I want to ba able to move stuff...

[Sawyer]

A client has asked me if I can create a self opening cd that not only shows the images (or animation) but where they can move furniture on and off the screen. This would be a self contained application where you could look at the floor plan and then move a couch around or add a rug. Stuff like that. How is that done?

 

 

Thanks

[Ernest Burden III]

Autorun should work on just about any PC (but not necessarily a Mac).

 

There may be a number of ways to do the other part, but my first thought is Flash. Making various parts of the design flash elements would allow them to be moved about, removed, etc., but it would require someone who is good at writing Flash.

 

So the whole thing could be a 'webpage' that is launched locally off the CD. It could even be a website, so you don't even NEED the CD.

[Sawyer]

Interesting I had not thought about a web page but seems like it would work.

[Tommy L]

Director mx would do that. Tricky to learn but wicked for writing interactive cds / dvds.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

Quicktime controls autorun on Mac, a .bat file controls it on a Windows machine. But, there is an optio where the user can disable autorun on cd's, but typically only advanced users would do this.

 

On a Windows machine, only a .exe or similar file can be auto launched. A .html file can not be autolaunched without the help of an assistor application. In the past i have used this app... http://www.trah.co.uk/starterfile/ ..but i am sure there are similar ones out there, that are either freeware or shareware.

 

As for creating the auctual cd. To make it autoplay on both Mac and Windows, you will need to create a 'hybrid' cd. This basically formats half the CD in Mac format, and half in Windows format. I have not created one of these since the advant of OSX, so this may have changed. In the past I used Toast for Macintosh to create CD's in Hybrid format.

 

Flash is probably going to be your best bet. It is a helluva lot easier to learn than Director.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

...looking through my notes, i just found this info that i saved on how to autostart on mac, and create a cross platform autostart cd.

[tcorbett]

I agree with Tommy & Crazy -

 

Flash or Director/Shockwave is the way to go for interactive. Which to choose depends on your goals. Here is a quick comparison to help you decide.

 

Flash:

PROS: It's great, cheaper, quicker, and smaller file sizes. It's cross platform and the plugin is already installed on 95% of computers out there.

CONS: It has a significant learning curve, and does not feature good 3D capabilities.

RECOMMENDED USAGE: Render your components individually, and use layering of graphics linked to buttons to swap / reposition scene elements. Result is a 2D image of a 3D scene - no animation moving through the space.

 

Director / Shockwave:

PROS: Awesome 3D capabilities, more robust programming capabilities.

CONS: Costs more, plug-in is not as ubiquitous, MASSIVE ULTRA-STEEP learning curve, Real-time 3D only available for PC platform.

RECOMMENDED USAGE: User navigates a real-time walkthrough, and can interact with elements to add, delete, position, and alter room decor.

 

In either of these cases, my ultimate recommendation would be:

 

If you have not worked with Flash or Director before, consider outsourcing this aspect of the project to a company with experience in this.

 

Good luck!

[Frosty]

Flash and Director can also each create self contained apps out of your files.... think of them as files with the viewer app built in.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

for autorunning files.....

 

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/autorun.html

[Sawyer]

Thanks everyone. Quite honestly a bit of that info went over my head, but I think I would like to learn flash at some point. Where can I pick up the software? Thanks.