How to: create a movieclip

[VCRClock]

I'm creating this thread because someone asked me about movieclips, or more like how to put multiple magazine pages into one frame. It's a basic Flash skill, so I figured that if I was going to explain it to one person, I might as well explain it to anyone who Googles "site:clockcrew.cc how to create a movieclip."

Movieclips are a kind of symbol where multiple frames of animation, graphics or code can be combined and manipulated independently of the main movie or timeline. By default, a movieclip plays even when the main movie isn't playing. There are a ton of different ways to use movieclips. One of them is as a place to store "pages" of content that are navigated by buttons. By using a movieclip, you avoid Flash noob inefficiencies like putting forward and back buttons on every frame.

Let's start with a blank canvas.

You could create a movieclip by using the Insert>New Symbol command, as well, but sometimes you have a drawing that you want to turn into a movieclip.

First, select your drawing, dummy.

Next, from the Modify menu, choose "Convert to Symbol." (I HOPE THIS HASN'T CHANGED SINCE FLASH 8)

A wild dialogue box appears!

Make sure "Movie clip" is selected. Give it any name you like. The "registration" grid lets you choose the (0,0) location of the selected object. Top-left makes the most sense when you want to know where the top left of your drawing is, and center for when you need to know where the center is. All other orientations are utterly useless and for losers only. This also affects positioning your object on the stage. You'll figure it out eventually, but for now let's just stick to top left.

A rectangular border, orientation cross (at the (0,0) point), and circle (it's the point around which your object rotates, and it can be moved) appear around your object. Congratulations! It's a boy symbol! Now double-click it.

Your drawing is selected again! You are now "inside" your new movieclip symbol, and you need to be here in order to modify its contents. Note that the name of your symbol (in my case, "Pages") has appeared next to "Scene 1" in the bar near the top of the screen.

A movieclip has its very own timeline independent from the main timeline, and that's what we're looking at now. Right-click the next available slot and select "Insert Blank Keyframe," or otherwise start adding some keyframes.

Good job. Now draw something.

Fab. You can create as many frames as you want, and when you're done, click "Scene 1" (or the clapboard) in the top bar (see pink arrow) to exit your movieclip to the main timeline. Your new frame will disappear from the timeline, but it's still there. I promise.

Once you're on the main timeline, you can get back into your movieclip by double-clicking an instance of it on the stage, or by double-clicking its name in the library. If you double-click the one on the stage, you continue to see where on the stage it appears, but if you double-click the one in the library, you won't be able to see the stage anymore.

By default, a movieclip plays on its own. But if it's filled with magazine pages or something and you don't want it to be played like an animation, you should open the movieclip again (I just told you how), and either right-click the first frame and select Actions (best choice), or use the Window>Actions command to bring up the Actions window.

When the Actions window comes up...

...type in stop();. Then close the Actions window and your symbol because you're done. You now have a movieclip that won't play. And isn't that what you wanted all along?

[BilliardBall10]

very usefull, thanks!