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Would you like to have a signature file on your emails that instantly
tells recipients you are a good designer? Would you like to bring
your client's newsletters to life with all the capabilities of Flash
animation? Then this simple technology is for you.
In addition you can:
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Create email stationery for your clients that automatically
writes in whatever size, color and typeface they want.
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Create different animations for each department in your
client's company, or for each staff member if necessary,
and change any number of them remotely whenever you like.
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Use JavaScript to include things like an automatic slide show
in newsletters and emails.
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Use GIF animations instead of Flash if, for instance, you have
an existing one you want to use.
The only thing required to use this technology is an email client
that can send messages in HTML format, and allows you to use "Stationery."
However, Outlook will be the email client used as an example in
this article.
The first thing you need to do is make your own HTML file to be
used as the Stationery, which will hold your Flash animation. I
find it easier to make my HTML file and then insert the Flash code
using the Object and Embed tags, as spelled out in Flash help. But
you can certainly use the "HTML" selection in the Flash "Publish
Settings" window for this purpose instead.
Make sure you are using the latest Flash templates when you create
your Flash animations. If you have Flash 5 then you already have
the latest Flash templates. If you have Flash 4 or earlier you will
have to download the newest Flash templates from the Macromedia
site. They enable your animations to automatically ask anyone who
receives your email or newsletter and doesn't have the Flash Player,
if they want to install it. All they have to do is click "Yes" and
in one minute or less they see your animation. It is a painless
process they have to do only once.
After you've built your new Stationery you need to save it in your
"Stationery" folder. With a Microsoft operating system the path
is C:/Program Files/Common Files/Microsoft Shared/Stationery.
Now you have a choice. You need to go into your email client and
either select your new HTML file as your Stationery, or as your
Signature. The main difference is that when you use it as your
Signature you can set your email client to add it to Replies and
Forwards. With Stationery this will not happen. But when you use
it as your Stationery you can change the color of your entire page,
which won't happen if you use it as your Signature.
To use your new HTML file as your Stationery in Outlook Express
click - "Tools," "Options," and "Compose." Put a check mark in the
box beside "Mail," and click the "Select" button. Select
your new HTML file, click "OK," "OK."
To use your new HTML file as your Signature in Outlook Express
click - "Tools," "Options," and "Signature." Click the "New" button.
Click the radio button beside "File," and browse to select your
new HTML file in your Stationery folder. When you get to the Stationery
folder your HTML file will not be visible until you select "HTML
files," or "All files" in the "Files of Type" field. Select your
new file, click "Open," "OK." You must put a check mark in the box
beside "Add Signatures to all outgoing messages," and you probably
want to deselect "Don't add signatures to Replies and Forwards."
Perhaps the main reason this technology has not been used before
is that when you are writing an email your Flash animation is not
visible. It's there all right, but it's not visible. You can tell
it's there because your mouse changes when it's over. You have to
be careful not to delete it accidentally.
If your email client has a Preview mode you can see your Flash
animation just as the receiver of your message will see it. If you
don't have a Preview mode you can see it by saving the message in
your Drafts folder, or by sending the email to yourself.
In order to ensure your Flash animation will not add to the loading
time of your email or newsletter you have to save it to a server,
and replace the name of your Flash movie with the path to the file
on your server, in the Object and Embed code in your HTML Stationery
file. The best place to save your animation is on your Web server.
This way it is always accessible to anyone reading your email, and
to you when you want to make changes. Images for JavaScript slide
shows and gif animations are sourced the same way.
The rest is just creating your Flash animation so it streams smoothly
at 56K, at a minimum, or even 28K if recipients of your message
might be using slower modems. My personal opinion is that reading
an email is not something people expect to take a long time to do,
so they won't want to wait for your Flash to load before it plays,
but there may be exceptions.
By looking at the code for the other Stationeries in your Stationery
folder, you will easily be able to set the default size, color and
typeface for your new Stationery, as well as margins. You can view
and change the code for ny HTML file by opening it in a text editor
like Notepad.
The technology has one drawback. If the recipient of your email
is behind a large firewall, like at AOL, animations are filtered
out and included as attachments. They won't see the animation unless
they open the attachment. But, for most people, email just got a
lot more fun.
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