This
tutorial shows explains how to preload and use Wildform
Wild FX animated Flash text effects as buttons
in a menu and is meant to explain the two FLAs
listed above. Here is the swf of the FLAs which
will be discussed:
In
the first frame of the main timeline you define
the names of the external .swf files which will
need to be loaded. You will find the following
actionscript:
Set Variable: "swf1" = "external1.swf"
Set Variable: "swf2" = "external2.swf"
Set Variable: "swf3" = "external3.swf"
Set Variable: "swf4" = "external4.swf"
You are not bound to use this numeration, but
remember that the Movie Clip containers (see
explanation below) will search for the value
of Wild FX (where "X" is the
number) according to its instance
name (e.g. external2 or external7 etc). If you
have not defined this particular Wild FXvalue,
the movie will `hang' (i.e. get stuck in a infinite
check/load loop).
In the next 3 frames you see a simple system
/ loop, which checks if the main movie (i.e.
the frame with label "end") is completely
loaded. If it is loaded, it plays label "go".
In
the following frames, the Movie Clip "external" is
placed as many times as you need to show/load
external .swf's. The instance names are named
numerically (i.e "external1", "external2")
and will load the external .swf based on its
name.
Flash uses a substring actionscript to see what
the name is and loads the value of swf + 'that_number'
where 'that_number' is the number of the Movie
Clip instance. For example, "external4" will
load the value of "swf4". Since you
defined these values in frame 1 of the main timeline,
it will read this value and load this particular
.swf file.
Notice that the swfs appear on stage/keyframe
in sequence. The preloading system is based on
this order. The MC 'external' is a self-preloading
movieclip. You should not start more than one
moveiclip on the same keyframe because every
clip does the following:
1) pauses the main timeline,
2) waits until the appropriate external .swf
is loaded
3) tells the main timeline to continue playing
If you start more than one at the same keyframe,
then it will start the main timeline as soon
as one of the clips is loaded. This might lead
to effects not showing up when they are told
to (see the next step) because they may not have
been fully preloaded.
At
frame 13 the movie is told to stop. Frames 24,
25, 26, and 27 have the frame labels "stop1" to
4. The buttons will trigger the movie to stop
at those frames. This is to illustrate what type
of action needs to be placed on the buttons for
them to work within structure of the accompanying
.FLAs.
In this version, the movieclip external does
not contain the actual button. The buttons are
placed in the main timeline on layer "buttons
+ actions". All four buttons have `tell
target' actions which tell the appropriate instance
of MC "external" to either play, or
stop at label "stop". The tell target
actions load the text effects at the correct
moment. The main actions which this button has
to perform are also placed here. In this example,
they tell the main timeline to stop at a certain
label. This example makes the menu items appear
when moving your mouse over the area to the right
of the menu items.
This .fla has the button inside the movieclip
'external'. In this .fla you will need to copy
this MC once for each menu item that you have.
This is the simplest way to make the buttons
appear only when you roll over the part which
appears on the screen.
The main actions which the button performs will
occur in frames 6 and 11 of layer "button" inside
the ExternalX MC's (where "X" is the
number). In this example, they tell the main
timeline to stop at a certain label.
Wildform
provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all our Flash software.
If you are not completely satisfied with our Flash multimedia software
for any reason you may request a refund within 15 days
of purchase.
