Control a mc timeline from the main timeline

Hi there,
On my main timeline, I load a mc from the library with:
text_content.attachMovie("text_content", "text_content", 10);
There is a marker inside this mc called "news". I need a script in the main timeline that will gotoandStop "news" within the "text_content" mc.
I have tried, amongst others unsuccesfully:
text_content.gotoAndStop("news", 10);
_level10.gotoAndStop("news");
Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Many thanks

Hi, thanks for your help. To describe the scenario a bit better...
I have an empty mc on the stage called "text_content_mc".
On the first frame of the main timeline, I load a library mc 'text_content' (identifier name: text_content) into "text_content_mc" using:
text_content_mc.attachMovie("text_content", "text_content", 10);
From the main timeline, I have attempted to navigate to marker "news" within the library mc, now inside "text_content_mc" using:
text_content_mc.text_content.gotoAndStop("news");
It is not working. What I am doing wrong?
Hope this makes sense. Thanks.

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Moving to a frame in Movieclip timeline from the main timeline

I am in the learning process. Working with FlashCS5 and AS3.
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http://www.darshanrane.com

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Hi Nabren
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On click handler for the symbol use
sym.getComposition().getStage().getSymbol("nameofsymbol").play();
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Hey Everyone,
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Example HTML:
http://www.thephotoncore.com/testing/example_test.html
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<section id="container">
<canvas id="canvas" width="550" height="400" style="background-color:#cccccc"></canvas>
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Hi DjPhantasy5,
All movieclips on the stage are children of the stage,
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function Stop()
          if (stage && stage.children)
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                              var child = stage.children[i];
                              if ("stop" in child)
                                        child.stop();
function Restart()
          if (stage && stage.children)
                    var i, l = stage.children.length;
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                              var child = stage.children[i];
                              if ("gotoAndPlay" in child)
                                        child.gotoAndPlay(0);
See http://www.liauw.nl/forums/adobe/djfantasy5/index.html
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This can be done by adding code to "ball1" like so:
/* js
document.ball1 = this;
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function Stop()
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etc.
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Ronald

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
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The animation never goes to label "europa"
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// insert code for mouse click here
sym.getComposition().getStage().getSymbol("europa").play("europa");
The files are on Dropbox here
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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;
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// code on Stage.compositionReady
sym.myGlobalFunction = function(){
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sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalFunction();

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
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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
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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?

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');
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sym.getComposition().getStage().myGlobalFunction();

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
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How do you reference the main timeline of swf1 from swf2 when swf2 is loaded into swf1?

on this link          http://kb2.adobe.com/community/publishing/918/cpsid_91887.html
I found this script, but I can not use it can anyone help me
// create a variable to reference swf1's main timeline
var swf1Main_mc:MovieClip; // this assumes that swf1 is a movieclip.
// create your listener to ensure this loaded swf has been added to the display list and can therefore obtain a
// reference to its main timeline (which is always the main timeline of the loading swf).
this.addEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, initF);
function initF(e:Event):void{
    swf1Main_mc = MovieClip(this.root);

You don't make it clear what event finish is for. But let's assume that your MC is being loaded from the clip that you're referring to as root. In the main Document Class of that swf, you'd have
protected var customSwf:CustomSwf;//customSwf is the Class that defines your functionInSwf1protected function someFunction():void {
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      //this is what you actually need to care about to do this correctly
      customSwf = LoaderInfo(e.target).content as CustomSwf;
Now, the Class that you apply to the library symbol you're using for mcExternal should have code similar to this:
protected function fEvent(e:Event):void {
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back in your main document Class:
//should probably call from the constructor or somewhere early in the process
protected function init():void {
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protected function onEventHappened(e:Event):void {
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To the untrained I, this looks like about the same amount of code and slightly more trouble, but changing the design like this will make it much more tolerant of the changes that nearly all clients will want after you've built version 1. mcExternal's code doesn't have to change at all if swf1 changes, and your root Class already knows abotu swf1 anyway, since it's doing the loading, so having it work with it a little more doesn't hurt.
Moving the change of visual state into your custom swf means that changes in that swf won't affect your main document Class, though you will probably have to recompile the main document unless you go to using an Interface (a topic for another day).

Control a mc timeline from the main timeline

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