I recently had to modify an online slide show for a site I was working on and had the pleasure of working with a shareware program called Slide Show Pro.
This software has a Flash based (.swf file) player that interacts with a standard XML file and a folder of images to create a very classy looking player that can be easily modified by the user.
I liked it so much I went and purchased the Flash version yesterday for the reasonable price of $29. It was easy to purchase with my PayPal balance or you can use a credit card.
You install it into Flash and then it is available as a component from within Flash. You just drag an instance of the player onto the stage and size it how you want. There are dozens of options available to customize the player via a simple drop down menu interface and the changes show up live on the stage.
Making a folder of images interact with the player and the XML file is super easy and they have video help and instructions for the whole operation. You don’t even have to re-size the images before making it because the player adjusts all the images to the size of player you set.
I really love this program. Please check out the site and try the demo if you want to play around without committing to the $29 price.
I have already used it today on a site I am designing and it saved me many hours that I would have spent setting up a gallery by hand.
If you try one yourself, give me a link to the player so we can check out your example.