JD on EP

You might also want to checkout the foxit PDF reader. It too is free but doesn't come with all the bloat that acrobat reader has.

http://foxitsoftware.com/

http://foxitsoftware.com/pdf/pdfrd.zip

Sorry, forgot one bit of FAQqish info... the current Adobe Reader 7.0 starts up much faster than previous versions, because it shifts the loading of extensions from plugin startup to an as-needed basis. For "wow it's slow", try "get a newer version".

Bill, when you say "bloat", would I be understanding that correctly as "features Bill doesn't need"? *Reason I ask is that I've been studying PDF recently, and its varied audiences use it for far more info-management than just on-screen display. Or (and excuse me for my facetiousness ;-) did you actually decompile it and find a segment that could have been written more efficiently...? ;-)

Hey Cool. Now I get it. You got all bent out of shape because you are a Flash freak. Flash is no doubt one of the coolest graphics on the planet. It sure the hell isn't a platform. Anyone forcing Flash onto their clients just so they get to program some cool effects is doing them a disservice. That's a fact.

I am also saying that the only good Flash is hybrid Flash: meaning Flash addes to a good structured html website for the sole purpose of enhancing it. Flash for Flash's sake is poor design at best.

As a designer, your clients goals should be number one. In most cases, Flash is not the right choice for a particular business. We caught on in Germany. Everyone had flash everywhere. Not anymore. Now it is integrated as a good way to show people a presentation. That's it.

Your comment about filetype: swf is really totally missing the point. Did you do that on purpose or are you confused? Of course, Google lists "somefile.swf" it just doesn't know what is inside it.

Putting the text in your meta tags isn't the point.

The point I was making is this: On its own, a the text bound inside a SWF doesn't get listed. I have shown you major a major company where the SWF isn't indexed, but should be.

Please show me a SWF that is indexed for the text inside that particular file. Having those terms in the code doesn't prove anything. The SWF must be listed in Google for the text it contains alone. Do you know any?

Here is what I mean:

I looked up the "indian goods and serves" in Google and found this page: http://www.rajasthaninfoline.com/sh/gif/gif.htm

The phrase "indian goods and services" does not appear in either the title, description or keywords tags. It appears solely in the body text.

Can a Flash SWF file do that?

Can Flash get indexed by a term that appears in the SWF alone, but does not appear in the meta tags (or as html text)?

That's the point and that is the only point that I am trying to prove.

Thanks for your time. Cool site. I don't really have the time to play around with the blog too much. I sure wish I did. I have to go, Ciao.

Oh yeah. That blew my mind when Abode bought Macromedia. I totally love Macromedia. My personal opinion is that that Adobe bought Macromedia solely for Flash. SVG just could not compete. Now the coolest company in the world is owned by the second coolest (or maybe the third). Don't tell your bosses. I am sure that they like being named after a brick. Still the thought of putting Flash into a PDF is totally cool. That's a great idea. PDF is one of my favorite formats. Too bad I can't stand having PDF files taking over my browser. That totally sucks. I never click on a PDF online if I know that it is a PDF. Download only. I guess I should through my PC out. I bet a MAC doesn't have that problem.

Peace.

"the current Adobe Reader 7.0 starts up much faster than previous versions, because it shifts the loading of extensions from plugin startup to an as-needed basis."

7 has a service that starts up with Windows. (Check your startup folder after installing it.)

That annoys me more than anything. I don't like players / readers that molest my system.

"You got all bent out of shape because you are a Flash freak."

Ah, I don't even know who you are, yet you know that my internal emotional state is not what I believe it to be? Fascinating..... ;-)

For "Can Google search text inside SWF?" (and where'd I write about filetype & Google in this post!?), try a search on "filetype:swf credits" or whatever.

Yes, Google results can include text which does not appear in the page... searching on term "googlebombing" or phrase "talentless hack" is the way to learn more about this.

TRS113: I thought you'd enjoy this bit of trivia... Adobe is not named after a brick. It is named after a creek behind John Warnock's home in Los Atlos, CA.

Also, PDF 6 and higher already support SWF. For example, if you create a PDF from a Web page that includes SWF or export to PDF from Adobe InDesign that has SWF in it, the SWF in the PDF will play.

Thanks for stopping by, Lynn, appreciate it... quick confirm, if you see this note: Adobe Reader 6.0 and above can invoke ActiveX Controls (Macromedia Flash Player, MS Windows Media Player, etc)... can it also invoke Netscape Plugins in any way? I wondered about this because ActiveX Controls are located within the system, while Netscape Plugins are usually located within the browser in some way. Are there any environmental restrictions on embedding SWF within PDF? Thanks.

... hmm, I just did a search before posting, and found this link:
http://weblogs.macromedia.com/jd/archives/2003/05/acrobat_6_rende.cfm

Is my info here accurate, still timely? Thanks! 8)