Introducing PDFObject

I recently worked on an e-learning course that required embedding some PDFs into an HTML file. PDF embedding piqued my curiosity, and has become something of a pet project. I decided it would be nice to have a JavaScript script that could dynamically embed PDFs as easily as SWFObject allows SWF embedding. I managed to whip up a script, and decided to name it PDFObject. (I know, I know… what a creative name!) As you may have inferred from the name, the concept and functionality is pretty similar to SWFObject.

SCORM API Wrapper updated to auto-handle exit and status

The SCORM API wrapper (v1.1.7) has been updated to automatically set the initial course status and the exit status.

The point of my SCORM API wrapper is to make working with SCORM easier. These two new functions are intended to ensure you follow best practices with your SCORM code while reducing the amount of tedious code you will need to write for your course.

cmi.core.exit & cmi.exit

Ok, I just had to write a quick blurb about this one: in about 3.5 years of using SCORM in my own course code, I had never used cmi.core.exit (SCORM 1.2) or cmi.exit (SCORM 2004). Seems incredibly daft of me now that I’ve taken a few minutes to review the documentation.

How to add basic SCORM code to a Flash movie

Here’s a quick tutorial for adding basic SCORM functionality to an existing Flash file. This tutorial aims to demonstrate just how easy it can be to add SCORM functionality to an existing Flash movie.

Please note that this tutorial uses ActionScript 3 and SCORM 1.2, but the same principles apply for ActionScript 2 and SCORM 2004.

LegacyCaptivateLoader: Dealing with pre-existing scripts in your Captivate SWF

When I designed the LegacyCaptivateLoader, I was focused on giving the ActionScript 3 SWF the ability to control the ActionScript 2-based Captivate SWF; I hadn’t given much thought to how the situation affects Captivate SWFs using one of the workarounds I just described. Can the embedded SWFs still work? Will JavaScript calls from Captivate still work with ActionScript 3’s ExternalInterface system? The short answer is yes, but it may take some tweaking on your part.