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IFrame object

SmartBuilder v3 or v4?



This object will allow you to embed HTML in your SmartBuilder lesson.

An example of this would be a lesson that has instructions on navigating a company's resource website.  It has the real website embedded in the middle of the lesson, and instructions on where to go below it.  It could also have a question based on that embedded content.

Below is a lesson with a menu, page navigation, and instructions with the Flash Help site embedded in the middle.

Some other possible examples of using the IFrame effectively are:
  • Embedding YouTube videos (follow the instructions in this video to see how).
  • Displaying external resources (such as help or a website).
  • Displaying internal resources that are easier to build en masse in a different technology (e.g., a glossary built in HTML, or a PDF resource).
  • Getting around embedding things directly in SmartBuilder, such as AS3-based Flash content, or content from other tools (like Articulate).
The IFrame object has a few limitations, but often these are not significant barriers.  They are:
  • IFrame always shows up on top of other content.  Since it is technically a popup window without borders or bars, it will always float to the top, even if you layer other objects on top of it on the Authoring Stage.
  • Your lesson cannot scale proportionally.  It must be fixed size.  IFrame does not scale with the content, so it will look strange if the background can change size, but the IFrame does not.
  • IFrame is only visible after publishing.
  • IFrame is also incompatible with some of the 508 functionality, and both cannot be used in the same lesson.

You can resize the IFrame object on the stage, or specify the size in the Properties panel.

To point the IFrame to the content of your choice, you have 2 options - one to point to a live URL on the web, or to point to an asset that has been uploaded to SmartBuilder that will be bundled with your lesson.

  • You can specify the URL in the Properties panel.  You can set the URL via the action list as well.
  • Similarly, you can use the Embed code provided by YouTube, Jing, and hundreds of other web-based tools (you could even put a SmartBuilder lesson inside a SmartBuilder lesson!).
  • You can specify the Asset in the Properties panel only.  For more on uploading Assets, see the page here.