http://www.flashmoto.com/

Flash Moto should have been a great product, I was excited by its intentions and looked forward to seeing it launch. Template Monster currently run section which provides a flash template with Flash Moto included for $250. Not cheap but the benefits are obvious and I thought, ok, let’s give it a go. So I took the plunge and handed over $250. After a few minutes my template was delivered and instructions to setup the Flash Moto account were followed.

There are no instructions whatsoever on how you install it all, so I just uploaded everything and pointed my browser to the admin folder. Here I was presented with a list of errors, files and directories that needed permission changes. So I worked through each and changed what I was asked to. However changing the permissions on the /logs folder was not possible, it did not exist. There was however a /admin/logs folder which I changed the permissions on and the error disappeared. Unfortunately the same applied for others too, despite doing everything I was asked it claimed I had still not changed the permissions on some files.

So, off to support I go and right from the start it was clear that Template Monster help desk staff had no clue about Flash Moto, an hours spent trying to resolve the issues and I was told to raise a ticket and explain it all over again on there! Not happy but I did raise the ticket. Whilst awaiting a response I played around with the permissions and it soon became clear that the installation script was not telling me the right files to change permissions on, something had gone wrong with their script. I changed a few more file permissions that looked to me like they should be writeable and errors came and went clearly demonstrating that the install script was not right.

Eventually I got into the admin panel and my very first impression was as expected, so before I Played around with it I quickly checked the site by clicking on the “website preview” button and I find that the animated menus had just disappeared. When I went back to the admin panel they had vanished from there too. Another ticket to Template Monster and they reply some time later that it’s all fixed. However I log back into the admin panel and click the “website preview” button and the same thing happens again.

So currently it’s back at support and 48 hours after snatching my $250 away from me it still does not work and nobody at Template Monster or Flash Moto want to talk about it.

The bottom line is that the templates available on Template Monster that include Flash Moto have no documentation with them, making it impossible to trouble shoot issues. But let’s face it why I should I a Flash Professional be able to fix it if Flash Moto themselves can’t do it. A simple case of a product being released too early and not considering all the different elements that can impact their script, such as server setup which I feel seem to be where the bulk of the issues are with my template.

On their site they are offering a pre-order discount of the standalone version of Flash Moto, it seems well priced at $159, but nobody knows what they are buying! Many question have been answered in this regard. It is for unlimited flash sites? does it come with templates? Will it work with any flash template? Flash Moto are as yet not answering any of these questions. Anyone who has placed an order based on the lack of information provided on the licence restrictions could be in for a shock or surprise!

Flash Moto is a fantastic product, time has been taken to make Flash accessible to many out there, however at the last minute their rush has created a debacle. So, if your interested, watch carefully, but wait until you know other customers are happy before you take the plunge and end up thinking you just paid a lot of money for a mess!

Well I am pleased to say that having spent the last couple of hours playing around with my template that is now fixed properly I am very impressed as I would expect I was going to be.

Let’s not forget that Flash Moto is not a magic wand for Flash. The creation of any flash site needs to be done in flash itself however once you have your design and transfer it to Flash moto then the editing and creation of many items such as image, pages and so on becomes a simple and effortless task.

I have just done in 10 minutes what would have taken 30 in flash. It’s not even so much that some of the tasks are that difficult to complete in flash itself however consider that you need to open flash, make the changes, export the .fla, uplaod it again, wait fot the internet engines to realise you have uploaded a new file to see the changes and right away your sitting back wondering why have we been without this for so long.

The starting point of this software is high, all the basic editing features are there and useable. In 6 months or a year I cant wait to see what is added to make this experience much more rewarding.

So, overall well done to the team, however get the support right and make it consistent.

Without even having purchased flashmoto, I'm am already starting to be discouraged by it.

First of all, this was originally pitched as a way to edit flash websites without the need for expensive software. But after speaking with the makers, I have been told that is not the case. You can only edit flash websites done in flashmoto.

Furthermore, I wanted a flash builder that could create menus with mouseover sounds and animations and that can't even be done in flashmoto from what i understand.

Even Wix does a better job than Flashmoto, imo.

@ wisenerl, can you post an example of what you were able to create with just using flashmoto so far so we can get a decent idea of its true abilities?

Interesting comments hopefully something will come and things will get better. I think it would be nice if they created something that integrates with Joomla and focuses on the flash component. Leaving Joomla to the cms part.

Thanks for reviewing the cms system and sharing it with us all by the way.

I am currently looking to find a CMS that would suit me, and in fact I was even going to purchase Flash Moto, but now I guess I won't. I also came across fancyflash.com and it says they are about to release a flash CMS very soon. The description looks nice, though I am not a professtional... Can you guys take a look at it and say what you think? It looks like you know more about this than I do... Thanks))))

I'd have to agree with the guys on this post. Nobody on their service team knows what they are doing. Further, their instructions are completely contradictory...

One says do this, the other says do this, and nothing seems to work!

Then, when I try to get a refund 3 days later, they make it absolute hell, and don't respond to emails.

ARGH!

Do not use flashmoto CMS!

Without even having purchased flashmoto, I'm am already starting to be discouraged by it.

First of all, this was originally pitched as a way to edit flash websites without the need for expensive software. But after speaking with the makers, I have been told that is not the case. You can only edit flash websites done in flashmoto.

Furthermore, I wanted a flash builder that could create menus with mouseover sounds and animations and that can't even be done in flashmoto from what i understand.

Even Wix does a better job than Flashmoto, imo.

@ wisenerl, can you post an example of what you were able to create with just using flashmoto so far so we can get a decent idea of its true abilities?

well, I think that's some what natural, it's like trying to update a website with joomla CMS but with a Wordpress template.

I've always thought the idea was tu offer the users the ability to modify their Flash website easily, that is, no need of Flash skills, this would not be possible if is just another Adobe Flash equivalent software(but OnLine).
So in order to achieve this, it is necessary that the Flash website has some "understanding" of the Software by limiting the advanced developing options and improving the easy of doing just some things..., otherwize just use Adobe Flash.

i also tried several new ways to make my flash projects editable... i tried out also flashmoto, wix, sproutbuilder and spryflash. what i really needed is a system where i can seperate the design from the content, because at the and of the day my customers have to edit and know how to. i'm sad to tell that spryflash isn't really finished yet, and they are not sure abouth the price yet, but you can register there and get a beta to test. they have also a demo where you can login and see all the editing stuff, without the template builder. but they told me that the demo can be done completely without coding and you are able to extend every component via actionscript to add more functionality. i played around for a few hours and was surprised what they have done. i'm really looking forward to the final version of this spryflash thing.
mg

Has anyone had any experience creating a site with Flashmoto that can support the UI offering multiple languages? This seems like it would be a fundamental part of any CMS, yet from what I can see it is not possible. After communicating the with CEO of the company through various emails, he still thinks I am asking about having the backend admin panel in other languages, which I don't need. I am thinking of work-arounds to have a menu that still achieves my goal, but a better solution would appreciated if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks,
Mike

We are testing Flashmoto for the Russian language market and have actually updated our test version in Cyrillic. It can be done. Its all to do with uploading the fonts in the right spec.

Actually joining this forum to request suitable Linux hosting for our eventual Flashmoto site.

Here in Italy, no ISP is able to support Flashmoto it seems. Any trusted hosting service out there?

Unless you are prepared for a lot of frustration then ... go ahead and buy Flashmoto.

These people have spent a great (really great) deal of time of making Flashmoto look great but ... that's all there is to it.

I received a zip file which is missing files and directories(!!!) and 3 days after the purchase I still can't touch it because nobody from the customer support have answered yet ... after 3 days!!!

The company has spent lots of energy to protect the program (for eternity). That means every time one connects in the administration panel of the program online (that's the only way it functions, online, not locally) the program checks (online) if the license is active which it means if something happens either to their site or the company, Flashmoto on your site(!) will stop operating as well ... at least the administration panel, maybe the flash site made with Flashmoto too. That I can't know yet since I'm unable to work with the program ....

Also their customer support section is not operating ... one cannot even create customer support ticket because it results to error.

Having seen now how is their customer support I really dread the prospect of spending time to build a site with Flashmoto since it's always connected for verification to their site. As I said, if their site stops operating for some reason your copy of Flashmoto in your(!) site (which you have paid) will stop operating also.

OK, I hope the forum administrators won't delete my comment because of the self promotion purposes, as I am NOT promoting a product. I just want to share my experience working with FlashMoto too.

Long time passed since I bought FlashMoto CMS, actually FlashMoto CMS template with already integrated control panel. Firstly, I was a little bit frustrated with it because of lack of documentation and tutorials. They just launched the product and didn't come in time with the Help center and proper support.

But once I activated the product (Alex from FlashMoto support helped me with the instructions) and once I logged into the system, I realized that everything is quite simple. If you have ever worked with Photoshop or even Ms Word, working with FlashMoto won't make you difficulty.

In a couple of hours I was able to upload all necessary file (images in particular) and fill the website pages with the content. And that's it. At the first glance, I have a ready Flash website. Of course, from time to time I still continue to update and improve it.

@ nkmarks
I'm sorry to hear your experience wirking with FlashMoto, as I have never had such problems. My flashmoto website works properly till now. Sometimes I tried to contact their support at the weekend, but they replied only on Monday. Guess, their team is not very big (they are a startup!), thus they provide support only on working days.

Yeah, the company protects their program much, that's why you need to activate a product and create an account. But it's the first time I hear about your website as well as the admin panel depends on FlashMoto website. I don't think that activation server lies on the same server as their website. This connection is hardly probable. I remember a couple of days ago I couldn't access FlashMoto main website, but my website and account panel worked well.

Hi Fulmine,

Besides what you say, the main issue for me remains. The fact that every single time one connects to their administration panel it connects to check for a valid license is a dreadful risk.

If the company ever fails or closes or their server goes down then every one of their customers that paid for these products are totally screwed.

I don't care if their product is the most revolutionary thing ever created ... I'm not willing to take such a risk especially after what I saw with the customer support of this company.

by the way flashmoto CMS platform is getting so popular that flashmoto hosting offers have started to appear.. like this one - http://www.happyat.net/flashmoto.php

I think this is a great thing to avoid headache with your flashmoto CMS :)

Does this Works With Modsecurity ?

Most flash cmsare not compatible with cpanel / modsevurity V2

Its compatible with cpanel but just make sure that PHP version that is installed on the web server must be 5.2.1 or higher and correct permissions are set to files and folders

Hey Guys!

I've found a really helpful impartial review of FlashMoto CMS written by Jean André Mas, a member of Actionscript.org community.

http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/1014/1/FlashMoto-CMS/Page1.html

Hey Guys!

I've found a really helpful impartial review of FlashMoto CMS written by Jean André Mas, a member of Actionscript.org community.
....


Trust me that's definitely NOT an impartial review .....
Flashmoto CMS is unusable because it's lacking the most elementary documentation. According to what they claim on their website it's also illegal to provide a product such as this without documentation.

For the love of God, DO NOT use Flash Moto. I loved the site template when I found it. It’s easy to use and looks great. BUT THEN COMES CUSTOMER SUPPORT. I have never in over 45 years of life experienced anything so screamingly bad.
I just spent 60 minutes on a chat, was disconnected 3 times and received no help. Then I want to the phone Another 37 minutes. 2 hang ups, constant waiting, and then the guy on the other end who barely, and I am not kidding, barely spoke English offered me this advice: YOU have to submit a ticket. He wouldn’t do it for me, I had to do it.
I’m really serious here. Do these guys just take the money and laugh? Do they take it out for beers or lunch and giggle at how you take people’s money and offer nothing in return?
I love the site. My customers love the site. I find it easy to use WHEN IT WORKS and morons on the other end of the line don’t blame me for adding something that isn’t supposed to be in the template.
Here’s the deal. I am the customer. You are the company. You take my money and provide a service. A quality service. Not a joke.
I know without a doubt the ticket I inserted for this issue will take at least 2 days, maybe 5 like the last one. My site is inoperative without menus and I lose money every day.
Thanks, FlashMoto. If there's a 9th level of Hell, it's got your name on it.

I bought a a CMS Flash Moto template from Template Monster and I have to admit, the first day I was a little frustrated at the lack of support from FlashMoto.

At this point I went back to Template Monsters website and they were completely the opposite. They had online chat to ask technical questions and were able to resolve them.... stunned. The bit that really got me, when I asked them how to modify the template to do a certain thing they actually made a video to show how to do it. This was a first, I have never received tech support like this before.

With their help I was able to get everything uploaded, installed with JustHost and all my content uploaded in a couple of days. Adding new stuff is a breeze... Still figuring how to use all the SEO options, got the google analytics tracking started now but hey, if this thing ranks ok I will be on cloud 9.


FlashMoto was very poor in comparison to Template Monster though


Duncan

Hi I would not waste my time on something like that,instead I would have bought adobe flash player I guess is cs4 or 5 and I would go to their video tutorials and moreover I would have bought a suscription to a site they have with a girl name that is darny cool and if you get suscribed you get that of ur moto and the entire world more

I'd like to give FlashMoto a go, looks great and if you can figure out Adobe Flash or SwishMax then i'd say FlashMoto should be a breeze...

Has anyone tried the 2006 released Flaber? It actually looks like Flaber has become FlashMoto, i could be wrong though but some things in it look the same. Flaber is free and is very simple but pretty cool for small sites.

A newish sourceforge project called Silex looks even more promising than Flaber.