Hello! And, well... help!

[AUcp3]

First of all, hello everyone! I'm a newbie here. I've been a graphic designer for going on 10 years now. I've been primarily a print designer, but I've ventured outside of this box recently into the scary world of web :-).

I have a question. I have a site with a portfolio that uses Flash and Slideshowpro. I was wondering if there is a way that I can have a hidden link to an html portfolio for people who don't have Flash. Like, this link only shows up when the Flash player can't load. How do I do this or can I do this? Thanks in advance to everyone.

[CkretAjint]

Under the slide show, in like 9pt type, just put this:

"Trouble viewing this slide show? Click here."

and welcome! :D

[AUcp3]

Thanks! I don't know why I didn't just think of that to begin with, lol. But sometimes the easiest answer is just not obvious, especially when you've been working on a project for a while. :D

[CkretAjint]

Understood. I hope you stick around the forums, there's lots that can be learned here. :)

You could also use a splash page upon entering your portfolio. You know "click here if you have a high speed connection. or click here if you are on 56k." Something along those lines.

[AUcp3]

Cool. I definitely will be sticking around. I hope the web experts here, don't have a secret meeting where they laugh at some of my "green" questions about web design, because I have plenty lol.

[vanishdesign]

Put the text inside the object tag. e.g.
<object
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="movie.swf"
width="400" height="300">
<param name="movie" value="movie.swf">
<a href="noflash.html">Trouble viewing this?</a>
</object>


Avoid using the words click here. Make the question a link.

[AUcp3]

Put the text inside the object tag. e.g.
<object
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="movie.swf"
width="400" height="300">
<param name="movie" value="movie.swf">
<a href="noflash.html">Trouble viewing this?</a>
</object>
Avoid using the words click here. Make the question a link.

Ok thanks! I will try this as well.

[C.E.]

Avoid using the words click here. Make the question a link.

Why is it that every time I do this my clients come back and say something like "Our users are having trouble understanding that they can click on this - can you put the words "click here" in there somewhere?" Ugh!

(sorry to hijack the thread)

[vanishdesign]

If your links look like links or buttons, the users won't have any trouble. The advent of CSS made a lot of people get a little too creative with link styles, but bright blue (#00f) with an underline works fine for Google and Yahoo.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040510.html
http://vanishdesign.com/articles/web_design/worst-way-to-style-your-visited-links/

[sudodesign]

Understood. I hope you stick around the forums, there's lots that can be learned here. :)

You could also use a splash page upon entering your portfolio. You know "click here if you have a high speed connection. or click here if you are on 56k." Something along those lines.

Splash pages are what's the word.. "cool" but they pose SEO problems.

Read this: http://www.unlimitedwebdesigns.com/blog/seo-design-mistake-splash-pages/

Try to avoid it if you can.

Tip: most people that surf the web rather go straight to the content they're looking for and a high % lack the graphics and/or connection stability to view flash sites... slow loading etc. You could have your html porfolio as your main home page and link a flash version which would accommodate a lot more people than you think. With portfolios, your visitor accessibility is priority over a "flashy" web site.

[digizan]

I was wondering if there is a way that I can have a hidden link to an html portfolio for people who don't have Flash. Like, this link only shows up when the Flash player can't load.
SWFObject is intended to do exactly what you describe. I've been using it for a couple of years and it works great. See http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/wiki/documentation for more info.

Digi