Dropdown Menu FX

Download the dropdown-menu.zip package, extract it and copy all the resulted files and folders in the same location as the web page in which you want the product to be displayed. As an alternative, you can copy all the resulted files and folders in a different folder.

From the downloaded package, the SWF file represents the actual product while the other files (XMLs, images) are the assets that the SWF file uses. A short explanation how SWFs and XMLs interacts can be found here.

Open the HTML file with a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) and add the following code where you want the product to be displayed:

<div id="DivDropdownMenuFX"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
 var flashvars = {};
 var params = {};
 params.base = "";
 params.scale = "noscale";
 params.salign = "tl";
 params.wmode = "transparent";
 params.allowFullScreen = "true";
 params.allowScriptAccess = "always";
 swfobject.embedSWF("DropdownMenuFX.swf", "DivDropdownMenuFX", "600", "300", "9.0.0", false, flashvars, params);
</script>

Don't forget to replace the 600 and 300 from the swfobject.embedSWF() function above with your own width and height that you specified in the settings.xml file through componentWidth and componentHeight elements. Also, don't forget to update the paths as specified in this FAQ article if you copied the product's files in a different folder.

CUSTOMIZATION

You can customize the Dropdown Menu FX using the Live Demo above and then download the dropdown-menu.zip package with the changes you've made or you can edit the settings.xml file with a text editor.

To use your own text, edit the menu.xml file with a text editor and define in each row the text, the url to go to when clicking the image, the target(_self for the same browser window or _blank for a new browser window).

Here's an example:

<item url="http://www.flashxml.net" target="_blank"><![CDATA[<mainMenu>Home</mainMenu>]]></item>

You can have as many text items as you like. To add a new item add a new row in the XML file.

Please visit our FAQ page for answers to common questions.

If you want to get rid of the flashxml.net label from the top-left corner visible in the free version you have to purchase the product and use the paid version instead.

You can see an example on how to add a product in your Wordpress article/page here and how to add it in your theme or as a widget here.

Make sure your Wordpress version is greater than 2.8 and your hosting provider is using PHP5.

1. There are two files to download:

    a. WordPress Plugin that you have to install and activate

    b. Free package

2. Create a new folder inside your wp-content folder called flashxml, inside this folder create a new one called dropdown-menu-fx and copy the content of the free package there

3. If you copied the free package to a location different than the one above, go to Dropdown Menu FX from the Settings tab in your WordPress Dashboard and update the path accordingly

4. Add [dropdown-menu-fx][/dropdown-menu-fx] where you want the Flash to show up in your post/page

5. If you want to make the Dropdown Menu FX part of your theme, edit the template files and add <?php fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code(); ?> where you want it to show up

6. Customize your Dropdown Menu FX using the Live Demo from the top of this page. Download the ZIP file and use the included settings.xml file to overwrite wp-content/flashxml/dropdown-menu-fx/settings.xml

7. To use your own texts, update the wp-content/flashxml/dropdown-menu-fx/menu.xml file accordingly

Additional settings file

To embed the Dropdown Menu FX more than once, you will need another settings file. Let's assume your new file is called settings2.xml. Add [dropdown-menu-fx settings="settings2.xml"][/dropdown-menu-fx] where you want the Flash to show up in your post/page. If you made the Flash part of your theme, add the file name as the first argument of the fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code() function call (for example <?php fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code("settings2.xml"); ?>).

Add as widget

To add the Dropdown Menu FX as a widget, go to Widgets from the Appearance tab in your WordPress Dashboard, then drag and drop the Dropdown Menu FX from Available Widgets to the widget area you want. You can specify a different settings.xml file and an alternative content for users without Adobe Flash Player from the widget's settings.

No Flash support text

To support visitors without Adobe Flash Player, you can provide alternative content by adding the text between [dropdown-menu-fx] and [/dropdown-menu-fx]. If you made the Flash part of your theme, add the text as the second argument of the fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code() function call (for example <?php fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code("", "Alternative content"); ?>).

Change WMODE

By default, the WMODE value is transparent but you can change it to window from the Dropdown Menu FX in the Settings tab in your WordPress Dashboard. For widgets, this can be done from the widget's settings. If you want to have a different WMODE value in a specific place, it can be done like this: [dropdown-menu-fx wmode="window"][/dropdown-menu-fx]. If you're using the PHP function, here's an example on: <?php fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code("", "", 0, 0, "window"); ?>.

If you have PHP4

To make it work with PHP4, add [dropdown-menu-fx width="400" height="300"][/dropdown-menu-fx] where you want the Flash to show up in your post/page. If you made the Flash part of your theme, add the width and height as the third and fourth argument of the fxdropdownmenu_echo_embed_code() function call. Don't forget to provide your own width and height values, since 400 and 300 are just examples.

Getting rid of the FlashXML.net label

To remove the FlashXML.net label from the top-left corner you'll need to buy the paid package. Once you'll do that, simply use the SWF file from the paid package to overwrite the SWF file from the wp-content/flashxml/dropdown-menu-fx/ folder.

1. Download the free package. You need to host all the included files from the package on your own domain because Facebook doesn't allow file hosting.

2. Log in to your Facebook account.

3. Search for the Static HTML: iframe tabs application and select it.

4. Click on Add Static HTML to a page button and you'll be prompted for the page where you want the app to be added.

5. Once added you'll see on the left side menu of your page a new tab with a star icon called Welcome. Click on it to edit it.

6. Add the following HTML embedding code in the text field:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/swfobject/2.2/swfobject.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var flashvars = {};
flashvars.folderPath = "http://www.yourdomain.com/product_folder/";
var params = {};
params.scale = "noscale";
params.salign = "tl";
params.wmode = "transparent";
params.allowScriptAccess = "always";
params.allowFullScreen = "true";
var attributes = {};
swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.yourdomain.com/product_folder/ProductName.swf", "DivFlashComponent", "600", "400", "9.0.0", false, flashvars, params, attributes);
</script>
<div id="DivFlashComponent"></div>

Don't forget to use your own URL for the product's location, name, width and height.

7. Click preview to see how it looks or save changes. The product is now added to the Welcome tab of your page.

8. Optional: To change the tab's name, called by default Welcome, edit your page, go to the Apps tab and click Edit Settings option next to the Static HTML: iframe tabs application to enter the name you want.

9. Optional: To make the tab your default landing tab (first thing your visitors see on your page) edit your page and go to the Manage Permissions tab and change the Default Landing Tab.

Getting rid of the FlashXML.net label

To remove the FlashXML.net label from the top-left corner you'll need to buy the paid package. Once you do that, simply use the SWF file from the paid package to overwrite the SWF file from the location where you hosted all the files from the free package.

The module is used for adding the product in one or more pages in a given position (e.g. top, bottom, sidebar) while the plugin is used for adding the product inside a specific article.

You can see an example on how to install a module in your Joomla 1.5 website here, how to install a plugin in your Joomla 1.5 website here, how to install a module in your Joomla 1.6 website here and how to install a plugin in your Joomla 1.6 website here.

Make sure your Joomla version is at least 1.5 and your hosting provider is using PHP5.

Joomla Module Instructions:

1. There are two files to download (both under GPL License):

    a. Joomla Module (version 1.5 or version 1.6, 1.7 & 2.5) that you have to install and enable

    b. Free package

2. Create a new folder inside your Joomla folder called flashxml, inside this folder create a new one called dropdownmenufx and copy the content of the free package there

3. If you copied the free package to a location different than the one above, update the Path from module's parameters accordingly

4. Customize your Dropdown Menu FX using the Live Demo from the top of this page. Download the ZIP file and use the included settings.xml file to overwrite flashxml/dropdownmenufx/settings.xml

Note that the Joomla Module can only be used once in your website.

Joomla Plugin Instructions:

1. There are two files to download (both under GPL License):

    a. Joomla Plugin (version 1.5 or version 1.6, 1.7 & 2.5) that you have to install and enable

    b. Free package

2. Create a new folder inside your Joomla folder called flashxml, inside this folder create a new one called dropdownmenufx and copy the content of the free package there

3. If you copied the free package to a location different from the one above, update the Path from plugin's parameters accordingly

4. Add {dropdownmenufx}{/dropdownmenufx} where you want the Flash to show up in your article

5. Customize your Dropdown Menu FX using the Live Demo from the top of this page. Download the ZIP file and use the included settings.xml file to overwrite flashxml/dropdownmenufx/settings.xml

6. The default name for the settings file is settings.xml, but if you want to use another file (for example settings2.xml), specify the name like this: {dropdownmenufx settings=settings2.xml}{/dropdownmenufx} where you want the component to show up in your article

7. In some cases the width and height will not be read from the settings.xml file but you can specify them like this: {dropdownmenufx width=400 height=300}{/dropdownmenufx}. Don't forget to provide your own width and height values, since 400 and 300 are just examples.

No Flash support text

To support visitors without Adobe Flash Player, you can provide alternative content by adding the text between {dropdownmenufx} and {/dropdownmenufx}.

Changing WMODE

By default, the WMODE value is transparent but you can change it to window from the module/plugin's parameters. If you want to have a different WMODE value in a specific article, it can be done like this: {dropdownmenufx wmode=window}{/dropdownmenufx}.

Getting rid of the FlashXML.net label
To remove the FlashXML.net label from the top-left corner you'll need to buy the paid package.
Once you will do that, simply use the SWF file from the paid package to overwrite the SWF file from the flashxml/dropdownmenufx/ folder.

The Dropdown Menu FX component is available for Flash CS4, CS5, CS5.5 and requires Flash Player 10 or later. To use this product in Flash you need the MXP file that is available only in the paid package.

You can see an example of how to install a component in Flash Professional here.

In this video you will see:
- how to create an instance of the component on the stage: from the Components panel (Ctrl+F7) drag & drop the component on the stage
- how to give a name to an instance for further use in ActionScript: click on the component instance on the stage and from the Properties panel (Ctrl+F3) enter a name in the text input
- how to access the properties of the component (read or modify) during different moments of your Flash application

Any property of the component could be accessed that way. The names of the properties are identical with the ones from the settings.xml file. The properties of the component can be any of these three types: Number, String, Boolean. We assume it’s intuitive of which type each property is.

Warning! Setting the parameters of the component in the Component Inspector window (Shift+F7) and in the same time having a settings.xml file populated with different values for each property, the properties from the settings.xml file will have priority (meaning that a parameter set in the Component Inspector will be ignored if that parameter is also defined in the XML file).

Maybe the most useful information consists in the events the component is dispatching. Instructions on how to catch these events can be found here.