Flash :: Frustration Masking In Btn-- HELP

Masking Frustration...
I would like to mask an MC. But am frustrated figuring out how to do it...
I have 4 layers essentially.
Top Layer: a mask
2nd Layer: an instance of my **background**
3rd Layer: scrolling text MC
Bottom Layer: my backgroaund

In my actionscript layer (in frame 1) I have this:

loadVariables("news1.txt", _root.mc1);
p1.setMask("m1")
stop();
------------------------

p1 is the 2nd layer instance of my background...which i am masking with my top Layer m1.

It works fine to this point.

However - I want my mask to be a gradient - so that p1 fades as the text scrolls upwards.

I can't get the mask to act like a graduated grayscale alpha. It is a gradient that, from bottom to top, goes from transparent to 100% black.

I swore I have done graduated alphas in the past (I even tried importing a .png image to use.

Question1: Flash can do graduated transparencies can't it?

Question 2: Since the bottom line, or the project, is getting the text to fade as it rises - AND I REALIZE that I'm cheating by hiding things under a copy of my background - is there a better way to do it?

Help!
Thanks. cb

Frustration
I have a problem, my car won't start. Also, I need to know how to make this function:

function changeScale () {

// Set the target
target = link1.target;

// Store the physics variables
physics = [0.25, 0.9];

// calculate speed using physics
xSpeed = ((target-link1._xscale)*physics[0])+(xSpeed*physics[1]);
ySpeed = ((target-link1._yscale)*physics[0])+(ySpeed*physics[1]);

// move the ball
link1._xscale+=xSpeed;
link1._yscale+=ySpeed;
}

Which changes the scale of a movie clip, making it look bouncy, work for multiple movie clips, not just "Link1".
The .swf will be on my website soon, under links.
Pleeeeeease help 'cause I'm dumb. Thank you.

- Some kid
[Edited by NeoNova85 on 07-16-2001 at 12:47 PM]

Frustration
Hi guys !

14 hours later and i have only just managed to get a square to animate, ok maybe thats an exageration but thats the frustration im feeling at the moment.

what im trying to do and i hope you guys will be able to help me with, is...

I have a Rectangle on the screen. within the bounderies of the rectangle i want my content to 'slide' into when the user click a button(s) which is located out side of the containing rectangle.

how do i do this ? im so lost, cant find a tut on what im trying to do. Goning to break something shortly just to vent my frustration.

im using Flash MX Pro 2004 ... maybe its that thats confusing me...

any help would be greatly appreciated... thanks !

Sunburn

Frustration.... Help Please
I am basically uber-frustrated with this... tried a bunch of stuff and it still won't work.

OKAY...

I have five different buttons, each one is within a movieclip.
The way it works is when the user loads the page, these buttons (b/c of the movieclip), fade in. Then what the user is supposed to do is click these buttons and these buttons are supposed to control another movieclip out on the main stage on a different layer, forwarding the movie clip to various parts depending on what button is pressed.

--Details--

Five buttons, labeled 1 thru 5, each within its own movieclip to make it fade in. Buttons on own layer

One movieclip on separate layer BELOW buttons layer, instance name: pictures. Has five different points in the movie, each denoted with a "stop action" and the frame label "ImageX," where X is the number of the image 1 thru 5.

Button 1 should play label Image1
Button 2 should play label Image2
etc.

How would I code this (the buttons). (I'd post the file but its just too big!)

-Avenger

Thanks a bunch,

-Avenger

Frustration.........
Code on frame 2 of scene 1 of movie: stop action.
code on frame 1 of scene 1 of movie: label: "about"

button inside movieclip.

code on button:

on (release) {
_root.gotoAndPlay("about"); --> should go to first frame, play and stop on frame two, rite?
}

Doesn't go back to that scene............... (should go from second scene, label: "mission" to first scene, label "about")

(sorry for the lack of description and the dryness but that's the basics)

Thanks,

-Avenger

Frustration
Hi

I have mc instance name "intro" in frame 1, mc instance name "two" on frame 2 (frame label two), stops for each one in different layer, I know I can put _parent.gotoAndPlay("two"); on the last frame of "intro" mc to play frame label two when "intro" finishes playing and it works fine.

But I want to control it from the main timeline, I want to keep all the actions in one place not spread out everywhere.

Can someone please explain how, I have been hunting around the tutorials and forums for hours.

Thanks

easy

The more knowlege I gain the better understanding of my lack of knowlege

E4x Frustration
Hello

I have some XML (below) and I want to get an XMLList which contains the entire "node" if it contains the keyword "banana".

Ive tried quite a few things -
var xxx:XMLList = myData..node.(keyword=='banana');
and
var xxx:XMLList = myData..node.keyword.(text()=='banana');

but they dont work. Here is the xml if you can help me

private var myData:XML =
<tree>
<node>
<item>ItemA</item>
<keyword>apple</keyword>
<keyword>banana</keyword>
<keyword>orange</keyword>
</node>
<node>
<item>ItemB</item>
<keyword>ball</keyword>
<keyword>bat</keyword>
<keyword>glove</keyword>
</node>
</tree>;

Frustration
I know this can't be that hard...But, I can't figure it out at all.

I want to push a button and have a MC ease. It has to be on 1 frame. I have Flash MX. I don't unerstand classes. I am trying to use the Penner easing equations. I know in the book you're not supposed to use enterFrame. But, that's all I could figure out how to do.

on the Button I have:

on (release) {
_root.gotoX = 80;
}

on the MC I have:

onClipEvent (load) {

_root.goX = 16;
var start = this._x;
var duration = 30;
var t = 0;
}

onClipEvent (enterFrame) {
t++;
if (t <= duration) this._x = Math.easeInOutExpo(t, start, gotoX, duration);
}

Please help......worked till 4am...eyes bugging out.

FRUSTRATION IS SETTING IN
ok i need to do something really simple....

I need my swf file to automatically resize to the borders of the internet explorer.....

how do I do this? and what do the demensions for my swf file need to be so it always fits perfectley???

thanks

Frustration With Instances
hi, I have several movie instances on stage and in each one is a button, Ive coded the button to swap depths with a movie clip when it is pressed. It works fine but when I press it all the others(exept the first on I put on the stage) swap depth simultaneously. I want one and only one 2 swap depths when it is pressed. The instances have no names and I refer to them as this. Help please if u know what i mean

Help... Frustration Attack
i have created a site for an ad agency... the main movie loads three separate movies (to cut load time, of course). we launched the site successfully, but since then, i have gone back and made some much needed changes. now i can not get the new site to work on line. i have an action in the main movie that loads the first of the smaller movies. then, buttons 1,2 and 3 in the main movie load the others (or the first again). all of this works fine on my computer. on-line... the smaller movies don't load.

oh, and on a minor note, the pre-load bar movie cycles a few times... rather than once. any thoughts? (or do you need the code i used to help?)

thank you to anyone with answers/suggestions

Font Frustration
So Im new, and Im not very good, but im really trying to be one. Could somebody let me know how to install the downloaded fonts?

I did the following;
-Downloaded the font
-Installed it (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Fonts)
-Started Flash MX
-Tried to create some text
-Looked through the fonts
-Couldn't find the font
-Got pissed a flicked off my neighbor

Could you tell me what did I do wrong?
Thanks.

Font Frustration
on my site i have a list of movies, the window is only 640 by 480, so the text needs to be small. the problem i have is that flash mx, makes the text very smooth, this would be good if the text was big, but its not and so is quite unreadable. i have seen this kind of text on lots of other sites but dont know how to do it in flash.

any help?

cheers

HitTest Frustration
Hi All,
I'm trying to figure out why I can't get hitTest to work.

Here is the code

onClipEvent (enterFrame) {
if(this.hitTest(_root.NAME)){
gotoAndStop(2)}
}

It is attached to a stationary MC. Another MC "NAME" moves toward it (motion tween) until they collide but nothing happens. I've tried using the trace command instead but nothing is traced anywhere.

This is just a simple mock-up to see how this is supposed to work, but I can't get anywhere.

Any kind soul know why?

Regards
AJJA17

LoadVars() Frustration
Hi everyone -- *sigh* I am trying to pass data from a Flash form to my ASP script via loadVars(), but it doesn't seem to be working. I have fully tested the script and database, so I have narrowed the problem down to the actionscript. I have form validation in there (checkForm), which *is* working, but after that is checked, *nothing* happens, the little submit button defies me. Anything obvious I'm missing...??

#include "RegExp.as"

mb._visible = false;

_global.checkForm = function(formObj) {
if (formObj.Fname.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a First Name.");
return false;
}
if (formObj.Lname.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a Last Name.");
return false;
}
if (formObj.Address1.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter an Address.");
return false;
}
if (formObj.City.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a City.");
return false;
}
if (formObj.State.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a State.");
return false;
}
if (formObj.Zip.text == "") {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a Zip Code.");
return false;
}
re = new RegExp(".+@\w*\..+");
if (!re.test(formObj.Email.text)) {
mb._visible = true;
mb.setMessage("Please enter a valid E-mail Address.");
return false;
}
return true;
}

_global.sendForm = function(formObj) {
_global.lv = new LoadVars();
lv.Prefix = formObj.Prefix.text;
lv.Fname = formObj.Fname.text;
lv.Lname = formObj.Lname.text;
lv.Title = formObj.Title.text;
lv.Company = formObj.Company.text;
lv.Address1 = formObj.Address1.text;
lv.Address2 = formObj.Address2.text;
lv.City = formObj.City.text;
lv.State = formObj.State.text;
lv.Zip = formObj.Zip.text;
lv.Phone = formObj.Phone.text;
lv.Email = formObj.Email.text;
lv.Comments = formObj.Comments.text;
lv.send("process.asp");
}

_level0.main_holder2.form.Submit.onRelease = function() {
if(checkForm(_level0.main_holder2.form)){
sendForm(_level0.main_holder2.form);
}
}

Preloader Frustration
ok, publish site in Flash 5 and preloader workes just FINE, FINE mind you. In MX I'm having problems I disabled the export in first frame thing and the preloader works, but when i call for the linked symbols they dont show up, they only show up if I loaded them in the first frame. Does any one know what I'm talking bout, this didnt happen in Flash 5 can any one help. Thanx

Mouse Frustration.............
I have created a movie and have used:

Mouse.hide();

to hide the mouse and it is replaced by a graphic using:

startDrag("cursor_movie", true);

The movie has many, many scenes and, when the cursor is visible, navigation throughout the whole movie works perfectly. However, when I put these commands into it, the new cursor works fine for the first
5 scenes and then, as it moves onto the 6th scene the 'cursor_movie' disappears. Every scene has 'startDrag("cursor_movie", true);' at the start of the scene and lasts the duration of the scene.

Unfortunately the movie is for a stand alone projector for a CD rom and so I can't post the source up due to file size........

Any ideas as to why this isn't working beyond the initial scenes....?

Cheers

Rob.

Frustration - Why Does This Not Work ?
Hi there, I am creating a website for myself and I have some pictures in the background that my brother has taken around certain points in Auckland and for some reason I cant get the preloader to work when loading the second background image!

Is there somthing in the actionscripting that I have done wrong ??

This is causing some frustration but I know that someone out there will have the answer. HELP !!!

Thanks in Advance !!

PS PLEASE FIND BACKGROUND FLA IN FOLLOWING MESSAGE

Frustration With Optimaze...
Hello guys.
I wanted to share my experience with Optimaze with you. Please do not move this topic elsewhere, i decided to post here since there is no specific forum for optimaze, and i thought that here, most people would be able to read (and probably respond too ).

Look, 2 days before, i found in a friends cd, a downloaded version of optimaze. I thought that was cool, cause i would finally be able to test this program, since there is no demo out there. If the program is good, i decided to buy it (as i did with numerous programs already).

After i started it, i loaded a BIG flash file (300k) and optimaze crashed. I tried again and again to no solution! Everytime i try to open a swf file (no matter what), it crashes! The manual says that the program, "features a safe mode, cause its very complicated and could result in problems with some swfs..". So i tried the safe mode too. Again, nothing.

is ANYONE out there that has used this product succesfully?
I still cannot open any swf, be it just vectors, heavy actionscripting, or big bitmaps, or just 3d...

Its a good thing that you can find leaked software sometimes. I just cannot think what i would do now if i bought it. They dont even have support in their site. Just a mailto link. HA!

Geturl Frustration
okay. here's the situation. i'm using flash mx. i created a simple navigation bar. symbols have been placed and marked as buttons. actions are done and "geturl" links have been placed correctly. i uploaded it to the server and tested it by clicking on the buttons. what do i get? the pages keep opening within the navigation bar. the site works on an iframe. i targeted the window to the name of the iframe and still the same. what to do? all help is greatly appreciated. thanks.

Printing Frustration In MX
I have this scenario...

MainStage
ThisModule (which loads into a blank MC on the main stage)
PrintButton (on the ThisModule timeline)
Print_Clip (also on the ThisModule timeline, but off stage)
Tech_Sheet (which is on the Print_Clip timeline)

The PrintButton controls Print_Clip with a tellTarget ("/print_clip"); play();

and the Print_Clip then uses a getURL("print:", "tech_sheet"); to output the page.

All works well when I'm testing ThisModule... but I get no response
when I try it from MainStage ... no print dialog... nothing.

Any ideas? / thoughts / places to look?

OnKeyUp Frustration Please Help Somebody
hi...can anyone help...i have a movieclip of a walking character which has its direction and movement controlled by actionscript via the direction tabs on the keyboard ...my problem is this ...i want my character to revert to frame 1 (a still image) when the keypresses are released...im trying to get my head around the add.listener action but i fear im doing it wrong can anyone help or suggest the right way!!much appreciated

Map Array Frustration
I made this map about 2 years ago, but do not remember how to make the grid larger so when I made the documents size larger, the grid when wacky!

http://swcrusade.com/new/map.html

When you click in the grid squares 29-33 you get nothing, and along the bottom P-Q do not work either.

The old smaller version: normally works like this:

http://swcrusade.com/map.html

The reason I changed it was so that it would fit in a new web page I was making: http://swcrusade.com/new/ (can see the map by clicking on galactic map)

The code for the map is:

function checkPlanet (xpos, ypos) {
for (b=0; b<_root.numPlanets; b++) {
x = eval("_root.planet.x"+b);
y = eval("_root.planet.y"+b);
if(x==xpos && y==ypos){
_root.coords[x][y].planet.gotoAndStop(random(4)+2);
}
}
}
function calculateTurns () {
xDist = Math.abs(_root.x1-_root.x2);
yDist = Math.abs(_root.y1-_root.y2);
xTurns = (xDist/_root.speedInc[_root.speed]);
yTurns = (yDist/_root.speedInc[_root.speed]);
totalTurns = xTurns+yTurns;
_root.turns = totalTurns;
}
speedInc = new Array();
speedInc[1] = 1;
speedInc[2] = 1.5;
speedInc[3] = 2;
speedInc[4] = 2.5;

numPlanets = 0;

planet = new Object();
planet.x0 = 0;
planet.y0 = 0;
planet.x1 = 1;
planet.y1 = 5;
planet.x2 = 2;
planet.y2 = 2;
planet.x3 = 3;
planet.y3 = 3;
planet.x4 = 4;
planet.y4 = 4;

_root.sq._visible = 0;

_root.coords = new Array();
for (i=0; i<34; i++) {
_root.coords[i] = new Array();
for (j=0; j<18; j++) {
num = ((i*18)+j);
duplicateMovieClip ("_root.sq", "sq"+num, num+100);
mc = _root["sq"+num];
mc._x = 15+(i*18);
mc._y = 15+(j*18);
_root.coords[i][j] = mc;
_root.checkPlanet(i, j);
}
}
stop();

I'm sure its simple (like which numbers do I change?) but I'm pulling my hair out The fla for the map can be found here if its needed - it was a bit too large to upload to the message board

http://swcrusade.com/new/swgalaxy.zip

Thank you

_droptarget Frustration
Ok folks. What am I doing wrong?
In the code below:
c1= a movie clip on the main timeline
c1dropoff=a movie clip on the main timeline

When c1 is dropped onto c1dropoff, c1dropoff should go to and stop on its own frame 2. What have I done wrong.

on (press) {
startDrag("_root.c1");
}
on (release) {
stopDrag();
if (_root.c1._droptarget == "/c1dropoff") {
_root.c1dropoff.gotoandStop("2");
}
}

Thanks for all of your help.

Navigation Frustration
Here's the situation: I have several different .fla's being used for online training. Let's call them 'File1', 'File2', and 'File3'. For simplicity sake let's say they have 3 frames each and each frame has a stop action that allows the user to navigate through each frame that has several lines of text at their own pace. When the user reaches the end of 'File1' the Next button simply loads 'File2' and they continue on -no problem. My problem is this: I need them to be able to hit the Back button on frame 1 of 'File2' so that they go back to the LAST frame of 'File1' (the last page they were on). I've tried several different approaches and the back button always loads 'File1' on frame 1. How can I script these files so that when the user hits the Back button they are sent to the last frame of a file as soon as it loads? Thanks in advance for your help.

Loadvariables Frustration Help :)
Hi

I don't know why it's not working but when I'm trying to load a variable from an external file it doesn't seem to be working...

I'm trying to load it into a movieclip via: this.loadVariable("mytextfile.txt") in the movieclip's timeline.

The mytextfile.txt contains

myvar=The text is here!

I'm not sure why it's not working, I've searched the forum and elsewhere... Thanks for your time.

Total Frustration
Does anyone have any idea why the rollOut feature of the button in the attached .fla doesn't work?
Besides, the button, aswell as the "CLICK TO LAUNCH" bit both jolt onRollOver, I can't really tell why. Well, thanks for your contributions!

Ad: Total Frustration
It actually IS an invisible button that's just INSIDE of a movie clip. Still not working though.

original post:

Quote:

Does anyone have any idea why the rollOut feature of the button in the attached .fla doesn't work?
Besides, the button, aswell as the "CLICK TO LAUNCH" bit both jolt onRollOver, I can't really tell why. Well, thanks for your contributions!

reply:

Quote:

It's not a button. It's a movie clip. Only button symbols have built in rollover and out characteristics. use those graphics in a button symbol, and it will work.

More IF STATEMENT Frustration
My movie seems to be ignoring the following IF statement. here's my code:

_global.antiscore = 0;

if (_global.antiscore == 0) {
gotoAndStop(56);
}

It sets "antiscore" as 0 just fine, but does not go to frame 56. No idea why, it just seems to ignore the if statement completely. Have I done something wrong?

LoadMovie Frustration
I am having a lot of trouble getting loadMovie to accept a variable for the url argument rathar than a litteral string. I have tried putting the following script in the first frame of a movie.

Code:
var f = "file_i_know_is_there.swf";
loadMovie(f,2);

What I have been trying to do is get a value from the querystring in the object/embed to set which movie gets loaded. I have confirmed that it and another variable are being set from the querystring and yet loadMovie won't accept the variable value, only a literal string

Code:
//firstroom is variable from querystring
//value is 01_living_room_mj.swf
loadMovie(firstroom,2);

This won't work. if however I do it like

Code:
loadMovie("01_living_room_mj.swf",2);

it will. How can I get loadMovie to use a variable?
I also tried the following.

Code:
//this didn't work
var f = "01_living_root_mj.swf",2;
loadMovie(f,2);
//this didn't work
var f = "01_living_room_mj";
loadMovie(f + ".swf",2);
//or this
var f = "01_living_root_mj.swf",2;
loadMovie(f.toString(),2);
//even this
var f = "01_living_root_mj.swf",2;
loadMovie(eval(f),2);

None of it works. I need this to be dynamic. Another part of the project is to loop through items derived from an XML file and within the loop use attachMovie to create an instance of a button movie for each item. An event handler will need to be attached to allow the user to click on these buttons and load a movie into a specific level. I can't very well use XML to specify this if loadMovie will only work with a literal string.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Menu Frustration
Hey there,

I am trying to get one of my buttons, which is a movie clip, to move to the right of the screen once it is clicked, which works fine but my problem comes when I want to click a different button. See I want the previously clicked buttons to close when clicking a different one...So far the only way to get the previous clicked buttons to close it by clicking on them again.

I hope I'm not confusing anyone. I've searched everywhere and only find complex actionscripts I was wodnering if anyone knows an easier way around it or even if you know other web resources I could use.

Thanks so much!!!

Silvia

Combobox Frustration
I am taking the fewest possible steps to create a combobox to make sure it works in it`s simplest form but am still running into the same problem every time.

Heres what I do:
-Pull in a combobox from the components library
-use the properties box to enter a few labels
-publish

If I simulate the download by pressing strg enter again and then make a selection in the combobox the combobox closes but a border remains open.

This is driving me mad since it is such a simple setup.

Could someone help me out or send me a simple fla with a combobox (fla mx 04) that works so I can adapt it.

THXXX

Forms=Frustration
I want a Flash form, so I've tried about 10 or so off of here, but when I test them on my computer, I never get an e-mail!

So I am now offering to pay someone, via PayPal, to help me get a form to work!

My e-mail is

brad.coppingATmac.com

Thanks!

Preview Frustration
Hello everyone,

I'm about to scream I'm so incredibly frustrated with this. I have a Home button with action script on it to return to frame 175 {(on(release); gotoandstop ("Intromain", 175); } etc.) of the first scene (after the intro)... it used to work. So I continued to work on my webpage and after completing 3 more scenes, I did Ctrl+Enter to preview the dang thing. Now, for some unknown reason that very same Home button now doesn't take me to frame 175. Instead it plays a loop of the entire intro which should be skipped when using this button...

THAT SAID - when I push Ctrl+Alt+B to test the buttons - the SAME BUTTON takes me to frame 175 of Intromain!!!!!! Why is it working in Button testing mode but not in preview? Any ideas? Can you understand my frustration??????

Thank to anyone who can help me.

Kat

NewHeight Frustration...
Aloha,
I've been building a dynamic chart that pulls its data from a text file. It's been years since I've tackled any actionscript, however, and I've run into a simple problem...

Each individual "bar" movieclip will be dynamically resized using the following function:

Code:
onClipEvent (load) {
newHeight = barOne;
}{

The variable for "barOne" is extracted from the external text file as:

Code:
&bar1=400

I then convert the string "bar1" into a number using the following code:

Code:
var barOne = Number(bar1);

I can verify that the text file is being read and that all of the variables are correct. I can also verify that the "barOne" variable has been converted to a number, rather than a string.

The problem comes in the movieclip code...

"newHeight = barOne;" does absolutely nothing, whereas "newHeight = 400;" works perfectly.

I haven't used much actionscript since Flash switched to MX, so pardon my probably stupid question!

Thanks in advance...

Erik

ScrollPane Frustration
Hello everyone. I ran a search for the same problem but could not find anything. I just finished my website www.coriolis-effect.co.uk when the front page loads for the first time on peoples computers the scrollpane displays my news image perfectly by loading it in. When you revisit my site it does not sit within the scrollpane. what is going on ive tried as much as my flash knowledge can handle! lewis

[F8] Frustration With FSCommand And EXE's
I'm quite new to flash. Only started about a week ago. I'm trying to make an Autorun flash menu for a cd which contains lots of different programs with different installation files. From my net research so far I know I can only open exe files using flash buttons by using a projector file and placing them in an FSCommand folder. I can get this to work with individual exe's but some of the bigger programs I wish to add come in separate sub-folders. Which is where the extent of my research has not revealled an answer.

I cannot for the life of me find a way to get Flash to execute exe files in a sub-folder contained within the FSCommand folder. Is this possible in anyway and how?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

David "The Evmeister" Evans

[f8] Absolute Frustration
System: MacOS X (Tiger)

FLASH 8 Professional
GOLIVE (CS2)

OK, created a video that is in Quicktime. This video was filmed and edited in Final Cut Pro. The file is a .mov.

I have output this .mov from Quicktime as a flash movie which creates a .flv file. I have attempted to put this into an html page. It will not play.

I have also imported into FLASH, it goes through the process, shows up in library, still will not play.

PLEASE ADVISE AS I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS TO WORK FOR OVER A WEEK!

Thanks!

Video Frustration
Hell All;

I am using Flash CS3 and I don't know if this is the right forum, but here is my question. I designed a Flash Site (www.eagle1graphics.com) and I have also embedded a video. The problem is when I test the movie in Flash CS3 it works GREAT. But when I export it as a swf and import it and load it to my server with dreamweaver, the video can not been seen. Am I doing something wrong? Below is the cade from Flash CS3:

AS3 Button Code From Flash CS3:

stop();
function listenerFunction (Event):void{
//statements;
}
function goHome (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Home");
}
home_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK,goHome) ;
function goAbout (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("About");
}
about_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goAbout);
function goPrices (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Prices");
}
prices_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goPrices);
function goPortfolio (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Portfolio");
}
portfolio_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goPortfolio);
function goLogo (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Logo");
}
logo_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goLogo);
function goWebsite (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Website");
}
website_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goWebsite);
function goVideo (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Video");
}
video_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goVideo);
function goLinks (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Links");
}
links_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goLinks);
function goContact (e:MouseEvent):void{
gotoAndStop("Contact");
function go(evt:MouseEvent):void
{
var request:URLRequest=new URLRequest('http://www.mysite.com');
navigateToURL(request, '_parent');
}
var jscommand:String = "window.open('http://www.eagle1graphics.com/Contact.html','win','height=400,width=500,toolbar= no,scrollbars=yes');"; var url:URLRequest = new URLRequest("javascript:" + jscommand + " void(0);"); navigateToURL(url, "_self");
}
contact_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, goContact);

Dreamweaver Code:

<body>
<div id="apDiv1">
<script type="text/javascript">
AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0','width','800','heigh t','600','src','/Eagle1','quality','high','pluginspage','http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash','movi e','/Eagle1' ); //end AC code
</script><noscript><object classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" width="800" height="600">
<param name="movie" value="/Eagle1.swf" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<embed src="/Eagle1.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800" height="600"></embed>
</object>
</noscript></div>
</body>

TIA For all the Help
Warvet03

SwapDepth() Frustration
Hi,

I hope I've posted in the right place; I'm new to this.

I'm having some problems with movieClip.swapDepths() in a class I've written.

I have four tabs, each in their own movieClip, created dynamically and stored in an array called tabs_arr. When any of the tabs are clicked, it calls this function:

public function tabClicked(clicked:MovieClip) {
trace("The clicked tab is "+clicked+". Its depth is "+clicked.getDepth()+".")
trace("The current tab is "+tabs_arr[currentTab]+". Its depth is "+tabs_arr[currentTab].getDepth()+".")
clicked.swapDepths(tabs_arr[currentTab]);
trace ("The clicked tab's depth is now "+clicked.getDepth()+".")
}

I have made sure that the two movie clips to be swapped have the same parent clip.

The first two traces show that the clips are being clicked and that the clip references in the array are being called properly, but the the last trace shows that no matter what I do, I can't get its depth to change.

I've also tried the other syntax, using an depth value, set to 4, as there are 4 tabs, but that doesn't work.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. What little hair I have is thinning rapidly...

Thanks,
Ross

SetInterval Frustration
_root.myTimer = setInterval(wait, 1000);
function wait() {
_root.mySeconds++;
}

This is in frame 1 of my main timeline and counts up in seconds. It works fine.
When hittest detects a collision, it goes to frame 2, which has a button with the following actionscript:

_root.gotoAndPlay(1);

So, it goes back and now the timer goes up in 2 seconds. I've found that this is because two setIntervals are now in effect, causing my function to run twice per second.

If i go through the same thing again, a similar thing happens, with the seconds going up in 2's or 3's.

I've tried using clearInterval(wait) on my button, but that doesn't change anything.

How do I prevent the multiple setIntervals being called?

Preloader Frustration
Hi.I have created a preloader it loads my external .swf fine.But my components are all messed up.Like the combo boxes will pull down but none of the code attached to them works.Button components won't work.Nothing works.I copied the compnents from the swf I load and put them into my loader swf library but nothing works.

ActionScript Code:
stop();
var mcl:MovieClipLoader = new MovieClipLoader();
var mclL:Object = new Object();
mclL.onLoadProgress = function(target, loaded, total) {
loader.percent.text = Math.round((loaded/total)*100)+"%";
loader.loading._xscale = ((loaded/total)*100);
};
mclL.onLoadInit = function() {
loader._visible = false;
loader.percent.text = "";
};
mcl.addListener(mclL);
mcl.loadClip("mySwf.swf", holder);

Very frustrated

Thanks loach

Preloader Frustration
I have an actionscript preloader set up at the front end of a movie as such:

stop();
loadingBar._xscale = 1;
var loadingCall:Number = setInterval (preloadSite, 100);
function preloadSite():Void {
var siteLoaded:Number = _root.getBytesLoaded();
var siteTotal:Number = _root.getBytesTotal();
var percentage:Number = Math.round(siteLoaded/siteTotal*100);
loadingBar._xscale = percentage;
percentClip.percentDisplay.text = percentage + "%";
percentClip._x = loadingBar._x + loadingBar._width;
bytesDisplay.text = "loaded " + siteLoaded + " of " + siteTotal + " bytes";
if (siteLoaded >= siteTotal) {
clearInterval(loadingCall);
gotoAndPlay("reveal");
}
}

"reveal" is the frame name that the movie goes to when the load is done. The problem is that the movie loads halfway before the loader pops up, so your left looking at a white box until about 45% of the movie is loaded, then the loader movie springs up. Any thoughts on how to correct this?

any help would be appreciated. i am a relative novice with actionscript, so sorry if this is an elementary qustion.

thanks.

-TA

ActionScript Frustration
Hello Everyone,

I have been a programmer for quite a few years, and just recently embarked on my first Flash movie ... I am using Flash MX2004 Professional and ActionScript 2.0

Is it just me or is ActionScript quite flakey? ... I have found many instances where I spend hours on ActionScipt issues, that shouldn't be issues ... My last bout of ActionScript frustration was trying to build a context menu ... For some reason the code below gives the error "There is no property with the name 'menu'" error:

Code:
class SomeMovieClipClass extends MovieClip
{
function SomeMovieClipClass()
{
var newMenu = new ContextMenu();
this.menu = newMenu;
}
}
I fixed the issue with the code below:

Code:
class SomeMovieClipClass extends MovieClip
{
var _self:MovieClip = null;

function SomeMovieClipClass()
{
_self = this;
var newMenu = new ContextMenu();
_self.menu = newMenu;
}
}
How does this make any sense???

360 Degrees Of FRUSTRATION
Well, this is giving me fits. I've tried several different ways of getting this to work, but my thinking must be skewed because I just can't get it going. I've received wonderful help here before and wonder if someone might take pity on me once again and see what I might be doing wrong:

The code below is meant to grab some variables from an XML doc on a remote site. It's weather data relating to wind speed and wind direction. The attached FLA has a compass in it which points to the current wind speed. The XML doc is updated by its server every 1.5 seconds and the Flash app seeks new data every 3 seconds.

The problem is that the compass, when moving from a particular direction to a NEW direction doesn't always take the shortest route. For example, if the wind is blowing from 177 degrees and then switches to 184 degrees, I would expect the compass pointer to move clockwise from the 177 position to 184. However, my code, no matter what I do makes it move COUNTER-CLOCKWISE all the way around the compass... taking the scenic route!

It's really bugging me, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this one. Here is the code:

ActionScript Code:
var windDir;
var windDeg;
var logTime;

windDirectional_mc.onEnterFrame = function ()
{
var tmp;
if (this._rotation != _root.windDeg) {
if(_root.windDeg >=180)
tmp = (((_root.windDeg-360) - this._rotation))/10;
else
tmp = (_root.windDeg - this._rotation)/10;

if(tmp < 0){
if(Math.abs(tmp) > tmp+360 ){
tmp += 360;
}
}
else{
if(Math.abs(tmp-360) < tmp){
tmp -= 360;
}
}

this._rotation += tmp;
}
//this._rotation += 1;
//this._rotation = -90;
};

function GETWind ()
{
var wind = new XML();
wind.ignoreWhite = true;
wind.load("http://www.lehiweather.com/weather/flash.jsp");
wind.onLoad = function(success)
{
_root.windDir = this.firstChild.firstChild.firstChild.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.firstChild.nodeValue;
_root.windDeg = this.firstChild.firstChild.firstChild.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.firstChild.nodeValue;
_root.logTIme = this.firstChild.firstChild.firstChild.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.nextSibling.firstChild.nodeValue;
}
}
GETWind(); // First time
GET_wind = setInterval(GETWind, 3000); // ever 3 secs

Thanks in advance for your pity and help!
Greg

LoadMovie Frustration
I have been working for hours trying to get loadMovie to accept something other than a literal string for a URL argument with no success.

I am looping through some items from an XML file and using attachMovie to create instances of a movie clip to act as buttons with labels specified in the XML.

as I loop through each one I am also attaching event handlers to the movies including an onRelease handler to load a movie into a specific level.

I have tried the following;

ActionScript Code:
//i is a loop counter
//this did not work
loadMovie("clip_" + i + ".swf",2);
//this did not work
loadMovie(xmlItems[i],2);
//this does not work
var m = "clip_1.swf";
loadMovie(m,2);
//this does work
loadMovie("clip_1.swf",2);
//I even tried
loadMovie(xmlItems[i].toString,2);
// and
loadMovie(eval(xmlItems[i]),2);
//No dice

Every other programming language I have ever used lets you use a variable as an argument to a function without exception. Am I crazy or this really the way it works. If it is I can't do this project in Flash.

Any help anyone can give on this would be greatly appreciated.

Windows Frustration
Greetings.

About a year ago we did an interactive sales piece in flash that loads and unloads different FLV files contained within SWFs for each section. It was recently brought to our attention that you can only watch each video one time on Windows based machines. Once you leave the section you are in and come back it will not play again. This was not an issue at all on Macs but for some reason the flash exe files were having this trouble.

I immediately figured that we had left out the unload movie command in the action script, and that it was only allowing it to load one time, and was technically still there when the viewer came back to it- hence not starting at the beginning and appearing missing. I was right. I went through then entire project and added unload movie commands for level 1 just ahead of the load movie command in each section, thus giving a blank slate to load from. It worked perfectly on the test PC so I figured the problem was solved and duplicated/labeled 15 disks.

NOW I find out that my testing was inadequate. My fix only works for windows 98 and older machines, but everything running XP or newer still only gets one viewing per loaded movie. Even if you dont leave that section, but click the heading to get back to the beginning, it unloads and wont return. Really frustrating.

I always thought than an .exe file was generic and would play on all PCs Thats why we keep an old 98 machine in the office for testing, because it stands to reason that if something works smoothly on old equipment, newer machines should have no troubles at all.

Does anyone know if there is some kind of OS specific code to make this functionally active in XP? Is this a known issue when loading/unloading FLV files? I havent seen any mention of this elsewhere, so any ideas at all would be great.

Thanks!
-J