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		| Step-by-Step Tutorials | 
		
		 #11 - 
		Animation 
		 | 
	
	
		| 
		 
		A series 
		by RomanDA 
		 | 
	
Listing of other DX Tutorials:
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Today's Lesson: "Animation" 
Ok, So.. I lied.  Well I 
didn't Lie, I really was done, but this one was really simple and I saw some 
people asking about this, and I had just finished making just this thing.  
I figured why not.
So call it a bonus for me becoming a Master.. or call it, I was bored.
We will be Using the SCRIPTED 
Animation check you have seen in the Object "Animation" tab.
For this and all the Step-By-Step 
DX Tutorials you will need to purchase
DesktopX 
for $14.95 from Stardock.
Lets get started.
STEP 
1 - Create the objects
We are going to make a single 
object here, but its more complicated then normal.
First thing you have to do is 
make a PNG that has multiple images inside it.  There are a LOT of ways to 
make this kind of PNG.
I have used FLASH to export a 
series of images, then they all need to be complied into one image. 
Like this:

The trick with the frames 
(objects) in this kind of image is that the need to be EXACTLY The same size, 
and they have to be spaced EXACTLY the same as well.
In this case the image has 4 frames, I numbered them for you so you will be able 
to see the animation in action.
Create a NEW object, call it 
"TEST" or whatever.  
You can (save-as) the above image, and use it for testing.  The Catch here 
is make sure you change the ANIMATION TAB in the STATES tab of the properties to 
show:
(4) Frames, and SCRIPTED is 
checked.

STEP 
2 - Moving Ahead - Add a Script
Create a SCRIPT on the object we 
just created.
	
		| 
		ANIMATION Code | 
	
	
		|   | 
		
		Function Object_OnLButtonUp(x, y, Dragged) 
   
  If Dragged = False Then 
  	   
  	CurFrame = object.CurrentFrame + 1 
  	   
  	If CurFrame < 4  Then  
  		     
  		object.CurrentFrame = CurFrame 
  	   
  	Else 
  		     
  		object.CurrentFrame = 0 
  	   
  	End If 
   
  End If 
End Function   | 
	
Lets look at the above script.
First we use the same function we use all the time to handle click: 
	
		| 
		ANIMATION Code | 
	
	
		|   | 
		
		Function Object_OnLButtonUp(x, y, Dragged) 
   
  If Dragged = False Then | 
	
Here is the main part of the 
script.  The script looks at the object to see what its Current Frame is.
CurFrame = object.CurrentFrame + 1
This is based on 0-3 not 1-4, even though there are 4 frames in the 
animation.  We START at 0 not 1!!!!
Then we check to see if CurFrame 
its less than < the max number of frames (4 frames of animation).
If so, then we make the current frame the new CurFrame.
Or else the object's CurrentFrame 
is set to 0 (the first frame of the animation).
	
		| 
		ANIMATION Code | 
	
	
		|   | 
		
		   
  	CurFrame = object.CurrentFrame + 1 
  	   
  	If CurFrame < 4  Then  
  		     
  		object.CurrentFrame = CurFrame 
  	   
  	Else 
  		     
  		object.CurrentFrame = 0 
  	   
  	End If | 
	
CONCLUSION
So, that's about it.  you 
click on the object, and it changes the current frame up 1 each time till it 
gets to the last frame, then it goes back to 0.
I used this in something I'm working on right now. 
I hope you took the time 
to enter the code (not just copy/pasted the entire thing) so you could work thru 
the tutorial step-by-step and see how things work.  
This one was very simple, but I 
know I didn't know how to use this till I had to, so I hope it helps everyone 
out.
This REALLY will be my last 
tutorial for a while.  I hope you have enjoyed this step into DX.