You cant use ActionScript to set the Allow or Deny value for a user, but you can display the Privacy panel for the user by using System.showSettings(0). If the user selects Remember, the Flash Player no longer displays the Privacy dialog box for movies from this domain. If Camera.get returns null, either the camera is in use by another application, or there are no cameras installed on the system. To determine whether any cameras are installed, use Camera.names.length. To display the Flash Player Camera Settings panel, which lets the user choose the camera to be referenced by Camera.get, use System.showSettings(3).
Note that scanning the hardware for cameras takes time. Once Flash finds at least one camera, the hardware is not scanned again for the lifetime of the player instance. However, if Flash doesnt find any cameras, it will scan each time Camera.get is called. This is helpful if a user has forgotten to connect the camera; if your movie provides a Try Again button that calls Camera.get, Flash can find the camera without the user having to restart the movie.
The following example captures and displays video locally within a Video object named myVid on the Stage.
myCam = Camera.get(); myVid.attachVideo(myCam);
Camera.index, Camera.muted, Camera.names, Camera.onStatus, Camera.setMode, NetStream.attachVideo, System.showSettings, Video.attachVideo

Camera.height

activeCamera.height
Read-only property; the current capture height, in pixels. To set a value for this property, use Camera.setMode.
The following line of code updates a text box in the user interface with the current height value.
_root.txt_height = myCam.height;
See also the example for Camera.setMode.
Camera.setMode, Camera.width

Camera.index

activeCamera.index
Read-only property; a zero-based integer that specifies the index of the camera, as reflected in the array returned by Camera.names.

Camera.get, Camera.names

Camera.keyFrameInterval
activeCamera.keyFrameInterval
Read-only property; a number that specifies which video frames are transmitted in full (called keyframes) instead of being interpolated by the video compression algorithm. The default value is 15 (every 15th frame is a keyframe).
Camera.setKeyFrameInterval

Camera.loopback

activeCamera.loopback
Read-only property; a Boolean value that specifies whether a local view of what the camera is capturing is compressed and decompressed as it would be for live transmission using Flash Communication Server (true) or uncompressed (false). The default value is false. To set this value, use Camera.setLoopback. To set the amount of compression used when this property is true, use Camera.setQuality.

The following example ensures that the microphone gain setting is less than or equal to 55.
var myMic = Microphone.get(); if (myMic.gain > 55){ myMic.setGain(55); }
Microphone.gain, Microphone.setUseEchoSuppression
activeMicrophone.setRate(kHz)
The rate at which the microphone should capture sound, in kHz. Acceptable values are 5, 8, 11, 22, and 44. The default value is 8 kHz if your sound capture device supports this value. Otherwise, the default value is the next available capture level above 8 kHz that your sound capture device supports, usually 11 kHz.
Method; sets the rate, in kHz, at which the microphone should capture sound.
The following example sets the microphone rate to the users preference (which you have assigned to the userRate variable) if it is one of the following values: 5, 8, 11, 22, or 44. If it is not, the value is rounded to the nearest acceptable value that the sound capture device supports.

myMic.setRate(userRate);

activeMicrophone.setSilenceLevel(level [, timeout])
An integer that specifies the amount of sound required to activate the microphone and invoke Microphone.onActivity(true). Acceptable values range from 0 to 100. The default value is 10.
An optional integer parameter that specifies how many milliseconds must elapse without activity before Flash considers sound to have stopped and invokes Microphone.onActivity(false). The default value is 2000 (2 seconds).

timeout

Method; sets the minimum input level that should be considered sound and (optionally) the amount of silent time signifying that silence has actually begun.
To prevent the microphone from detecting sound at all, pass a value of 100 for level;

is never invoked.

To determine the amount of sound the microphone is currently detecting, use
Microphone.activityLevel.
Activity detection is the ability to detect when audio levels suggest that a person is talking. When someone is not talking, bandwidth can be saved because there is no need to send the associated audio stream. This information can also be used for visual feedback so that users know they (or others) are silent.

Silence values correspond directly to activity values. Complete silence is an activity value of 0. Constant loud noise (as loud as can be registered based on the current gain setting) is an activity value of 100. After gain is appropriately adjusted, your activity value is less than your silence value when youre not talking; when you are talking, the activity value exceeds your silence value. This method is similar in purpose to Camera.setMotionLevel; both methods are used to specify when the onActivity event handler should be invoked. However, these methods have a significantly different impact on publishing streams:
Camera.setMotionLevel is designed to detect motion and does not affect bandwidth usage. Even if a video stream does not detect motion, video is still sent. Microphone.setSilenceLevel
The following example changes the silence level based on the users input. The button has the following code attached:
on (press) { this.makeSilenceLevel(this.silenceLevel); }
The makeSilenceLevel() function called by the button continues:
function makeSilenceLevel(s) { this.obj.setSilenceLevel(s); this.SyncMode(); this.silenceLevel= s; }
See also the example for Camera.setMotionLevel.
Microphone.activityLevel, Microphone.onActivity, Microphone.setGain, Microphone.silenceLevel, Microphone.silenceTimeout
Microphone.setUseEchoSuppression
activeMicrophone.setUseEchoSuppression(suppress)

suppress A not (false).

Boolean value indicating whether echo suppression should be used (true) or
Method; specifies whether to use the echo suppression feature of the audio codec. The default value is false unless the user has selected Reduce Echo in the Flash Player Microphone Settings panel. Echo suppression is an effort to reduce the effects of audio feedback, which is caused when sound going out the speaker is picked up by the microphone on the same computer. (This is different from echo cancellation, which completely removes the feedback.) Generally, echo suppression is advisable when the sound being captured is played through speakersinstead of a headseton the same computer. If your movie allows users to specify the sound output device, you may want to call Microphone.setUseEchoSuppression(true) if they indicate they are using speakers and will be using the microphone as well. Users can also adjust these settings in the Flash Player Microphone Settings panel.

nc = new NetConnection(); nc.connect("rtmp:/myApp");
Second, there is a bit of JavaScript you can use in your HTML page to avoid the security problem. Assuming the movie uses a fully qualified domain name URL to access the Flash Communication Server, this JavaScript redirects the web page to an explicitly named full URL, like this:
<SCRIPT language="javascript"> //if the URL didnt have the domain on it if (document.URL.indexOf("mycorp.com") == -1) { //redirect to a version that does document.URL="http://deptServer.mycorp.com/tcpage.htm"; } </script>
Finally, if you own a domain name, have access to the DNS records of that domain name, and have a static IP address for your Flash Communication Server, you can create address (A) records to point a host name to that IP address. For instance, flashcom.mycorp.com could map to the machine running the Flash Communication Server and having an IP address provided by your IT department or ISP. Your web pages can continue to be hosted by whatever means you are currently using. (CNAME records are recommended if you need to forward traffic to a server that has a DNS-accessible host name but may or may not have a static IP address.)
The following example connects over the RTMP protocol to the default instance of the funAndGames application located on the real host of the macromedia server using the default port.
conn = new NetConnection(); conn.connect("rtmp://real.macromedia.com/funAndGames");
The following example connects over the RTMPT protocol to the room_01 application instance of the chat application using the default port. In this example, the Flash movie is served from the same host and domain as the Flash Communication Server, so the host parameter is omitted.
con = new NetConnection(); con.connect("rtmpt:/chat/room_01");
NetConnection.close, NetConnection.onStatus
NetConnection.isConnected

myConnection.isConnected

Read-only property; a Boolean value indicating whether the Flash Player is connected to the server (true) or not (false) through the specified connection. Whenever a connection is made or closed, this property is set.
The following example is attached to a toggle push button. When the user clicks the button, if the user is connected to the server, the connection is closed. If the user is not connected, a connection is established.

on (release) { if (_root.connection.isConnected == true) _root.connection.close(); else _root.connection.connect(_root.myURI); }
NetConnection.close, NetConnection.connect, NetConnection.onStatus

NetConnection.onStatus

myConnection.onStatus = function(infoObject) { // Your code here }
infoObject A parameter defined according to the status message. For more information about this parameter, see NetConnection information objects on page 111.
Event handler; invoked when a status change or error is posted for the NetConnection object. If you want to respond to this event handler, you must create a function to process the information object sent by the server. For more information, see the Appendix, Client-Side Information Objects, on page 109.
The following example writes data about the connection to a log file.
reconnection.onStatus = function(info) { _root.log += "Recording stream status.\n"; _root.log += "Event: " + info.code + "\n"; _root.log += "Type: " + info.level + "\n"; _root.log += "Message:" + info.description + "\n"; }
NetConnection.call, NetConnection.close, NetConnection.connect

NetConnection.uri

myConnection.uri
Read-only property; a string representing the target URI that was passed in with NetConnection.connect. If NetConnection.connect hasnt yet been called for myConnection, this property is undefined.

NetStream (object)

The NetStream object opens a one-way streaming connection between the Flash Player and the Flash Communication Server through a connection made available by a NetConnection object. A NetStream object is like a channel inside a NetConnection object; this channel can either publish audio and/or video data, using NetStream.publish, or subscribe to a published stream and receive data, using NetStream.play. You can publish or play live (real-time) data and play previously recorded data. You can also use NetStream objects to send text messages to all subscribed clients (see NetStream.send). The following steps summarize the sequence of actions required for publishing real-time audio and video using Flash Communication Server and the Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP):

Use new

NetConnection

Method summary for the NetStream object
Method NetStream.attachAudio NetStream.attachVideo NetStream.close NetStream.pause NetStream.play Description Publisher method; specifies whether audio should be sent over the stream. Publisher method; starts transmitting video or a snapshot from the specified source. Stops publishing or playing all data on the stream and makes the stream available for another use. Subscriber method; pauses or resumes playback of a stream. Subscriber method; feeds streaming audio, video, and text messages being published on the Flash Communication Server, or a recorded file stored on the server, to the client. Publisher method; sends streaming audio, video, and text messages from the client to the Flash Communication Server, optionally recording the stream during transmission. Subscriber method; specifies whether incoming audio plays on the stream. Subscriber method; specifies whether incoming video will play on the stream, or specifies the frame rate of the video. Subscriber method; seeks to a position in the recorded stream currently playing. Publisher method; broadcasts a message to all subscribing clients. Method; for a publishing stream, this number indicates how long the outgoing buffer can grow before Flash starts dropping frames. For a subscribing stream, this number indicates how long to buffer incoming data before starting to display the stream.

NetStream.publish

NetStream.receiveAudio NetStream.receiveVideo NetStream.seek NetStream.send NetStream.setBufferTime
Property summary for the NetStream object
Property (read-only) NetStream.bufferLength NetStream.bufferTime NetStream.currentFps NetStream.liveDelay NetStream.time Description The number of seconds of data currently in the buffer. The number of seconds assigned to the buffer by NetStream.setBufferTime. The number of frames per second being sent or received on the publishing or subscribing stream. The number of seconds of data in a subscribing streams buffer in live mode. The number of seconds a stream has been playing or publishing.
Event handler summary for the NetStream object
Method NetStream.onStatus Description Invoked every time a status change or error is posted for the NetStream object.
Constructor for the NetStream object
new NetStream(myRTMPConnection)
myRTMPConnection A NetConnection object that is using the Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) to communicate with the Flash Communication Server.

If this method is called from a publishing stream, all pending NetStream.play calls on the
stream are cleared on the server; subscribers no longer receive anything that was being published on the stream.
If this method is called from a subscribing stream, publishing continues and other subscribing
streams may still be playing, but the subscriber can now use the stream for another purpose.
To stop play on a subscribing stream without closing the stream or changing the stream type,
use myStream.play(false).
The following onDisconnect() function closes a stream.
function onDisconnect() { // Stops publishing the stream. srcStream.close(); // Deletes the source stream connection. With no source // to play, the destination stream also ends and can be // deleted. connection.close(); }
NetStream.pause, NetStream.play, NetStream.publish, NetStream.time

NetStream.currentFps

myStream.currentFps
Read-only property; the number of frames per second being sent or received on the specified publishing or subscribing stream.

NetStream.liveDelay

myStream.liveDelay
Read-only property; the number of seconds of data in the specified subscribing streams buffer in live (unbuffered) mode. This property indicates the current network transmission delay (lag time).
The following example displays a string (inside a text field named connectionQuality) indicating the connection quality over the NetStream object named ns, according to the value of the liveDelay property.
if (ns.liveDelay <.5) { connectionQuality.text = "Good"; } else if (ns.liveDelay < 1) { connectionQuality.text = "Slow"; } else { connectionQuality.text = "Network congested"; }

NetStream.onStatus

myStream.onStatus = function(infoObject) { // Your code here }
infoObject A parameter defined according to the status or error message. For more information about this parameter, see NetStream information objects on page 111.
Event handler; invoked every time a status change or error is posted for the NetStream object. If you want to respond to this event handler, you must create a function to process the information object sent by the server. For more information, see the Appendix, Client-Side Information Objects, on page 109.

NetStream.pause

myStream.pause([pauseResume])
pauseResume An optional Boolean parameter specifying whether to pause play (true) or resume play (false). If you omit this parameter, pause acts as a toggle: the first time pause
called on a specified stream, it pauses play, and the next time it is called, it resumes play.

The default value for start is -2, which means that Flash first tries to play the live stream
If you pass -1 for start, Flash plays only the live stream specified in whatToPlay. If no live
stream is found, Flash waits for it indefinitely if length is set to -1; if length is set to a different value, Flash waits for length seconds before it begins playing the next item in the playlist.
If you pass 0 or a positive number for start, Flash plays only a recorded stream named

whatToPlay,

beginning start seconds from the beginning of the stream. If no recorded stream is found, Flash begins playing the next item in the playlist immediately.
If you pass a negative number other than -1 or -2 for start, Flash interprets the value as

if it were -2.

length
An optional numeric parameter that specifies the duration of the playback, in seconds.
The default value for length is -1, which means that Flash plays a live stream until it is no
longer available or plays a recorded stream until it ends.
If you pass 0 for length, Flash plays the single frame that is start seconds from the beginning
of a recorded stream (assuming start is equal to or greater than 0).
If you pass a positive number for length, Flash plays a live stream for length seconds after it
becomes available, or plays a recorded stream for length seconds. (If a stream ends before seconds, playback ends when the stream ends.)
If you pass a negative number other than -1 for length, Flash interprets the value as

if it were -1.

flushPlaylists An optional Boolean value or number that specifies whether to flush any previous playlist. If flushPlaylists is false (0), whatToPlay is added (queued) in the current playlist; that is, whatToPlay plays only after previous streams finish playing. You can use this technique to create a dynamic playlist. If flushPlaylists is true (1), any previous play calls are cleared and whatToPlay is played immediately. By default, the value is true.
You can also specify a value of 2 or 3 for the flushPlaylists parameter, which is useful when playing recorded stream files that contain message data. These values are analogous to passing false (0) and true (1), respectively: a value of 2 maintains a playlist, and a value of 3 resets the playlist. However, the difference is that specifying 2 or 3 for flushPlaylists causes Flash Communication Server to return all messages in the recorded stream file at once, rather than at the intervals which the messages were originally recorded (the default behavior). This is especially useful for accessing log files recorded by Flash Communication Server. For more information on Flash Communication Server logging, see TechNote 16464 on the Macromedia Flash Communication Server Support Center (www.macromedia.com/support/flashcom/ts/ documents/flashcom_logging.htm).

NetConnection.connect, NetStream.play, Video.attachVideo

NetStream.receiveAudio

myStream.receiveAudio(receive)

receive (true) or

A Boolean value that specifies whether incoming audio plays on the specified stream not (false). The default value is true.
Method; specifies whether incoming audio plays on the specified stream. This method is available only to clients subscribed to the specified stream, not to the streams publisher. You can call this method before or after you call the NetStream.play method and actually begin receiving the stream. For example, you can attach these methods to a button the user clicks to mute and unmute the incoming audio stream. If the specified stream contains only audio data, then passing a value of false to this method stops NetStream.time from further incrementing.
NetStream.receiveVideo, NetStream.time

NetStream.receiveVideo

myStream.receiveVideo(receive | FPS)

receive (true) or FPS

A Boolean value that specifies whether incoming video plays on the specified stream not (false). The default value is true.
A number that specifies the frame rate per second of the incoming video. The default value is the frame rate of the movie.
Method; specifies whether incoming video will play on the specified stream, or specifies the frame rate of the video. This method is available only to clients subscribed to the specified stream, not to the streams publisher. You can call this method before or after you call the NetStream.play method and actually begin receiving the stream. For example, you can attach these methods to a button the user presses to show or hide the incoming video stream. To stop receiving video, pass 0 for FPS. (This has the same effect as passing false.) To determine the current frame rate, use NetStream.currentFps. If you call NetStream.receiveVideo with a frame rate after calling NetStream.receiveVideo(false), an implicit call to NetStream.receiveVideo(true) is issued. If the specified stream contains only video data, then passing a value of false to this method stops NetStream.time from further incrementing.

For a subscribing stream, this method specifies how long to buffer incoming data before
starting to display the stream. For example, if you want to make sure that the first 15 seconds of the stream play without interruption, set numberOfSeconds to 15; Flash will begin playing the stream only after 15 seconds of data have been buffered. When a recorded stream is played, if numberOfSeconds is zero, Flash sets it to a small value (approximately 10 milliseconds). If live streams are later played (for example, from a playlist), this buffer time persiststhat is, numberOfSeconds remains non-zero for the stream.

NetStream.time

myStream.time
Read-only property; for a subscriber stream, the number of seconds the stream has been playing; for a publishing stream, the number of seconds the stream has been publishing. This number is accurate to the thousandths decimal place; multiply by 1000 to get the number of milliseconds the stream has been playing. When you are publishing a stream, this property stops incrementing when you stop sending data over the stream by calling NetStream.attachVideo(false) or NetStream.attachAudio(false). When you resume publishing by calling NetStream.attachVideo(cameraObj) or NetStream.attachAudio(microphoneObj), the time property continues incrementing from where it left off plus the time that elapsed while no data was sent. When you stop publishing a stream by calling Netstream.publish(false), the time property stops incrementing and is reset to 0 when you resume publishing the stream.
For a subscribing stream, if the server stops sending data but the stream remains open, this value stops incrementing. When the server begins sending data again, the value of this property continues incrementing from where it left off plus the time that elapsed while no data was sent. The value of this property continues to increment when the stream switches from one playlist element to another. This property is set to 0 when NetStream.play is called with flushPlaylists set to true, or when NetStream.close is called.
The following example shows how, while you are publishing a stream, NetStream.time continues to increment even while no data is being sent over a stream.
myStream.attachVideo(cameraObj); myStream.publish("SomeData", "live"); //After 10 seconds, myStream.time = 10 // You then stop sending data over the stream myStream.attachVideo(false); // Later you start sending data over the same stream myStream.attachVideo(cameraObj); // After 10 seconds, myStream.time = 20
The following example shows how NetStream.time is reset to 0 when you stop publishing a stream for a while and then start publishing the same stream.
myStream.attachVideo(cameraObj); myStream.publish("SomeData", "live"); //After 10 seconds, myStream.time = 10 //You then stop publishing the stream myStream.publish(false); //10 seconds later, you publish on the same stream myStream.publish("SomeData", "live"); //myStream.time resets to 0

Also, remote shared objects that are not persistent on the server are created in a different namespace from remote shared objects that are persistent on the server. Therefore, if the following line of code is added to the above example, no SharedObject.BadPersistence error will result because so3 does not point to the same object as so1.
so3 = SharedObject.getRemote("someObject", nc.uri, false);
Understanding naming conventions for remote shared objects To avoid name collisions, Flash looks at the location of the movie that is creating the shared object. For example, if a movie at www.myCompany.com/apps/stockwatcher.swf creates a shared object named portfolio, that shared object will not conflict with another object named portfolio that was created by a movie at www.yourCompany.com/photoshoot.swf, because the movies originate from two different directories.
To further avoid name collisions, Flash Player appends the application name and instance name to the end of the path of the shared object directory. Unless two movies are located in the same directory, use a shared object with the same name, and are connected to the same application with the same instance name, there will not be a name collision related to persistent shared objects on either local or remote locations. However, if two different movies located in the same directory create objects with identical names and the same location for persistence, the names will conflict, and one object can overwrite the other without warning. Implemented properly, however, this feature lets movies in the same directory read each others shared objects. Similarly, you can use persistence to let movies in different directories in the same domain read and write each others shared objects. For example, if the full path to the SWF file is www.macromedia.com/a/b/c/d/foo.swf, persistence can be any of the following:
"/" "/a/" "/a/b/" "/a/b/c/" "/a/b/c/d/" "/a/b/c/d/foo.swf/"
By specifying a partial path for persistence, you can let several movies from the same domain access the same shared objects. For example, if you specify "/a/b/" for the movie named above and also for a movie whose full path is www.macromedia.com/a/b/foo2.swf, each movie can read shared objects created by the other movie. When specifying persistence, do not include a domain name. To specify that the path for persistence should be the same as the movie, without having to explicitly specify its value, you can use MovieClip._url:

A value of "clear" means either that you have successfully connected to a remote shared
object that is not persistent on the server or the client, or that all the properties of the object have been deletedfor example, when the client and server copies of the object are so far out of sync that Flash resynchronizes the client object with the server object. In the latter case, SharedObject.onSync is invoked again, this time with the value of code set to "change".
A value of "success" means the client changed the shared object. A value of "reject" means the client tried unsuccessfully to change the object; instead,
another client changed the object.
A value of "change" means another client changed the object or the server resynchronized

the object.

A value of "delete" means the attribute was deleted.
The name property contains the name of the property that has been changed. The oldValue property contains the former value of the null unless code has a value of "reject" or "change". changed property. This parameter is
To minimize network traffic, this method is not called when a client changes a property to the same value it currently has. That is, if a property is set to the same value multiple times in a row, this method is invoked the first time the property is set, but not during subsequent settings, as shown in the following example:
so.data.x = 15; // The following line invokes onSync so.data.x = 20; // The following line doesnt invoke onSync, // even if issued by a different client so.data.x = 20;

// // // so

Create or get a remote shared object named 'position'; nc is the NetConnection created earlier in code; false means do not make this a persistent shared object. = SharedObject.getRemote("position", nc.uri, false);
// Update ball position when another participant moves the ball; // sharedBall_mc is a movie clip on the Stage. so.onSync = function(list) { sharedBall_mc._x= so.data.x; sharedBall_mc._y= so.data.y; } // You must always call connect() in order to successfully // connect to the shared object and share data. so.connect(nc);

SharedObject.send

myRemoteSharedObject.send(handlerName [,p1,.,pN])

Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX 1.5, the properties of the information objects are determined by the methods available in server applications and should be documented by the developers of your server-side application. The properties listed here are the ones available by default; that is, these are the properties available if your server-side application doesnt specify other information object properties. For information on using Flash with an application server, see Using Flash Remoting.
For objects that do not require Flash Communication Server (Camera, Microphone,
LocalConnection, and local shared objects), the properties listed here are the only ones available to onStatus, and no server-side application is required.
Camera information objects
The following events notify you when the user has changed access to a camera, either by muting it, resizing it, or shutting it down.
Code property Camera.Muted Camera.Unmuted Level property Status Status Meaning The user denied access to a camera. The user allowed access to a camera.
LocalConnection information objects
The following events notify you when an attempt to send to a receiving LocalConnection object has succeeded or failed.
Code property None None Level property Status Error Meaning Flash successfully sent a command to a receiving LocalConnection object. Flash was unable to send to a receiving LocalConnection object.
Microphone information objects
The following events notify you when the user denies or allows access to a microphone. To determine whether access to a microphone is currently denied or allowed, use the Microphone.muted property.
Code property Microphone.Muted Microphone.Unmuted Level property Status Status Meaning The user denied access to a microphone. The user allowed access to a microphone.

Appendix

NetConnection information objects
The following events notify you when certain NetConnection activities occur.
Code property NetConnection.Call.Failed Level property Error Meaning The NetConnection.call method was not able to invoke the server-side method or command.* The application has been shut down (for example, if the application is out of memory resources and must be shut down to prevent the server from crashing) or the server has been shut down. The connection was successfully closed. The connection attempt failed; for example, the server is not running. The application name specified during the connection attempt was not found on the server. The client does not have permission to connect to the application, or the application expected different parameters from those that were passed, or the application specifically rejected the client.** The connection attempt succeeded.

Getting Started with Flash Communication Server
Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX

macromedia

Trademarks Afterburner, AppletAce, Attain, Attain Enterprise Learning System, Attain Essentials, Attain Objects for Dreamweaver, Authorware, Authorware Attain, Authorware Interactive Studio, Authorware Star, Authorware Synergy, Backstage, Backstage Designer, Backstage Desktop Studio, Backstage Enterprise Studio, Backstage Internet Studio, Design in Motion, Director, Director Multimedia Studio, Doc Around the Clock, Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver Attain, Drumbeat, Drumbeat 2000, Extreme 3D, Fireworks, Flash, Fontographer, FreeHand, FreeHand Graphics Studio, Generator, Generator Developers Studio, Generator Dynamic Graphics Server, Knowledge Objects, Knowledge Stream, Knowledge Track, Lingo, Live Effects, Macromedia, Macromedia M Logo & Design, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Xres, Macromind, Macromind Action, MAGIC, Mediamaker, Object Authoring, Power Applets, Priority Access, Roundtrip HTML, Scriptlets, SoundEdit, ShockRave, Shockmachine, Shockwave, Shockwave Remote, Shockwave Internet Studio, Showcase, Tools to Power Your Ideas, Universal Media, Virtuoso, Web Design 101, Whirlwind and Xtra are trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. and may be registered in the United States or in other jurisdictions including internationally. Other product names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases mentioned within this publication may be trademarks, servicemarks, or tradenames of Macromedia, Inc. or other entities and may be registered in certain jurisdictions including internationally. Third-Party Information Speech compression and decompression technology licensed from Nellymoser, Inc. (www.nellymoser.com). Sorenson Spark video compression and decompression technology licensed from Sorenson Media, Inc.
This guide contains links to third-party websites that are not under the control of Macromedia, and Macromedia is not responsible for the content on any linked site. If you access a third-party website mentioned in this guide, then you do so at your own risk. Macromedia provides these links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of the link does not imply that Macromedia endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content on those third-party sites. Copyright 2002 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. This manual may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Macromedia, Inc. Acknowledgments Director: Erick Vera Producer: JuLee Burdekin Writing: Jay Armstrong, Jody Bleyle, JuLee Burdekin, Barbara Herbert, and Barbara Nelson Editing: Mary Ferguson, Anne Szabla Multimedia Design and Production: Aaron Begley, Benjamin Salles Print Design, Production, and Illustrations: Chris Basmajian First Edition: May 2002 Macromedia, Inc. 600 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94103

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 Introducing Flash Communication Server
Flash Communication Server editions. About this manual. Guide to instructional media. Using additional resources.
CHAPTER 2 Installation and Workflow
System requirements for Flash Communication Server. 9 System requirements for the Flash Player. 10 About the installed files. 12 Installing Flash authoring components on the Macintosh. 12 How Flash Communication Server works. 14 How do I use Flash Communication Server?. 16
GLOSSARY Flash Communication Server Terms.

Contents

Welcome to Macromedia Flash Communication Server MXthe easiest way to create rich communication applications in Macromedia Flash MX. Flash Communication Server lets two or more people participate in a real-time conversation using text, audio, or video. For example, you can use Flash Communication Server for meetings, online communities, customer support, sales support, training, remote presence, or instant messaging. Flash Communication Server is a platform for streaming live data across networks for delivery to the Internet, PDAs, interactive TV, and more, and it is part of Macromedias complete solution for database connectivity, directory systems, and presence services. Flash Communication Server can also be used for personal projects such as a house intercom, a pet camera, or video publishing.
Flash Communication Server editions

Flash Communication Server is available in a variety of editions. See the Flash Communication Server website at http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashcom_mx for a description of each edition. The information in the Flash Communication Server documentation applies to all Flash Communication Server editions.

About this manual

This manual contains information to help you get started using Flash Communication Server and the documentation set. It tells where to find all the other manuals and help systems, provides system requirements and instructions for installing the software, presents an overview of the Flash Communication Server architecture, and describes your workflow. The Flash Communication Server documentation set assumes that you already have Macromedia Flash MX installed and know how to use it.
Guide to instructional media
The Flash Communication Server instructional media is designed to be used in conjunction with the Flash MX documentation, namely Using Flash MX and the Flash MX online ActionScript Dictionary. All Flash Communication Server documents are available in PDF format (viewable and printable with Adobe Acrobat Reader) and as HTML help. For the best experience with Flash Communication Server Help, Macromedia strongly recommends that you use a browser with Java player support, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. Flash Help also supports Netscape 6.1 or later on Windows and the Macintosh. Running Flash MX and Flash Communication Server Help simultaneously on a Macintosh may require up to 32 MB of memory, depending on your browsers memory needs.
The Flash Communication Server instructional media includes the following documentation:
This manual, Getting Started with Flash Communication Server, explains how to install the
server and provides an overview of the software architecture. You can find the PDF version of this manual on the Flash Communication Server CD (FlashCom_GetStarted.pdf ). To view this manual as HTML help within Flash MX, select Help > Welcome to Flash Communication Server, click General, and click Getting Started with Flash Communication Server.
Managing Flash Communication Server explains the details of configuring and maintaining the

server and using the Administration Console. If youre an administrator, you can use the PDF version of this manual on the Flash Communication Server CD (FlashCom_Managing.pdf ). Administrators also have access to HTML help within Flash MX and through the Help button on the Administration Console.
Developing Communication Applications is a how-to book that illustrates the steps involved in
setting up a development environment and creating Flash Communication Server applications, including debugging and testing applications. It describes samples that can serve as templates for your own applications, and it includes tips and tricks to help you optimize your applications. You can find the PDF version of this manual on the Flash Communication Server CD (FlashCom_Developing.pdf ). To view this manual as HTML help within Flash MX, select Help > Welcome to Flash Communication Server, click Developer, and click Developing Communication Applications.
The Client-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary documents the ActionScript you can
use to create client-side functionality. You can find the PDF version of this manual on the Flash Communication Server CD (FlashCom_CS_ASD.pdf ). To view this manual as HTML help within Flash MX, select Help > Welcome to Flash Communication Server; click Developer, click the right arrow, and click Client-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary. You can also read this information by clicking the Reference button in the Flash MX Actions panel.
The Server-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary documents the ActionScript you can
use to create server-side functionality. You can find the PDF version of this manual on the Flash Communication Server CD (FlashCom_SS_ASD.pdf ). To view this manual as HTML help within Flash MX, select Help > Welcome to Flash Communication Server; click Developer, click the right arrow, and click Server-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary. You can also read this information by clicking the Reference button in the Flash MX Actions panel.

Chapter 1

Using additional resources
The Flash Communication Server Support Center website at www.macromedia.com/go/ flashcom_support is updated regularly with the latest information on Flash Communication Server, plus advice from expert users, advanced topics, examples, tips, and other updates. Check the website often for the latest news on Flash Communication Server and how to get the most out of the program. The Flash Communication Server Designer & Developer Center at http:// www.macromedia.com/go/flashcom_desdev provides tips and support for application developers. The Flash Communication Server Online Forum at http://www.macromedia.com/go/ flashcom_forum provides a place for you to chat with other Flash Communication Server users. Release notes For late-breaking information and a complete list of issues that are still outstanding, read the Flash Communication Server release notes at http://www.macromedia.com/go/ flashcom_mx_releasenotes. Third-party resources Macromedia recommends several websites with links to third-party resources on Flash Communication Server: These include the following:

Macromedia Flash community sites Macromedia Flash books Object-oriented programming concepts
You can access these websites at http://www.macromedia.com/go/Flashcom_resources.
Introducing Flash Communication Server
Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX is a development framework and a deployment environment for rich communication applications. A developer uses Macromedia Flash MX and Flash Communication Server MX to write a communication application, and then uses Flash Communication Server to deploy the application and its scripts. Flash Player 6 is the end users interface. The server is available only for Microsoft Windows. However, you can also use either Windows or the Macintosh for your development environment. This chapter provides system requirements and installation instructions, presents an overview of the Flash Communication Server architecture, and describes the workflow for developers and administrators.
System requirements for Flash Communication Server
The following hardware and software are required to run Flash Communication Server. Development You can develop Flash Communication Server applications on a computer running either the Windows operating system or the Mac OS.
For Microsoft Windows: Macromedia Flash MX; an Intel Pentium 200 MHz or equivalent
processor running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6 or later (Windows 98 and Windows ME are supported for application authoring, but not deployment); 64 MB of available RAM (128 MB recommended); 50 MB of available disk space; a 16-bit color monitor capable of 1024 x 768 resolution; and a CD-ROM drive.
For the Macintosh (application authoring only): Macromedia Flash MX; a Power Macintosh
running Mac OS 9.1 (or later) or Mac OS X version 10.1 (or later); 64 MB of available RAM (128 MB recommended); 10 MB of available disk space; a 16-bit color monitor capable of 1024 x 768 resolution; and a CD-ROM drive. Deployment Flash Communication Server applications must be deployed on the Windows operating system. Your deployment system requires a Pentium III 500 MHz processor or greater (dual Pentium 4 or better recommended) running Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows NT 4.0 Server (SP6 or later); 256 MB of available RAM (512 MB recommended); 50 MB of available disk space; and a CD-ROM drive.
System requirements for the Flash Player
Because the client side of a Flash Communication Server application runs in Flash Player 6, you (and your users) need to run one of the following operating systems and browsers.
Platform Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later Netscape Navigator 4 or later Netscape 6.2 or later, default installation America Online 7 Opera 6 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later Netscape Navigator 4 or later Netscape 6.2 or later, default installation CompuServe 7 (Windows 2000 and XP only) America Online 7 Opera 6 Netscape Navigator 4.5 or later Netscape 6.2 or later Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later Opera 5 Netscape 6.2 or later Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 or later Opera 5

Microsoft Windows NT, 2000, XP, or later
Mac OS 8.6, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
Mac OS X version 10.1 or later
Installing Flash Communication Server
The Flash Communication Server must be installed on Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows NT 4.0 Server (SP6 or later). Installing the server is easy. Be prepared to choose an administrator user name and password during the installation; youll need them to use the servers administration, monitoring, and debugging tools. You can change them later if necessary. In addition to the Flash Communication Server, the installer adds two windows to the Macromedia Flash MX authoring environment if you have it installed on the same computer. These two windows are the Communication App inspector and the NetConnection Debugger. For more information about these windows, see Developing Communication Applications. During installation, you can choose either a Developer Install or a Production Install of the product. If you choose Developer Install, you can run the samples and test your applications from the \flashcom\applications directory under the directory you specify. For convenience during development, client-side application files (SWFs and HTMLs) are stored in the same directory with your server-side application files (ASCs, FLVs, FLAs). When you deploy applications, you'll need to separate client files from your server-side source files. While your SWF and HTML files should be accessible through a web server, your serverside ASC files, your audio/video FLV files, and your ActionScript FLA source files should not be accessible to a user browsing your Web site. You can either install the server again on your production machine and choose Production Install, or you can change the configuration settings in the administration XML files as described in the Managing Flash Communication Server manual.

Chapter 2

If you choose Production Install, you can specify both the location of your client-side application files (SWFs and HTMLs) and the location of your server-side application files (ASCs, FLVs, and FLAs). The server will look for your client-side files under \flashcom\applications in the Web servers root directory and will look for your server-side application files under \applications under the directory you specify. System configuration You can set up your software in one of a few configurations:
You can install the Flash Communication Server software on the same computer that is
running Flash MX and the Flash Player.
You can install the Flash Communication Server software on one computer and use another
computer for Flash MX and the Flash Player.
To install Flash Communication Server:
Locate the FlashComInstaller.exe file. This file is on your installation CD, or you may have downloaded it. Double-click the installer icon. The installer launches. Enter your name and serial number in the dialog box that appears. Click OK. Read the license agreement and click Yes to accept the agreement. The installer suggests a default location for the server installation. The default location is C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash Communication Server MX. Click Next to accept the default location or Browse to choose another location. Choose either the typical installation or a custom installation. (A typical installation is recommended.) Click Next. Enter the user name and password you have chosen. You must enter a password. The server does not accept administrators with empty passwords. The installer copies your user name and password into the servers XML configuration files. You can edit or add administrators later using the Administration Console. For more information, see Adding and editing administrators in Managing Flash Communication Server.

Choose Developer Install or Production Install. If you choose Production Install, you will be asked to provide two directories: a directory for the Flash SWF files and accompanying HTML files, and another directory for server-side files that should not be accessible to users browsing your site. If you choose Developer Install, both types of files will be installed in the same location. Next, the installer suggests a location for the server administration tools and sample files, including the Administration Console. If you have a web server installed on the same computer, the installer asks if you want to install these files into the web servers publishing directory. You can install these files into the web servers publishing directory or click Browse to choose another location. Click Next when you are satisfied with the installation location. Click Next to accept the new program icons. Click Next to accept the installer settings and install Flash Communication Server.
Installation and Workflow
Click Finish. The Flash Communication Server service starts up. The server runs as a service, which means it runs in the background and starts automatically when the computer is started up.
The installation is complete. If you choose not to start the Flash Communication Server service right away, you can start it later. See Starting and stopping the server in Managing Flash Communication Server.
About the installed files
When the server has been installed, youll find several files together with it in the installation directory. If you chose the default directory in the installer, these files are located in C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Flash Communication Server MX\. Its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the contents of the Flash Communication Server MX directory before continuing with this chapter. The Flash Communication Server MX directory contains these items:
FlashCom.exe is the server application. FlashComAdmin.exe is the servers administration controller. License.htm contains the text of the Flash Communication Server license agreement. Js32.dll contains the servers Server-Side Communication ActionScript engine. TcSrvMsg.dll, xmlparse.dll, and xmltok.dll are additional components of the server. The conf directory contains the servers hierarchy of XML configuration files. The Tools directory contains BAT files that can be used to start and stop the server. The flashcom application directory contains sample client applications you can use to experiment with the server and get an idea of the kinds of things that can be done with it. Also included is the Administration Console (admin.swf ) that you can use to connect to the server to monitor and control its activity remotely. connect to the server to monitor and control its activity remotely.

The admin directory contains the Administration Console (admin.swf ), which you can use to You can find running samples in \flashcom\applications and additional documentation
samples in flashcom_help\help_collateral, both of which can serve as templates for your own applications.
If you have Flash MX installed on the same computer, the Flash Communication Server
installer adds the new Communication App inspector and the NetConnection Debugger to Flash MX. These provide support for creating and debugging communication applications. For more information on using these features, see Developing Communication Applications.
Installing Flash authoring components on the Macintosh
To install the Communication App inspector, NetConnection Debugger, and related help files into an existing copy of Macromedia Flash MX on a Macintosh computer, you use the Macintosh FlashComInstaller.
To install the authoring components:
Locate the FlashComInstaller file. This file is on your installation CD, or you may have downloaded it. Double-click the installer icon. The installer launches. The installer locates your existing copy of Flash MX automatically. Click Install to install the authoring components and help. The installer copies files to your hard disk.
When the installation is complete you can launch Flash MX and begin using the new windows to create communication applications. For more information about creating communication applications, see Developing Communication Applications.
How Flash Communication Server works
The Flash Communication Server platform comprises the server that provides the means of communication and a Flash application (a SWF file that runs in Macromedia Flash Player) that provides the end users interface. You use the Flash MX authoring tool as your development environment to create applications that use Flash Communication Server services. You can also use server-side scripting to add functionality to your application. Communications pass through Flash Communication Server and are delivered to the clientthe Flash Player on a users computer. When a Flash movie uses Flash Communication Server, the player connects to the server, which provides a flow of information, called a network stream, to and from the client. Other users can connect to the same server and receive messages, data updates, and audio/video streams.

Flash Communication Server
Sends/receives data stream
Clients running the Flash Player
You can design Flash Communication Server applications so that the Flash Communication Server and the application server communicate with each other. Flash Communication Server can talk to other application servers such as Macromedia ColdFusion MX Server, Macromedia JRun, Microsoft.NET Framework, IBM WebSphere, and Apache Tomcat. For a more detailed explanation, see Developing Communication Applications.
Client connections to Flash Communication Server use the Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), which, unlike HTTP, provides a persistent socket connection for two-way communication between Flash Player clients and the Flash Communication Server.

Web server

Sends SWF 1

Client

Plays SWF using Flash Player 2
3 Flash Communication Server
Flash Communication Server applications include two basic items: a server-side data stream that plays from the server thin client, and shared objects.
Sever-side data stream The server-side data stream is managed by two objects: the NetConnection object and a Stream object.
The NetConnection object tells the Flash Player to connect to an application on the server. You can use NetConnection objects to create powerful Flash Communication Server applications. For example, you could get weather information from an application server, or share an application load with other Flash Communication Servers or application instances. The Stream object lets you handle each stream in a Flash Communication Server application. A user can access multiple streams at the same time, and there can be many Stream objects active at the same time.

Shared objects

Shared objects are used to store data from the client. They let you manage distributed data with ActionScript in the Flash Player. If youre a developer, you can use shared objects to create your own models for how the data is managed. For more information about NetConnection objects, Stream objects, and shared objects, see Developing Communication Applications.

How do I use Flash Communication Server?
The following sections describe your workflow, depending on what you intend to do with Flash Communication Server. For the locations of the manuals mentioned in the following sections, see Guide to instructional media.
Developer workflow If youre a developer, you can create a Flash Communication Server application that has a client component and, if needed, a server component. The client component is a Flash MX movie (SWF) that you develop using Client-Side Communication ActionScript, and the server component is a program you write using Server-Side Communication ActionScript. After you create the application, register it on the Flash Communication Server; if there are any server-side scripts, upload them to the Flash Communication Server. You can then test the application using the Flash Player to connect to the server. While youre testing the movie, you can debug it using the NetConnection Debugger and the Communication App inspector. After the application works properly, you can deploy it.
SWF file Create using client-side ActionScript Flash Communication Server
Register application with server
Server-side scripts Flash Player Create using server-side ActionScript

Test SWF

NetConnection Debugger Communication App inspector

Debug application

Deploy
The following resources will help you develop Flash Communication Server applications.

To begin

To get started in the development process, begin with Developing Communication Applications. This manual describes how to connect to the Flash Communication Server. It also supplies samples that you can use as templates for creating, testing, and debugging applications. To use these samples, open the directory where Flash MX is installed, and go to \flashcom_help\help_collateral\. For scripting reference, consult the following manuals:

Scripting

The Client-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary explains the ActionScript commands
you use in the Flash MX authoring environment.
The Server-Side Communication ActionScript Dictionary explains the ActionScript commands
you use in scripts that reside on the server.
Using Flash MX describes how to write basic ActionScript, presents samples, and provides

references to additional instructional media that can assist you in becoming a Flash developer. Using Flash MX is available in printed form and as a help system (select Help > Using Flash MX).

Testing and debugging

When youre ready to test and debug your application, use the Communication App inspector and the NetConnection Debugger. application is running. To open this inspector, in Flash MX select Window > Communication App Inspector. When the inspector is open, you can view online help by clicking the Help button.
The Communication App inspector lets you view detailed server information when the
The NetConnection Debugger lets you debug applications when they are running. To open
this debugger, in Flash MX select Window > NetConnection Debugger. When the debugger is open, you can view online help by clicking the Help button.

Additional resources

You may want to explore these other sources of information on Flash Communication Server: flashcom_support provides TechNotes and up-to-date information about Flash Communication Server.
The Flash Communication Server Support Center at http://www.macromedia.com/go/ The Flash Communication Server Designer & Developer Center at http://
www.macromedia.com/go/flashcom_desdev provides tips and samples for creating Flash Communication Server applications.
Administrator workflow If youre an administrator, youll use the Administration Console to configure Flash Communication Server, set up system security, monitor usage, start and stop the server, and add users.
Flash Communication Server Administration Console Configuration Security Monitoring usage
Use the following resources to help you manage Flash Communication Server:
Managing Flash Communication Server tells how to use the Administration Console to install,
manage, start and stop, and configure the Flash Communication Server.
To read online help, open the Administration Console (in Windows, select Start > Programs >
Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX > Server Administrator) and select the appropriate documentation.

The Flash Communication Server Support Center at http://www.macromedia.com/go/
flashcom_support provides TechNotes and up-to-date information about Flash Communication Server.
The Flash Communication Server Designer & Developer Center at http://
GLOSSARY Flash Communication Server Terms

application server

Software that helps a web server process web pages that contain server-side scripts or tags. When such a page is requested, the web server sends the page to the application server for processing before sending the page to the browser. Common application servers include Macromedia ColdFusion MX Server, Macromedia JRun, Microsoft.NET Framework, IBM WebSphere, and Apache Tomcat.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
The communication protocol used to connect to servers on the World Wide Web. HTTPs primary function is to establish a connection with a web server and transmit HTML pages to a client browser. The object that tells the Flash Player to connect to an application on the server.

NetConnection object

Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP)
The communication protocol that provides persistent socket connection for two-way communication between Flash Player clients and the Flash Communication Server. Objects used to store data locally or remotely. An object that lets you handle each stream in a Flash Communication Server The continuous transmission of audio over a data network. The continuous transmission of video over a data network.
shared objects stream object

application.

streaming audio streaming video
thin client A users computer that stores nothing locally but downloads the program from a server. It performs normal computer processing, but stores data on the server. web client
The client side (user side) of the web. A web client can be the users web browser, plug-ins, or other applications that support the browser. Software that sends web pages in response to requests from web browsers.

web server