nowhere (as far as I can see) does it say it can load and play external Flash files.
Or can it?

Erik

edit: Correction, it looks like it can indeed load and play external .swf's, although there seem to be some details that need special attention:
http://www.multidmedia.com/support/live ... %ACpage=33
Great post! It's very nice. Thank you so much for your post.
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