Question

ActionScript 3.0 pause timeline on multiple frames

Asked by: GhostWerx

Hi all,

I got the attached code off of the adobe.com site from a tutorial.

The code when pasted in a frame will pause that frame. It works fine. My issue is if I then paste the same code in another frame Flash starts to kick out errors about multiple definitions of the same function, etc.

I want a function that I can define in say the first frame of a timeline. Then in another frame of the timeline I am able to set the pause time and call the function to pause the timeline.

So for example say I want the following pauses:

Frame 1: pause for 2 seconds.
Frame 20: pause for 3 seconds.
Frame 35: pause for 2 seconds.

What is the code I would place on each frame??

So to recap, I would like to define a function that pauses the timeline. Then on any frame where I would like a pause I can set the interval of the pause and execute the pause.

Thank you.

this.stop();
 
var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(2000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();
 
function timerHandler(evt:Object):void {
this.play();
}

                                  
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:

Select allOpen in new window

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-01-04 at 17:44:38ID24024293
Tags

ActionScript 3.0

,

Flash CS3

Topics

ActionScript

,

Adobe Flash

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
10

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. CONTROLLING THE TIMELINE
    How do you create this effect in Flash MX?? http://www.okaidi.com/okaidi/en/index.asp I have a long horizontal movie. I want to be able to click on a button and the timeline movies to the desired image??? ANY IDEAS.... I will raise the points as you get closer! :o)
  2. Timeline
    I'd like to create a timeline in a VB.NET 2003 winform application. I though about maybe using the MSChart control to do that, but I can't find it in VB.NET 2003. Looks like it's been removed. Does any one know of any third party controls that will be good for creating a time...
  3. Creating timelines in Visio
    I need to create a timeline in Visio that maps out all of the timers for running scripts on a daily basis. I need it to show each day of the week Sunday - Saturday at 15 or 30 minute intervals. All of the timelines that I have found are based on dates not the days , start an...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-05 at 05:29:44ID: 23295062

Hi there! There are lots of ways to do what you're asking, but to keep it simple here's what I suggest:

On frame 1 put this code:
function timerHandler(evt:Object):void {
this.play();
}

...

Also on frame 1, add this code so you get your 2 second pause:
this.stop();
 
var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(2000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();

...

Then on frame 20, just add the second part of the code again:
this.stop();
 
var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(3000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();

...

And on frame 35, add this code again. Notice that we're not re-defining the function every time.

this.stop();
 
var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(2000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();


There are more elegant ways of doing this, but see if you can get this working first!

T

 

by: GhostWerxPosted on 2009-01-05 at 18:12:17ID: 23301357

Hi tomaugerdotcom,

I tried your solution, however I get the following error at compile time.

1151: A conflict exists with definition timelinePause in namespace internal.

I don't have to use the code as it was from the adobe site.

All I am looking for is a solution for this problem in ActionScript3.

Everywhere I have looked I have found solutions for pausing the timeline, they only take into account wanting to pause the timeline on one frame. They don't allow for pauses across multiple frames.

 

by: GhostWerxPosted on 2009-01-05 at 18:55:04ID: 23301586

I found the following code which works fine. However I have to have all pauses the same length.

I am not very familiar with action script. How can I modify the following code so I can set the pause time on each frame I wish to pause on??

// On the first frame.
 
stop();
 
var theTimer:Timer=new Timer(3000);
theTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerNx);
theTimer.start();
 
function timerNx(e:TimerEvent):void{
play();
theTimer.reset();
}
 
// In the subsequent frames that need to be paused.
 
stop();
theTimer.start(); 

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-06 at 16:15:46ID: 23310857

Sorry GW, I made a mistake in my code above. The FIRST time we define timelinePause, you use "var" in front of it.

However, (and this is my mistake) you should not put "var" in front of it in subsequent frames.

Can you try this quickly and see if it helps?

T

 

by: GhostWerxPosted on 2009-01-07 at 22:23:42ID: 23322593

Hi tomaugerdotcom,

I took out the var on the subsequent frames and got the following errors.

1067: Implicit coercion of a value of type flash.utils:Timer to an unrelated type Class.
1188: Illegal assignment to class Timer.

Any ideas on modifying the other bit of code I found and posted??

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-08 at 05:40:43ID: 23324627

I will certainly take a look at it in the next few hours, and I will be sure to test it out before posting a response. Stay tuned...

T

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-08 at 11:40:30ID: 23329188

I had an error in my original code (I was rushing - my apologies). Once timelinePause is defined the first time, after that one shouldn't type it to Timer. In other words:

var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(......); // this is good the first time... then...
timelinePause = new Timer(.....); // you don't need var and you don't need :Timer (the "type") afterward.

The new code looks like this:

// frame 1:
function timerHandler(evt:Object):void {
	this.play();
	trace("playing");
}
 
trace("frame 1 - pausing 2s");
stop();
var timelinePause:Timer = new Timer(2000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();
 
 
 
 
// frame 10
trace("frame 10 - pausing 3s");
stop();
 
timelinePause = new Timer(3000, 1);
timelinePause.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
timelinePause.start();

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-08 at 11:44:47ID: 23329252

I also looked at your code. I like it a little better than mine because you don't have to re-define Timer everytime (it seems a wee bit more efficient that way).

You just need to change the "delay" property of the Timer object to change the timer duration. See code below:

// On the first frame.
 
trace("frame 1 - pausing 5 secs");
stop();
 
var theTimer:Timer=new Timer(5000);
theTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerNx);
theTimer.start();
 
function timerNx(e:TimerEvent):void{
	play();
	trace ("resetting timer...");
	theTimer.reset();
}
 
 
// In the subsequent frames that need to be paused.
 
 
trace("frame 10 - pausing 1 sec");
stop();
theTimer.delay = 1000;
theTimer.start(); 

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: tomaugerdotcomPosted on 2009-01-08 at 11:57:41ID: 23329413

And of course, you've inspired me to make this all a lot more elegant, so here's a nice function that makes it even easier to do this....

All the best!

var timelineTimer = new Timer(1);
timelineTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, function(e:TimerEvent):void {
	trace("Playing timeline.");
	play();
	e.target.reset(); // e.target is the TimerEvent target, and points to "timelineTimer"
	// I believe this is the proper way to access that variable in this context.
});
 
function pauseTimeline(timerDelay:Number):void {
	// I'm just getting fancy here... feel free to delete the next 2 lines
	var plural:String = timerDelay > 1 ? "s" : "";
	trace("Pausing timeline for " + timerDelay + " sec" + plural + ".");
	
	// stop the main timeline
	stop();
	
	// start the timer (multiple timerDelay * 1000 for milliseconds!)
	timelineTimer.delay = (timerDelay * 1000);
	timelineTimer.start();
	
}
 
 
// and this is how we use the function
pauseTimeline(2);
 
 
// ... and on frame 10...
 
pauseTimeline(5);

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:
24:
25:
26:
27:
28:
29:
30:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: GhostWerxPosted on 2009-01-08 at 17:10:22ID: 31530850

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It worked an absolute treat! I really appreciate your help on this.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...