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$Header: /home/dan/cvs/swfmill/README,v 1.12 2005/05/29 19:32:15 dan Exp $

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WHAT IS SWFMILL?

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swfmill is a tool to process Shockwave Flash(TM) (SWF) files.

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It can convert SWF from and to an XML-dialect called "swfml",

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which is closely modeled after the SWF file format.

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It also provides a libxslt-based XSL transformator that

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supports an extension ("swft") which helps with generating

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IDs for SWF objects and can import an SWF as XML using an

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XPath command (swft:document()).

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As a simple application of such functionality, swfmill can

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pack together a bunch of media files (jpeg and png images,

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other SWF movies, TrueType fonts) into an SWF as "library

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objects" for your attachMovie() pleasure.

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swfmill is a tool to process Shockwave Flash(TM) (SWF) files. It can convert

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SWF from and to an XML-dialect called "swfml", which is closely modeled after

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the SWF file format.

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It also provides a libxslt-based XSL transformator that supports an extension

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("swft") which helps with generating IDs for SWF objects and can import an SWF

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as XML using an XPath command (swft:document()).

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As a simple application of such functionality, swfmill can pack together a

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bunch of media files (jpeg and png images, other SWF movies, TrueType fonts)

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into an SWF as "library objects" for your attachMovie() pleasure.

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WARNING

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swfmill is alpha-quality software. It might well not work

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as it should. Please report your experiences if that seems

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to be the case, send in (if possible small) SWFs or patches.

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swfmill is alpha-quality software. It might well not work as it should.

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Please report your experiences if that seems to be the case, send in (if

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possible small) SWFs or patches.

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You can report bugs or contribute patches via Launchpad at

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http://bugs.launchpad.net/swfmill/+filebug

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DEPENDENCIES

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swfmill requires, and the windows binary release contains

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code from:

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libxslt/exslt

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Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg.

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my references to the SWF format were:

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Alexis' SWF Reference

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http://sswf.sourceforge.net/SWFalexref.html

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SSWF sources

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http://sswf.sourceforge.net/

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MTASC sources

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http://mtasc.org/

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Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg.

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My references to the SWF format were:

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Alexis' SWF Reference

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http://sswf.sourceforge.net/SWFalexref.html

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SSWF sources

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http://sswf.sourceforge.net/

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MTASC sources

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http://mtasc.org/

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SWF File Format Specification

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http://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/

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COMPILING AND INSTALLING

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on linux, use the "GNU-standard"

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./configure && make && make install

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on windoze, if you have use for a tool like this,

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you know better than me where to put swfmill.exe.

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On Linux, use the "GNU-standard"

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./configure && make && make install

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On Windows, if you have use for a tool like this, you know better than me

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where to put swfmill.exe.

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USAGE

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see swfmill -h for general usage options.

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convert an SWF (foo.swf) to XML:

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swfmill swf2xml foo.swf bar.xml

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swfmill swf2xml foo.swf bar.xml

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convert such XML to SWF:

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swfmill xml2swf bar.xml meep.swf

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swfmill xml2swf bar.xml meep.swf

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SIMPLE SWFML DIALECT

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for library generation, and probably other fun swf

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construction, swfmill supports a simplified XML

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dialect. to create a library swf that includes some

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assets, construct an XML file that looks like this:

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>

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<frame>

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</library>

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<font id="vera" import="library/vera.ttf"

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glyphs="abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"/>

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</frame>

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</movie>

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For library generation, and probably other fun SWF construction, swfmill

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supports a simplified XML dialect. to create a library swf that includes

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some assets, construct an XML file that looks like this:

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>

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<frame>

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</library>

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<font id="vera" import="library/vera.ttf"

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glyphs="abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"/>

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</frame>

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</movie>

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and run swfmill:

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swfmill simple <the-xml-above.xml> output.swf

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output.swf should now contain the specified assets (the jpg,

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pngs, other swf and font) specified.

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swfmill simple <the-xml-above.xml> output.swf

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output.swf should now contain the specified assets (the JPG, PNGs, other

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SWF and font) specified.

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Some notes:

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* the file paths in the simple xml are relative to

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where you start swfmill.

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* any <clip import=".."/> that is placed within a

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<library/> tag will be exported for attachMovie

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with linkage id == their id attribute. for the above

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example, you can attach library/testjpg.jpg with:

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_root.attachMovie("jpg","foo",1);

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* the font is available by its id also, and will contain

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only the characters specified in its glyph attribute.

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make sure you specify the correct encoding in the

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<?xml?> processing instruction for special characters.

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* The file paths in the simple XML are relative to where you start swfmill.

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* Any <clip import=".."/> that is placed within a <library/> tag will be

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exported for attachMovie with the ID attribute as the linkage ID. For the

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above example, you can attach library/testjpg.jpg with

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_root.attachMovie("jpg", "foo", 1);

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* The font is also available by its ID, and will contain only the characters

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specified in its glyph attribute. Make sure you specify the correct

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encoding in the XML declaration for characters outside the ASCII range.

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SHARED LIBRARIES

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swfmill supports both generation and use of shared libaries.

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To generate a shared libary, simply put your assets in a

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<library/> tag just as for attachMovie (see above).

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swfmill supports both generation and use of shared libaries. To generate a

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shared libary, simply put your assets in a <library/> tag just as for

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attachMovie (see above).

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To use a shared library, the library swf has to be available

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both locally and under its "public" URL. Assuming you have

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put your library on http://foo.com/library.swf, and the swf

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is also in the library/ subdirectory of where you run

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swfmill, put this in your definition XML:

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<import file="library/library.swf"

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url="http://foo.com/library.swf"/>

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That should import all symbols that are exported in

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library.swf, so they should be available under their name

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with attachMovie(). Note: this only works with proper

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assets, not with fonts. If you know how to use a font

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To use a shared library, the library swf has to be available both locally

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and under its "public" URL. Assuming you have put your library on

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http://foo.com/library.swf, and the SWF is also in the library/ subdirectory

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of where you run swfmill, put this in your definition XML:

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<import file="library/library.swf"

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url="http://foo.com/library.swf"/>

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That should import all symbols that are exported in library.swf, so they

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should be available under their name with attachMovie(). Note: this only

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works with proper assets, not with fonts. If you know how to use a font

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from a shared library, please tell me.

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COPYRIGHT

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swfmill is licensed to you under the GPL.

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see COPYING for details.

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GETTING (INVOLVED)

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updates and stuff will be available at:

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http://iterative.org/swfmill/

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to praise or complain, send mail to:

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dan@subsignal.org

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there is a mailing list for swfmill on osflash.org:

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http://osflash.org/mailman/listinfo/swfmill_osflash.org

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swfmill is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the

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terms of the GNU General Public License version 2, as published by the Free

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Software Foundation. See COPYING for details.

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GETTING INVOLVED

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Updates and stuff will be available at the swfmill homepage:

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http://www.swfmill.org/

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There is a mailing list for swfmill hosted by osflash.org:

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http://osflash.org/mailman/listinfo/swfmill_osflash.org

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The latest development source code can be retrieved via Launchpad and the

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Bazaar version control system:

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bzr branch lp:swfmill

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Report bugs or submit patches via Launchpad:

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http://bugs.launchpad.net/swfmill/+filebug

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