Flash interface testing

There are four practices that you should follow when testing a Flash-based interface: 

Step 1: Test over multiple connection speeds

Testing over multiple connection speeds is the most important practice to follow when testing Flash interfaces. If you test only from your local hard drive—or a web server on your local network—you are in danger of masking problems that might occur only under real-world connection conditions. When you test locally, things like server communication, image loading, and SWF streaming happen almost instantaneously.

An example helps illustrate this concept. If you use the statement gotoAndPlay(20) on the first frame of your movie's timeline, it will most likely work as expected when testing locally or even over broadband. However, if you test the same file over a modem connection, your movie will probably behave incorrectly.

One very helpful way around this problem is to make frequent use of the built-in Simulate Download feature in Flash, which you can find in the View menu of the SWF window that appears after choosing Control > Test Movie. Because the Simulate Download feature allows you to preview the performance of your movie over various connection speeds, it is a good way to spot speed-related problems early.   

Step 2: Test across browsers

This step exposes the following:

• Problems with embedding Flash Player
• Problems with relative URLs
• Problems with Flash-to-browser communication

 Testing across various browsers confirms that Flash content has been embedded properly on the page and that all URLs embedded in the Flash file are working consistently across all browsers. 

Step 3: Test across Flash Player versions

This step exposes the following:

• Publishing mistakes
• Flash detection problems

Because Flash Player handles nearly all aspects of the display and functionality of a Flash-based interface, you will need to test your interface in various versions of Flash Player. It is usually adequate to test in just two versions: the version of the player which you've defined as your minimum required version and the version of the player that preceded the required version.

For example, if your interface requires Flash Player 6, then you should test in the earliest release of that version (Flash Player 6r21) and in any release of the previous version (Flash Player 5r30). If your interface requires a specific later release of a particular version—for example, Flash Player 6r65—then you should still test in the versions mentioned previously as well as the required release.

Step 4: Test on "weak" machines

This step exposes the following:

• Issues with playback performance
• "This script appears to be running slowly" alerts

The user's hardware—processor, RAM, and video card—impacts the experience significantly.