Cannot set property after using getChildByName

Question

Hello !
I am adding a MovieClip to the container with the following code
            ldr = new MovieClip();
            ldr.graphics.beginFill(0xf0f0f0);
            ldr.graphics.drawRect(xPos,yPos,IMAGE_WIDTH,0);
            ldr.graphics.endFill();
            ldr.name = "ldr";
            container.addChild(ldr);
And then trying to retrieve this object on another function:
          var obj:MovieClip;
          obj = container.getChildByName("ldr") as MovieClip;
          obj.height = 100;
No error is returned, however if you watch the value of obj.height it remains on 0, not changing the value to 100 as expected.
Seems that no property from this object can be changed after retrieving it by getChildByName.
Any ideas?
Best regards,
Andre Bertier Rodrigues

Answer 1

Hi Ned !
The thing is: I am preloading little thubnails to the container. This first part of the code (in red) corresponds to the EventListener Event.Open, which is called when my loader has opened the content. This function basically adds the loader to the screen (which is a square set to MovieClip):
            loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.OPEN, AddPreloader);
            loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, preloadImages);
            loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onItemLoaded);
        private function AddPreloader(e:Event)
            ldr = new MovieClip();
            ldr.graphics.beginFill(0xf0f0f0);
            ldr.graphics.drawRect(xPos,yPos,IMAGE_WIDTH,0);
            ldr.graphics.endFill();
            ldr.alpha = 0.5;
            ldr.name = "ldr";
            container.addChild(ldr);
Then, while the image is being loaded it calls the second Event which is
          loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, preloadImages);
        private function preloadImages(evt:ProgressEvent)
            var toLoad:Number = evt.bytesTotal;
            var loaded:Number = evt.bytesLoaded;
            var total:Number = loaded/toLoad;
            var content:Bitmap = Bitmap(loader.content)
            var percentage:Number = Math.floor(total * 100);
            var obj:MovieClip;
            obj = container.getChildByName("ldr") as MovieClip;
            obj.height = percentage;
where ldr is a global MovieClip on my class.
I have debugged and watched the values. Since this is a MovieClip it has height and width. I think the problem is with getChildByName method.