Blank_Site - Flash CMS

About Blank_Site Flash CMS

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This is a flash web app. Flash CMS content management. That works with stuff you drag'n drop on your FTP. (images, mp3, flv, txt). Neat stuff inside. Good for: building flash sites, with simple or complicated structure, that need constant updates. Suited for those who want fast project deployment and low maintenance costs.

Admin Description

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Dragable Area - click here to move the admin tool around the stage. Close - will close admin and will keep your session active till the next reload of Blank_Site. Selected active object - this shows the object that you're about to modify. Modify object properties, allows you to alter properties for selected object, like: Alpha - work as regular alpha. Rotation - offers 360(R) rotation. Zoom - scale object. Each item has its own settings. Reset - apply default settings for selected object. Stick to Stage - one of the most important feature of admin. Works in much the same way as any graphical application - will "stick" selected item to the desired area of browser. Each object will then stay in the chosen position, even if the browser stage dimensions are modified. Settings for picture position - allows you to fine-tune the basic picture settings. For more info see video.

Save All Settings - will validate all changes that have been made. Extra Settings - A number of design guidelines, displaying different window sizes etc. Exact Stage Coordinates - displays the present size of flash area inside the browser. These numbers don't represent browser margins and tools. Show stage for (...) will display a square with the width and height of the selected button. Video - guidance demo for each specific section, with tips on how to use the respective pannel.

Anathomy

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Inside _Shell Folder Essential site data is found here in the _shell folder. Don't modify or delete the files here. The MP3 folder can only contain CVB/VBR MP3 files. It doesn't matter how big or how long each MP3 file is: you can go as hi-fi as you like, up to your server's hosting restrictions & your madness :) The Skin folder contains 8 folders with fixed names: 1..7 and default.Plugins folder contain thumbnails components and other file formats players. This will enable later to customize thumbnails for each section/skin or whatever you want.

Inside Skin Folder - What's so important here? These are the files that dictate how your site will behave - changing the skin your using changes the whole look and feel of your site. All folders are numbered as 1...7 plus the default skin folder, which arrives with a ready-built skin. Inside Plugins Folder Here are completly customisable assets: thumbnails - each skin have its own thumb file, a default one and thumbs1-7, TXT, FLV, MP3 player, also one for every skin. Chat and anything you want to add to your project.

Caption / Tags (keywords)

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Add, Edit Description and Keywords - This feature will allow you to add/edit caption and keywords/tags (will be used by search engine too) for every item that will be on site. The description will be available over build-in description box, and according to your needs can be used also with custom plugins. After editing click to save new caption and keywords/tags. Or choose to include those files/folders in site RSS. See demo movie for more information.

Features

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Live Search Engine
Human Touch Live Search Engine easy to configure yet powerfull enough to satisfy your needs.

Thumbnails Viewer
Ergonomic site navigation tool. Developed as a secondary navigation tool, and allows users to browse through a whole section quickly and easily. Extra options make it a particularly useful tool.

Unlimited Content
Each section/folder can hold an unlimited number of items (JPG, SWF, PNG, GIF, TXT, MP3, FLV, BMP, etc). And other exotic content such as mov, mp4, m4a, pdf, zip...

Slideshow Engine
The Smart Slideshow enables fast viewing without all that clicky-clicky. Includes many options, including the possibilty to view the content of all sections in a continous loop.

Caption + Tags
Via a discrete WYSIWYG admin user can add caption and tags for files and folders. Later those can be used to be displayed on site of RSS or up to your imagination. Powerful feature for powerful people. More details in showcase section.

Mp3 Player
Perfect for entertainment / add to partcular site sections such as intros / streaming web radio.

Flv Player
Skinable, easy to re/configure and powerfull enough to handdle any .flv's.

Txt Player
Good for those who wanna display text content and need to use custom fonts, scrollers and so on.

RSS Suport
All objects used in system such as folders and files can have caption and tags (edited via admin). Those files and folders that have among tags 'RSS' - will be included in site RSS with desired caption. Ofcorse with a direct link to them.

+ Much More
Ability to start the site with a search query, or jump directly to a section or to a file. Optimize site for slow CPU's, Save as, Cache ahead, search history, exclude from search engine, deep custom Google Analitycs tracking and so on. All these features plus lots of other nice add-ons, that can't be explained here. Request more infos.

File Formats

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:37 +0300

Here comes the versatilty and frexibility of Blank_Site?. The whole idea is to provide as much freedom as possible. This means that you may use static/dinamic content. JPG, SWF, PNG, GIF, BMP, TXT, MP3, FLV, BMP files can be stored in the same folder or scatered across the site. FLV, TXT & MP3 files use it's own player(a swf file easy to customize) according to skin setitngs. Also can index ZIP, 3GP, PDF, MP4, M4V, M4A files. More info on request.

.jpg/jpeg
Use Non-Progressive/Non-Progressive Jpg's.

.png
Use only PNG24. Progressive JPG can be used only with FLASH Player 8 and up.

.gif
Use only unanimated GIF files. If you upload an animated GIF, only the first frame is displayed.

.bmp
Not so used format but who knows!?

.mp3
Use any size VBR/CBR (variable/constant bitrate) mp3 files.

.swf
Any Flash Player version. But works better with version 8.

.flv
Use any type of FLV files (Flash video file)

.mov
Quick Time files that use H246 compresor

.txt
Works with txt files too...

Accesing Admin

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Our powerful Admin Tool was develop with you in mind. It's here to save your ass and boost your creativity. So, you've loaded Blank Site in your web browser window. Simply click inside the window to activate flash, and press the "~" key, (make sure it's capital). Or via flash contextual menu. We choose the "~" key because the admin shortcut should be quick to access but also hidden from the people who will be browsing your site. Even if they happen to come across the admin log in box, without the proper password they won't be able to go any further. Log in Box - A unique password is provided for each Blank_Site. Username is not required. Your password is 100% secure. You can change your password as long as you have FTP access. Passwords are case sensitive - (for example, !@EfSDGa).

Menu Effect Settings

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Sometimes your site concept will require that the navigation menu is hidden - things like menu items could interfere with the design of your site. For moment there are 5 effects which you can choose from. Alpha will make all object to fade to 10% (only just visible), meaning that navigation items won't interfear with content. This is perfect for a cleaner/smooth user experience. Smooth Zoom makes all objects shrink until they're invisible. Crazy Zoom is a more unconventional effect. Slide Fx might look like an "Old School" effect, but it's not. Use it when you want to hide the menu. The 'Go Home' effect will make all menu items "dissapear" into the logo.

More Juicy Settings

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Enable thumbnails - turns thumbnail viewer on or off. You can disable/enable a background image to go behind the thumbnail viewer - an additional design element you might want to make use of. Thumb effect (x) - applies a number of effects to thumbnails. The Logo can become a tool showing users how far through the selected content presentation they are: if you are at photo number one, then a small bar appears. At photo 99, the bar is much larger. Basic navigation device. Optimize for slow CPU - will save processor power by speeding up some processes. (you will notice a slight degradation/improvements of effects).Slideshow all sections - this means that once the Section 1 slideshow has been completed, Section 2 is started, and so on, through the sections. An infinite presentation loop. Use 3 frames for SWF files - this option is useful for those who know how to handle some basic Flash. It allows you to emulate a flash button without actually making one - create 3 frames in flash, and the application does the rest. (see video for more) Instant play for swf files - this must be enabled in order to allow streaming for SWF files (videos or smart coded SWF, or for any files you feel like.) See video for more informations. Show/hideo MP3 build in player. Fetch filename - this feature will use as description for current file the name of it. Cache ahead - if enable will load the next item in background.

Preloader Settings And Data Flow

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:14:41 +0300

Ability to change the preloader gives freedom for your imagination and allow you more controll. There are 2 built-in 'classic' preloader styles, as well as the ability to switch to your own custom preloader (a swf file that come with a template easy to modify) Bar style - classic bar loader. Rounded - variation of circle preloader. Custom mode - require a 100 frames preloader.swf with a manual/scripted animation for full controll. See video for more details.

Data Flow - This means that data goes inside flash allready filtered by php. Oderded numerically, normally, as strings (a , A , B), regular (A , B , a), based on the current locale and by file creation date. Beside that ordering can be different inside each skin and for each section (folder/directory). If needed files details can be enabled too. Such as dimmensions (width & height), size in Kb and creation cate (May 23 2009 13:20:51).

LIVE Search Engine Settings

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Search Inside TXT Files - if enabled will include designated file in search results Search for Keywords/Tags - this is the most powerfull option from search engine. Allows to get a more human touch search results. Use in combination with other settings or singular to match your needs. Search within caption files (also in .TXT files) Search for Filenames - will include in results this search criteria. Search for Directories names - will include in search section according to search criteria. Display Search Results (0-unlimited) - default is 5 but have no limit. Show Thumbs in Search Results - will load a thumb for each file that is in search results or show custom icon for all extensions (like mp3, flv and so on). Jump to That Section - allow to browse in section from where the file belongs Display caption and tags for each search item found + additional infos. Enable history search. Exclude from search a certain folder
(ex: privat or personal) Search cover all file formats supported by Blank_Site? (JPG, SWF, PNG, GIF, TXT, MP3, FLV, BMP) and tags. See demo movie for more information.

Menu Items Settings

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:14:46 +0300

Show Active Section is a way of seeing which section of your site you are viewing. The active section will 'glow' to show users in which section they are.
If you disable this feature then you're able to use your own customised 'show active section' options: for example, the button could change colour. Blank_Site will load secondary stage butons if this option is not selected. From here you can choose to enable/ disable allmost all objects inside the stage. Instead of deleting these items, just disable them. These settings are specific for each skin. Type your email - when users click on the "Legal" section of the site, their default mail application will open. The address you insert here is the one which will appear in the mail applications 'To' box. Little "dots" - Lost a menu item on the screen? Not sure where your 'Next' button is? Click on the little dot next to each item and the respective menu obeject will slide automatically to the centre of the stage. See video for more information.

Skin Settings

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:14:51 +0300

The ability to change site skins is part of the core of Blank_Site. Each skin folder can contain a set of SFW, JPG, PNG or GIF files, with all types of files coexisting in the same folder. Of course, you wont be using them at the same time, and thus can switch between the format version of your skin at the touch of a button. Each skin has its own files inside, as well as its own settings. This means that the preloader, content effect, menu effect, menu item settings, thumbnails, plugins(txt, flv mp3 player) etc can all be unique for each skin. Use JPG - will load designated JPG files located in enabled skin folder. Use SWF - will load SWF files located in enabled skin folder. Use default skin - This is default Blank_Site skin that will load first time, until another skin is choosen. Use skin (x) - will load the choosen skin. Everyday new skin - this will load everyday a new skin to make the site look fresh and cool :) Reset skin - this will randomly arrange your enabled objects around the stage. A playful but also useful feature.

Building Your Own Skin

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It's easy to build a good looking site. Building a skin sounds a little bit complicated but it's not. Here are few basic rules to follow. Skins can be built in any software capable of exporting JPG, SWF, PNG, GIF content, from MS Paint to professional design software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or third party graphics programmes. These are the basic components of a skin: they include a forward button, a back button, a logo, and so on - the building blocks of a website. Or you can use flash to take advantage of full features of this application.

Structure

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:14:57 +0300

You need to structure your site around a basic 10 sections. This isn't a maximum - it's just a start, a way of keeping your site content organised. Besides these 10 sections there is also an extra folder called _shell (core of Blank_Site). In next chapters you'll discover importance of each of them. Each site section (directory) can contain unlimited number of items (progressive/non-progresive JPG, SWF, FLV, TXT, MP3, PNG, GIF or BMP's). Ordering is done automaticaly/manual. Hosting Requirements: Requires Linux or Unix based server, with PHP 3 and up (Data Base is no required) Blank_Site works on Mac/PC and any browser equipped with Flash Player 8 and upwards.

Related Interface Functions and Procedures

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:09 +0300

This page contains some parts of Blank_Site? core functions. These can be accesed as it is in order to achieve similar/better results as in gallery. There is no perfect tool to match certain requirements and this try to forsee most of common/special needs. Each project its special in its own but deep at the core use a set of functions shown here. Here is a list with some basic build-in actions ready to be used.
Navigation:

1. Browse through a certain section
_root.section_no(x); //
2. Browse back/next
_root.backnext(1); // (1) for next (0) for back or
_root.back_btn();
_root.next_btn();
3. Control the slideshow
_root.slideshow(1); // (1) to play (0) to pause/stop or
_root.slideshow_play_btn();
_root.slideshow_stop_btn();
4. Thumbnails toggle
_root.thumbnails(1); // (1) to show (0) to hide or
_root.thumbnail_show();
_root.thumbnail_hide();
5. Control the build-in MP3 player
_root.mp3player("play"); // pause, next, prev or individual functions:
_root.play_song();
_root.pause_song();
_root.next_song();
_root.prev_song();

Extra functions:

There are some functions that provide extensive file/s info such as:
name, extension, path (relative/absolute), thumbnail (big,small,medium/custom) path, direct link to it, caption, tags, position (ranking), file size, date, width, height, etc... Others are ready to be used in order to achieve more. Short examples:

1. Set Clipboard
_root.setclip(id); // put some stuff in your clipboard by setting the (id) parameter
2. Find the place of a certain section
_root.findsection(id); // indicate the place of a section then use that...
3. Scan a certain section/folder for its content (advanced parameters are available on request)
_root.takealook(id); // will return an array with folder content.

NB: More, more, more on request. Yes! Sometimes you might need more/some custom functions therefore there is more but its available on request. How things work in a short/rude description. This app require a Linux based hosting with PHP support (no DB required). This web app works online only. THIS IS NO TEMPLATE WEB APP. DOESN'T HAVE BUILD-IN FONTS OR GRAPHIC PATTERNS TO RESTRICT YOUR CREATIVITY.

1. There is a content updateable via FTP with drag'n'drop/copy&paste (jpg/jpeg, gif, png, bmp, swf, flv, mp3, txt files) and Blank_Site as a manager (more/less). BS acts as front/back-end at the same way (see gallery showcase for more info).
2. There is a build-in (default) interface/skin in Blank_Site that will use the FTP content and will act as a front-end. Or if u have some basic flash skills (knowledge of putting some simple actions on buttons, frames, functions, etc) then u can build your own interface/front-end/skin. This procedure was vastly used to build sites showcased in gallery.
3. You can build your skin in any application capable of exporting SWF, JPG, PNG, GIF formats. Can't make it short here. Please see movie for more info...
4. To use this application on its real power you need to construct your skin as a SWF file. Do your stuff there (build your good looking interface) then assign on desired objects those simple functions (to browse next/back, change section, slideshow, thumbnail control, etc). Export your SWF with a predefined name and this file will be ready to be used by BS as a interface between site content and user as seen in examples from gallery.
5. Use the BS build-in back-end to make some settings (simple/advanced), save the settings and you are ready to go. More/less :).

Please see movie for more details.
View Page2 _

Fast enumeration of some features present in BS back-end: skin, preloader, transition (effects), menu effects, items, thumbnails, kick-ass search engine settings, caption and tag/keywords editor. Skin can be made out of: swf, jpg, png, gif files. Can be changed on a click or scheduled to be different everyday/ certain date/time. There are 2 build-in preloaders and a custom one (for more fun). There are already 15 build-in item effects, beside stretch/center content feature. Can be added more... Effects to toggle off the interface (and to reveal only the content and the build-in basic navigation items) Enable/disable stage objects as well as some sections according to each skin. Optimize for slow CPU, slideshow all sections, instant play for swf files, enable build-in MP3 player and eventually start with a random file and fetch the list, cache ahead (pre-cached for fast viewing), enable item caption/description/tags. Enable search engine and make him search within txt files, to search after keywords/tags or filenames, directory names, display N results, load/not the thumbnails in search results, exclude a certain folder from search (private ones), use search history, etc... Enable thumbnails, thumbnail generator, thumbs effects (6 build-in) but there is a FLA for search engine and thumbnails ready to be customize. Path to place where thumbnails will be loaded... and all sorts of required/not settings.

For those who seek the security chapter: take a look on video for details. See movie for more info. Thank You.

Intro

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This is a site for building Flash websites. Simple. Blank_Site allows you to create a website from scratch. Whether your a beginner or a Flash pro, Blank_Site will change the way you work. Perhaps you want to build a site and can already use basic graphics applications? If you know how to use any application capable of exporting jpg file, you can use Blank_Site to create a dynamic Flash website. It's also aimed at desigerners who don't want the complexities of programming to get in the way of design. Blank_Site gives you the power to concentrate fully on being creative. Your the designer, Blank_Site is the programmer. However, this is also the perfect tool for those who already work in Flash, and want to be able to perform complex operations faster, more effectively. You'll be able to add your own Flash applications (like custom menus), and controll them using a powerful admin tool, lots of plugins and extra functions for those who want more control.

Blank_Site gives you the possibilty of working with lots of file types: JPG, SWF, FLV, TXT, MP3, PNG, GIF or BMP's. Video conferencing, chat, MP3 players - whatever - it can all be done much faster through Blank_Site. You can even use it as a convenient browser for SWF files, creating sites within sites... Blank_Site also gives you the opportunity to work with skins, so that you can change the appearance of your site with a single click. Everything we just mentioned is done through a Drag'n Drop feature. Everything else is done through the powerful Blank_Site admin system. Enough words. Take a look at the video to find out more.

Shortly! This is a flash web application. A shell for flash sites that allow you to drag'n drop to FTP some content and to enjoy the freedom of working with JPG, SWF, FLV, TXT, MP3, PNG, GIF or BMP files.

Thumbnails Settings

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:03 +0300

Enable Thumbnails - activate/not thumbnails but preserve extra settings. Show Thumbnails Background - when not using custom thumbnails u may use this to protect thumbnails from content by loading a passpartout below thumbs. Generate Thumbnails - after updating any section/s (adding/deleting items), and want to use thumbnails, click to generate thumbnails. This may be a long process. time of execution may vary according to server performance (results are displayed live) Thumbnails Effects - will add some fun. On double-click or whatever u want to it will show up ready to be used. Path to Thumbnails Host - when using custom thumbnails/not and you want to load them in another location than default... See demo movie for more information.

Transition Settings

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:06 +0300

Those effects are applicable ONLY for the content of your site, that is, whatever you put in your ten sections (text, photos, whatever). There are 12 basic effects ready to be used according to your concept. The stretch effect will make all content fit in your browser window, regardless of the original size of the content. Center content will do exactly what it says - it centres content to the middle of stage. Can be used together with a number of effects. Rest of the settings can be seen in demo movie.

License

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:11 +0300

Pricing / License - Licence goes for 1 domain name. This mean that can be cloned if it's under the same domain. But i'll be glad to chat a bit with anyone who is interested: iashido for both iChat/ YahooM. More info on request