Flash :: Quick Question About Rotated Container Clips, Minor Annoyance

Minor Annoyance.. No New Sound On Swords Way In... :(
Hi again. I have finally completed the sword comin out of the sheath with the "slink" sound effect. Now I have some more problems. I need the sword sound to play once on the way out then i need a sound to play while its out and i need to play a sound when the sword goes back in. Here, I will post the VERy useful code EstudioWorks gave me (this is on the first frame in a keyframe):

sworddrawn = new Sound();
sworddrawn.attachSound("sworddrawn2");
sworddrawn.stop();

emssword.onPress = function() {
startDrag(emssword, false, 100, 535, 700, 535);
sworddrawn.start();
}

emssword.onRelease = function() {
stopDrag();
sworddrawn.stop();
}
__________________________________________________ ________
And this is in the MC (the sword mc):________________

on(press) {
startDrag(emssword,false, 160, 580, 750, 580);
sworddrawn.Start();

}
on(release) {
stopDrag();
sworddrawn.Stop();
}

Now if you can help me please do i need it lol

Quick Question About Container Mc's
Hey all,
I need a little help getting me in the right direction about how to tackle a new flash project. I want to have an empty mc container that will load several smaller swfs into it. My question is, how can I move from one swf to another with nice transitions. I have included a link below to describe it. Any help would be appreciated.

http://matthewmahon.com/

Quick Question Please Help Tell Movie In Container Goto Frame
I know im doing something wrong be i cant figure it out im trying to tell a movie in the that is call left to gotoAndPlay "green" but its not working can someone help me really quick.

Thanks in advance.

This is what I put for my action.

ActionScript Code:
on (release) {
_level0.CONTAINER.swapDepths(100)
removeMovieClip(_level0.CONTAINER)
mc = _root.attachMovie("left", "CONTAINER", _root.getNextHighestDepth(), {_x:0, _y:0}, gotoAndPlay("green"));;;
mc = _root.attachMovie("right", "CONTAINER", _root.getNextHighestDepth(), {_x:0, _y:0}, gotoAndPlay("blue"));;;
}

Container Clips?
So, I asked this question a while back and someone answered with what appeared to be pretty specific instructions....but apparently I am an idiot. I still need help. Here is what I want to do:

I have a website interface of mostly vector shapes. It's a fast load. I have a text menu. When user clicks on a specific text item, I want the coontent for that item to then load (at click time) in a sqaure box I have within the movie. for each text item clicked, a new movie loads within that box. Does that make sense? A lot of sites do this but I cannot figure out how to do it without creating duplicate scenes and adding the specfic box content for each one which I know is the most bandwidth expensive way to do it.

Anyhoo, the person who tried to help me last time said soemthing about container clips. He mentioned registration points, and giving it an instance name. If you help me with the same solution (container clips), then please explain in monkey terms what thehell each of those things are. Thanks a million for helping a slow learning flash monkey.

JPG's Unintentially Scaled In Container Clips
Ok, I searched around, but I couldn't find anyone with the same problem. I hope you guys can help me, because I am confused.

I will try to explain as clearly as I can:I have a main SWF that loads either other SWF's or MC's into a container MC that is the same size as the stage
In order for the registration points to match up all upper left corners are at (0,0)
The stage width is 785px so the info in the far right of the MC to be loaded can't be seen while I am designing them
When I load a JPG into a loaded MC, it comes in very skinny

I don't know why this happens.

Use the attatched file and the one in the first reply (is it possible to attach more than file a post?) in the same directory to see what I mean

EDIT: Hazzah! I figured it out! When you load an image into a MC it "retains the characteristics of the movie clip, such as position, SCALE, rotation, instance name, and color effect. The container clip was scaled down to fit and the JPG was being scaled to same degree!

Sorry, I'm an idiot that it took me this long to remember that.

Unloading Movie Clips From Container
Hi, I've created a main page with my main links on top, and a container as my body.
I load my pages with this action to the container. NO PROBLEM.
on (release) {
if (_root.currMovie == undefined) {
_root.currMovie = "production";
container.loadMovie("production.swf");
} else if (_root.currMovie != "production") {
if (container._currentframe >= container.midframe) {
_root.currMovie = "production";
container.play();
}
}
}
Inside the production.swf files I've created a gallery with a MovieClip that loads from my library to a container1 inside the production.swf. In the galleryMC(from library), Ive created a close button to unload it from the container1. It works fine from my production.swf file, but when it loads to the main page it doesn't unload. This is the ActionScript that I have to unload the Movie Clip.
on (release) {
this._root.container1.unloadMovie();
}
can some tell me how can I fix this problem please.
Best Regards

Scrolling Dynamic Loaded Clips In Container Clip
Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help me with this?

I have an empty container clip called "tracks", into which is loaded dynamically created movieclips called "clip", scrolled by an up and a down button. The problem is that the loaded movieclips do not set the height of the container clip they are loaded into, and thus the scrolling does not work. I need to add code to set the height of the container clip via how many "clip"s are loaded into it, in order for the scrolling to work.

This is the code to load the "clip"s into the "tracks" movieclip:

myXML = new XML();
myXML.ignoreWhite = true;
myXML.load("menu.xml");

function handleLoad(status) {
status ? makeMenu() : trace("Error parsing XML.");
}
myXML.onLoad = handleLoad;

function makeMenu(){
myItem = "clip";
myTrack = "tracks";myX = 0;myY = -40;
for (i=0; i<myXML.firstChild.childNodes.length; i++){
myTrack.height = int([i]*38);
}

for (i=0; i<myXML.firstChild.childNodes.length; i++) {
title = (myXML.firstChild.childNode[i].attributes.id);
this.attachMovie(myItem, title, i+10);thisItem = this[title];
thisItem.title = (title);
thisItem._X = myX;
thisItem._Y = myY+=(thisItem._height);
}}

What I want is something like myTrack._height = ([i]*myItem._height); but I don't really know how to achieve this and where to put the code (my actionscript is poor and all the above code came from a tutorial!).

If anyone can help I'd appreciate it greatly!

Assigning Loader Instances To Multiple Container Clips
I have a project where I am loading in a variable quantity of photos and then assigning them to a finite amount of containers.

I have 18 containers, and I can have between 1 and 18 photos. So if I have 1 photo it should be placed in all 18 containers, if I have 2 they should each go in 9 containers.

Right now I am loading in the photos successfully but I am having issues making them children of the multiple containers.

Here's the relevant code

Code:

private function RenderPhotos():void
   {

      Globals.Debugger.text = "";

      this.mcContainer.gotoAndStop(1);

      var singleTimer:uint = 10; //Number of seconds for one photo animation.
      var numPhotos:uint = URLList.length; //Number of photos
      var numPlaces:uint = this.mcContainer.numChildren; //Number of slots for photos

      var count:uint = 0;

      for(var i:uint = 0; i < numPlaces; i++)
      {
         if(count > (numPhotos - 1))
         {
            count = 0;
         }

         if(PhotoList[count].content)
            GetHolder(i).addChild(Loader(PhotoList[count]).content);
         else
            Globals.Debugger.text += "was null -- ";

         count++;
      }

      this.mcContainer.play();

   }

This method is called by the Event.COMPLETE event handler, so the content is there. This code will display the photo ONCE, in the last container it was assigned to, but I need to assign it to multiple containers...

I tried using a "duplicateMovieClip" method from a third party but it doesn't seem to support Loader too well. Anyone have any ideas?

Copying Dynamically Created Movie Clips To Attach To New Container
I've been searching this for hours:

How do I copy all the dynamic objects(ie: textInput) and all it's attributes created by attachMovieClip() at containerMovie1 to attach to containerMovie2 and display all of them? I don't find any solutions using duplicateMovieClip() so what's your solution?

thanks!

Create Container Movie Clip And Child Clips At Design Time?
It's always powerful and dynamic to use "createEmptyMovieClip" and "attachmovieclip" at run time. But how to create this relationship of clips at design time so that an empty movie clip can hold several child movie clips?

Thanks!

Key Lag Annoyance
hmmm... i never can seem to be able to avoid key lag in my games, like when you press a key, it takes a while. is theyre anyway to test purely WHETER OR NOT the key is pressed in flash, i know they'res a way because all of the other games dont seem to have that problem. any help?

{} Annoyance
Hi,

I have something very annoying going on in Flash. Everytime I want to type { or }, the ActionScript window simply unfocuses. It keeps doing that, so I can't type those characters. I usually open NotePad, type them there and copy them to Flash, but isn't there a better way to solve this ?

*Oh, right, I'm using Flash MX.

Probably Simple Annoyance
Hello!

I'm trying to figure out why when you publish a flash movie and then manually change the height pixels, it centres the stage in your web page. I've got a flash site with the html looking like this.

width="100%" height="950"

This is to take up the entire screen so I can animate all over the screen. What I've done is seperated the stage into 2 parts with a mask representing the bottom part. The idea was to extend the base on my stage as I needed more area for content and use javascript to tell flash to make the height either larger or smaller in pixels. Everything works so far however when I change the height to "750" The entire stage shifts up and the top of my movie is cut off.

I'm basically trying to accomplish what http://www.pdk.pl/index_feng.html has on their site however they are using frames and I want to avoid that.

After all this, the simple question is how do I keep the top of the movie at the top no matter what height I tell the flash to be in my html. I really want to avoid the scrollbar sitting there and a bunch of empty space at the bottom of the page if I only need 550 pixels in height for a specific page.

I am using Stage.scaleMode = "noScale"; to prevent the movie from scaling at 100% width.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

.loadMovie Annoyance
Hi there

As you can see, that page has a loader movie clip that loads in each model home as you click on the buttons on the left hand side. Even when they are fully loaded, as you click from model to model you see a "flash" of the model index page it flashes for like a millisecond and then loads or pulls up the next model...

Is there anyway to have it go straight to the model page without flashing that page? or could I put something on the models.fla (the page that contains the loader clip) so that it shows a background or a blank page??

Thanks

As3 + Asynchronous = Annoyance
Hey!

I remember working with AMFPHP in AS2 and arguing with MANY flash developers who praised asynchronous stuff within flash. Granted its a nice way to do things but from a progmatical point of view its a nightmare...

Let me explain my situation and problem a bit more...

I want to use AMFPHP and wrap up the service communication in classes, so its all handled via external .as files, this way to do communication via Flash + PHP i only need to include a package instansiate the given class then send over a service request.

In an ideal world here is how i would imagine it going:

Code:
// I would have an internal default gateway incase you dont want to set one...
var serviceCommunicator:amfService = new amfService(my_gateway);

// Once the objects created, i would call a function "runService(arg1,arg2)" this
// would then ideally do the connection, run the service, then return out an
// object with the data retrieved from the service.
var serviceResult:Object = serviceCommunicator.runService(my_service, my_params);
Now the code above seems fairly logical and easy to use to me, that way you would wrap up alot of the functionality internally in the amfService class and all you need to do is run 2 lines to communicate with PHP...

However due to it being async, when you call run service it has to point the service to 2 return functions one for success one for error, that instantly means that you cant return anything worth while from the runService function as that just sets up the callback functions.

At this point i thought there MUST be a way to get my response without having to make a loader movieclip in flash or having to do some nasty global variables which dump the object when complete.

So im trying to think of ways to do this, i was thinking of maybe making a timer and having a while loop in the runService function to see if it has had a response (good or bad) then return out the relevent data that way. The timer could check a boolean flag internally to see if the operation has completed then return out, however im SURE that flash holds on while statements so i dont think i can do it that way. Then i thought about making an event that fired, but thats just going to go from one callback to another... Every way i think of doing it seems blocked by something...

So does anyone who knows what im going on about have any advice or ways they have made this process run all from actionscript?

I know this kinda goes against the point of it being asynchronous however i dont like mixing functionality and design, they *should* always be kept seperate, and the only easy way i can think of doing this is to make some looping movie clip which checks if the class has finished its communication, if it has then it triggers a function and trips a flag so everything else knows what to do, either way it seems illogical and a bit too much work for something simple...

Over to you guys!

[MX]small Annoyance
not really a huge deal, just a minor annoyance

ok i have my panel layout set and saved the way i want it

when i load flash up, all other panels are fine, but the library is NEVER there
i always have to pres F11 which pisses me right off
this happen to anyone else and if so, wtf?

A LoadMovie() Annoyance...
I have a simple swf on my pop station that checks the time and loads a swf depending on what time it is...That's the easy part. I debugged my movie by running it locally and changing my clock. Then when I put it on my site it doesn't load the first time the page does. If I hit refresh it loads the second time. Once It's loaded the next time it loads the wrong frame. Can anyone take a look and make a suggestion? The movie is in the top left hand corner of the site under the on the air now graphic.

http://97bht.com/http://97bht.com/

Thanks for your time!!

Movieclip Play Annoyance..
Id appreciate some help here, as Im fairly new..

I have made a small movieclip of a door that opens...

In the first frame I have put a stop action so that the door stays closed....no problem so far...

I want the movieclip to play on Mouseover...but I cant get it to work? I have tried "on rollover play" but nothing?

What am I missing? there must be an easy way to play a MC with a mouse action?

Thanks

[FCS3] Interface Annoyance
This is driving me nuts.

I'm using CS3 and since I like a large screen I'm in the habit of docking everything and collapse/expand my libraries. I also keep my properties panel docked at the bottom. Before, when I opened the library panel, it used to show up over everything. Now, I don't know which wrong button I pressed but the bottom of it keeps getting covered by the properties panel. The only way I can have it on top of properties is if I undock properties, which isn't what I want. Can any gurus out there help me with this annoying issue? Thanks in advance.

The Mp3 Pause Annoyance... Some Info
Well, like many others, I ran into an mp3 the other day which no matter how much I edited would not loop cleanly in flash.

I was loading the mp3 dynamically, so .wav was not an easy option, and I really just wanted the sound to loop properly. I noticed that whenever I encoded the mp3, it would pad both the beginning and ending of the soundclip with a few milliseconds of silence. Some research into mp3 encoding told me that this miniscule empty data is used to compensate for the playback time of CD's (forgive me if that data is off the mark). This is great for playback of cd's, but it sucks for us flash programmers who need perfect, seamless music.

Well, to make a long story short, I figured out an imperfect fix which might work for you too.

I noticed that the amount of silence at the beginning of my mp3 file was exactly .025 seconds. So, instead of using a whole value for

ActionScript Code:
mySound.start(1, 9999)

i used

ActionScript Code:
mySound.start(.025, 9999)

and it made the sound quite a bit better, upgrading it to passing level.

I also do not know how frame rates and / or every individual mp3 file will respond to this method, but I'll leave that to you guys to figure out.

Hope this helps someone,

--EP

Flash CS3 Actions Panel Annoyance
When I have my actions panel open, it will stay on top of all the other windows that open including the swf preview window. This is really annoying when I am look at the help, and trying to work on code at the same time, since the help window is covered, and I have to keep closing the actions panel to see the whole help window. my action panel is on the bottom of the interface, right above the properties.
And while I am on the topic of annoyances, is there a why to tell the help to only display AS2 stuff?

Russ

Button Inside Movieclip Annoyance
Hi

I have a page with a contact tab, on rollover the tab expands to reveal a hyperlink to an email address and a website. I have put an invisible button over the text but the buttons don't work! I know this is a common problem and I'v tried adapting advice iv found on tutorial pages and other forums but can't seem to adapt it to my file.

This is the code I have inside the MC that contains the button...

_root.othercontact_mc.zu_btn.onRelease = function() {
getURL ("mailto: zyzu_1115@126.com");
}

Please point me in the right direction for a good tutorial or show me where my code is going wrong.

Thanks a lot.

Loading Clips Into Levels? -quick Ques
Hi, I need a quick bit of code or at least somebody to give me an idea on how to actually have a clip load itelf into a specific level depending on the value of a variable. I want to do this as my duplicateMovieClip() code is putting MC's on higher levels than other elements (other Mc's) in my movie, and one of these elements in perticular needs to be the 'highest'.

I tried using setProperty() as below but it doesnt work, flash complains (I gather it doesnt consider '_level' as a property?)

Code:

setProperty(need2BHighest_Mc, _level, highestLevel);

Any help appreciated

Quick Question About Refferencing Movie Clips
Okay, I have a guestbook swf which works fine,
http://www.rit.edu/~dxs5855/fc/guestbook.swf

and I am trying to load that page(movie clip) onto my main site, here
http://www.rit.edu/~dxs5855/fc/website.html

if you click on the guestbook button (at the bottom, near the c:...) the guestbook.swf loads up fine but the text from the guestbook does not load up.

I have traced it down to a problem when I am printing it out in php,
Code:
print "&_root.guestbook.GuestBook=";

okay I know I am not supposed to be doing this, instead I am supposed to be using loadvariables (instead of loadvariablesnum, but that is not working )

... so what is the refferencing I use. I put down 'guestbook' since I thought that would be the movie clips instance name which gets loaded onto the given frame, but that obviously is not working. Any suggestions?

Targeted Movie Clips Don’t Work Once Loaded Into A Container Movie.
Here’s my problem…

I have several external SWF (child) movies that are to be loaded upon demand into another SWF container (parent) movie file. Pretty straight forward.

Each of the child movies has MCs communicating with other MCs within the same child movie.

For instance the timeline of one MC will have a frame action, which targets another MC instance to play(). Again, Pretty straightforward stuff.

These files work beautifully when viewed independently. The problem is when they are loaded into the parent container movie the target MC functionality no longer works.

I believe it’s because once the child movie is loaded into the parent movie the absolute path of the targeted MC has changed and what was once the “_root” in the child movie is no longer the actual root?

I have tried both methods in the child movie:

//method without using ‘with’
_root.ContentWindow.play();

And using the “with” action like so:

//method using ‘with’
with (_root.ContentWindow) {
play();
}

It would seem that in theory once the Child SWF file is loaded into the Parent SWF file the targeted path would have to have another level in it – cuz now the MC “ContentWindow” is no longer one level down from the “_root” but two levels?

For example: _root.LoadedChildMovie.ContentWindow.play()

Can anybody please help me with this? I’m afraid I have a ton of work that’s relying on this functionality and my deadline is dangerously drawing near!

I Can Import Swf Files Into A Container But Not Put Symbols Into A Container
I can import swf files into a container but not put symbols into a container.

Code:
on(release) {
this.createEmptyMovieClip("holder_mc", 100);
this.holder_mc._x = this.holder_mc._y = 0;
this.holder_mc.loadMovie("kanjiFlash.swf");
}
How do I get a symbol in the library to put itself into a movie clip like above when I press a symbol, on the main scene?

Glen Charles Rowell

Loading A Container Inside A Container...
I just did the "Transitions Between Swf's Tutorial", i basically understood how it works and got everything to work right, but now my next question is how can i load another container using the same technique as the tutorial shows into the exsiting container. Basically load a container inside a container.

I tried doing it by using the same idea as the tutorial but the swf that i am trying to load in the new container wont load.

I would really appreciate some help.

Thank you!

Minor Help
I accidently moved the timeline to a place I don't enjoy. I've spent the last hour trying to move it back and I don't know how to move it back so it'll be normal. Theres a picture of it below.

Thanks

Minor Problem
Can someone tell me how to make the browser shake usint the getURL function in flash. I can make the thing shake with a button but cant figure out what I am supposed to do with the flash.

thanks

Chris Meeks

Minor Glitch, Take A Look And See You Can Help...
I have several linking flash movies for one website.

I published them in .html, the problem lies when one movie jumps to the next, there is a glitch or a white flash in the connection. How can I fix this so there is a smooth transition?

Thanks

A Minor Problem... Maybe U Can Help
hi... thx for the help..... i am trying to make it so that when u press a button....more buttons come out and u can click it.....sounds complicated ok...... i will give example...... say when u click the "others" button..... a "guestbook" and "misc" button show up under it..... i want it so that when u click "guestbook" and "misc" it appears to the right side of the movie........

so far..... i ve gotten the "guestbook" and "misc" buttons to appear when u click "others"...... but i cant make it so when u click "guestbook" and "misc", it makes sumthing appear..... thx for the help.... i kno its pretty confusing

Minor Glitch...
Hi,

I've got some movie clips, and when you hover the mouse over them, a brief animation plays.

Well, the way it seems to work is...the longer your mouse cursor stays on the MC, the longer the MC animation loops -- which is fine!

However, on 3 out of about 10 of these MCs, it is not looping and only plays 1 time...unless you move your cursor off & then on again!

Why? All the keyframes seem to be in the correct places when I compared these MCs in editing mode.
At first I thought it was this: There is a transparent button that is causing these animations to activate. There seemed to be a dot (the little circle) in the first keyframe & the last keyframe -- but not on the one that wasn't looping. But I corrected that...and still no results.

I'm sure it's a simple fix! What do you think?

Thanks,

Christine

Minor Problem...
i am brand new at actionbscripting so please forgive my ignorance...

i have created a website with multiple links which are fed to a single textbox through various external text files. the problem i am having is that if you scroll down on one of the links and then click a different one, it does not start at the beginning but rather in the middle.

the flash files and the text files are in the .zip files so that you can see what i did...

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Minor Array Bug
Hey
I'm trying to walk through this array and hide each item. Here's my AS chunk:

Code:
//declare array
text = ['txt-action', 'txt-eval', 'txt-inv', 'txt-und' ,'txt-comm', 'txt-decisions'];
// hide function
function hideText(ar) {
for (i=0; i<ar.length; i++) {
ar[i]._visible = false;
}
}
If I change the _visible line to

Code:
trace(ar[i]);
It gives me back all my array items. All referenced mc's have their correct instance names, so I know that's not the problem.
This is probably somehting very minor, many thanks to anyone who can point out where I've gone wrong

Some Minor Help Needed
Hi guys, im trying to make a game, and Im having two general problems.
1. In the attachment, i have a guy, and a box. So far, if the guy hits the top of the box it goes down, and vice versa. However, when he hits the block from the left or the right, the box goes diagonal. I want it to go left and right (as if he was pushing it)

2. Secondly, i was wondering if anyone could tell me a code (if there is one) so that when i click something once (on(press)) a movie loads, but when you click it again it unloads.

Thanks for your help.

Minor Trouble...
edit: sorry... totally stupid of me... solved on my own...

Take A Look, Many Minor Issues.
Flash Design

I am having minor issues: one, I have slides set up for each of these buttons, but my scripting is not going to them. two, the pointer isn't always doing what I want it to do, going between the logos and the buttons.

Thanks

Dan

Preloader Minor Help
need your help

i have done my preloader and here are the problem im faced with

my preloader does not work or display when i publish the movie

thx for the help i appreciate your help

th alot peace out

Almost Done With My Portfolio. Minor Help?
Hey guys,

Hows it going? Ive been working on a portfolio site in flash for a little bit now and this is the second try at this. The first time everything was so unorganized and the action script was bad so I thought I'd start from scratch. So I started a new file with a new design. Everything is in place (buttons, design, type, and layout) but i am having difficulty linking buttons to scenes.

On my flash doc i have a menu of 3 buttons (portfolio, resume, contact) after the intro plays the buttons appear. I attached this script to the buttons (with appropriote scene title):

on (release) {gotoAndPlay("Portfolio","1");}

now when i click on a button in the swf, it takes me to the wrong scene where I clearly labeled the right scene. If i wanted to click on portfolio, it goes to resume, if i click on it again it goes to contact, then to portfolio, then back to the beginning of the whole file before the intro. Seems really weird but I think I am just missing something in the script being that I am not experienced with it.

Also on my portfolio page (when I get there) there is a submenu of buttons at the bottom, which is attached with:

on (release) {gotoAndPlay(frame#);}

if i click on a button more than once, it takes me to another frame which is strange to me.

Some of the things i have been explaining might seem incomprehensible, but if you take a look at the swf or flash file I think you will understand what I mean.

Is there anyone that can help? This is the last step before I go on a few interviews for a new job. I feel im so close, but the buttons are really frustrating me.

SK_Portfolio Flash

SK_Portfolio SWF

Thanks in advance!
-Steve Kuznicke

Minor Problem
hi, lets say I create a btn and named it "sample1" in a mc named "aboutus". then I want when this btn inside the aboutus mc clicked, will pass it to a function named btnclicked() and then the function will perform some animation according to the mc name the parameters sent. The mc script is as below:

Code:
onClipEvent(enterFrame)
{
this.sample1.onRelease = btnclicked("aboutus");
}
And I coding the function at the timeline of this mc:

Code:
function btnclicked(aaa)
{
_root.aaa.gotoAndPlay(1);
}
It failed to run. I think I dunno how to passing the parameter from the mc to the function and in the function execute the animation by referencing the mc name. Someone pls corrent me. Thanks!