variable = library item's properties

I didn't explain my whole project because it wasn't necessary to my essential question, but here is why I need those properties to begin with.

This is sort of a game and the objective is to fill the Stage with as many MCs as possible. You begin with a random MC and when you place it a new random one appears and so forth. You can't place MCs over others already placed.

The Stage is empty, the Library is full of MCs of various dimensions. This is a group project, so I'm not responsible for the MCs, only for the general structure of the thing. The MCs will snap only at certain coordinates when they are placed by the user. Those coordinates will depend on the widths and heights of the other MCs in the library. Valid X coordinates must be equal to a*MC1._width+b*MC2._width+,...,+z*MCn._width. So, if width1 = 13, width2 = 3 and width3 = 7.25, then 70 would be a valid X coordinate (2*13 + 5*3 + 4*7.25 = 70). Same for the Y coordinates.

There are multiple environments and each time this game loads you'll have a group of random pieces to place, from a total of dozens. Also, there will be pieces removed, changed or added at later times, perhaps monthly or so. So, ok, I could build arrays with the widths and heights of all the different MCs, but not only would that be tiresome and error prone (and harder to debug), but it would require changing those arrays at every update. So if I could have all the properties I need before, it would be so much simpler. Every time the game loads it decides the random six or seven pieces it's going to use, and then calculates the valid coordinates based on those pieces' properties.

The trick I used was to have the game attach all the pieces at the beginning with _alpha = 0, then build the width and height arrays and then remove all MCs again before the game actually began. Perhaps there is a simpler way? Thank you.

maguskrool,

> Thank you, but that's what I needed the properties
> for in the first place, to build those objects.

I really can't imagine why you believe you have a problem. If you want
to construct, for example, a movie clip object in real time, you have quite
a few options. You may use MovieClip.createEmptyMovieClip() or
MovieClip.attachMovie() to either create or attach movies directly to the
Stage or to the timelines of existing clips. Before any visuals update, you
have the time to adjust the created/attached movie clips in any way you
please: resize them, reposition them, and so on, as dictated by the
MovieClip class.

> Guess I'm stuck with a couple tricks I figured out
> to make this work, though they're not an ideal
> solution.

What tricks are you talking about? Why do you assert they aren't ideal?


David
stiller (at) quip (dot) net
Dev essays: http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."

Thank you, but that's what I needed the properties for in the first place, to build those objects. Guess I'm stuck with a couple tricks I figured out to make this work, though they're not an ideal solution. Thanks for the quick reply

maguskrool,

>> I have several Movie Clips on my project's library and
>> I need to retrieve their properties in order to assign
>> them to certain variables. at a given point I will attach
>> those MCs to the stage, but I needed their widths,
>> heights, etc. before, in order to calculate the positions
>> where I'll attach them and other MCs.

You're making an incorrect assumption, here; namely, that you must know
this information *before* you attach your movie clips. In fact, when you
attach your Library items, you may immediately follow the attachment with
adjustments to any of the clip's properties. The visual display will not be
updated until all the ActionScript in that frame has been executed.


David
stiller (at) quip (dot) net
Dev essays: http://www.quip.net/blog/
"Luck is the residue of good design."

Nope. But you can use an object that holds the props of the mc's.