Question

onClipEvent(load) Problem

Asked by: dcayce

I have an intro SWF on my a website that has a running menu across the bottom for various features. Each of those menu items calls an external movie, and so far I've been able to keep this simple by placing a loadMovie statement in the item's frame, such as hands_mc.loadMovie("hands.swf");. I ran into a problem, though, when a particular imported movie was built using setInterval functions. It's a simple slideshow with six images and I want each image to pause for 5 seconds before motion (alpha) tweening to the next image. I loaded this into the timeline frame for that item as I did all the others. The problem is that once that movie is loaded, the setInterval action seems to go global and the whole intro movie begins playing each item at 5 second durations. This is the setInterval code I'm using in the imported movie:
stop();
function pause() {
clearInterval(pauseThis);
play();
}
pauseThis = setInterval(pause, 5000);

So I tried to resolve the problem by placing a load script in the root movie clip itself, but now can't get the movie to load at all. This is the code I'm putting into the clip:

onClipEvent (load) {
customweb_mc.loadMovie("customweb.swf");      
}

The  movie being loaded is in the same directory as the intro movie. The site is http://www.cayceweb.com. The item in question is "Custom Web Design". If you go there, you'll notice it still has the setInterval version in place. Click on the link and the movie plays fine. Click another link and they all start cycling through at five second intervals. Maybe I should do some kind of unLoad for that movie? Guessing again.

Thanks for any and all help.

Cayce


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Asked On
2009-11-01 at 05:30:11ID24861740
Topics

Adobe Flash

,

ActionScript

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
10

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Answers

 

by: blue-geniePosted on 2009-11-02 at 04:36:17ID: 25718795

can you upload that swf file thats causign the problem

change .swf to .txt

 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-02 at 05:34:05ID: 25719088

Hey, Blue-Genie;

You're at the top of the rank list so I'm in good hands.

I'm uploading both the imported movie  customweb.swf  and the movie doing the importing  menu_mov.swf. As you requested, I've changed the swf to txt on both.

Thanks for your help with this. Puzzling me to no end.

Cayce

 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-02 at 05:48:55ID: 25719196

Also, if it helps the .fla files can be downloaded here:
http://www.cayceweb.com/customweb.fla
http://www.cayceweb.com/menu_mov.fla

In the menu_mov.swf, the frame holding the loadMovie code is in the "SWF Inports" layer, frame 3.

Thanks again


 

by: blue-geniePosted on 2009-11-02 at 21:46:40ID: 25726320

i can't replicate your problem
when i run the main file, load the custom web file it loops through the cusomweb.swf and does not affect the main timeline at all?

ps, you best embed your fonts.

 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-03 at 02:34:42ID: 25727550

I think I didn't explain properly. Here's the actual question:
How do I get an imported movie to unload once another menu selection is made, once the main timeline leaves the frame the movie is imported to?

To see the problem, go to http://www.cayceweb.com and click the Illustration & Photography button. The imported movie will loop indefinitely (in this case because it's a tweened construct with 200 frames for each image... archaic, but it works). Next select the Flash Design & Development button. The imported movie will play through and stay on the selection. This is the way the whole movie is supposed to work: each selection should remain until another is made.

Now select the Custom Web Design button. That imported movie will loop through as it should. But when another selection is made after selecting Custom Web Design, the whole movie begins automatically cycling through different selections at 5 second intervals. That's because the Custom Web Design movie being imported has this script in it on each image frame:

stop();
function pause() {
clearInterval(pauseThis);
play();
}
pauseThis = setInterval(pause, 5000);

What appears to be happening is that when the Custom Web Design movie is imported, the main movie(menu_mov.swf) is adopting that setInterval script and continuing to run it even after the Custom Web Design frame has been left for another selection.

So how do I kill the imported movie, Custom Web Design, once the frame it's on has been left?

Thanks again.

Cayce

 

by: blue-geniePosted on 2009-11-03 at 04:32:25ID: 25728258

ahh okay.

the way you've set your file is is setting yourself up for headaches but here's a workaround

1. in your customweb.fla

change all your interval names to _root.myInterval (all of them)

2. in your menu_mov file

in the first frame scripts layer, declare the variable

var myInterval:Number;


3. in all your subsequent buttons i.e Flash design

add this line

clearInterval(_root.myInterval);

then also your unloadMovie syntax is not right

must be _root.customweb_mc.unloadMovie();





 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-03 at 07:51:29ID: 25730118

Ok, so...
By adding _root. to the myInterval name in the customweb.fla, I'm restricting the the myInterval action to the customweb.swf movie, which is the (its own) root?

Or...

By adding _root. to the myInterval name in the customweb.fla, then adding 'var myInterval:Number;' in frame1 of menu_mov scripts layer, then adding 'clearInterval(_root.myInterval);' to each button, I'm essentially telling the real root level (which is menu_mov) to strip the myInterval action coming from the customweb.swf of its value?

Whichever case, it worked. I'd just like to know why. I love digging deeper into Flash, but it's like being infatuated with someone who can't talk to you.... you just have to prod here and there, hit or miss, and judge by the response you get as to whether you're on the right track. And get advice from those who know better.

I'm curious to know the part about having set myself up for some headaches, which implies there is a better way of doing this (and I have no doubt), but I'll persevere with my learning and one day it'll come to me what you mean.

In the meantime, thank you for your geniosity. I wish I had your knowledge & experience.

Thanks much.

And, yes, I'll imbed the fonts as well.

Cayce

 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-03 at 07:52:52ID: 31648540

Wonderful. What a relief!

 

by: blue-geniePosted on 2009-11-03 at 22:40:53ID: 25736956

knowledge & experience comes with time, a lot of tears and tearing out of hair.

_root when referenced in the customweb swf by itself references customweb's root.
however once customweb is loaded into the main file, that reference inside custom web will reference the main file's root (hope that makes sense)

all you're doing is making the scope (where that variable is accessible) larger by sticking it in the main file, so that its easier for the other items to clear that variable.

in terms of your setup, it's not necessary to jump around in frames and then have various movieclips in those frames to load items.

an easier way would be to create each of those "frames" as seperate swfs.
then just load each swf into the main timeline as required - then you don't have to be unloading stuff and clearing stuff, you have 1 frame, 1 movieclip.

good luck and happy flash journeys :-)

 

by: dcaycePosted on 2009-11-04 at 09:36:34ID: 25741778

Thanks for that come-back and advice. I know from your profile you're busy, so the time you took is truly appreciated. And your advice on the single frame construct sounds logical. I've got a few more of those to build and will try it out.

Best of luck to you as well. Onward!

Cayce

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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