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Tutorial - Create a simple SWF with clickTAG tracking

Clicks on a Flash ad (SWF file) can't be tracked if the click button is assigned a static link. AdSpeed uses the industry-standard clickTAG parameter to eradicate this problem. After using clickTAG in the ActionScript, the SWF file will be expecting a dynamic URL to be provided from outside. This dynamic URL comes from the Destination URL field when you create an ad within AdSpeed. These are the basic steps to create a simple SWF file with click action and tracking enabled.

Video Tutorial - ActionScript 2

Video Tutorial - ActionScript 3

Create a new SWF file

  • Open Adobe Flash
  • In the General tab, choose either ActionScript 2.0 or ActionScript 3.0.
  • In the Property inspector, edit size values to set the desired dimension for the flash ad
  • Alternatively, you can choose a popular template to work with by following the menu File > New > Templates > Choose an ad dimension
  • Design your SWF file using texts, lines, shapes

Create a click button with ActionScript 2.0

If you choose ActionScript 2.0 at the beginning, you can create a button which links to your destination website upon clicking with these steps:
  • Draw the shape of the button and customize as needed.
  • Select the shape, then right click, and choose Convert to Symbol
  • Choose Button for the 'Type' box and enter the name of button
  • Follow File > Publish Settings > Choose ActionScript 2.0 for the 'Script' box
  • Right-click on the button and choose Action
Add the following ActionScript code snippet into the script box:
on (release) {
  if (_root.clickTAG.substr(0,4) == "http") {
    getURL(_root.clickTAG,_root.TargetAS);
  }
}

Create a click button with ActionScript 3.0

If you choose ActionScript 3.0 at the beginning, you can create a button which links to your destination website upon clicking with these steps:
  • Draw the shape of the button and customize as needed.
  • Select the shape, then right click, and choose Convert to Symbol
  • Choose Button for the 'Type' box and enter the name of button
  • Select the button, give it an instance name in the Property inspector.
  • Select a keyframe in line with the button
  • Click on the tab Action Frame to open the keyframe script box
Add the following ActionScript code snippet into the keyframe script box:
MyClickButton.addEventListener(
  MouseEvent.CLICK,
  function():void {
    if (root.loaderInfo.parameters.clickTAG.substr(0,4) == "http") {
      navigateToURL(
        new URLRequest(root.loaderInfo.parameters.clickTAG),
        root.loaderInfo.parameters.TargetAS
      );
    }
  }
);

In the above short sample code, MyClickButton represents whatever instance name you chose for your button symbol.

If you actually used MyClickButton, you are done; otherwise, change the above code to match the instance name.

Use this SWF file in AdSpeed

  • If you do not have Fast Delivery add-on, you would need to upload your SWF file to an online location and get its URL first. If you already subscribe to Fast Delivery add-on, you can simply upload the file directly to our servers from your local computer
  • Create a new ad
  • For the Image/Media URL box, enter your SWF file location URL
  • Enter the Destination URL, this is where the visitor should go when she/he clicks on the ad
Congratulations! Your SWF/Flash file now uses clickTAG as a dynamic link and is prepared for tracking across all industry-standard ad servers.

To convert an existing Flash ad for tracking with clickTAG, please refer to this page.

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