Working with Movie Clips > Creating smart clips > Defining clip parameters

Defining clip parameters

Clip parameters are pieces of data that are passed to a movie clip when it loads in a movie. You can define clip parameters when you are authoring your movie. You can use these parameters in actions to change the appearance and behavior of the smart clip while the movie is playing. A special icon in the Library window indicates a movie clip with defined clip parameters.

To define clip parameters for a movie clip:

1 Select a movie clip symbol in your movie's library and do one of the following to display the Clip Parameters dialog box:
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh), and choose Define Clip Parameters from the context menu.
Choose Define Clip Parameters from the Options menu at the upper right of the Library window.
2 Use the controls in the Clip Parameters dialog box as follows:
Click the Add (+) button to add a new name/value pair or additional parameters for a selected name/value pair.
Click the Minus (-) button to delete a name/value pair.
Use the arrow buttons to change the order of parameters in the list.
Select a field by double-clicking it, and then enter a value.
3 For Name, enter a unique identifier for the parameter.
4 For Type, choose the kind of data the parameter will contain from the pop-up menu:
Select Default to use a string or number value.
Select Array for a dynamic list of items that can grow or shrink.
Select Object to declare several related elements with names and values, such as a Point object with x and y elements.
Select List to limit the selection to several choices, such as true or false or Red, Green, or Blue.
5 For Value, select the default value that the parameter will contain from the pop-up menu.
6 If you want to use a custom interface for the Clip Parameters panel, do one of the following:
Enter a relative path to the custom interface SWF file in the Link to Custom UI field.
Click the Link to Custom UI folder, and browse to the custom interface SWF file.
See Creating a custom interface.
7 For Description, enter notes to that will appear in the Clip Parameters panel that describe what each parameter does.
You can include any information in the Description that you want someone who uses the smart clip to know. For example, an explanation of methods you have defined.
8 Choose Lock in Instance to prevent users from renaming the parameters in the Clip Parameters panel.
It is recommended that you leave the parameter names locked.
9 Click OK.