{"id":114,"date":"2007-07-25T04:01:23","date_gmt":"2007-07-25T09:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pixelwit.com\/blog\/page-flip\/add-pages-to-pageflip\/"},"modified":"2011-06-10T23:52:39","modified_gmt":"2011-06-11T04:52:39","slug":"add-pages-to-pageflip","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pixelwit.com\/blog\/page-flip\/add-pages-to-pageflip\/","title":{"rendered":"Add Pages to Flash Page Flip (PageFlip)"},"content":{"rendered":"

“How to add more pages” is the most common topic found at the PageFlip Help<\/a> page. If you’d like to know how to add a page or why you keep getting an error saying, “A ‘with’ action failed because the specified object did not exist<\/em>” then this Tutorial is what you’re looking for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> You can watch a video walk-through<\/a> illustrating every detail of this “Adding Pages” tutorial.<\/p>\n

To be sure we’re working with the same file and code, download the Page Flip Source File<\/a>. Open it up and check it out. This one FLA file is designed to be a self-contained page flip solution. It contains a SWF Player version checker, a preloader, each page of the book and the code to make it all go.<\/p>\n

Change “maxPages” variable:<\/strong> The first step in adding pages is to locate the main code block and change the “maxPages” variable.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Open the PageFlip file.<\/li>\n
  2. Click on frame #11 of the Pages layer.<\/li>\n
  3. The small cross highlighted in the center of the stage is an instance of the “Bound Pages” movieclip named “Pages”. Double-click it to begin editing it.<\/li>\n
  4. Once you are editing the Bound Pages clip, select the first frame of the Actions layer.<\/li>\n
  5. Open the Actions Panel (Menu\u00bbWindow\u00bbActions).<\/li>\n
  6. Go to line #29 in the Actions panel to locate the “maxPages” variable.<\/li>\n
  7. Change the “maxPages” variable to the number of pages you want your book to have. Be sure to use an even number or else very bad things will happen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As far as modifying code goes, that’s all you needed to do, now it’s a matter of creating your new pages and adding them to the FLA file.<\/p>\n

    Creating a page:<\/strong> You need to make sure you create a Print movieclip for every page in your book, even the blank ones.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Open the “Create New Symbol” window. (Menu\u00bbInsert\u00bbNewSymbol).<\/li>\n
    2. Name the new symbol “print” (all lower case) followed by a page number. For example page #9 would be named “print9”.<\/li>\n
    3. Make sure the symbol’s “Type” is set to “MovieClip”.<\/li>\n
    4. Check the “Export for ActionScript” box.<\/li>\n
    5. Make sure the Identifier is “print” followed by the proper page number (should be automatic).<\/li>\n
    6. Un-check the “Export in first frame” box.<\/li>\n
    7. Click “OK” to close the “Create New Symbol” window and begin editing the new movieclip.<\/li>\n
    8. Drag an instance of the “Page Guide Outline” graphic from the Library onto the Stage of your new Print clip.<\/li>\n
    9. Center the Page Guide Outline in the exact middle of the stage.<\/li>\n
    10. Add your page content to the movieclip while keeping everything within the Page Guide Outline<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Adding a page:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Go to the root\/main timeline.<\/li>\n
      2. Create a new blank keyframe at the end of the “Prints” layer. (Right-click the keyframe in the timeline and choose “insert blank keyframe”.)<\/li>\n
      3. Select the new keyframe.<\/li>\n
      4. Drag the new page movieclip (e.g. Print9 etc.) from the Library onto the stage. Make sure the movieclip lands in the last keyframe of the Prints layer that you created 2 steps ago.<\/li>\n
      5. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 for each new page. You must have a “Print” movieclip for every page in your book.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Adjusting the file to accommodate the new pages:<\/strong>
        \nThe basic goal is to extend the length of all layers with content by adding one more frame to them.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Drag the last keyframe of the Actions layer to the right, one frame beyond the last keyframe in the Prints layer.<\/li>\n
        2. Insert a new frame in the “Pages” layer under the last frame in the Actions layer. (Right-click the keyframe in the timeline and choose “insert frame”.)<\/li>\n
        3. Insert a new frame in the “Background” layer under the last frame in the Actions layer.<\/li>\n
        4. Insert a new frame in the “Load Status” layer one frame before<\/strong> the last frame in the Actions layer.<\/li>\n
        5. Repeat for any other layers containing graphic content.<\/li>\n
        6. Test the movie.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          If you will be loading the entire “PageFlip.swf” file with an external preloader you can skip step #6 in the “Creating a page” section which will ensure the Print clip is exported in the first frame of your SWF file. You can also skip the “Adding a page” and “Adjusting the file” sections completely.<\/p>\n

          Leave a comment if you have any questions.<\/p>\n

          \"NEW!Improved PageFlip Now Available<\/strong>: Improved PageFlip implements the most commonly requested features<\/a>.<\/p>\n