CamStudio allows you to produce Flash files in two ways:
To record directly to Flash, simply click the button to toggle the recording mode to
. After that you may proceed in the same way as you record an AVI file.
There are a few options that you can adjust prior to recording to Flash. These are accessed with the Options->Record to Flash commands in the menu.
The Preview SWF File upon completion instructs CamStudio to display your Flash movie in a HTML file when the production is completed.
The process of recording to SWF actually involves multiple steps. CamStudio in fact record your screen activity to an intermediate AVI file first, before converting it to a Flash (SWF) file. The Delete the intermediate AVI file upon completion setting thus instructs CamStudio to delete the intermediate AVI file when the conversion is completed. You may want to preserve the AVI file just in case you'll like to edit it in an AVI editor, but that will take up plenty of space on your hard disk, as the format of the AVI is saved with minimal compression settings.
The production an SWF file is affected by many parameters in the SWF Producer. These parameters are, by default, hidden from users, but may be revealed if you turn on the Display conversion options before generating SWF setting. For a full description of these parameters, please refer to the section on Conversion Parameters in the SWF Producer help file.
The CamStudio distribution package includes a module known as the SWF Producer that is able to convert an AVI file to SWF. This is actually a separate program that can function independently of the CamStudio Screen Recorder.
The SWF Producer is launched by selecting Tools->SWF Producer from the CamStudio Recorder menu, selecting CamStudio->SWF Producer from the Start Menu, or by double clicking Producer.exe in CamStudio's installed directory.
While the SWF Producer works best with the AVI files recorded with CamStudio, it is in fact capable of converting most AVI files created by third party products. Normally, Flash files generated by the SWF Producer results in a much smaller file than the original AVI. For a full description of the usage of the SWF Producer, please refer to the topic on Standalone mode in the SWF Producer help file.