April 1, 2001 - The Timeline Approach in SWF | WebReference

April 1, 2001 - The Timeline Approach in SWF

Yehuda Shiran April 1, 2001
The Timeline Approach in SWF
Tips: April 2001

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
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SWF files may include both sound and animation. They can also be sound-only files. The SWF file consists of frames which are ordered along a timeline. Therefore, these sound files are sometimes referred to as sound only timelines. Each frame has a label and may include sound and labels (start and stop). You control the playback of an SWF file by specifying the frame name and the label inside the frame (start or stop). Imagine that the Flash player (or any other compatible players) is a playhead. You have a control over the playhead. But the control is limited to a very limited set of commands. You can ask it to go to a certain frame and to a certain label in that frame (start or stop). Once the playhead is in motion, you cannot interfere with it. The sound will stop only after the playhead will reach a stop label inside the frame. For example, you cannot command the playhead to stop or to play. You don't have a control over the playhead other than asking it to go to a certain frame and a certain label inside the frame. Once the sound starts, the playhead continues down the timeline. The sound, on the other hand, continues to completion, without regard for what is happening to the playhead.