How do I recerence Movie Clips on the Main Timeline from inside a class?

Hey everyone, this might be a stupid question but I thought
I'd ask cause it's making me nuts. I'm all of 2 days into AS3
(coming from not using Flash at all in YEARS) so feel free to
consider me ignorant. I do have plenty of application development
experience in other areas though.
I can't seem to create a class that can reference an instance
of a movie clip on my main timeline. I'd post code of what I've
tried but I've gone through so many desperate edits & wild
guesses that it was just garbled junk before I deleted it all.
Basically here's how I figured Flash could work, though maybe
it doesn't work this way at all.
I'm assuming that with AS 3 being so big on being a true
object oriented environment, I wouldn't need to mix my code and
interface together. Preferably I'd be using the Flash authoring
tools just to design my interface. Create a button... place it
somewhere... give it an instance name. Roughly the equivilant of
Apple's InterfaceBuilder for those of you that might be familiar
with Cocoa development. I can see maybe having to put a few lines
of ActionScript onto frame 1 (though really I'm hoping Flash would
have a better method of kicking off the application at this point
that using code tied to frames) to load my classes & such, but
after that I'd like all of my code to be held in external class
files.
So maybe I've got:
Interface.fla - My interface
Button_1
Button_2
TextField_1
Main.as - My main controller class using to handle all of my
applications behavior
SomeClass.as - Some helper Class
SomeOtherClass.as - Some helper Class
Main.as would have instructions in its initialization method
to go ahead & attach events to buttons & initialize
anything else that needs to happen when the application starts.
From there on it would all be objects communicating back &
forth. Button_1 would get clicked with would fire
Main.someMethod(). Main.someMethod() would then do it's thing and
set the value of TextField_1. All very clean & code is very
separated from interface.
Unfortunately I can't for the life of me figure out how AS3
classes reference each other like that. There doesn't seem to be
any kind of a global 'root' or '_root' I can use to locate any
movie clips on the stage. I've searched the help & the web for
any kind of simple tutorial but to no avail. My job has tasked me
with building a flash app for a project but I'd really rather not
have a tone of ActionScript just shoved into frame 1. That just
seems... ugh! (::shudder::)
Can someone maybe point me in the right direction here? I'm
really willing to do my homework but I can't seem to locate the
info I need to get started. Also, is there an ActionScript IRC
channel or something maybe?
Thanks,
Cliff

I worked with the problem last night and the solution I
started coming to involved creating my own custom document class
based off which extends MovieClip. My thought is that way I have
access to the initialization routine of the timeline itself and
that all of the elements on the main timeline should be
"properties" of my custom class.
Is this correct? Is there a down side to doing this & if
so what is it & why?
Also, just for my reference, the last time I did anything
with ActionScript I think I was using '_root' to target the main
timeline. WHat are the global variable names in AS 3? Is it just
'root' & 'stage' or 'Root' & 'Stage' or what?

Similar Messages

Controlling a Movie Clip on the Main Timeline from a loaded SWF?

Is it possible to control a MovieClip on the main timelne from another loaded clip?
I see posts that control loaded clips, but most are all from the loader in the main timeline. I have a moviclip on the main timeline that I want to make visible or invisible depending on what keyframe is playing in another loaded swf.
If I try to call the movieClip from the loaded SWF I get "error #1119. Access of possibly undefined property...." because it doesn't exist in the loaded SWF, just the main timeline.
The old AS2 way just used "_root". Since "_root" doesn't exist any more, how do you control items on the main TimeLine from a loaded SWF?

I am not clear what you mean because you are saying you are trying to target a movieclip that does not exist where you are trying to target it.
Try using a trace to see what you are targeting when you you target the MovieClip(parent.parent)....
trace(MovieClip(parent.parent));
The other approach I mentioned earlier is the more OOP-correct approach if you would rather try that way. Here's a rough outline of it...
AS3 - Dispatch Event
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/470135?tstart=120
Example:
Add something to trigger the event in the child (your loaded swf):
dispatchEvent(new Event("eventTriggered")); (
if dispatchEvent problem, see: http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1899603#post1899603)
In your loading/parent swf, listen for the complete event on the Loader.contentLoaderInfo. In the complete event handler, add a listener for the event on the loaded swf.
// event handler triggered when external swf is loaded
function loaderCompleteHandler(event:Event) {
    MovieClip(event.currentTarget.content).addEventListener("eventTriggered", eventHandler);
function eventHandler(event:Event):void {
    trace("event dispatched in loaded swf");
   // this is where your main file can set the visible property of your movieclip

Passing a variable from a movie clip to the main timeline

Hi,
I'm having trouble passing a variable from a movie clip in my
flash file to the main timeline.
I have a movieclip with the instance name IntroNav which
contains several buttons. Clicking a button sets the variable
"page" to a specific name, i.e. page = "home"
However, outside of the movie clip, on the main timeline I am
unable to call this variable, and "page" seems to have no value.
Can anyone tell me why this is and how to solve it?
Thanks

Umm, yes ... declare your variables correctly.
var page:String = new String(); //proper complete
var page:String; //strict typing
var page:String = "home"; //stirct typing with value
declaration
Do not declare the variable in your buttons, you would have
to do so in every button and be constantly resetting the value.
Declare it on the main timeline at the lowest level. You do not
need to use it as a _global, you just need to resolve your path
issues. You can 'set' the variable value from a button, without any
problem, but you have to call to the variable correctly.
You do not 'name' a variable as "_root.page" , the '_root'
refers to the lowest level of the SWF or the main timeline, as does
a call to ' _level0' (that's a zero). If the variable is declared
on the main timeline, and you're calling from the MC/button or
anywhere you can refer to the variable by calling to it by
the proper path of '_root.page'
To set the variable from any of your button/MC instances
call:
_root.page = "value"; OR _level0.page = "value";
But you must have the varibale declared on the main timeline,
and only once and the playhead should be stopped or it will reset
the value to the default upon looping.

How do I set a variable on the main timeline from within a symbol?

Just getting started with Animate and coming to it from Flash, as may be apparent from my question. How do you set a variable to the main timeline from within a symbol?
I have 24 pairs of clickable elements, each in their own symbols, and all 24 of those symbols sit inside another symbol. I want all 24 to be able to set the same global variable when clicked. I can't find that this question is addressed anywhere, which makes me think I may be stuck in a Flash mindset and approaching the task in the wrong way. (There are however MANY discussions of how to address objects at different levels in the hierarchy. That's well covered.)
Relatedly, how do you access a function on the main timeline from within a symbol?
Adobe should consider putting together a support page (or pages) just for folks migrating form Flash. In the materials I've encountered so far there seems to be a studied effort to refrain from mentioning Flash in any way. I imagine there are a lot of people out there like me who have a deep background in Flash coding, but are just getting started with Animate. We don't need help with most of the basic concepts, but we may still have some pretty basic questions about how to accomplish some things in Animate because our Flash knowledge is getting in the way.

Hi Bill,
There are plenty of threads on here about scope, but here's one way to create a global variable:
// code on Stage.compositionReady
sym.myGlobalVar = 1;
Then, anywhere in your project, you can check/set that var like so:
sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalVar = 2;
And here's one way to create a global function:
// code on Stage.compositionReady
sym.myGlobalFunction = function(){
console.log('myGlobalFunction');
Then, anywhere in your project, you can call that function like so:
sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalFunction();

Going Back to the main frame, from inside a movie clip time line.

In flash CS5 I want to go back to the main time line, from inside a movie clip button, so when i click the the movie clip it goes to another frame on the main time line..
Can anyone help me?
Thanks
Daniel Derrick

your can use _root to reference the main timeline from anywhere though that can lead to problems if your swf is loaded by another swf. because of that eventuality, it would be better to use a relative path back to the main timeline.
so, from a movieclip's timeline (when the movieclip is on the main timeline), you can use _parent to reference the main timeline.
but even better would be to use no code on that movieclip's timeline and keep all your code on one timeline (the main one).

Load a MC on the main timeline from a MC. AS3

I have a movie clip (mc_menu) on that is on the main timeline.
This movie clip has buttons that I want to use to display other movie clips on the main (parent) timeline.

Start here:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/ActionScript/3.0_ProgrammingAS3/WS5b3ccc516d4fbf351e63e3d118a9 b90204-7e4e.html

How to keep a Movie Clip on the screen for 5 secs.

I am having trouble with keeping a movie clip on the screen.
I am setting it up to play a movie using the .onPress function. It
is calling the movie but only shows it for a split second. How can
I make the movie stay on the stage for 5 seconds? Here is how I
have it coded:
rc1MC.onPress = function() {
if (rc1MC.hitTest(_xmouse, _ymouse, false)){
_global.correct++;
updateStats();
var c1:MovieClip = this.attachMovie ("correct1_mc",
"correct1",4300);
var ymov = this._y;
var gravity = 20;
c1.onEnterFrame = function() {
ymov += gravity;
xmov *= 0.5;
c1._rotation += 5;
c1._x += xSpeed;
c1._y = ymov;
if (c1._y>stageHeight) {
c1.removeMovieClip();
delete this.onPress;
Thanks Brandon

Got my answer...
http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV-Technical-Assistance/For-Those-of-You-Who-Want-to-View-Subscrib...

How to _root in as3 (buttons in movie clip referencing to main timeline)

Hi, I created buttons within a movie clip that i placed in the main timeline.I am a novice to as3. I just wanted the button to go to the frame label of the main timeline. i used to do this with _root in the old flash. how do i do this?
thumb02_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, buttonClicked);
function buttonClicked(event:MouseEvent):void
gotoAndPlay("slide2");

Thanks for the quick reply!
somehow i must be doing something wrong though. It's not working...
I added a stop to the "slide02" labeled section of the main timeline.
and I also added a stop to the beginning and end of the movieclip. Am I doing something wrong? attached is my file....thanks!!
stop();
thumb02_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, buttonClicked);
function buttonClicked(event:MouseEvent):void
MovieClip(this.root).gotoAndPlay("slide2");
stop();

Attempt to move main timeline from inside a movie clip breaks menu buttons.

I am attempting to have the main timeline move from a stopped position over a movie clip to frame 1, where my start menu is.
The code I'm using does move the timeline but in doing so it somehow breaks the 4 buttons I have in frame 1.
My code in the movie clip:
stop()
function replayMovie(event:MouseEvent):void
MovieClip(parent).gotoAndStop(1);
Menu.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, replayMovie);
My code in frame 1 of the main timeline:
stop();
function bo(event:MouseEvent):void
gotoAndPlay(21)
SoundMixer.stopAll()
espesp.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, bo);
function ho(event:MouseEvent):void
gotoAndPlay(31)
SoundMixer.stopAll()
espeng.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, ho);
function yo(event:MouseEvent):void
gotoAndPlay(41)
SoundMixer.stopAll()
engesp.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, yo);
function go(event:MouseEvent):void
gotoAndPlay(51)
SoundMixer.stopAll()
engeng.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, go);
The error output when I use my Menu button at the end of the movie clip.
TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at SSubjunctiveProjNewgrounds_fla::MainTimeline/frame1()
at flash.display::MovieClip/gotoAndStop()
at SSubjunctiveProjNewgrounds_fla::Esp_5/replayMovie()
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For the sake of space, I'll leave out all the package declarations and class declarations and just talk about the functions.
First, the Game class, it has two functions. The first one is the constructor function and it launches at the beginning of the game: First the Game function:
public function Game():void
//Game code goes here
}//Game
We want to listen for someone to click the mouse on the MenuPage, so lets create a new MenuPage and add a listener to the button contiained within it.
public function Game():void
menuPage = new MenuPage;
menuPage.startButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, startGame);
addChild(menuPage);
}//Game
You will notice that before I declared a variable var menuPage:MenuPage, but that's all I did was declare it. I didn't really make a new instance of it, I just set aside space for it. In the first line within the Game function, I'm actually turning that variable into a new instance of a MenuPage.
We don't have a picture of this imaginary menuPage instance, but lets' assume that in our MenuPage MovieClip in the library, we created a SimpleButton called startButton. Here, I'm adding an EventListener that patiently waits for someone to click that button. Once we receive that event, Flash is told to call the startGame function.
As you get better at this, you'll get into custom events, and the eventListener for the button will exist in the MenuPage class file, or even in another class file that you create just for the button. Something like StartButton.as But for now, we can do it as above.
Now the startGame function:
public function startGame(evt:MouseEvent):void
//Remove the start Page
//Add the zombie
//Add the gun
}//startGame
And we'll replace those comments with real code. It follows along with what we just did above.
public function startGame(evt:MouseEvent):void
zombie = new Zombie;
addChild(zombie);
gun = new Gun;
addChild(gun);
And we also want to clean up some by removing the menuPage, and throwing out the eventListener.
public function startGame(evt:MouseEvent):void
zombie = new Zombie;
addChild(zombie);
gun = new Gun;
addChild(gun);
menuPage.startButton.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.Click,startGame);
removeChild(menuPage);
}//startGame
Now our Game class is complete.
The Zombie Class
public function zombieWalk(evt:Event):void
this.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,zombieWalk);
this.x = this.x + 10;
}//zombieWalk
Notice we've added a function to the Zombie Class.
The first function adds an EventListener to the zombie. We can use the word this and actionScript knows we're talking about the zombie that the class is written for. This listener fires off every frame. If our FLA file is set to 12fps, then 12 times every second it will call on the zombieWalk function.
The zombie walk function moves the zombie 10 pixels to the right every time the function is called.
On a more advanced level, you'll want to add animation in the MovieClip to move the zombie legs. You'll also want to use Timer events to space out how often the funtion fires and not ENTER_FRAME events. And you'll want to use a static constant to establish how far the zombie moves. We have it now set to 10 pixels, but that can get irritating if we want to change that value later. But again, baby steps.
And finally, the Gun class
public function Gun():void
this.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fireGun);
}//function
public function fireGun(evt:MouseEvent):void
this.gotoAndPlay(2);
}//fireGun
First we add an EventListener for when someone clicks on the gun. Once this happens, the listener calls on the fireGun function.
The fireGun function takes advantage of the frames within the Gun MovieClip. Say we have three frames in the Gun MovieClip. The first is just a picture of the gun. The second is the gun with a flash coming out of the nozzle. And the third is the gun at rest again. The line this.gotoAndPlay(2) sends the gun to the second frame with the flash graphic.
For this to work, each frame in the Gun MovieClip has to have some stop and play commands.
But.. you said no code on our timeline!! Liar!
I know. This is the exception. You will need basic stop() commands and gotoAndPlay commands to loop animations. Any MovieClip that has more than one frame will need something to control it.
So our Gun MovieCLip has the following:
Frame 1: stop();
Frame 2: no actionScript... and I mean nothing, not even the words, "no actionScript"
Frame 3: gotoAndStop(1);
This will loop the gun to the beginning and wait for the next time the user clicks the gun.
Advanced features of the Gun class might include a Bullet.as sub-class that creates a bullet MovieClip to fly across the screen. Sound to play when the shooting takes place. Object collision detection to see if the bullet hits the target. And a means by which a custom event will tell the Game.as class that a zombie has been hit and it should be removed from the stage.
As you go down the rabbit hole of ActionScript 3, you will find yourself at a point where it's just a matter of getting the syntax right for all the built in functions and classes. Arrays, Loaders, casting variable types.. all that stuff will come.
I hope this has been helfpul. It's been on my to-do list for a long time. When I first started out, no one could provide me with basic answers for how all these classes and whatnot worked. After teaching myself AS3 for 2 years and reading a gabillion books, I think I've gotten to a point where I'm pretty comfortable with it all.

Toolkit for CreateJS: How to control the main timeline from outside the canvas.

Hey Everyone,
I'm currently trying to do something simple, but my animation breaks whenever I attempt to change my code. I have created a basic animation in Flash where an object moves from the left side of the canvas, to the right, and then loops from the last frame to the first frame. Nothing else. The animation is simply put on the main timeline. I exported the animation with Toolkit for CreateJS through Flash's extension and the animation runs as it should. I am trying to start and stop (restarting from the first frame) the animation with mouse over and mouse off events. I want the events to fire when moused over/off a div OUTSIDE the animation's canvas tag. Is this possible with CreateJS? I'm trying to figure out how to control the main timeline without being inside the canvas tag.
Example HTML:
http://www.thephotoncore.com/testing/example_test.html
Example Code:
<section id="container">
<canvas id="canvas" width="550" height="400" style="background-color:#cccccc"></canvas>
<section id="animation_control">
    <p>Roll over to start and stop animation.</p>
</section>
</section>
Thanks again for the help!
-DJ

Hi DjPhantasy5,
All movieclips on the stage are children of the stage,
So on the "mouseover" all movieclips on the stage could be stopped with stop and on the "mouseout" all children could be restarted with gotoAndPlay like this:
function Stop()
          if (stage && stage.children)
                    var i, l = stage.children.length;
                    for (i = 0; i < l; i++)
                              var child = stage.children[i];
                              if ("stop" in child)
                                        child.stop();
function Restart()
          if (stage && stage.children)
                    var i, l = stage.children.length;
                    for (i = 0; i < l; i++)
                              var child = stage.children[i];
                              if ("gotoAndPlay" in child)
                                        child.gotoAndPlay(0);
See http://www.liauw.nl/forums/adobe/djfantasy5/index.html
But it is also possible to expose "ball1", for example, by adding it to the document.
This can be done by adding code to "ball1" like so:
/* js
document.ball1 = this;
Then the stopping of the animation would look like:
function Stop()
     if ("ball1" in document)
          document.ball1.stop();
etc.
Have fun!
Ronald

Please help! first website! movie clip placed on main timeline wont play!

Hi! if any one could please help me it would be greatly
appreciated!
So im trying to make my first website in flash and ive ran
into a problem. I have the main movie, my main time line. I have a
few animations going on in this that were all created in that main
time line. those work fine. however, i created two new movie clips
(still inside the same .fla file) and animated them with thier own
time line. I then thought you could just drag and drop these movie
clips onto your main time line and they would play inside the
movie. but when i press ctrl + enter, the dont play!
here are some points of intrest.
my main movie (the main time line) is 130 frames.
the movie clips i made inside the same .fla file are between
400 and 600 frames.
i placed both new movie clips on the 130th frame in the time
line with their own layers.
also there is a layer for actions on the 130th that has
stop();
i thought that maybe the time line had to be as long as those
movie clips i created and so i extended it but they still didnt
play.
im thinking action script is involved? please help me im
getting pretty frustrated and im sure there is something simple to
achieve this.
here is a link where you can download the source files im
using. if you open the file the two movie clips i created are
called front two and front one and are layers with the same name.
this board wont let me fully post my link cause the last word
in it is s*h*i*t* so youll have to type it in your browser. its
http://public.me.com/matts*h*i*t*
(just remove the asterisks)
also i noticed that my file is huge. i used photoshop to
create everything and them imported it into flash. is there a way i
can reduce this size?
thank you sooo much! please help!
-Matt

Hey Matt,
I'll take a look at your file, but as a general rule, a
movieclip's timeline plays automatically when it is first
instantiated. Instatiated means its first frame where "it exists"
on the timeline that contains it. So the layer that holds your
movieclip animation, needs to extend the length of the timeline you
want that movieclip to "exist". Other than that rule, the frames
don't NEED to match the frames inside said movieclip.
So, if movieclips play automatically, and yours isn't, there
must be something either stopping the movieclips timeline, or your
movieclip isn't existing on the timeline because the layer that
holds it, doesn't have keyframes the length you need it to.
Yeah optimizing your sprites (2d graphical elements), and
using vector when you need to (if you don't know the difference
between raster and vector, google it) will significantly lower your
outputted .swf file size.
Edit: After looking at your file, your movieclips are not
playing (well, they're technically playing, just not showing up)
because your masker layer has multiple objects on it. A masker
layer (not to be confused with the maskee layer, the layer being
masked) needs to have only one object on it, or else you break the
mask. The grey border of your mask movieclip needs to be deleted
before your animation will play.

How to control the main timeline from within a symbol?

I have a small world map as a symbol called "verden" and I want the user to click Europe, Asia, or Africa and jump to named labels in the main timeline.
http://www.dagbladet.no/grafikk/neshorn/neshorn.html
On the main timeline a have the label "intro" with a Stop action and the label "europa". At label "europa" I have a symbol also called "europa" which has a display of None at label "intro" and On at the label "europa".
The animation never goes to label "europa"
I have this code on europa in the symbol "verden" :
// insert code for mouse click here
sym.getComposition().getStage().getSymbol("europa").play("europa");
The files are on Dropbox here
Update, now it works:
sym.getComposition().getStage().play("europa");

Hi Bill,
There are plenty of threads on here about scope, but here's one way to create a global variable:
// code on Stage.compositionReady
sym.myGlobalVar = 1;
Then, anywhere in your project, you can check/set that var like so:
sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalVar = 2;
And here's one way to create a global function:
// code on Stage.compositionReady
sym.myGlobalFunction = function(){
console.log('myGlobalFunction');
Then, anywhere in your project, you can call that function like so:
sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalFunction();

Referencing the main timeline from elsewhere

From inside a movie clip (button) which is inside a display
object (buttonSet), I want to gotoAndPlay a specific frame on the
main timeline. I've tried stage.gotoAndPlay(thisFrame). I got
closer with gotoAndPlay(stage.thisFrame). I still have something
wrong.
I have about 15 frames on the main timeline. Each frame
contains a myriad of objects all doing different things. Most
importantly they transition from frame to frame based on the
current frame (last button clicked) and the next frame (the newly
clicked button).
Example: the last button that was clicked was button #4, the
button I have just clicked is button #2. Based on this knowledge, I
want the main timeline to gotoAndPlay frame #6.
Thanks for the aid. :)

the flash compiler (in strict mode) often has trouble
"remembering" the class-type of objects/variables. "typing" those
objects explicitly helps the compiler to overcome erroneous error
messages.

Moving the play head in the main timeline from a button in a movie clip

I have a movie clip that loads and when it is done playing it has a close button that unloads the movie clip... I want to add code to this button that moves the play head to frame 20 of my main timline using actionScript 3.0

Tried that but dose not work think its because I am loading the movie this way...
Play button "playFinal"
function lastQuestion(event:MouseEvent):void{
     var Info:final1 = new(final1);
     this.stage.addChild(Info);
     Info.x=511
     Info.y=340; }
So I tried using the Name "Info"
//example......    MovieClip(Info.root).gotoAndStop(20);
And I tried the name of the clip in the library "final1"
//example......    MovieClip(final1.root).gotoAndStop(20);
Is it because im loading it with actions script instead of having it on the timeline?

Controlling the root timeline from inside a MovieClip

[preface] I'll apologize in advance. I'm a designer, not a
developer. I know very little about actionscript so if you
can help me out, please pretend like I know nothing.
[/ preface]
I just need actionscript to check the value of a variable
when the end of a movie clip is reached and then call an action.
Here's what I've got and it doesn't work. Please don't laugh.
if (p == 1){
tellTarget (_root) {
play();
else if (p == 0){
stop();
(the "stop" on the "else if"
is referring to the movie clip's timeline, not the root
timeline... in case you're wondering)
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No it's not a school project. Good guess though. It's
actually a self-promo piece for the ad agency I work for. I'm an
art director expanding my horizons. I would take a class or run
through one of the good actionscript books but unfortunately, I
don't have time.
Thanks for the help again kglad.
btw, I've used tellTarget successfully in a few projects in
the last few months. I'm using Flash 8.

How do I recerence Movie Clips on the Main Timeline from inside a class?

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