Topic: making several copies using flash...

ok this is gonna sound dumb but...

I'm new to flash5 and I bought a book to learn flash. However isnt there a tool to allow me to clone a object?

for example...lets say i want to make the face of a clock using dots. I make one dot at the 12 o'clock point, now i want several instances of the dot to apear at the 1,2,3,4,5,6...etc points. is there a tool to tell flash to create 11 more dots and put them at x,y coordinates?

Brad

No "tool" that I know of. There's a way to duplicate a movie clip, but I don't see and advantage to doing that here. I also don't see any particular advantage to making a dot symbol and dragging 11 more instances out of the library. I'd just copy and paste a little round thing 11 times, position using guides and rulers. Maybe make the whole clock face a graphic symbol when you're done.

Illustrator will let you repeat a transform to automatically place dots, and Photoshop has ways of adjusting brush spacing and stroking a path, but I don't know of any automated method in Flash.

('course you could always dodge the issue entirely and make it a digital clock )

[This message has been edited by Steve (edited 05-28-2001).]

SO witty steve...
digital... yes... that's the only one I know how to read...

.::. filter-line.net .::. is up for critique in the site review section.... go check it out...

quote:

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I also don't see any particular advantage to making a dot symbol and dragging 11 more instances out of the library.

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Actually that's the way I'd do it (making one graphic symbol and using an instance for each spot you want to use it), and I can think of a few advantages to using it. One is that it'll be smaller as far as total file size, not that it's too huge a difference for a little dot but every little bit helps. An even bigger reason tho, is suppose you decide that you want to make that dot a square, or change the color, or make it bigger. If they're each a different graphic you can go and change each individual one, but if they're instances you can just change the base symbol and every other one will update. WAY easier...

Chris

KAIROSinteractive

Okay, okay. I yield to the superior resasoning of the Fig. It didn't occur to me that a mere clock face would need that sort of attention, but ... if we look at the clock face as an abstract representation of Flash vector art in general and of a mode of operation, of course he's absolutely correct. I was being pragmatic in the particular. Chris is looking at the broader picture.

Listen to him.

(Leave it to the guy from kairos to obsess over time pieces )

Hey Fig - the initial question had to do with automating the placement of the spots. Any insights I overlooked?

[This message has been edited by Steve (edited 05-29-2001).]

Heh, hadn't even made the kairos/clock connection

As far as how to arrange the clock face tho, doing it in Illustrator or Freehand might be the best bet. Actually, just creating a template of some kinda and using that as a BG image then dropping the dots in the correct spots. Flash does have some align/array commands but I've never gotten them to work extremely well, but that's another way to go.

Chris

KAIROSinteractive

step 1) ctrl+c
step 2) ctrl+v

ooo look! two dots!

repeat steps 1 and 2 for more :]