Alternative to onClipEvent(load) ?

That helps a lot, thanks David!

> In other words, you can't just use the instance name of
> your MovieClip instance and assign a function to the
> onLoad event ... you have to create an ActionScript 2.0
> class that extends MovieClip, ...

P.S. Here's exactly what the documentation states:

<quote>Invoked when the movie clip is instantiated and appears in the
timeline. You must define a function that executes when the event handler is
invoked. You can define the function on the timeline or in a class file that
extends the MovieClip class or is linked to a symbol in the library.</quote>

The last sentence, beginning with "you can," is a bit misleading, I
think. Sure, you can define the function on the timeline, but the function
will only work if the MovieClip instance is associated with a class file
(i.e., the instance is a subclass of MovieClip.

Continuing on ...

<quote>You use this handler only with movie clips for which you have a
symbol in the library that is associated with a class.</quote>

Bingo. That's the key.

<quote>If you want an event handler to be invoked when a specific movie clip
loads, you must use onClipEvent(load) or the MovieClipLoader class instead
of this handlerl;</quote>

When a "specific movie clip loads" is not quite specific enough, I
think. If I had my druthers, this sentence to explicitely state that it
refers to non-subclassed movie clips.


David Stiller
Adobe Community Expert
Dev blog, http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."

warrblade,

> How do you avoid using onClipEvent(load) ?

Ahh, this is a good question.

> In the http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/as_bestpractices_04.html
> article they say to avoid using on() and onClipEvent()
> handler functions, because it forces you to attach actions
> directly to a MovieClip.

Yup, and I agree, it's a much better way to go. But as you've already
discovered ...

> But replacing onClipEvent(load) with myMovieClip.onLoad
> doesn't seem to work... Anyone know of a workaround?

This stumped me, too, when I first encountered the issue. I'm not
exactly sure *why* this is -- I should probably dig through Colin Moock's
"ActionScript for Flash MX, The Definitive Guide" again -- but for the
MovieClip.onLoad event, you may only handle the event of a class that
extends MovieClip. In other words, you can't just use the instance name of
your MovieClip instance and assign a function to the onLoad event ... you
have to create an ActionScript 2.0 class that extends MovieClip, handle your
event in that class, then associate your class file to a Library symbol by
way of the Linkage ID.

Here's a free tutorial from Community MX on how to subclass MovieClip.

http://www.communitymx.com/content/article.cfm?cid=A06B3C7D7B74030D


David Stiller
Adobe Community Expert
Dev blog, http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."