May 2002 DEB Tip: Flash--The LoadMovie Action

Last update: 19-feb-03

Debbie Berg

Web Designer

Web Instructor

Technical Writer

Consulting Services

Need help designing your Web site?
Is it time to redesign your Web site?
Is your Web site meeting your visitors' needs?
Want a site review to find out?
Need help marketing your Web site through the search engines?

Please contact me to discuss my fees

Flawebdeb Information

Check out Debbie's 2003 Training Schedule

Take a look at some
of Debbie's most recent clients

What are people saying about Debbie?

"Debbie is a very knowledgeable, engaging instructor!"

M. Pine
Kansas City, MO

"Ms. Berg knows her stuff! She takes the time to explain technical concepts in great detail, which is very helpful. I can't wait to apply what I've learned!"

J. Matheson
Miami, FL

May 2002 DEB Tip

Back to DEB Tips

Flash: The LoadMovie Action

Want to load one movie at a time into a main movie? With Flash MX, you can load a SWF or JPEG file into the Flash Player while the original movie is playing. The loadMovie action lets you display several movies at once and switch between movies without loading another HTML document or a separate Flash movie.

The Levels Parameter
The Levels parameter uses a numbering system to describe the stacking order of loaded movies. The main movie is always in level 0. When loading a move into a level, the loaded movie will be in front of everything else that happens to be assigned lover-level numbers and behind items assigned higher-level numbers. When loading a movie into level 1, it will be on top. When loading a movie into level 2 it will be on top of level 1 and so on. So be sure to align each movie as necessary.

Use the LoadMovie Action with the Levels Parameter

1. This exercise will use the Levels parameter so that the drop-down menu we created will appear on Stage with a transparent background. Open an existing movie. During the Flash seminar, we used an existing movie from a previous exercise (the example that used Scenes and the dissolve transition).

2. Save the main movie into a folder and name the movie "main." Export the movie in the swf format.

3. Let's take the drop-down menu we created in a previous example and use it to load into the main movie. Be sure to save the drop-down menu's swf file into the same folder as the main movie. Save any other swf files that you'll want to load into the main movie and put the swf file into the main folder as well.

4. Make sure that Scene 1 is selected and create another layer. Name the layer "about us." Select frame 1 on this layer and open the Actions panel. Open the Browser/Network folder and double-click the loadMovie action.

5. Type the name of the movie you want to load in the URL field. Choose Level from the Location menu and type "1" in the field to the right of the Location field.

6. Create another layer and add the loadMovie action to frame 1 of that layer as well. This time, type 2 in the field to the right of the Location field and type the name of the movie you want to load in the URL field.

7. Choose Control…Test Movie to see the results. You'll probably notice that both loaded movies are stacked directly on top of each other, so you may only be able to see the movie that's been loaded on level 2.

8. Open each of the loaded movies and reposition each movie so that they line up next to each other.
TIP: Positioning is always based on putting the top-left corner of the loaded movie in the top-left corner of the main movie, so registration may require some repositioning.Use the Ruler and Guides to reposition where each loaded movie should appear.

Source: This lesson was developed especially for YOU by Debbie Berg :-)

WATCH FOR MORE DEB TIPS TO COME! STOP BY AND SEE MY NEW DEB TIP EACH MONTH...

D.E.B. Tips

Flash

Dreamweaver/Flash
Conference