AdWonder Blog

Even though many sites have become more progressive in what they allow from a file size perspective, we are constantly battling specs and working closely with designers and developers at agencies to optimize their Flash files to be within spec and not sacrifice the quality and overall concept of the banner execution.

One of our fantastic production designers and Component Support Specialists put together this list of tips for optimizing flash files. I know a few folks have already benefited from this info and although some of it may not be new to you, these are some great best practices to incorporate for future projects whether you are in a bind for a little more K size or not!

Thanks James for putting this together!

IMAGES AND ARTWORK
1. First off, check the quality settings of any bitmaps in your library. This is the prime culprit in most cases.

2. If your FLA has any complex vector artwork with lots of anchor points, see about optimizing it a bit.

FONTS
1. Check font embedding. If you have any dynamic or input text in your FLA, check to see which characters are being embedded.

2. Has any text been converted to vector outlines (this can add a lot to filesize)? If possible try to recreate the outlined text with the actual font

EXTERNAL FILES
1. Are there any class files or .as files being included? Check their file sizes and make sure you’re only including what you need.

2. Also, is there any content in your FLA that could be moved to a child/external FLA? Look for items in your movie that may not show up until after a user interaction or something like that. In most cases, it won’t help to move items into an external file if they must be loaded in the moment the ad begins to play - since many sites consider that part of the initial file size.

UNUSED ITEMS IN LIBRARY
1. Even if they’re not being used in your timeline, Flash components (buttons, combo boxes, etc.) in your library are still exported into the SWF when it’s published. Many times, removing these unused components drops file size considerably.

2. On the same note, check for any MovieClips that are being exported for runtime sharing. If you are no longer using them, turning off the linkage for that item might help lower file size.