Hi there,
I've been playing around with the theming functions of Views and I constructed a very simple theme for a View. I call it: Flash XML Viewer.
Basically what you do is construct a regular block view and choose 'Flash: XML Viewer' from the type select. Then you define your filters and sorting order (fields and arguments will not be used for this view). Not sure if exposed filters will work, haven't tested, just built this module this morning.
Finally you enable the block, and Voila, you get a little Flash block that shows the nodes in your query with a nice fade-in/fade-out effect.
Demonstration of the module available here.
There are a couple of things I am unclear on how to handle.
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My module copies a lot of code from the audio module's views bonus pack plugin. Does this plugin support multiple audio blocks on the same page? I haven't tested it, but my gut instinct tells me no.
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How can I allow users to pass parameters to my module (like the length of time between fade-ins/fade-outs, the background color, etc...)? Is this what arguments are for?
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Is there a policy on how to include .fla files as part of a project? It's pretty clear to me that my Flash skills are pretty rudimentary and someone else may want to pick up where I left off.
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Is this a useful enough general purpose enough to bother posting as a module?
Dave
Comments
Neat :)
That's pretty cool. I don't know anything about Flash. Do you need some external program to make that work?
I don't have answers to your questions, unfortunately.
Michelle
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Included Flash file
There are several types of Flash files, .fla and .swf are two examples. .fla files are "published" into .swf files which are used in the browser.
This module would include a very basic flash file, including the original code in the form of a .fla file. One could then open up the .fla file in the Adobe Flash editor (or FlashDevelop or something similar) and edit/theme the Flash box.
When the module produces its block, it includes the .swf file on the page.
Dave
So this is actually like the
So this is actually like the Views Slideshow module, right?
Can this be module be extended to answer the SVG need we discussed?
SVG Slideshow
I guess the effect is the same to the end user, except the process is a bit different. This module uses Flash to display the content, the Views Slideshow uses jQuery + HTML/CSS.
I'm not exactly sure how to convert a View of an SVG into a slideshow, but I can see that it is possible. Deng takes the url of the SVG file and loads the file 'on-the-fly'.
The code as I've written it is not at all suitable for viewing a slideshow of SVG files as my script is quite simple. That being said, the Deng project provides their source code and I'm willing to provide mine, and a merger (of sorts) of our basic Flash viewers should be possible.
Dave
I'm thinking not even as a
I'm thinking not even as a slideshow. Just being able to tell Views:
Take an SVG file (maybe CCK file) and render as Flash - is what I had in mind.
Not views
I don't think this is what Views is for. I think of Views as a way of organizing my content into groups of my choosing.
However it should be possible to create a form element to do this, and from there a CKK field.
Dave