Backward Movie Clip

written by: Paulo Caldeira; article published: year 2007, month 07;



In: Categories » Computers and technology » Flash » Backward Movie Clip

In this tutorials, you'll make a movie clip run backward.

We will start the movie clip at the last frame and then use a prevFrame command to send the clip back one frame at a time.

  1. Start a new movie. Place a simple, animated movie clip on the screen. You can use the "gear animation" from the previous example.

    In this case, it doesn't matter what you name the movie clip. We will never need to refer to it by name because the script will be attached directly to the movie clip.

  2. Select the movie clip and bring up the Actions panel. The title of the Actions panel should be Actions—Movie Clip.

  3. Two handlers are in this script. The first one is an onClipEvent (load) handler that sends the movie clip to the last frame, in this case frame 60:

    onClipEvent (load) {     
     gotoAndStop(60);  
    }  

    This handler is called only once, when the movie clip first appears.

  4. The second handler is an onClipEvent (enterFrame) handler that executes once per frame. It pushes the movie clip to the previous frame:

    onClipEvent (enterFrame) {      
    prevFrame(); 
     } 

Test the movie to see it in action.

legal disclaimer

1) Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringements, please read the Terms of service and contact us to investigate the problem.
2) The E-articles directory team is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this tutorial may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. Please read the Terms of service

Useful tools and features

Translate this article to...    Send this article to you or to a friend

Link to this article from your page   
If you like this article (tutorial), please link to it from your web page using the information above. Linking to this page, this is the only way to help us improve our service, the same time providing your visitors with a way to improve their online experience.

related articles

1. How to draw a line using ActionScript
Use the lineStyle( ) method to specify the thickness, color, and transparency of the line. Then use the lineTo( ) method to draw a line from the current pen position to a destination point. Before you can draw anything using ActionScript, you need to tell Flash what kind of line style to use. The line style consists of the line's thickness, color, and alpha value (opacity), and you can set these values using the lineStyle( ) method on the movie clip in which you wish to draw. The line's thickness should be specified in pixels, but an...

2. Drawing an Ellipse using ActionScript
Create a custom MovieClip.drawEllipse( ) method using the Drawing API and invoke it on a movie clip. You can create a method of the MovieClip class to draw an ellipse that is very similar to the drawCircle( ) method. In fact, the drawCircle( ) method is merely a degenerate version of drawEllipse( ), in which the radii in the x and y directions are the same. The custom drawEllipse( ) method accepts four parameters: xRadius The radius of the ellipse in the x direction (major axis). yRadius ...

3. ActionScript: Filling a Shape with a Gradient
Use the beginGradientFill( ) and endFill( ) methods to initiate and close a shape drawn at runtime. In a gradient fill, there is a graded change in colors. Flash supports linear gradients, in which one color fades into the next from left to right. Flash also supports radial gradients, in which the colors radiate out from a center point. You can initiate a gradient-filled shape using beginGradientFill( ) in the same way you initiate a solid-filled shape with beginFill( ). The difference is that the call to beginGradientFill( ) require...

4. Scripting Masks in Flash
Use the Drawing API to create a shape and then use MovicClip.setMask( ) to apply the mask. Masks can be used to create unique shapes or visual effects. For example, you can use masks to create wipes and transitions or interesting animations in which only the masked portion of the artwork is visible at a given time. You can even create masks that change shape over time, and use them to mask bitmapped graphics (in movie clips). You can use any movie clip as a mask of another movie clip using the setMask( ) method. The setMask( ...

5. Drawing a Triangle using ActionScript
Create a custom MovieClip.drawTriangle( ) method using the Drawing API and invoke it on a movie clip. You can determine and plot the vertices of a triangle given the lengths of two sides and the angle between them. This is a better approach than specifying the lengths of the three sides because knowing the lengths of two sides and the angle between them always determines a triangle, whereas three arbitrary sides may not fit together to make a triangle. The custom drawTriangle( ) method accepts six parameters: ab ...

6. ActionScript: Filling a Shape with a Solid or Translucent Color
Use the beginFill( ) and endFill( ) methods to initiate and close a shape drawn at runtime. To draw a filled shape, call beginFill( ) prior to any other drawing methods, including the custom methods you have defined such as drawCircle( ) and drawPolygon( ). Invoke endFill( ) after calling other drawing methods to create the shape. You cannot apply a fill to an existing shape drawn at authoring time or runtime. You must invoke beginFill( ) before drawing the shape to be filled. This example creates a solid blue ...

7. Drawing a rectangle using ActionScript
Create a custom MovieClip.drawSimpleRectangle( ) method using the Drawing API and invoke it on a movie clip. To draw a simple rectangle, specify the stroke's attributes using the lineStyle( ) method and then draw four lines using the lineTo( ) method: // Create rectangle_mc with a depth of 1 on the main timeline. _root.createEmptyMovieClip("rectangle_mc", 1); // Specify a one-pixel, solid, black line. rectangle_mc.lineStyle(1, 0x000000, 100); // Draw four lines to form the perimeter ...

8. How to draw a rectangle with rounded corners
You want to draw a rectangle with rounded corners, an offset, or rotation.Create a custom MovieClip.drawRectangle( ) method using the Drawing API and invoke it on a movie clip. The drawSimpleRectangle( ) method is, as the name suggests, quite simple. Let's create a more complex version that also: Draws a rectangle with a specified angle of rotation Let's you specify the rectangle center's coordinates Can draw a rectangle with rounded corners The drawRectangle( ) method accepts...