How do I address the main timeline from a nested symbol placed on main timeline?

[avid_body16B8]

What is the equivalent from Edge Animate?

sym.getComposition().getStage().stop('lableName);

My setup:

Main timeline has symbol named intro.

Intro has a button named startbtn

Main timeline has several stops with labels - intro, tutorial, problem, etc... which also have symbols with buttons and questions, etc...

I want to move the play head of the main timeline from the startBtn symbol inside the intro symbol while the intro symbol is on the main time.

[JoãoCésar · Accepted solution]

Hi.

Try using exportRoot to refer to the main timeline.

[avid_body16B8]

Thanks, I'll try that.

And what if I wanted to address the nested symbol from the main timeline?

In Edge Animate it is

in compositionReady:

sym.getSymbol().$('button').css({'background-color':'red'});

[JoãoCésar]

Nice.

You can write:

this.intro.startbtn

Start with 'this' and continue with dot notation.

[avid_body16B8]

Also I like to keep my code on frame 1 of main timeline for most everything. Is that a good idea or not. In EA I keep everything in compositionReady.

[JoãoCésar]

I also like to do this.

But, sometimes I do like to use the main timeline as an effective state machine.

So, for example, I like to put variable and function definitions in their respective frames.

If I have a timeline with 3 frames: start, menu, game, I think it's a good idea to have the vars and functions for the game, for example, declared in that frame.

In this way I don't have to worry about resetting everything I need when the user goes back to that frame and also the code gets more organized because sometimes the one-frame approach creates really huge amounts of code in one single frame.

I don't know if it is the best way, but is the way I do things.

I hope it makes sense.

[avid_body16B8]

Thank you very much for your input. Coming reluctantly from Edge Animate. Last time I really used Flash was at Flash MX so it is pretty far back and of course it did not have canvas at the time.

[Colin Holgate]

Don't forget that Edge Animate continues to work fine, and is still part of what you can download from your CC subscription.

[avid_body16B8]

Yes I am actually the one monitoring the forum and answering questions.

[Colin Holgate]

I spotted your ACP badge, I knew you were special! I'm ACP too, but I hide it under an MVP badge, so that people don't get too excited.

[avid_body16B8]

I would not even know how to do that! and I am not so special!

[avid_body16B8]

Hey, could you give me the syntax for that?

I have one symbol on main timeline  (instructions)

I have button in another symbol.  (geronimoBtn in symbol nativesSymbol

I want to hide the first symbol from the button in the other symbol. Line 05 is the problem since I am not sure how to use exportRoot

this.nativeSymbol.geronimoBtn.addEventListener("click", geronimoInfo.bind(this));
function geronimoInfo(){
    this.nativeSymbol.gotoAndPlay("geronimoPage");
    this.instructions.visible = false;  // this element is on the main timeline so this. is incorrect
}

[JoãoCésar]

Hi!

If you want to safely bind the handler function to the main timeline, pass exportRoot as the parameter for the bind function.

this.nativeSymbol.geronimoBtn.addEventListener("click", geronimoInfo.bind(exportRoot));

So the 'this' keyword inside of the handler function body will refer to the exportRoot/main timeline.

Alternatively, you can use exportRoot in the function body.

function geronimoInfo(){
    this.nativeSymbol.gotoAndPlay("geronimoPage");
    exportRoot.instructions.visible = false;
}

I hope this helps!

Regards,

JC

[avid_body16B8]

hum. I tried that earlier and no joy. thought I had it wrong.

[Colin Holgate]

Going back to the original need, although you can use exportRoot, you can also use the window itself. That can be handy if you need non-Animate Javascript to talk to Animate Javascript. Something like this:

window.connectiontosomethingthatcanbedeeplyburied = this;

in the location that you need to access, and:

var whototalkto = window.connectiontosomethingthatcanbedeeplyburied;

somewhere else. Then that other location can use whototalkto as a way to access the original location, no matter where it is.

[avid_body16B8]

Interesting! I'll have to explore this.

It's just hard to get back to Flash after having devoted my time to EA since preview 1.

[avid_body16B8]

All this drives me crazy. I opted to write the code on the main timeline frame 1 which is something I used to do way back then when I used Flash MX.

So basically I address the objects in symbols from root and them if I need to address the main limeline it work fine.

Example:

main timeline has symbol instructions with button nextBtn and several pages.

var step = 1;

this.instructions.nextBtn.addEventListener("click", instructions.bind(this));

function instructions(){

    step++;

    if(step<4 ){       

        this.instructions.gotoAndStop("page" + step);        // symbol timeline

    }else if(step == 4){

        this.gotoAndPlay("game");      // main timeline

   }   

}