• Load flash movies from memory directly (no temporary files!).
• Create flash-enabled applications which are ready to work even when the Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX is not installed!
• Write code which is compatible with any version of Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX (5, 6, 7).

Using the control you can load any flash movie from memory directly. Just use the FPCM_LOADMOVIEFROMMEMORY and FPCM_PUTMOVIEFROMMEMORY messages. No temporary files! Load any movie on-the-fly from any supported source. For example, you can put one or more flash movies in the resource section of your application and then load it from the exe! That's the portability and power of FlashPlayerControl!

Here's an example of how to load a flash movie from a resource:

#include "FlashPlayerControl.h"

if (!RegisterFlashWindowClass())
    return;

hwndFlashPlayerControl = 
    CreateWindow(WC_FLASH,
                 NULL,
                 WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE,
                 rc.left,
                 rc.top,
                 rc.right - rc.left,
                 rc.bottom - rc.top,
                 m_hWnd,
                 NULL,
                 hInstance,
                 NULL);

HMODULE hModule = GetModuleHandle(NULL);
HRSRC hResInfo = FindResource(hModule, _T("EmbeddedMovie"), _T("FLASH"));
HGLOBAL hResData = LoadResource(hModule, hResInfo);
LPVOID lpMovieData = LockResource(hResData);
DWORD dwMovieSize = SizeofResource(hModule, hResInfo);

SFPCPutMovieFromMemory sFPCPutMovieFromMemory;

sFPCPutMovieFromMemory.lpData = lpMovieData;
sFPCPutMovieFromMemory.dwSize = dwMovieSize;

::SendMessage(hwndFlashPlayerControl, FPCM_PUTMOVIEFROMMEMORY, 0, (LPARAM)&sFPCPutMovieFromMemory);

Traditionally, there are many obstacles or annoyances that one will encounter when using Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX in an application.

The Application...

1. needs swflash.ocx/flash.ocx installed in the system before it will work.
2. has to work flawlessly with the the already installed version of the Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX.
3. has no easy way to prevent flash movies from being abused.

FlashPlayerControl to the rescue. It solves these problems and more!

By default, the component will use the swflash.ocx/flash.ocx that's already installed on the system. The component can alternatively use any swflash.ocx/flash.ocx that you would like to provide it with using any supported source. An example of this how you can embed the flash.ocx into the resource section of your application's exe file and then load it at runtime. Using this method, your application will work even if the Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX doesn't exist on the target system. Just use RegisterFlashWindowClassEx function! With FlashPlayerControl, hassling around with Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX installation issues are a thing the past! It's so easy to do! There are even demos provided which come complete with source code to prove it!

Here's an example of how to load the swflash.ocx/flash.ocx code from a file:

#include "FlashPlayerControl.h"

...

HANDLE hFile = CreateFile(_T("flash.ocx"), 
                          GENERIC_READ, 
                          FILE_SHARE_READ, 
                          NULL, 
                          OPEN_EXISTING, 
                          FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, 
                          NULL);

DWORD dwFlashOCXCodeSize = GetFileSize(hFile, NULL);

HANDLE hFileMapping = CreateFileMapping(hFile, 
                                        NULL, 
                                        PAGE_READONLY, 
                                        0, 
                                        dwFlashOCXCodeSize, 
                                        NULL);

LPVOID lpFlashOCXCodeData = MapViewOfFile(hFileMapping, FILE_MAP_READ, 0, 0, 0);

if (!RegisterFlashWindowClassEx(lpFlashOCXCodeData, dwFlashOCXCodeSize))
{
    // Error
}        

UnmapViewOfFile(lpFlashOCXCodeData);
CloseHandle(hFileMapping);
CloseHandle(hFile);

Here's an example of how to load swflash.ocx/flash.ocx code from a resource:

#include "FlashPlayerControl.h"

...

HMODULE hModule = GetModuleHandle(NULL);
HRSRC hResInfo = FindResource(hModule, _T("FLASHOCXCODE"), _T("BIN"));
HGLOBAL hResData = LoadResource(hModule, hResInfo);
LPVOID lpFlashOCXCodeData = LockResource(hResData);
DWORD dwFlashOCXCodeSize = SizeofResource(hModule, hResInfo);

if (!RegisterFlashWindowClassEx(lpFlashOCXCodeData, dwFlashOCXCodeSize))
   return;

One of the problem with Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX programming is that you have to control what version of the Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX you are using. For example, the property "Stacking" exists only in Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX 5 but doesn't exist in later revisions. FlashPlayerControl automatically detects what Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX version is being used and prevents failure if access to non existant properties / methods is attempted. Applications using FlashPlayerControl are not only compatible with Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX 5, 6, 7, but are also "smart" about how the Macromedia Flash Player ActiveX control is used. This makes your application more robust which can result in fewer technical support issues.