SWF Tag Process Flow - SHOWFRAME Synchronization

Flash Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟SWF Tag Process Flow - SHOWFRAME Synchronization

This section describes the SWF file tag process flow in which SHOWFRAME tags are used to synchronize the tag process flow with the Flash Player's timeline.

With the understanding of Flash Player processing lifecycle, now we can try to learn how SWF tags are used to control Flash Player process. The picture below provides you a high level illustration:

As you can see from the picture, a SWF file controls Flash Player playing process with different types of headers and tags:

Headers and overall control tags set overall properties of the playing process. For example, SETBACKGROUNDCOLOR sets the background color of the display screen.
Definition tags define characters in the dictionary. For example, DEFINESHAPE3 defines a graphical shape.
Display list tags create or remove items in the display list using data from the dictionary. For example, PLACEOBJECT2 creates an item in the display list. REMOVEOBJECT2 removes an item from the display list.
Show frame tags (SHOWFRAME) synchronize the tag process flow with the Flash Player's timeline. For example, "SHOWFRAME 10" holds the tag process flow until Flash Player timeline reaches the 10th Show Frame time.