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Tutorial: Creating Links within a Flash Movie

Free Flash Tutorial

Step Six: Stopping the Movie from Auto Playing

As you will have seen in the previous section, Flash automatically animates your Movie. That is it plays from Frame 1 to the last Frame and then returns to Frame 1 and plays again. This is the default for Flash but in this Movie we do not want it to animate. To stop the Movie from animating you will need to do some very simple programming! Welcome to ActionScript. ActionScript is the Language that Flash uses to program Movies. You are about to learn how easy it is to do some basic ActionScripting.

1. Select: Frame 1 (the first Frame with a black dot in it)
   
   
   Frame 1 is selected.
   
   
2. Open the Actions Panel: Window > Actions (F9)
   
   Important: This will open the Actions Panel. If you have selected the Frame correctly the Actions Panel should say Actions - Frame. Beware it is easy to attach your Actions to the wrong thing! Get in the habit of checking the top of the Actions Panel before you use it.
   
   
   Always check what it says in the top left corner of the Actions Panel:
   
   

Cross Ref: The Actions Panel has two modes. Script Assist On and Script Assist Off. As a beginner it is much easier to work with Script Assist switched on. If you want to learn more about Script Assist see the tutorial on the Actions Panel

3. Click on the Menu Down Arrow on the top left corner of the Actions Panel and tick: Script Assist

Important Note: The following instructions will not work unless Script Assist is on.

Script Assist is on if ticked in the Action Panel Menu:    >  

4. Click on the: Plus Sign > Global Functions > Timeline Control > Stop
   
   Your Actions Panel should display the following ActionScript:
   
       stop();
   
   
5. Close the Actions Panel by clicking on the cross: (F9)

Note: A small a should appear above the black dot in Frame one. This indicates that the Keyframe has some Actionscript attached to it.


Note the little 'a' in Frame 1.

6. Test your Movie: Control > Test Movie (Ctrl Enter)
   
   Your Movie should not animate anymore but it should be stopped on Frame 1. If you try and click on the Next Button it will not yet work. You will make the buttons work in the next part of the tutorial.
   
   
   The Movie no longer animates but the button is yet to work.
   
   
7. Close the Test Window:
   
   
8. Save your file: File > Save (Ctrl S)