A sprite (known also as MovieClip) is a sub movie inside the main movie.
Sprites can be nested to any depth. Each sprite has own frames and plays
the same way as the main movie, but in its own timeline.
The "Sprite" tool
Creating a Blank Sprite
Choose the tool and draw a rectangle enclosing the sprite.
Alligator Flash Designer will show the first frame of the sprite thread
so you can add new frames, objects and animations.
To exit sprite thread choose "Movie" > "Go to Main Thread" command or hit Esc.
To enter sprite thread double-click the sprite.
To start the sprite
The sprite will start playing once it appears on the screen.
To play the sprite through entire movie
To play a sprite through several frames place the sprite on a master frame. Choose Movie > Add Master Frame and draw or
insert the sprite on this frame.
Inserting Video, Flash or GIF movies
Choose "Insert" > "SWF Clip" to insert a sprite in SWF format. External clip can not be edited and it appears as a blank rectangle.
You can see it in Flash preview only. Press F9 to preview the animation.
Loading External SWF File
Choose "Insert" > "External SWF File" to insert a sprite loader.
The file will be loaded dynamically when the frame is displayed. Use this command to
load a large part of the movie. The movie will load when the frame is about to show.
Loading Video Files
Convert video file to SWF format (with third party converter) and use "Insert" > "External SWF File".
Inserting GIF Animation
Choose "Insert" > "GIF Animation" to create a sprite from animated gif.
Loading Existing Flash Designer Clip
Choose "Movie" > "Insert Flash Designer Clip" to create a sprite from existing Flash Designer file.
Sprite Example
In the following example 3 sprites are defined - the bird, shaking egg and blinking question mark.
