Dynamic Swish template tutorial. Dynamic Swish website design help. Dynamic Swish website template structure. Dynamic Swish template editing. Dynamic Swish template installation. Dynamic Swish template configuration. Dynamic Swish template FAQ. Dynamic Swish template tips. Dynamic Swish template troubleshooting.

Dynamic Swish Template Structure

You have received your Dynamic Swish template ZIP package and unpacked it. Let's see what you have inside:

"screenshots" - contains screenshots of the template.
"site" - contains the .HTML files and style.css file (a non-animated version of the template)
"images" - contains all the images used in .HTML files
"site_swish" - contains index.html, tfile_main.html, contact.php, contact.asp, style.css files and basic images (an animated version of the template).
"swish" - contains .SWF swish movie(s) used in .HTML file.
"images" - contains images used in .HTML file.
"sources" - contains source files
"clipart_library" - contains free clipart .PSD files - all the elements are arranged in several files.
"swish" - contains .SWI source file(s) and images.
"fonts" - contains all the fonts used in .PSD and .FLA files - True Type (.TTF), Adobe fonts (PFB\PFM), or both.
"psd" - contains Adobe Photoshop .PSD files.

Note: For security reasons the sources folder is in a zipped file and is password protected. To uncompress a password protected .ZIP file you will need to have a zip file utility program installed and the correct password. As soon as the zip file begins to uncompress, you will be prompted to type in the password. The password is the ID number of your order. You can find this number on the order page which is provided to you through a link that we sent to you via email.

Dynamic Swish Template Editing

Dynamic Swish Templates technology allows you to edit text and change pictures in your site, eliminating the necessity to modify and recompile SWI source file. You just have to edit "tfile_main.html" file in the "site_swish" folder to change the text. DO NOT rename this file! Otherwise, you will not be able to edit text without SWiSHMax software.

Text Editing
Open "tfile_main.html" file in text editor (e.g. Notepad). In this file you will find all the variables. Find the variable you need and type in your text after the sign of equality (=).

Picture Editing
There are "tfile_picN.jpg" files in the "site_swish" folder, where N is the number of the picture. Just substitute the initial picture with the desired one in order to change it. Your picture must have the same width and height as the original one for page displaying.

Dynamic Swish Template Installation

Uploading to server: Upload all files from the template "site_swish" folder to your "public_html" or "www" folder on server. All files should be placed in one folder.

Dynamic Swish Contact Form

Our Dynamic Swish Sites have a built-in contact form that allows you receive all contact messages at your e-mail address. Note, that your hosting must support PHP or ASP for the contact form to function. To set up your contact form you have to find out if your webhosting is PHP or ASP based.

In your configuration file "tfile_main.html" you must assign the appropriate value for "server_option"variable "php" or "asp".

&server_option=php
&recipient=contact@template-help.com

In "tfile_main.html" you must assign the value to the "recipient" variable - this is the recipient's e-mail. That's it!

Saving JPG Images from PSD for Dynamic Swish Template

Question: I want to change some pictures in my dynamic swish template. I took the pictures, same size and same format (".jpg") and saved them with the same names (e.g. tfile-picx.jpg), uploaded them on my server with the same folder structure and they don't appear in my website! Can you tell me what the problem is?

Answer: Please note, when you replace the "jpg" files within the HTML folder, your images should have the same size and resolution as the default images. When you save your image as a "jpg" file from Photoshop, you should choose "Baseline (Standard)" as the Format in the "jpeg" Options window, not "Progressive" shown there as a default. Then it should work.

Special Characters in Dynamic Swish Templates

Dynamic Swish Templates are able to load symbols with diacritical marks from the external file. But some adjustments should be done.

When you're editing the external content HTML file you should save it in Unicode format. For example, you're using default windows notepad editor: edit the text first, and then choose "Save as" from the File menu. Change the encoding option to "UTF-8" and click "Save".

Then all dynamic text items should be updated. Find out the movie clip where all content items are located. Select the dynamic text item by single clicking it. Press the CTRL+F3 hotkey to open the Properties panel. Click the "Characters" button (for Adobe Swish MX and MX 2004) or "Embed..." (For Adobe Swish 8) at the right of the Properties panel to change the characters set. Select an appropriate characters set (hold the CTRL key for multiple selection. Repeat this procedure for all dynamic text fields that will contain symbols with diacritical marks.

Then press the SHIFT + F12 button to publish your movie. If you want to use the "&", "%" or "+" symbols in your Dynamic Swish Template - use the following HEX codes:
"&" - %26
"%" - %25
"+" - %2B

E.g. for a Trade Mark Sign you should look for UTF-8 (hex) --> e284a2, so a code you should put in your tfile_main.html file for will be the following: %e2%84%a2