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How do I track clicks
in flash banners? |
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Note: Tracking clicks using
this methodology requires Ban Man Pro Version 3.02 and higher. Ban
Man Pro 2.2 users may obtain a patch to support this. Please
email us to obtain the patch or latest version. |
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Important Note: The variable
name you choose for click tracking is very important and must be
communicated with the web site owner who will enter the ad into
Ban Man Pro. Not only is the name important but so is the
case. For example, URL is not the same as url.
ClickTag, clickTAG, and ClickTag are all different because of
the case differences. This is the number one mistake made
with flash movies. |
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The
Internteractive Advertising Bureau has come up with a
"Universal clickTag" that is not case-sensitive and we recommend
you follow their instructions. Then, when adding the flash
banner into Ban Man Pro, choose the click tracking variable name
of ClickTAG.
http://www.iabcanada.com/clicktag/instructions.shtml
Alternatively, you may use our instructions
below: |
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Action Script 3
Flash CS3
Instructions for Flash MX
Instructions
for Older Versions of Flash |
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Action Script 3 |
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Select the button object on the stage that you wish to use
and in the properties panel assign it an instance name
(empty by default). In this example we will call it
myButton
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Since you can’t directly apply an actionscript to an object
with 3.0, you must select the first frame of a layer on the
main stage (ideally the layer containing your button) and in
the actionscript panel insert this code, replacing the
variable “myButton” with the button’s instance name you
assigned (if you did not use "myButton".)
In a nutshell the first line of code retrieves the http link
from the site the flash is in and creates a url variable, the
second line executes the last when the button is clicked on, and
the third line actually sends the browser to the url variable
created by the first line."
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Flash CS3 |
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Create a button or
movie clip button
- For more
information on creating a button in Flash, see
Create a button.
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Add a script to
the button
- Executes when
a user clicks the banner. You might use the
getURL()
function to open a new browser window.
Make sure url is NOT IN QUOTES.
Note: This script must
be placed in an Action layer.
myButton_btn.onRelease = function(){
getURL(url, "_blank");
};
Please see the Adobe Help files for additional info. |
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Flash MX Instructions |
- Create a new bottom layer;
make it the full pixel size of the ad and fill it with the
desired background color.
- Click once on the new layer
to select it – then right click and choose ‘Convert to
Symbol…’
The following dialogue box will be displayed:

- Give the Symbol a name (like
Click Through) and then choose 'Button' for the Behavior. Hit
OK.
- Down in the ‘Actions -
Button’ section, go into the ‘Actions’ menu, then into the
‘Movie Control’ menu, then choose ‘on’ by double clicking.
- If the Event ‘Release’ is
not checked, Check it.

- Still within the ‘Actions’
menu, go into the ‘Browser/Network’ menu and choose ‘getURL’
by double clicking.

- getURL has four components –
URL, Expression, Window, and Variables.
- For URL enter the variable
url.
- Check the Expression box
next to the URL field.
- For Window select _blank
from the drop down box.
- For Variables, leave
‘Don’t send’ selected.

Make sure url
is not in quotes as shown above.
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Instructions
for Older Versions of Flash |
Follow these steps precisely to modify your
flash file to support tracking clicks:
- From with Macromedia's flash editor,
open your .fla file.
- With the mouse pointer, select the Frame
or object that you would like to track the click on.

- From the Modify Menu, select Instance.
The Instance Properties screen will appear.
- Select the Button symbol and select
Button under behavior. The Actions tab should now appear.

- Click the Actions tab.
- Click the
button then select On MousEvent. On the right side
next to Event" check the box Press.

- Click the
button once more and select Get URL.

- In the URL: box, enter "url"
in lower case letters. Do NOT enter
your company URL but rather the word "url".
- Next to Window: select
"_blank". This is necessary to ensure the Click event
jumps outside the IFRAME if the banner is being served in an IFRAME.
- Make sure Variables: is set to Don't
Send.
- Click the
button on the right side of the URL: field and select
Expression. Do not do the same for the box next to the Window
field.

- Click the OK box to accept the changes.
- Proceed to publish or export your .SWF
movie and upload the file to your ad server.
Congratulations! You are now ready to begin serving your
FLASH movie in Ban Man Pro.
| If you are looking for
a 3rd party product that allows you to add the click tracking in an
existing SWF file, please checkout
SoThink SWF
Quicker. |
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