Having trouble connecting more than two scenes together!

Question

Hi,
I'm creating my first Flash site, it's a simple portfolio site. The home page has 3 buttons that should link to three different "pages" (scenes). Each of those pages should link back to home and to the other two "pages."
I've created two scenes so far that link together well using the code:
on (release) {
gotoAndPlay ("scene2", 1);
And so on.
However, when I create a third scene and set up the buttons, then test movie, they don't link properly. I've retried three times now, and each time, once the third scene is added, that button will link to the 2nd scene, or both buttons will link to the 3rd scene and I'll lose the second.
What's going on? Have I missed a step? Is it impossible to create more than 2 scenes per project?
ALSO---Is there a more effective way to build a web site using flash? I've heard that doing it all with scenes in one project creates files that are so big that they have to load on a web page? Should I be creating different .swf files and linking them to each other? If so, how do you do that? Do I embed each one into it's own html page and then "getURL" in each....?
HELP! I need this done by next week!
Thanks so much,
RRH

Answer 1

For starters, in my opinion (and others'), scenes are not a good foundation for Flash designs--they can be problematic (as you have already experienced).  You are better off using the one timeline and creating your other pages as either sections of that one timeline or movieclips on or along that timeline.
The approach of using separate swf files is also good, especially if you expect some sections might result alot of file-weight if combined into one file.  You could do it as you mentioned, having each page be its own separate html-based Flash section, or you could load each section dynamically into one file when called for by the navigation.  The latter approach would allow for a more seamless presentation as the main interface wouldn't be reloading like separate pages would.
The dynamic loading approach would involve using either the MovieClipLoader.loadClip method or the loadMovie method.  If you wanted to have control of the file when it first loads, then the loadClip approach is the right way to go because the MovieClipLoader class supports having an event listener which you can use to determine when the file has completed loading.
For a portfolio site, there is the chance that the main sections of the site wouldn't be the weighty factor, but the portfolio samples would be.  In this case, you could load the portfolio content dynamically either using some form of thumbnail driven gallery/slideshow functionality.  Taking the dynamic approach for the portfolio samples would make it easier to add/remove content.  The content changes would involve simply changing a data file rather than editing the Flash file all the time.
So you have a number of options to consider... but you'll do yourself a favor if you shrug off the scenes approach early on (in my opinioon...  I have never used them in my own work).