How do I loop back from the first frame to the last frame?

Hi there,

I'm currently working on the framework for a product viewer.

I have:

a movie clip called 'viewer_mc' which contains the images take from different angles of the product. The actionscript generates a script on the last frame of this that returns it to frame 1.

a button instance called 'autoplay_btn' which plays through the movie clip from whatever the current frame is, and stops on frame 1.

a left and right button which serve to move the movie clip frame, to give the appearance that the product is rotating.

I have succeeded in getting it to:

have the movie clip play through once, return to frame 1 and stop.

have the buttons return functions when held down, that move the frame in the movie clip using nextFrame and prevFrame commands. The right button successfully loops round to frame 1 and continues functioning to give the appearance of continual rotation.

The last problem I am experiencing is getting the left button to act in the corresponding manner, going from the first frame to the last and continuing to function.

Here is my actionscript so far:

import flash.events.MouseEvent;

var lastFrame:Number = viewer_mc.totalFrames;

var thisFrame:Number = viewer_mc.currentFrame;

var backFrame:Number = viewer_mc.currentFrame-1;

1. This is the part that gets it to play through once before returning to the first frame. I think perhaps the problem I am experiencing is because of the 'viewer_mc.addFrameScript(lastFrame-1, toStart)' part i.e. although I'm holding the left button, its returning to this script and therefor getting bounced back immediately to the first frame. However, there is no flicker on the screen which you might expect if this were the case

Note - as this is a generic product viewer which I can use as a template I am using lastFrame etc. as opposed to typing the value in

function toStart (){

          viewer_mc.gotoAndStop(1);

}

viewer_mc.addFrameScript(lastFrame-1, toStart);

2. This is the functionality for the autoplay_btn that will play through a rotation / return the viewer to the initial (frontal) view of the product (frame 1).

autoplay_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, autoplay);

function autoplay (ev:MouseEvent):void{

          var startFrame:Number = viewer_mc.currentFrame;

          viewer_mc.gotoAndPlay(startFrame);

};

3. This is the functionality of the right button, which when held, moves the movie clip to the next frame via the 'rotateRight' function based on the 'nextFrame' command. It loops back round to the first frame due to the 'viewer_mc.addFrameScript(lastFrame-1, toStart)' script generated on the last frame of the movie clip, as is desired.

right_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, rightDown);

function rightDown(e:Event){

    stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,stoprightDown); //listen for mouse up on the stage, in case the finger/mouse moved off of the button accidentally when they release.

    addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,rotateRight); //while the mouse is down, run the tick function once every frame as per the project frame rate

}

function stoprightDown(e:Event):void {

    removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,rotateRight);  //stop running the tick function every frame now that the mouse is up

    stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,stoprightDown); //remove the listener for mouse up

}

function rotateRight(e:Event):void {

    viewer_mc.nextFrame();

}

4. This is the functionality of the left button, which when held, moves the movie clip to the prev frame via the 'rotateRight' function based on the 'prevFrame' command. And this is where the problem lies, as although it works for getting the movieclip back to frame 1, it does not loop round to the last frame and continue functioning, as is wanted.

left_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, leftDown);

function leftDown(e:Event){

    stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,stopleftDown); //listen for mouse up on the stage, in case the finger/mouse moved off of the button accidentally when they release.

    addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,rotateLeft); //while the mouse is down, run the tick function once every frame as per the project frame rate

}

function stopleftDown(e:Event):void {

    removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,rotateLeft);  //stop running the tick function every frame now that the mouse is up

    stage.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP,stopleftDown); //remove the listener for mouse up

}

I'd imagine it is probably my logic for this part that is really letting me down - I can do a similar function in actionscript 2, but am trying to learn actionscript 3 just to move with the times as it were, and struggling a bit. Still this is only a few days in!

function rotateLeft(e:Event):void{

          if(thisFrame==1){

                    gotoAndStop(viewer_mc.totalFrames-1);

          } else{

          viewer_mc.prevFrame();

          }

}

Any help you can give me would be gratefully received. For an example of the effect I am trying to achieve with the autoplay button etc. I recommend:

http://www.fender.com/basses/precision-bass/american-standard-precision-bass