Creating configuration files for Flash development

The Flash 8 authoring tool sets a flag on your hard disk to identify
you as a developer to direct you to a specific developer-oriented
version of the Global Security Settings panel instead of a
user-oriented Global Security Settings panel. The flag is in the
FlashAuthor.cfg file on your hard disk, which installs automatically
when the Flash Basic 8 and Flash Professional 8 authoring tool installs.

The FlashAuthor.cfg file is located in the following approximate directories:

Windows  boot disk\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#Security

Macintosh /Users/<UserName>/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#Security/

By default, this file is set to LocalSecurityPrompt=Author,
which means the warnings you see on your computer treat you as a Flash
developer as opposed to a user without the authoring tool installed.

You can test your local applications as an end user and see the
warning dialog boxes that an end user would encounter. To do so, open
FlashAuthor.cfg in a text editor, and change the LocalSecurityPrompt in
the FlashAuthor.cfg file to match the following:

LocalSecurityPrompt=User

You might want to provide a FlashAuthor.cfg file, with LocalSecurityPrompt set to Author,
to other developers in your design or development process or to users
who test Flash applications on their local hard disk and do not have
the Flash 8 authoring tool installed. This helps you mimic the end
user’s experience with your locally deployed content.

NOTE

If the FlashAuthor.cfg file is deleted, the file is recreated when you launch the Flash 8 authoring tool.

In the #Security directory on your hard disk, you can create a
FlashPlayerTrust directory where you can store unique configuration
files. Inside these files, you can specify directories or applications
to trust on your hard disk. This directory does not require
administrative access, so users without administrative permissions can
set permissions for SWF files and test applications.

If you do not specify a directory, your content might not function
as intended. Configuration files inside a FlashPlayerTrust directory
contain directory paths. The file can contain a list of several
directories, and you can append new paths to the file. Flash Player
expects one path per line in configuration files. Any line that begins
with a # punctuator (with no leading space before it) is treated as a comment.

To create a configuration file to trust a directory:

1. Locate the #Security folder on your hard disk.
2. Create a folder called FlashPlayerTrust inside the #Security folder.
3. Create a new file in the FlashPlayerTrust directory using a text editor, and save it as myTrustFiles.cfg.

   You can use any unique name for your configuration file.

4. Locate the directory where you test Flash applications.
5. Type
   or paste each directory path (any directory path on your hard disk) on
   a new line in the file. You can paste multiple directory paths on
   separate lines. When you finish, your file looks similar to the
   following example:

   C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\My Documents\files\C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\My Documents\testapps\

6. Save your changes to myTrustFiles.cfg.
7. Test a document that accesses local and network files from the directory you added to the file.

   Flash applications saved in this directory can now access local files and the network.

There can be numerous directory paths saved in each configuration
file, and numerous *.cfg files saved in the FlashPlayerTrust directory.

If you create applications that install on an end user’s hard disk,
you might need to create a configuration file in FlashPlayerTrust to
specify a trusted directory for your application. You can create
configuration files inside the FlashPlayerTrust directory that specify
the location of the trusted application. See the pervious procedure for
information on this directory and creating configuration files.

NOTE

An installer is run by a user with administrative permission on a computer.

You should develop a unique naming scheme to avoid conflicts with
other applications that might install files in this directory. For
example, you might want to use your unique company and software name in
the filename to avoid conflicts.

TIP

If you do not want to use configuration files, you could publish your Flash applications to a separate, testing server instead of providing clients or other developers SWF files to run on their local hard disks.

For more information on configuration files, see www.macromedia.com/go/flashauthorcfg. You can also create a unique configuration file to trust one or more directories. For detailed information on security, see www.macromedia.com/devnet/security/and www.macromedia.com/software/flashplayer/security/.