General - Actions
- We have been working with actions although they have been very simple actions so far.
- Actions allow the movie to do more than simply play from beginning to end.
- We will start simple and build up to some fairly complex actions.
- All actions are entered using the Actions Panel which is found by clicking on Window, Actions.
Looping part of a movie
Create a movie that is at least 10 seconds in length. It can be very simple such as a word banner that crosses the page. Here is my example:
What I would like to do is make the movie loop at the point where the text starts to drop down. That is timeline cell 90.
- Go to the last cell in the timeline (in this case cell 120). Click on +, Basic Action, GoTo.
- Make sure the type box says Frame Number, then enter the frame number you want to start the loop at, in this case frame 90.
- Test your movie.
Here's mine:
An enhancement!
Instead of using a frame number, name the frame and use the frame name. This is important because if you move the keyframe in the movie it is no longer on the same frame number. By using a frame name you can move it anyplace and the loop will use the name rather than a frame number.
- Click on the keyframe you wish to name.
- Click on the Frame Panel.
- Click on Label and enter a name.
- You will see the name appear within the timeline.
- Go to the keyframe that you want to put the GoTo in like you did in the earlier example.
- Click on +, Basic Action, GoTo.
- Make sure the type box says Frame Label, then enter the frame label of the keyframe you want to start the loop at.
- Test your movie.
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