How can I create a theatre marquee animation using paths and dash lines?

[Swsubs]

I would like to create a looping animation that has dots moving along a rectangular path with rounded corners.  I have seen a tutorial showing how to do this with an open path that has 90 degree angles. The continuous path was drawn with the Pen tool and then made into a dash line. The line was converted to a symbol that was given a number of frames (10). A Shape Tween was applied. A keyframe was created at the end frame. Then the starting point of the keyframed line was shifted by a distance equal to the length of the dash plus the space.  It works pretty well.  But when I tried to do it with a rounded corner rectangle or a series of horizontal and vertical straight lines joined by rounded corners the animation only affetec the first line.  It's as if they were a series of disconnected separate lines.  I don't know how to make a single continuous path. There is no "Join" function in Animate as in Illustrator.  I any case I would appreciate suggestions on how to create the desired marquee effect whther by using dash lines or some other - hopefully non-laborious - method.

[n. tilcheff · Accepted solution]

This video may give you some ideas.

[Swsubs]

Thanks for your reply.  I've seen this one too and it's the one that I had in mind when I said "hopefully not too laborious".  Ultimately I'll fall back on this if something easier doesn't come up.

[_keyframer · Accepted solution]

I made a quick and painless tutorial specifically for you on this technique. Not sure it's exactly what you're looking for but it should at least provide a totally different thought process. Strokes could work but can be messy/finicky. My solution takes advantage of a simple nested animation involving just 2 keyframes. If you go this route, you can always adjust the timing of the blicking lights by inserting or removing frames inside the nested symbol and then adjusting the frame they start on, on the parent timeline. Here's a video that walks you through it... and a link to the source file...

https://youtu.be/zJwk6AjfbRc

[n. tilcheff]

Love the tutorial, Chris!

[Swsubs]

Very cool. Thank you.  I can use this and I'm sure others will too.