The Resources tab in the Properties dialog box will appear for every object that you add to a page. This tab allows you to control when resources attached to an object are loaded, there are two modes of loading resources and they are:
The No Preload mode – this mode will load a resource when it is required and not before. For example, if you have several high quality images that will appear on a page but they are initially hidden then the images are only loaded (i.e. accessed by the computer) when the image is displayed, this may cause a delay before the image is displayed as the image is loaded.
The Preload mode – this mode will load the resource before the page is displayed. Using the same example above, all of the high quality images will be loaded before the page is displayed, the images will appear instantly when the user wants to display them.
When your publication is going to use resources with large file sizes, such as, high quality images, videos or sound you are going to have a delay while the system access and loads the file. The Resources tab allows you to control for each individual resource when the delay will be.
Important Note:
By default, all resources for an object (e.g. images, sound, video, text files, etc) use the No Preload mode when the object is created. This means the resources are loaded only when they are required and not prior to the page been opened.
If the object contains a resource or resources, the Resource box will display the filename of the resource(s) and the mode currently used (i.e. No Preload or Preload). By default, when an object is first created, any resources attached to it are set to the No Preload mode.
Click on the name of the resource in the Filename column of the Resource box whose mode you want to change. This will highlight the Mode panel showing the current resources mode.
Note:
You can change more than one resource listed at a time to the same mode. Use the Shift key as you click on the top and bottom name in the Filename column to select a range of resources. Use the Ctrl key and click on the names in the Filename column if the resources you want to select do not appear beside each other in the list.
Use the Load on Page Start option in the Mode panel if you want to preload the resource. This option will change the Mode column in the Resource box for the selected resource to Preload.
Use the Load when Required option in the Mode panel if you want to load the resource only when it is accessed/required. For example, if an image is hidden on a page, it will not be loaded until the user shows the image on the page. This option will change the Mode column in the Resource box for the selected resource to No Preload. By default, all resources are set to this mode when an object is first created.
If you want to change the location of the resource when it is published, click on the Publish button. This will open the Location tab in the Publish Options dialog for the resource – see The Location tab for more information.
Click on the Apply button to save your changes.
When you create publications with high quality resources, you may have to make a choice between speed of access and quality of work. The Resources tab allows you to balance this in whichever way is favourable for each situation. For example, if you create an introductory page (i.e. a Splash page) that times music to a fast sequence of images you may want to preload the resources (i.e. the music and images). In this example, the page may take longer to initially display but the sequence will run smoothly. If you do not preload the resources, then again using the example, there may be a time lag between the music and the image display the first time the sequence is run – however, the second time through the sequence will be smooth because all of the resources are now loaded. Sometimes you will have to make a trade-off but with the Resources tab you can at least control it.