Digital Workshop

Hi

Looking for a way to achieve security for a Flex publication, I noticed that the evaluation options are not available in Flex. I am concerned that sample publications need to be somehow secured. Passwords are not the best option, since they can be given to others.

Is there a way to set a script on the first page of a Flex pub that would disable the "next" button on a specific date so the viewer would be unable to go any further into the pub?

I suspect this would involve the system clock and system variables (not a perfect solution, since this date can be set back), and a script that would somehow disable the button if a certain date were exceeded. Not quite sure how to script this for Flex or if it would work.

(When I tried to script this using standard publication variables, they wouldn't work in runtime in Flex, though they work in the editor preview).

Or, is there a better way to achieve this or any security in Flex?

Any help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Hello, I understand your predicament since I do a lot of work on flex and flash. What you can do is purchase a product called Zinc here:

http://www.multidmedia.com/software/zinc/

This application will help you to produce an executable called "projector" out of your flex application and it will help you to setup a security based in password or in time limit trial projectors.

This Zinc application it also help you to create database conectivity, embed html and pdf and more...

I hope this helps
German

Hi German

Thank you for your reply.

I'm familiar with Zinc and other third-party tools to package SWF into executables for standard Windows deployment. I just acquired SWFKit Pro (http://www.swfkit.com) which has excellent functionality, including encryption and passwords.

The difficulty is with Flash executables for mobile devices. I'm been increasingly authoring materials for these. Here, Zinc Pocket PC is not able to help. They have yet to update their program for Windows Mobile 5.0, which is fast becoming the OS on PDA's and SmartPhones. Plus Zinc is pricey at $549.99 for a full version. I use Handsmart's FlashPack: http://www.handsmart.com, which is a fantastic SWF to EXE creator for Win Mobile 5.0, PPC 2003, and even PPC 2002 at a fraction of the cost (unfortunately, no security can be set).

I've been trying to figure out how to add security to the SWF itself, so that when I distribute sample learning modules that I've authored for handheld devices, I can have some control over the content I am creating. It would be particularly helpful to expire these after, say, 5-30 days.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,