No. I'm not referring to setting up an American Pie Web cam show. Lately, I've noticed that a lot of Web heads are using Macromedia Flash software to produce entertaining Shockwave Web shows. Why is Flash so popular? Just as Lotus has discovered the power of groupware, Macromedia has discovered how to reduce the download time on Web animation by using Vector Images.

The wish of a Web author
The only wish Web authors have is that Web users return, at least once, to their Web sites. Many of us non-Webhead Domino specialists have been busy stealing animated GIFs or venturing into producing our own animations in hope that Web users return. Producing these animations can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

With Macromedia Flash, however, I can have an image fly across the screen, increase in size, and change (or morph) itself into another image, and all it takes is three minutes of my time and a few quick and easy keystrokes.

In this article, I'm going to begin by showing you how you can add a Flash file to your Domino site. If you don't yet know how to create a Flash file, keep reading. I'll cover that as well later on.

Three easy steps
If you've created a great Flash page and would like to use it as your introduction page on your Domino site, then all you have to do is follow these three easy steps.

Step 1
In R5.x, Lotus has an Image Resources area where images may be stored. This allows you to store images you'll be using in your database in one central location, like a library. Users can also store SWF (Shockwave Files) in this library.

Flash files saved in the SWF format can be added to this resource library just like any BMP/GIF files. Let's add the Flash SWF to the Domino Image Resource library.

Using Domino Designer, go to the Database Image Resources section and click on the Add New Image Resource button. Under the filename option, type "*.swf" and hit the Enter key. Find the location of your published SWF extension Flash file. Click on Open. Now you've placed your Flash file in the database Image Resource library.

The Flash Publish feature in Flash is designed for presenting animation on the Web. The Publish command creates the Flash Player (SWF) file and an HTML document that inserts your Flash Player file in a browser window.

Step 2
Next, you have to place this file onto a page or form in the database. You'll notice when you attempt to import your SWF image resource onto a page or form that, unlike when you import BMP and GIF files, nothing happens. That's because you're only using the database Image Resource as a library to hold your SWF files.