I require a standalone? Flash object that:
1. Accepts input from an Excel spreadsheet containing a list of terms and definitions.
2.? Displays any or all of those terms and definitions -- based on a call from an? HTML-style hyperlink -- in a dictionary-style format.
I will accept either the standalone object itself, or an executable? utility that is able to create such an object. The tools I have are Flash CS3 Professional and SwishMax.
## Deliverables
The object itself is intended for use as an interactive glossary/dictionary. It will be used to display terms and definitions in an HTML/JavaScript-based environment (actually SCORM 2004, but very little SCORM knowledge is necessary...more on that later). The finished object must be standalone, and must not rely on outside resources -- database, internet connection, etc. -- to function.
The display layout will be based on the included screenshots. The layout of the term and definition should be self-explanatory. The speaker icon is a clickable button that, when pressed, plays an audio pronunciation of that term. The tabs visible in Example 2, which divide the terms into pages by the first letter of the term, will only be necessary when more than 20 terms are displayed at once.
I must be able to create multiple versions of this object, with different terms and definitions in each, and save them independently. The list of terms and definitions will come from a spreadsheet formatted like the one attached. Terms are delimited from definitions by colons (:). For the audio files,? the object should allow me to specify a folder (for example, "C:\Documents\LCMSGuy\Audio") that contains the MP3 or WAV files for the pronunciations. Each audio file will be named? for the corresponding term (i.e., the pronunciation for term "diversity" will be named either "[login to view URL]" or "[login to view URL]").? ?
The default display should be every term from the input. It should also be able to display specific terms that I select, individually or in groups, based on variables contained in either a link from another page, or JavaScript *EMBED* code. **This will be the only part that requires any SCORM knowledge.** In SCORM, each object is assigned a unique ID number called a GUID, and links to that object reference the GUID instead of a URL.? Here is an example link to a Flash (swf) object from a SCORM page:
<A href="javascript: originalAttribute="href" originalPath=""javascript:" if (NewMedia) {NewMedia('001143D70F3F102D9543020800001529', '1');} else if (opener && [login to view URL]) {[login to view URL]('001143D70F3F102D9543020800001529', '1');}">SAMPLE LINK</A>
And here is that same object using *EMBED* to put it directly on a page:
<EMBED style="WIDTH: 47px; HEIGHT: 26px" src="MediaServer?id=001143D70F3F102D9543020800001529" originalAttribute="src" originalPath="MediaServer?id=001143D70F3F102D9543020800001529" width=30 height=30 type=application/x-shockwave-flash>
In these examples, 001143D70F3F102D9543020800001529 is the object's GUID. I do not know how to pass variables to a Flash object in SCORM, but I am assured that it is possible to do so; this will require some research on the coder's part. Using a link like the one above, I should be able to link to the object such that it will display a single term, or any combination of terms that I choose.
The final requirement is the other tricky part: the finished object must NOT give the end user access to input, edit, or otherwise modify the terms, definitions and audio files. All buttons, menu commands, etc. that are used for this purpose MUST be able to be hidden before a version of the object is saved. For that reason, I leave it to the coder to decide whether this can be accomplished in a single Flash object (given that I can edit Flash files in CS3 Professional or SwishMax), or whether an executable Object Creator is required.
If you have any questions, please don't hesistate to ask. Thank you for consideration of my project.
* * *This broadcast message was sent to all bidders on Thursday Sep 25, 2008 12:21:31 PM:
Addendum: I've been reminded that you can't import Excel documents into Flash. Using Excel 2007, I can export the worksheet as an XML document. I have no problems with doing so.