distributing quiz as a swf file

Hi,
I am thinking of distributing my quizzes as downloadable swf files. I am not sure what software the user will need in order to run the swf file if the user tries to run it by double clicking on it.
Is Adobe Flash on its own sufficient or does the user need to download a free swiff player, or should I include a free swiff player with the download?
Thanks,
Nick

Hi Nick,

The .swf file does contain everything it needs to run the quiz, however most users are not setup to run .swf files directly. When a user receives it by e-mail, their system is likely to tell them it doesn't know what to do with the file even if they have the Flash player installed.

I'd recommend looking at embedding the .swf inside a Powerpoint or a PDF document and sending that instead.

thanks for your help. I will look into the PDF document idea.

Hello Nick,

Another way to solve your problem is to use one of the many conversion software available.

Just to get you started, let me suggest to you the “ABC Amber Flash Converter”.

[www.processtext.com]

“ABC Amber Flash Converter is an easy-to-use tool to convert your SWF (Flash) files to standalone EXE files, so you won't need FlashPlayer to be installed.
The software supports a batch conversion and can be run from a command line. Batch conversion ability allows you to convert a unlimited number of SWF files at a time.
The program is free.”

I have used this software a few times and it help me to get the work done.

Good luck.
Lisbon Quizzer

Distributing as an .exe is a problem. Most institutional mail filters block .exe attachments -- and for good reason.

Dropping the quizzes into a PDF is amazingly easy using Adobe Acrobat. It simply 'works' and you are are distributing a single file that you *can* attach to an email or post to the web.

When you add it to the Adobe Acrobat option for making a 'portfolio' it's even better.


[www.adobe.com]

Browse through the Marine biology one (wait for the 20 megs download). It even includes video all within a single PDF. It strikes me as a good way to build a self-contained media-rich document that doesn’t require a website or advanced web skills to pull off.

You can just drop in the Questionwriter .SWF file by itself and it runs like a charm.