CS5+AS3 Preloader starts at 50%; no clue why

Question

I know there are a lot of previous topics about preloaders and I've tried to follow every one of them but I still get the same problem (well they have helped me go from 80% -> 50%) Right now it starts at 61450 / 125207 which is about 50%.

Here is my Main Document (default class file for the entire project) class:

public class MainDocument extends MovieClip
{
    private var preloader:Preloader;
    private var sB:startButton;
    public function MainDocument() 
    {
        preloader = new Preloader();
        preloader.x = 300;
        preloader.y = 400;
        addChild(preloader);
        loaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,addStartButton,false,0,true);
    }
    private function addStartButton(e:Event):void
    {
        sB = new startButton();
        sB.x = 300;
        sB.y = 450;
        sB.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK,sMainMenu,false,0,true);
        addChild(sB);
        loaderInfo.removeEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,addStartButton);
    }
    private function sMainMenu(e:Event):void
    {
        sB.removeEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK,sMainMenu);
        removeChild(sB);
        removeChild(preloader);
        sB = null;
        preloader = null;           
        var menuScreen = new MenuScreen();
        addChild(menuScreen);

        //I have heard that the following code might work better:
        //var menuScreen:Class = getDefinitionByName("MenuScreen") as Class;
        //addChild(new menuScreen() as DisplayObject);
    }
}

And the Preloader that it attaches:

public class Preloader extends MovieClip
{
    public function Preloader()
    {
        addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,Load);
    }
    private function Load(e:Event):void
    {
        //"bar" is a movieclip inside the preloader object
        bar.scaleX = loaderInfo.bytesLoaded/loaderInfo.bytesTotal;
        //"percent" is a dynamic text inside the preloader object
        percent.text = Math.floor(loaderInfo.bytesLoaded/loaderInfo.bytesTotal*100)+"%";
        trace(loaderInfo.bytesLoaded+" / "+loaderInfo.bytesTotal);
        if (loaderInfo.bytesLoaded == loaderInfo.bytesTotal)
        {
            removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME,Load);
        }
    }
}

-> Nothing is set to Export on Frame 1 except for the Preloader

-> No objects exist on the first frame; the only code on first frame is stop();

-> I placed a copy of every single MovieClip in the second frame and when the startButton is clicked, a gotoAndStop(3); is run so no one ever sees frame 2.

If anyone knows of anything simple that I could have forgotten, please let me know!

Thanks!

Answer 1

@Lee Burrows What you said was right but would have been better if you looked at what I mentioned at the end of the code (three bold points)

The solution I used was: -> I set everything to Export on Frame 2 on my 3 frame document. -> Removed everything on Frame 2 -> Created a TextField via constructor and used drawRectangle for loading bar -> No movieclips present on frame 1, and used

var menuScreen:Class = getDefinitionByName("MenuScreen") as Class;
addChild(new menuScreen() as DisplayObject);

instead of the previous code.

The reason why what I had originally didn't work because, as Lee Burrows mentioned, the Export for Actionscript hangs the loading if X = 1 in Export on Frame X, regardless if Export on Frame 1 was checked or not. Changing it to 2 or unchecking Export for Actionscript were the two solutions (except if it isn't exported for actionscript, then its code cant be referenced to).

Preloader starts at about 2% now.

Answer 2

You're tying to use a preloader in the file being preloaded. In that case, there is going to be bloat from the rest of the project's code and assets. The reason you are seeing your preloader seemingly delayed is because a swf must load completely before any code will execute. This includes all assets on stage regardless of what frame they are on, even if you have settings in place to export on something other than frame 1. Instead, try using a blank shell as your preloader. This shell will have nothing in it but the loader code and a preloader graphic or animation. When the load is finished, hide your preloader and add your loaded content to the stage of the shell, or a container movieclip in the shell.

All the following code goes in your shell, which is just another FLA file with nothing in it but this code, and a preloader bar. The dimensions of this file should be the same as the file you are loading into it, ie your original swf file you were trying to preload.

Use it by calling loadSwf( "mySwfNameOrURLToSwf.swf" ); The variable _percent will populate with the current load percentage, which you can correspond to your loading bar scale. Presuming the preloader bar is named "bar", the line bar.visible = false; in the onSwfLoaded function will hide it. addChild( _swf ) adds the loaded swf to the shell's stage. The line _swf.init(); references a function in the loaded swf you will need to add called init() that starts your loaded swf doing whatever it is its supposed to do. Have everything in the loaded swf start on the first frame now, including the init() function.

import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.display.DisplayObject;
import flash.display.Loader;
import flash.display.Bitmap;

import flash.net.URLRequest;

import flash.system.ApplicationDomain;
import flash.system.SecurityDomain;
import flash.system.LoaderContext;
import flash.system.Security;

import flash.events.Event;
import flash.events.ProgressEvent;

var _swfLoader:Loader;
var _swf:DisplayObject;
var _percent:Number;

function loadSwf( swfURL:String ):void
{
    _swfLoader = new Loader();
    var req:URLRequest = new URLRequest( swfURL );

    var loaderContext:LoaderContext = new LoaderContext();
    loaderContext.applicationDomain = ApplicationDomain.currentDomain;
    loaderContext.checkPolicyFile = true;

    _swfLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, onSwfProgress);
    _swfLoader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onSwfLoaded);

    _swfLoader.load(req, loaderContext);
}

function onSwfProgress( evt:Event ):void
{
    _percent = Math.round( ( evt.target.bytesLoaded / evt.target.bytesTotal ) * 100 );
}

function onSwfLoaded( evt:Event ):void
{
    _swfLoader.contentLoaderInfo.removeEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, onSwfProgress);
    _swfLoader.contentLoaderInfo.removeEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onSwfLoaded);

    _swf = _swfLoader.content;

    addChild( _swf );
    bar.visible = false;
    _swf.init();

    _swfLoader = null;
}

Answer 3

your code looks ok. when you are not on a http server, loading process are simulated.

After compiling, press crtl + B. In menu you can choose the downloading speed and simulate a download by pressing again ctrl+enter.

it might help you to debug your preloader