On the computer running FlashCom Server, browse to the applications folder. Create a new folder named basic_app at this location.

In Flash Pro or your preferred text editor, create a new ActionScript Communication document. Add the following code to the document:

load("components.asc");

This line of code instructs the FlashCom application to load the components.asc document from its scriptlib folder, which in turn loads the .asc files for each communication component.

Save the text document as main.asc in the basic_app folder you created in Step 1.

Create a new Flash document (File New). Save this document as component_connection.fla.

Rename Layer 1 to connect_mc. This layer will be used to hold an instance of the SimpleConnect component.

Open the Components panel (Ctrl-F7 or Cmd-F7), and open the Communications Components set as shown in Figure 2-1. Drag an instance of the SimpleConnect component to the first frame of the connect_mc layer. Place the instance near the top-left corner of the Stage.

Select the new instance, and use the Properties panel to give it the instance name connect_mc. In the Parameters tab of the Properties panel, enter the path to the basic_app FlashCom application in the Application Directory field. For example, if you are using the Developer edition of FlashCom on the same machine as your web server, enter rtmp:/basic_app. Otherwise, specify the full RTMP path to your FlashCom Server and application, such as rtmp://fcs.mydomain.com/basic_app.

Create a new layer in the Timeline panel, and name the layer light_mc. On frame 1 of this layer, drag an instance of the ConnectionLight component from the Components panel to the Stage. Place the instance to the right of the connect_mc instance. In the Properties panel, name this instance light_mc, and leave the default values for the component's parameters.

Select the connect_mc instance, and in the Properties panel, click the Communication Components field. In the Values list, click the + button and enter light_mc in the field labeled 0, as shown in Figure 2-19. Click OK to close the dialog box. By specifying the light_mc instance's name, the SimpleConnect instance knows to notify it of the connection to the basic_app application.

Figure 2-19. The Values list for the Communication Components parameter of the SimpleConnect component

Save your document, and test the movie (Control Test Movie). As soon as the Flash movie connects to the basic_app application, the ConnectionLight instance turns green. If the connection fails, the light turns red. If the connection latency threshold is reached, the light turns yellow.