sending the rotation value to a function

[Hulfy]

Hi,

 

I am tweening a circle and want to send the value to a function. My code looks ok to me, what am I doing wrong? I just keep passing a value of 0 to my function.

 

 

TweenLite.to(circle, 10, { rotation:1440, onUpdate:reportPosition, onUpdateParams:[this.rotation]});

 

 

 

function reportPosition(value) {

trace ("My rotation is now " + value);

};

 

 

Thanks.

[GreenSock]

It looks like you're expecting it to run that code inside your onCompleteParams on each frame, but that's not how flash works...

 

//These two lines are identical assuming your object's rotation value is 0 when this line runs:
onUpdateParams:[this.rotation]
onUpdateParams:[0]

 

If you want to have Flash keep evaluating that line dynamically each time the tween updates, you'd need to employ another function, like:

 

TweenLite.to(circle, 10, { rotation:1440, onUpdate:passPosition});

function passPosition():void {
   reportPosition(this.rotation);
}

function reportPosition(value:Number):void {
   trace ("My rotation is now " + value);
}

[Hulfy]

This returns 0 too,

 

 

TweenLite.to(circle, 10, { rotation:1440, onUpdate:passPosition});

 

function passPosition():void {

reportPosition(this.rotation);

}

 

function reportPosition(value:Number):void {

trace ("My rotation is now " + value);

}

[Hulfy]

ok this is not going to work, what I need is the % of animated completed time or the number of seconds it has been running.

 

 

Are there build in tweenlite variables?

[GreenSock]

Sure, any of those are possible. Maybe I misunderstood what you were trying to do with the first code - if you're trying to determine the circle's rotation, you'd do:

 

TweenLite.to(circle, 10, { rotation:1440, onUpdate:passPosition});

function passPosition():void {
   reportPosition(circle.rotation);
}

function reportPosition(value:Number):void {
   trace ("My rotation is now " + value);
}

 

And you can determine how much of the tween has finished like this:

 

var myTween:TweenLite = new TweenLite(circle, 10, {rotation:1440});
//then later...
trace("tween is at " + myTween.currentTime + " seconds");

//or 
trace("tween is " + (myTween.currentTime / myTween.duration * 100) + " percent done");

[sharktank]

Hey Jack,

Great library - and to think, I'd been doing this by hand all this time to ensure perfect overlaps.

I'm having what sounds like a similar problem (and ironically it is also .rotation based) and I think it might be framerate related.

diskEaser=new TweenMax(this.spinningMaster,30,{rotation:finalString,ease:easeType,useFrames:true,onUpdate:frameUpdater,onComplete:easeEnd});

and then further down I have

function frameUpdater() {
		myRotation=this.spinningMaster.rotation*-1;
		trace(myRotation);

what I get out of the trace is a NAN, and yes it has been declared as a number previously. Everyonce in a while I get a value but more often than not, not!

The object does spin just fine, I just can't seem to get a value out of it right after the tweener has had it's way with it. It's like I'm checking on the progress between the order and the event.

I'm using the spinningMaster object just as a dummy to generate tween data that I need to use somewhere else, so in a way I'm hijacking the data being passed. I have tried all the other ways of doing this (onUpdateParams, etc) but to no avail. Is there another way to listen to the data stream coming from the TweenMax object?

The only oddball thing here is that I'm using your blessed "relative" feature and passing a string of the value I want to rotate the object by.

 

Cheers

[GreenSock]

I'm pretty sure there must be something else going on in your code - what happens if you trace(this.spinningMaster.rotation)? Still NaN? The framerate doesn't matter and there aren't special precautions you must take in terms of timing your onUpdate calls, etc. It's built to be very flexible, robust, and reliable. Maybe it'd help if you could whip together a super simple example FLA that demonstrates the issue and then post it here.

[sharktank]

That's always the first thought I have - I'm sure you've spent many more hours tweaking the library than I have perfecting this little app.

Perhaps there's another way around the problem:

What I'm trying to do is this:

I have an imported frame-based animation that is 720 frames long - it's a perfect loop. I haven't found a way to use the tweenmax "frame" paramater, and relative values for the tween, to hit the end of that 720 frames and go back to 1 and continue tweening along. So my idea was to use the "relative" feature and the fact that you can tween past the end of 360 degrees on a rotation with a much larger value and the object that this was applied to would just loop back around and keep rotating to the end of the tween. I'd hijack the values of the rotation as it happened and apply those with a gotoAndStop() kind of thing on the timeline based animation. (more on the tweening of actual frames later)

Of course, I have to use that 360 modulo trick to interpret the neg values that the actual spinning object returns when you ask for it's rotation values, but that's fairly easy.

I must clarify I don't think this is a greensock issue, as the object is tweening just fine. I just can't get flash to hand over the value that quickly (it seems), so I was wondering if there was another way to get that value directly from the tween engine (without having to put a callBack on every "frame" of the tween timeline). Or better, if there was a "loopTo" beginning/end function in the frame parameter. (i've tried with timeline AS goto calls but the tween just ends)

(you can stop reading here if there is an obvious solution to the above)

 

 

The issue with the code posted is that first line of the onUpdate function, where I try and get the values of the tween to play with: myRotation = spinner.rotation;, usually returns a NAN from the following line's trace. But tracing spinner.rotation instead does return the correct value. I just can't do anything with a returned trace. ( I can run the same, non interactive code over and over and get values for myRotation that are sometimes real and NAN's other times)

I agree there could easily be something else in the code, but with myRotation = spinner.rotation being the very first line inside the onUpdate function and the trace of myRotation being the second (and myRotation being only used once, here, in the code), one would think that I would actually get the value of the spinner object. At the moment of the tween, it's the only thing "running".

 

Now: "actual frames and tweens". I am aware that the tweenMax won't generate the in-betweens of the physical frames I have, and that down near the end of a cubic.easeOut, the last, say, 10 positions of the tween may Math.round to the same frame, as others might along the way. And that's exactly why there are so many frames in the physical timeline. A large sample to pick from if you will. I did initially have this with 360 frames to keep the rotation math simple, but had to double it to get the resolution required for a smooth tween. The tweening of the frames works great -with the frame paramater - it's the looping back from the end and visa versa that are stopping me in my tracks.

Cheers

[GreenSock]

Yeah, if it's returning NaN, it probably has something to do with you using a zero value in your modulus equation. These will both return NaN:

 

1 % 0;
0 % 1;

 

Also, FYI, there's a FrameForwardPlugin and FrameBackwardPlugin that will automatically wrap around in terms of MovieClip frames. Like if your MovieClip only has 100 frames and it's currently on frame 80 and you do a forwardTween:20, it will go from 80 to 100, jump back to 0 and go through to frame 20. Not sure if it'll be helpful for you, but I thought I'd mention it.

[sharktank]

Actually the NAN is before any modulo is run on the values. that's whats got us frowning. Right out of the gate we can trace the value of the rotated object but can't get that value to play with.

As for the frameForward plug in that's perfecto. Had been through all the docs looking for something like that but didn't notice it.

Will let you know if that solves it.

Cheers and thanks again.

[sharktank]

Hmmm, don't see that frameBackward or frameForwardas. file in the com/plugins folder. I have also checked inside the frame plug in script but since you have initialize these separately I assumed they would be a separate file.

I also didn't see it in the list of plugs ins on the site (including ones marked as club plugins) but I did find it in the docs. So now I know how to work it but I don't know where to get it.

[GreenSock]

Ha ha - that was my form of mild torture I just forgot to put it in the main AS3 zip (it was in the AS2 one as well as all the Club GreenSock bonus downloads). It's in there now.

[sharktank]

There it is!.

I figured with downloading the most recent build yesterday I must have the latest.

Thanks

[sharktank]

That's going to do it, but there's a little bug.

FrameForward works perfect, however frameBackward , well it thinks it's a frameForward - sometimes.

It seems that if you give frameBackward a value, it does what its' supposed to and goes to that frame in the time line, skipping over frame 1 on it's way and coming back in from the highest frame in the timeline.

But if you give it a string or relative value: i'm not sure what it does but it doesnt do the latter and it doesn't travel in a backwards direction. It goes forward but only by less than 100 frames.

I haven't done the ascii math but it might be travelling the value of the characters in the string I'm feeding it and not the converted value held by string.

(I do miss the old val command)

[sharktank]

here's the code:

inputString="600";
diskEaser=new TweenMax(this.spinningSlave,30,{frameBackward:inputString,ease:easeType,useFrames:true,onUpdate:frameUpdater,onComplete:easeEnd});

the plugin has been initialized (and changing inputString to a :Number proves it, as that works perfectly. Except that it goes to frame 600 instead of travelling 600 frames.

But this exact code, running in a 720 frame timeline travels forward 75 frames.

Just checked the ascii math and that's not it either.

 

Have checked frameForward and it works properly in either case.

[sharktank]

Couple of clues for you:

I am using both backwards and forwards in the same as file. (and yes I have tried only one at a time).

While the backwards one works in reverse and to the wrong frame (in all cases now), it only does so when you have activated the forward plug in as well. If you only activate the backward plug in, the frameBackwards doesn't even work wrong.

CS4/Player10.1/Mac/10.4.11/AS3 and all as files are external and not in the time line. greensock is not imported into the doc class, but in the class of the object it's being used on.

That's the latest.

[sharktank]

Having snooped I now see why I need the forward plug in too. Great way to save file weight.

Don't see anything glaring in the forward class that would be causing this. Of course I haven't done the double negative brain crunch with the notLogicals.

[GreenSock]

Hm. Not sure what you're seeing or why you don't think it's working, but I've attached an example that indicates the it does indeed work properly even with a relative value (String). What am I missing? Can you post an FLA that demonstrates it not working?

[sharktank]

Here you go. Everything works in this one except backwards relative. BackwardsRelative just clicks back 2 frames even though I've got told it 22.

The difference seems to be that the timeline I want to run up and down, is being exported for AS and all .as files are external.

Also I have both forward and backwards plugins loaded together (but then nonRelative works!)

Should this matter or is there something that I'm doing wrong? Have I not initialized the plug in where it should be in the code?

You will have to add in your GreenSock folder in the com.smalltest folder - didn't want to weigh down the upload.

 

Thanks for looking into this.

 

Cheers

greenSockSend.zip

[sharktank]

Whoops, the Greensock folder has to go in /com not com/smalltest.

I was just checking it again and I changed the relative string value from 22 to 32 (the fact that it reversed 2 frames with a string of 22 had me wondering). Well it traveled back 7. So I can see no relationship between how many frames it's running and the string given.

[GreenSock]

I still can't see the problem other than the fact that you used a POSITIVE String of "20" instead of a negative one ("-20") to describe the relative backwards tween. Does that explain it for you? Am I missing something else?

[sharktank]

I didn't think of that. I figured the "backwards" indicated that.

So i've changed that and I'm still not having the results I would expect.

With that same code I sent, I changed the backwards absolute and relative values both to minus 3 (-3) and changed the forward ones to 9.

Run the forwards absolute first, as expected it rolls up to 9. By running either the backwards absolute or backwards relative buttons after that, it should tick back to 6 in one case and 3 in the other. We'll on mine it runs down past zero and ends up at 17 (which is -3 from the end coincidentally) for either of the choices.

There is nothing else in the code or no other as files in play here - what you have is what I have. (here's the new .as file with changed values).

I don't have any other plug ins in play (yours or anyone elses) - pretty straight up CS4 install

Sorry about all this.

[sharktank]

By the way I am letting each tween come to a full stop before bashing another button.

[sharktank]

Ok here's a half a duh for you.

Of course you can't put -3 in the absolute variable. The fact that it goes to 17 is both right and beautiful. (the problem with idiot proofing something is that those idiots are so damn clever!)

Was just bashing in stuff hoping that it was going to do the trick. Brain not turned on yet.

So ignore that.

But the relative (with a minus 3 injected) is still barreling right past 0 to 17 as well.

Going to go back with gray cells now working and see if I can spot anything else.

[GreenSock]

But the relative (with a minus 3 injected) is still barreling right past 0 to 17 as well.

Going to go back with gray cells now working and see if I can spot anything else.

I'm still not seeing any problems. There is no such thing as a frame 0. So it makes sense that if it's on frame 1 and you do a relative tween of -3, it would go 20...19...18...17 (since the MovieClip has a total of 20 frames). What were you expecting?