Controlling main timeline from loaded movie

I have loaded an external movie onto the main movie in a
movie clip called "mainholder" - In the main timeline on the main
movie there is a "stop" command on frame 1. From the loaded movie,
I want to control the main timeline and tell it to go to frame 2.
Can someone tell me the actionscripting to do this, I have tried
several commands and getting frustrated. ;-)
Thanks

movies are loaded into levels. The main movie is always
considered level0 a.k.a _root in the AS. When you load a movie into
another, the main movie is also considered the parent of that
loaded movie a.k.a. this._parent in AS where this refers to the
loaded movie. If you want something in the loaded movie to control
the main timeline you could call it like this...
_root.gotoAndStop(2); or _root.gotoAndPlay(2); depending on
what you want.
but because of the parent/child relationship, it can also be
done like this....
this._parent.gotoAndStop(2); or this._parent.gotoAndPlay(2)
Although the first method is less to remember, the second
method proves the most friendly and re-usable. Let me explain...
Say that you did something like this....
[MAIN MOVIE]
[LOADED MOVIE]
{Loaded Movie with buttons to control LOADED MOVIE}
Your main movie loads a movie and when this loaded movie
reaches it's 10th frame, it loads another movie where the buttons
reside for controlling that clip. If you used _root in the button
movie, it would cause the main movie (_root) to be called and not
the LOADED MOVIE as you had intended during its design prior to
trying to make this new main movie (and it would work as intended
if you opened the LOADED MOVIE's fla file and exported). If you use
this._parent in the button movie, it will always make it's calls to
the LOADED MOVIE's timeline and not the main clips timeline.
Sorry if this confuses you but it's important to
understand.

Similar Messages

Control main timeline from loaded swf.

Hi,
I'm using a textfield for debug information.
I'm loading an swf on the main timeline and I'm showing the status in the debug textfield.
function swfLoaderCompleteHandler(event:Event)
Debug.text += "Swf loaded.";
That works.
But,
I'm loading a png file in the loaded swf. , I'm trying to show the status of the png file as I showed the status of the swf.
function pngLoaderCompleteHandler(event:Event)
MovieClip(parent).Debug.text += "Png loaded.";
I can't control the main swf from inside the loaded swf. Even gotoAndStop or calling a function doesn't work.
Do I need to add something when I load the swf, saying it's a MovieClip or something?
Here's a fla too. http://flashfocus.nl/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9885&d=1282509233

Thank you! you're brilliant!
For people with the same problem:
If you use CS5 and you have a TLF text on the stage, it doesnt work... I think it's a bug. But when I converted my TLF textfield to classic and everything works fine!

Script to control main timeline from inside MC?

This is such a newb question and I'm sorry! I have a Movie
Clip on the main timeline and inside that MovieClip are several
buttons. I want the buttons to go to specific frames in the main
timeline. I have:
on (release) {
gotoAndPlay("PowerPoint");
I know there needs to be something in there to tell it the
main timeline. I searched for this very basic, simple question and
couldn't find anything.
Thanks for any help.

if your buttons are true buttons use:

How to control main timeline from buttons in a movieclip - job in jeopardy!

I am trying to do a simple thing in theory. In my main timeline I have a series of images with frame labels for each. In a movieclip (with its own labels & script) below the images, I have two panels of butttons that flop back and forth (to save space). The idea is to simply have the main timeline play the frame specified by the corresponding button in the movieclip. I tried the parent.child thing but either im doing it wrong or that isnt the solution. If anyone can help me I will be saved from certain death. If you think any other part of my project may be to blame, Ill be happy to provide anything that can help. Thanks in advance.
Here is my script:
ActionScript Code:
function on1click(evt:MouseEvent):void {
gotoAndPlay("pic1");
thumbPanel.pic1_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, on1click);
this is the error:
TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at gallery_fla::MainTimeline/frame1()

The 1009 error indicates that one of the objects being targeted by your code is out of scope. This could mean that the object....
- is not in the display list
- doesn't have an instance name (or the instance name is mispelled)
- does not exist in the frame where that code is trying to talk to it
- is animated into place but is not assigned instance names in every keyframe for it
- is one of two or more consecutive keyframes of the same objects with no name assigned in the preceding frame(s).
If you go into your Publish Settings Flash section and select the option to Permit debugging, your error message should have a line number following the frame number which will help you isolate which object is involved.

Controlling main timeline from a movieclip

I am helping someone (using MX 2004) who is trying to send
the playback head to different scenes via a dropdown menu in a
movieclip. We have tried many variations but still can make it
work.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

don't use the goto functions and don't use scenes to
navigate. use frame labels and the goto methods:
_root.gotoAndPlay("scene2_frame1"); // <- label that
frame.

Message from loaded movie

I have loaded a movie (test.swf) into movieClip:
var ldr:Loader = new Loader();
ldr.load(new URLRequest("test.swf"));
addChild(ldr);
The code above is in the movieClip.
Now I would like to "send" a message from the loaded movie to
the main timeline of loading movie. I have a dynamic text field in
the main timeline named messageText. I have tried command
root.messageText.text = "something" but this doesn't work. What
should I do?

Thank You for your answer but it didn't work. Anyway I got it
working with this:
MovieClip(parent).parent.root.messageText.text =
"Something";

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

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

CONTROLLING THE TIMELINE FROM EXTERNAL MC

I have a website
http://www.charlesmarsden-smedley.com/index1.html
that I am building.
In the projects section, if you navigate to Projects >
Museum > Tower of London. You will see 'more information' link.
This loads an external Movie clip for the text feild. I would
like to make the 'more information' dissappear when it is clicked
and the text appears in the target. The way I thought is best is to
move the timeline on one frame and just remove the link, but when I
click on 'back to images' link it reloads the images (external MC)
but the 'more information' link is still hidden.
How can I control the main timeline from an extrernal movie
clip?
Am i being rediculously long about this operation?
thanks
Harky

maybe you didnt understand correctly.
the 'more information' link loads an external movie clip (the
text) into the right side of the page.
At the bottom of this movie clip is a green link 'back to
images' this button sits within the movie clip. So my problem is
making this button controll the main timeline (as its root is the
movie clip root, not the main web page root)

How to remove a function on the main timeline within a movie clip

How do you remove a function that is coded on a frame in the main timeline from within a movie clip? I tried this, but no dice:
infoGraphicDisparity.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, fl_ClickToGoToScene);
function fl_ClickToGoToScene(event:MouseEvent):void
parent.removeEventListener (Event.ENTER_FRAME, parent["enterFrameHandler"]);
MovieClip(this.root).gotoAndPlay("disparity");
this is the event I am trying to remove:
stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, enterFrameHandler);
any help would be appreciated as always.
Thanks!

from any frame (that executes after enterFrameHandler is defined) in any display object in the display list
stage.removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, MovieClip(root).enterFrameHandler);

Using Flach CS4 and action script 2.0 how do I advance to a specific frame of the main timeline when a movie clip instance come to the end of its timeline?

Using Flach CS4 and action script 2.0 how do I advance to a specific frame of the main timeline when a movie clip instance come to the end of its timeline?

code on the last frame of your movieclip instance:
_root.gotoAndStop('whatever_frame'); // will work unless this swf is loaded into another swf. in that situation, you should use a relative path to the main timeline (eg, _parent or _parent._parent etc).

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();

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?

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

Controlling main timeline from loaded movie

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