XML File Input

We recommend using the flvPlayerPRO with an external XML file as this will allow for greater flexibility and updating options. Most aspects of the flvPlayerPRO can be controlled through this single XML file. This allows you to publish the SWF file once and reconfigure the component whenever you wish. You can change features such as the playlist, playing options or the thumbnails.

Setting up the Flash file

1. First setup your flash file by following steps 1 to 4 in the Basic tutorial (ensure you do not follow the later steps as these are not required when using XML.)

2. Select your FlvPlaylist component that is on the stage and press Ctrl+F3 (Windows) or Cmnd+F3 (Mac) to open the properties panel. Click the parameters tab or view the Component Inspector. Locate the XML File parameter and enter a name for your XML file, for example, playlist.xml

3. Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmnd+S (Mac) to save your file.

Building the XML file

4. Open your favourite plain text editor (for example Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac) and start a new file.

5. Begin your file with the following line:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

This is the standard xml declaration.

6. Add the following lines to your xml file. (The bold lines are the new additions)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>



<FlvPlayer>

	<playlist>

	</playlist>

</FlvPlayer>

The FlvPlayer element is the root node of the XML file. All other elements exist inside this element.

The playlist element will contain all the information about your movies.

7. Make the following addition to your file to add a FLV to your playlist. (The addition is highlighted in bold.)

Example without streaming server:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FlvPlayer>
	<playlist>
		<item>
			<file>myfile.flv</file>
			<title>Example1</title>
			<thumbnail>mythumb.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example File</description>
		</item>

	</playlist>

</FlvPlayer>

Example with streaming server (flvPlayerPRO-Stream only):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FlvPlayer>
	<playlist>
		<item>
			<file>myfile</file>
			<title>Example1</title>
			<thumbnail>mythumb.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example File</description>
			<server>rtmp://rtmphost.com/appname</server>
		</item>

	</playlist>

</FlvPlayer>

The item element and the elements contained within it defines a movie to be added to your playlist.

The file element contains the path and the filename of the the flv file. When using a streaming server, the file name should be entered without the .flv extension.

The title element contains the title you wish to give your movie.

The thumbnail element refers to the location of an image to use as a thumbnail for your movie.

The description element contains a brief description of your movie.

The server element contains the path to the streamining server followed by a slash ("/") and the application instance name.

8. You can add additional FLVs to your component's playlist by adding more item elements as follows. (New additions are highlighted in bold.)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FlvPlayer>
	<playlist>
		<item>
			<file>example1.flv</file>
			<title>Example1</title>
			<thumbnail></thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album1...</description>
		</item>
		<item>
			<file>example2.flv</file>
			<title>Example2</title>
			<thumbnail>example2.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album2...</description>
		</item>
		<item>
			<file>example3.flv</file>
			<title>Example3</title>
			<thumbnail>example3.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album3...</description>
		</item>

	</playlist>

</FlvPlayer>

9. You can specify the properties of your playlist by adding the the following attributes to your playlist element. (As before the changes are highlighted in bold.)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FlvPlayer>
	<playlist repeat="false" shuffle="false" autoplay="true" distance="5">
		<item>
			<file>example1.flv</file>
			<title>Example1</title>
			<thumbnail>example1.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album1...</description>
		</item>
		<item>
			<file>example2.flv</file>
			<title>Example2</title>
			<thumbnail>example2.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album2...</description>
		</item>
		<item>
			<file>example3.flv</file>
			<title>Example3</title>
			<thumbnail>example3.jpg</thumbnail>
			<description>Example Album3...</description>
		</item>

	</playlist>

</FlvPlayer>

The repeat attribute indicates whether the playlist should loop once the component has reached its end.

The shuffle attribute indicates whether the playlist should be randomized before being played.

The autoplay attribute indicates whether the playlist should start to play immediately after the component has initialized.

The distance attribute sets the distance between 2 items in pixels.

10. Save your XML to the same location/folder as your .fla and .swf, giving it the same name that you specified in step 2 (playlist.xml).

11. Return to Flash and press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Cmnd+Enter (Mac) to test your file. You should see your movies playing.