MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-EXTENDING FLASH, Manual

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468 Objects
Timeline object
Availability
Flash MX 2004.
Description
The Timeline object represents the Flash timeline, which can be accessed for the current
document by using
fl.getDocumentDOM().getTimeline()
. This method returns the
timeline of the current scene or symbol that is being edited.
When you work with scenes, each scene’s timeline has an index value, and can be accessed for
the current document by
fl.getDocumentDOM().timelines[i]
. (In this example,
i
is the
index of the value of the timeline.)
When you work with frames by using the methods and properties of the Timeline object,
remember that the frame value is a zero-based index (not the actual frame number in the
sequence of frames in the timeline). That is, the first frame has a frame index of 0.
Method summary for the Timeline object
The following methods are available for the Timeline object.
Method Description
timeline.addMotionGuide()
Adds a motion guide layer above the current layer and
attaches the current layer to the newly added guide
layer.
timeline.addNewLayer()
Adds a new layer to the document and makes it the
current layer.
timeline.clearFrames()
Deletes all the contents from a frame or range of
frames on the current layer.
timeline.clearKeyframes()
Converts a keyframe to a regular frame and deletes its
contents on the current layer.
timeline.convertToBlankKeyframes()
Converts frames to blank keyframes on the current
layer.
timeline.convertToKeyframes()
Converts a range of frames to keyframes (or converts
the selection if no frames are specified) on the current
layer.
timeline.copyFrames()
Copies a range of frames on the current layer to the
Clipboard.
CHAPTER 43
Objects