Add Interactive Books to Your Web Site With MegaZine 3

by Lisa Hoover - Sep. 28, 2009Comments (2)

One of the secrets to keeping people lingering on your Web site is to give them something to do when they visit, and interactive books are a great option. Some retail outlets use pageflip engines to display the latest weekly ads and educational sites often use them as a more approachable way to deliver content than scrolling through endless Web pages.

If you want to add an interactive book to your Web site, then check out the free open source Flash Application, MegaZine 3.

Written in ActionScript 3, MegaZine 3 gives provides everything you need to put an interactive flipbook right on your Web site. The developers went to a lot of trouble to make sure setup is painless, including the addition of a Document Type Definition so you can easily validate files or uncover a missing bracket buried somewhere deep in the XML structure.

MegaZine 3 automatically generates a control bar with buttons that let the user jump through pages or peek at thumbmail images to find a specific page. Page caching keeps a specified number of pages available, continually loading fresh content and unloading viewed pages. Integrated support for SWFAddress means you can even add Flash movies to your flipbook. Additional features include:

* XML and internal linking for easy page navigation

* Language localization

* Zoom and gallery image functionality

* Default element types like sound, Flash movies, videos, and images

* Built-in UI features like tooltips and a help menu

This cool little app is licensed under the GPL license for personal use, and a commercial license is also available. Download MegaZine 3 here or check out the extensive documentation for more information.