1 Reply Latest reply on Aug 8, 2006 1:01 PM by Newsgroup_User

    attachMovie under the Mask

    Level 7
    Newsgroup_User Aug 8, 2006 12:49 PM
      I have a movie in which I have a "Mask arrangement." The arrangement is that I
      have a Mask layer with several "cutouts." That layer is masking the layer
      below it which has only a single movieclip. I position the movie clip under a
      particular cutout so that it shows, then do some other stuff with it. Here's
      the trick:

      At a certain point, I have that small movieClip execute an attachMovie and
      pull another movieClip from the library. I *want* it to be "under the masked
      layer" so that this new movieClip also is able to peek out through the holes in
      the mask.

      However, when I attachMovie the new movieClip appears ON TOP OF the mask
      instead of inside being masked. I've tried playing with various layer
      management tricks, but it's not working.

      I think the issue is that when I add a new movieClip to the stage, it's either
      going on a layer BELOW the mask (and the objects it should be masking)...so
      don't see it. Or it's going on a layer ABOVE the mask (and the objects it's
      masking).

      How do I get a new movieClip to appear "inside" the masking arrangment?

      ---Damian

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        • 1. Re: attachMovie under the Mask
          Level 7
          Newsgroup_User Aug 8, 2006 1:01 PM (in response to Newsgroup_User)
          Damian,

          > How do I get a new movieClip to appear "inside" the
          > masking arrangment?

          Make sure the mask is also a movie clip, so that you can give it an
          instance name. Once named, it gives you convenient access to all the
          properties, methods, and events outlined in the MovieClip class. Among the
          events is one called setMask(), which, when invoked on a given movie clip
          instance, such as the one you loaded, allows you to mask it with another.

          If you're pulling from the Library (MovieClip.attachMovie()), you'll be
          fine, but if you're loading an external SWF (MovieClip.loadMovie()), you'll
          have to make sure the external SWF is fully loaded before you reference any
          of its class members.

          http://www.quip.net/blog/2006/flash/how-to-tell-when-external-swf-loaded


          David Stiller
          Adobe Community Expert
          Dev blog, http://www.quip.net/blog/
          "Luck is the residue of good design."