Openworld FlashPresenter - Getting Started

How do I create a new presentation using Openworld Flash Presenter?

You can create an effective presentation using Openworld Flash Presenter in five easy steps:

Step 1. Adding a Video/Audio file to your Presentation
The first step is to incorporate your video/audio file into the presentation. To add your pre-recorded video/audio file to the presentation, it is important to know the format of the video file (either Flash Video Format [FLV] or any of the other well-known formats such as MPEG, AVI or MP3) that you intend using in the presentation. Flash Video Format gets instantaneously integrated with your project, because Openworld Flash Presenter natively uses the FLV format. If you have video files in other well-known video formats, they can just as easily be converted (encoded) into FLV format within Openworld Flash Presenter and added to your project. No other software is required for video encoding.

Step 2. Adding a Transcript to the Presentation
A Transcript in plain text format of the speaker's talk is next incorporated in the presentation. To do this, you simply select from your hard disk a previously created text file that contains the word-for-word narrative of the speaker's remarks, and import it into the presentation. The Transcript appears on the screen in the form of scrolling text, which, in Step 5 below, will be synchronized with the speech as well as with related PowerPoint slides and web-links in your presentation.

Step 3. Adding Slides to your Presentation
The use of slides in your presentation serves to further explain and accentuate the key points of the author's talk, and can significantly enhance the presentation's visual appeal. Slides in various formats can be set to appear on cue as your presentation unfolds - in sync with the Transcript and talk - as a way to effectively hold viewer's attention right through the presentation. You can import slides instantly from MS Powerpoint or use already-prepared slide images in JPEG, PNG or GIF format. The preferred size for slides to display well in Openworld Flash Presenter is 684 x 513 pixels.

Step 4. Synchronizing different elements of your Presentation
This is by far the most important step in putting together the different elements (video/audio, graphics, slides, Transcript, and hyperlinks) of your presentation, and is easily done using time markers. Click on the “Synchronizer” icon on your Openworld Flash Presenter and proceed to time-synchronize the different parts of your presentation. The simplest ways to do so is to press the «Play» arrow to launch your media file - and then press the “Pause” button in the media player wherever you would like to insert a time tag into your Transcript. The time value that is showing in the paused media player can be dragged and dropped into the associated paragraph of the Transcript text file, automatically creating the correct time tag. Once the time tags are inserted in the Transcript, you can use a drag-and-drop technique to assign individual slides, Content menu topics, and hyperlinks to desired locations in the Transcript to also ensure their synchronized display in your presentation.

Step 5. Exporting your Presentation
Your presentation is now ready to be exported for webcasting, or for local viewing on a CD-ROM. You can either save it in Flash (SWF) format - or produce a single executable file (EXE) containing all the elements of the presentation.

If you've opted to save the presentation in Flash (SWF) format, you have the option of webcasting it by uploading it to a webserver. You may choose to use either the HTTP mode of delivery for the video, or even opt for live streaming from a Macromedia Flash Communication Server (FCS). More information on using the Macromedia Flash Communication Server to stream Flash video is available here. (Your SWF files also can be opened for local viewing on your computer by using the free Macromedia Flash Player, downloadable here).

If you've chosen to save your presentation as a single executable file, the resulting .exe file can be run without any need to download a Flash Player. Your .exe file can be burned on CD/DVD and easily launched by the user. The need for installing presentation files on a user's PC is completely avoided. All the elements of the presentation will be played directly from this executable file without having to be saved as temporary or permanent files on the hard disk of the user's computer.

You may also choose from several options when exporting your presentation to define how it will be seen and heard. For example, you can create a presentation that shows your logo, a presentation that simply shows a speaker's still photograph and audio, and/or a presentation that has a background sound (such as a musical theme) accompanying the speech. Once you have made your choice from among these options, you may either launch a preview or save the presentation.