I am creating a movie in Flash MX which I want to copy onto CD Rom. I'd like the CD to be compatible with both PC and Mac so that it is accessible to everyone. I would also like to publish the Flash movie as an executable file so that the user doesn't need to have shockwave player installed to view the movie.
I have managed to publish for PC (publishing to a .exe file) and this works on my PC. But I'm not sure how to publish for Mac. I'm told I need to create a hqx file - is this correct? Would yo ube able to help me to make sure my CD Rom will be accessible to all users?
Thank you very much in anticipation.
Rachel
Answer Hello Rachel,
The Flash projector side of the job is not difficult, you just need to publish your Flash animation as a Window projector, and once as a Macintosh projector (a hqx file as you say). There is choices in Publish settings in Flash to obtain both files.
The not so easy part if to create the cdrom with bootable partition both for Mac and Pc.
MacImage (http://www.macdisk.com) claims to be the only software that can create a hybrid CD from the Windows platform. The de facto hybrid CD maker on Macs is Adaptec's Toast application.
A great way to find information about how to create hybrid CDs is to search for the following from Google:
"HFS ISO Hybrid CD"
HFS (or HFS+) is the Mac CD format. ISO 9660 is the PC format that supports long filenames.
Creating a Hybrid CD Using MacImage
1. Fire up MacImage.
You'll see a blank Explorer-style window. The default mode is hybrid. You're ready to go.
2. Copy over your files.
Drag your files from Windows Explorer and drop them anywhere onto MacImage. You can set files to only show up on the Mac or PC side by right-clicking on them and setting their appearance appropriately. By default, the files you drop will show up on both Mac and PC.
3. Compile the ISO file.
MacImage doesn't actually do the burning; you'll have to fire up Easy CD Creator or DiscJuggler (or whatever your favorite CD writing software is) in order to do that. What MacImage does is compile a .ISO file, which is a CD disc image.
Burning ISO Files Using Easy CD Creator
1. Click Create CD From Disk Image.
Navigate to your saved .ISO file and open it. Be sure to set the file type from .CSF to .ISO so your .ISO files show up!
2. Set your options and Burn.
Set your options just as you normally would. When the burning is complete, you'll have your hybrid CD.
Hey What About Autorun?
Autorun under Win32:
Win32 OS'es look for the file autorun.ini. Below are some examples of autorun.ini file formats.
Will open MyProg.exe upon loading. The icon embedded within MyProg.exe will represent the CD:
[autorun]
open=MyProg.exe
icon=MyProg.exe
Open MyProg.exe, the CD name in Explorer will be "My Cool Program":
[autorun]
open=MyProg.exe
icon=MyIcon.ico
label=My Cool Program
Open an HTML page upon insert. Only works with IE5+, Win2K, WinNT, etc:
[autorun]
shellexecute=info.htm
You can adapt these, or download a free autorun creation utility from download.com.
Autorun under MacOS:
Autorunning under MacOS is a little trickier. It has to do with the actual formatting of the disc. MacImage handles this automatically. Just right-click on the file you wish to make autorun (from the HFS view!!), and set it to autorun.
