A. DESIGN TIPS:

When you are creating sims which you intend to be played on the web, here is some information to keep in mind.

1. The size of your sim is largely determined by its stage background graphics, the length of its sound files and its characters' appearances. If you want to make your sim small so that it downloads quickly, limit the use of background graphics and sounds.
2. People playing a sim in a web browser will need to scroll if the height or width of a stage exceeds the size of their web browser window. For users with monitors set to 640x480 resolution, you will need to decrease the default stage size or reduce the size of the squares.
3. If your sim does require scrolling, you may want to place important features in the top left corner, so that users do not need to scroll to reach those. Examples of these features might include a "Click Here to Start" button or a Score Display .
4. Close the sidelines before you save the sim, unless you specifically want users to be able to access the Characters or Specials drawer. For most sims on the web, this access is not needed.
5. You may want the introductory stage of your sim to be a static splash screen. Users would first read the screen, then click a "click me" character to start. Many sims already work this way, and for several good reasons:
   
   • The splash screen explains the sim.
   • Web Player auto-plays, and the user can easily miss the early action.
   • It is necessary for the user to click on the stage so that keystrokes will work.

To post your sim on a web page:

1. Save your sim and choose publish --> other from the Creator menu to create an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file to go along with your sim and to save on your hard disk. "Publish" will save the HTML file in a directory with a copy of your sim file and a file called StagecastApplet.jar. You can make changes to this HTML file with any Web page editor.
2. For users to automatically download the Stagecast applet, you will need to slightly modify your HTML code to include the PlayerLibrary.jar file.

Replace the applet code in your HTML page with this revised code (in bold type below). Make sure to use your actual sim file name and location, width and height.

<APPLET
    code="StagecastApplet.class"
    archive="StagecastApplet.jar, PlayerLibrary.jar"
    width=675 height=555>
    <param name="ApplicationClass" value="com.stagecast.creator.PlayerApplet">
    <param name="VersionNeeded" value="2.0">
    <param name="AutoInstall" value="false">
    <param name="InstallerURL" value="http://www.stagecast.com/installplayer/">
    <param name="World" value="http://mysite.mydomain.com/mypath/Scale.world">
</APPLET>

3. Place these four files on your web server in the same directory:
   1. The HTML file you created in Step 1 above
   2. your Stagecast Creator file ([filename].sim or [filename].world),
   3. the StagecastApplet.jar file (also located in the Classes folder in your Stagecast directory), and
   4. the PlayerLibrary.jar file. You may download PlayerLibrary.jar from the Stagecast website here and then copy it onto your web server.
   You must have access to a web site on which you can place your files. If you have a remote web server, use an FTP program to copy the three files to your web server. Be sure to use binary mode to transfer your sim file, StagecastApplet.jar, and the PlayerLibrary.jar file. All four files must be placed at the same level, in the same directory, on your web server. If you are using a Unix web server, please remember that file names are case sensitive.
4. Send the URL of your Stagecast Creator web page (the HTML file) to those with whom you want to share your sim. When users view your web page, they may see a message that says that the Web Player applet was signed by Stagecast. They should click "trust" or "grant" to allow the Web Player to play the sim.

If your sim is educational, consider submitting it to Stagecast for possible posting on this web site.