View Main Timeline in Graphic symbol timline

[Sasanka88]

If I draw a face with eyes (each as symbols), then parent the eyes to the head, and move them around via classic tween, it will create a basic animation on the timeline. Then if I go into the eyes symbol to edit them or add a blink, I can only view the frame that I clicked on, and scrubbing through the symbol timeline won't show me the original animation,

What can I do to see the main root timeline as I scrub through each frame of the symbol timeline? This would be useful to see the relative position of the symbol in the main timeline as you edit it.

Thanks in advance.

[kglad]

use a parent graphic, not the main timeline (which is a movieclip).

[Sasanka88]

Sorry can you expand on this? I've already parented one of the symbols to another...

[kglad]

i understand, but the parent is the main timeline, correct?

[Sasanka88]

No, I've made two symbols. I've parented on of them to another and made them both move in the main animation. 

[kglad]

are both graphic symbols (and not movieclip's)?

[Sasanka88]

Yes that's right. I just want to tween a symbol (or parent it to one that is tweened), then go into the symbol and scrub through the timeline seeing it's tweened movement while being able to edit it. 

[kglad]

you have a parent symbol (movieclip or graphic) and a child graphic symbol (with timeline animation) and scrub the parent timeline are you failing to see the child's animation?

[Sasanka88]

I'll describe step by step as clearly as I can.

I open up Animate CC, and create an ellipse, then turn it into a symbol. I create another smaller ellipse, turn that into a symbol then make it a child of the larger ellipse. Then I use classic tween to make the larger one move from left to right over 20 frames (the smaller one follows of course).

I then click into the smaller ellipse to edit it (maybe to change shape or change drawings). But as I scrub through the timeline of the smaller ellipse, it is static. It doesn't show it's movement as it does in the Main timeline. I think it would be very useful to see this movement as I edit it on each frame. 

Is there a script or plugin or proprietary option in Animate that achieves this? Thanks! 

[kglad]

you skipped some crucial info:

1. what kind of symbol's?  there are 3 possible, movieclip, graphic, button

2. how your making one symbol a parent and the other its child?

[Sasanka88]

Lol both graphic symbols. 

And you know that whip thing you can drag from one layer to another? That's how I'm parenting them. I've attached an image. 

[kglad]

that's parenting layers, not symbols, and something used if your "rigging" a character, for example.  otherwise:

create your parent symbol (movieclip or graphic)

create your child symbol (graphic)

open your parent symbol timeline and drag the child symbol from the library to the parent timeline.  scrub the parent timeline. 

any problem?

[Sasanka88]

I've done this. And i've made the child symbol move around over 20 frames inside the parent symbol. But when I then click into the child symbol to edit it further, it's just static - it doesn't show it's movement. 

Essentially I want to edit the symbol frame by frame, while seeing it's keyframed movement. 

[kglad]

if you're editing on the child timeline, you'll see whatever animation your created for your child.  you won't see the parent.  if you're editing on the parent timeline, you'll see the parent animation AND the child animation.

[Sasanka88]

Right but when you're in the child timeline you also won't see keyframes and tweening that were applied to the child symbol (within the parent timeline). It's just static throughout the timeline. That's what I'm struggling with right now...

[kglad · Accepted solution]

correct.

anything you do to that child will apply to each keyframe in each parent where that child is located.  that all can't be displayed on one timeline (eg the child's).

[Sasanka88]

Thanks for your help! I'm gonna try and find an actionscript that might achieve this, I even asked ChatGPT to help and it gave me a start so I think it's definitely possible. 

[kglad]

what are you trying to do with actionscript and what kind of app are you creating?  eg, a mobile app?

[Sasanka88]

No no, just trying to make workflow more intuitive, but as I'm fairly new to the software, I might be going down the wrong path and there maybe other better ways of doing the same thing. I'll be mindful of this. 

[kglad]

well, there's a fair chance you're going to expend time and effort on a dead-end approach.  again, what kind of app are you creating?

[Sasanka88]

No you might be right, I'm just trying to do more frame animation and trying to make flash work like other programmes that I'm more used to but it's better to just learn how this programe works, as it clearly works for a lot of people. 

[kglad]

what kind of app are you creating?

something for the internet?

something to be installed on a mobile device?

an animated graphic?

a video?

something else?

[Sasanka88]

Animated graphic

[kglad]

then you can't use any scripting, at all.  everything must be done on the timeline and use no movieclip symbols, only graphic symbols.

[Sasanka88]

I mean a script to just change what you see in a symbol timeline to help with the user interface. But yeah I'm figuring out other solutions now.