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Inspiring
November 8, 2011
Answered

Scrolling Marquee created in Flash 5.5 Pro not working in CP5.5

  • November 8, 2011
  • 1 reply
  • 1250 views

Hi all.

I've created a scrolling marquee .swf within Flash 5.5 Pro which has the dimensions of 30x205.

This works perfectly both testing the scene in Flash as well as when you view the .swf on it's own.

However, when I import the .swf into Captivate 5.5 and run the project, the scrolling text starts perfectly but then doesn't stop, i.e. it is not bounded by the original size of the Flash project so I end up with the message sscrolling right across the screen till all the text is visible, when it disappears.

I'm not sure if this is a Flash problem where I have missed something or done something wrong, or a Captivate problem.

I'm really VERY new to Flash so I'm guessing it is something I haven't done.

I understand that you can force Flash projects to be bounded to an area of the screen by using AS3, but I have no coding experience and am stuck.

Can anyone help?

I'm happy to share the relevant files if anyone wants to see what I've done.

Thanks all.

P.S. I've also posted this in the Flash forum in case it is that.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer RodWard

    Col, it's just one of the quirks in the way that Flash works.  Even though youv'e set your Flash document size to be only 30 pixels by 205 pixels, if you have the text starting off stage and scrolling onto the stage, then the REAL stage area (including the scrap area around the stage) MUST be larger than 30x205 right? 

    So what happens is that unless you mask the stage area to hide the bits you don't want to see, if you place that SWF into another SWF that has a larger stage area, then the scrolling text will be visible even before it gets to what you thought to be the visible stage area.

    So you need to get your head around the concept of Masking in Flash to pull off what you want to do here.  With masking, you're actually looking through a window the same size as the mask to see the scrolling text.  Then even when you bring it into a larger SWF like the Captivate movie, all you're going to see is the area covered by the mask.

    I tried to get to your FLA file but couldn't find it in Acrobat.com for some reason.  Message said the file could not be found.

    1 reply

    RodWard
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    November 8, 2011

    I think you'll find that you need to add a mask to your scrolling marquee that is the same dimensions as the Flash stage.  Then the only part of the marquee that should be visible inside Captivate is that part which fits within the boundaries of the mask.

    Going from memory: You just need to create a rectangle in the FLA, turn it into a Symbol, sit it on a layer directly above the layer of your scrolling marquee, right click on the mask layer and select Mask from the context menu.  That should lock both the mask layer and the marquee layer which will be shown as indented under the mask.

    You shouldn't see any difference when you test output from Flash, but when you import into Captivate it should look like your text is scrolling past an invisible window.

    Colday213Author
    Inspiring
    November 9, 2011

    The actual stage size is 30x205 and the scrolling text should only appear in that area surely?

    As soon as I pop it into CP5.5 the text continues to be displayed.

    I have shared the file at the below location. It is created in Flash Pro 5.5

    Can someone have a look?

    https://acrobat.com/#d=541-xXdZNah081orqAS4ew

    Cheers

    RodWard
    Community Expert
    RodWardCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    November 9, 2011

    Col, it's just one of the quirks in the way that Flash works.  Even though youv'e set your Flash document size to be only 30 pixels by 205 pixels, if you have the text starting off stage and scrolling onto the stage, then the REAL stage area (including the scrap area around the stage) MUST be larger than 30x205 right? 

    So what happens is that unless you mask the stage area to hide the bits you don't want to see, if you place that SWF into another SWF that has a larger stage area, then the scrolling text will be visible even before it gets to what you thought to be the visible stage area.

    So you need to get your head around the concept of Masking in Flash to pull off what you want to do here.  With masking, you're actually looking through a window the same size as the mask to see the scrolling text.  Then even when you bring it into a larger SWF like the Captivate movie, all you're going to see is the area covered by the mask.

    I tried to get to your FLA file but couldn't find it in Acrobat.com for some reason.  Message said the file could not be found.