Minimize memory usage with a multi-frame MovieClip

[Guest]

I have a MovieClip in Flash with 100 frames. Each frame contains a certain icon I need to use in a project. I create instances of this icon MovieClip wherever I need an icon to appear, and gotoAndStop to a certain frame to display that icon.

Will storing a 100 icons in a single movieclip cause every single icon to be created in memory whenever I create an instance of the MovieClip? If I stored each icon in the library and attached only the icon that is needed, would that consume less memory than creating this MovieClip that has all the icons in it?

[kglad]

if you create an object in the ide (ie, by putting it on-stage), then it (roughly) only exists in memory while it is on-stage (or on the backstage).