Most Flash movies contain action, sound and images which equates to bytes of memory. A preloader is a good way to keep your viewer´s attention while the Flash movie loads. Preloaders can be simple or artfully intricate, depending on your preferences and imagination. They can also be metaphoric or symbolic. For instance, a health site might use a preloader that resembled an ekg line.

To make room for your preloader, you need to add a new scene at the beginning of your movie. Click on "Insert" then "Scene" and move it to the beginning of the movie´s scene stack by choosing "Windows" then "Inspectors" then "Scenes". Rename this scene "Preloader". Create two keyframes in your preloader scene. Now, you need to organize your preloader to react when your movie is loaded. You can do this by writing this code in the first keyframe using the Action Script (the number represents the number of scenes in the movie and the word MovieScene should have the actual name of your first and last scenes - you will need to customize these according to your movie):


If Frame Is Loaded (MovieScene, 470)
Go to and Play (MovieScene, 1)

End Frame Loaded

Then, in the second keyframe write the following to create a looping effect to the preloader´s monitoring action:

Go to and Play (preloadScene, 1)

Once this is done, you can begin to create your mini preloader movie. It can be as simple as flashing text with the word LOADING. Choose the text tool and type in the word LOADING then animate as you wish. You can also create a sophisticated loading bar or graphic. Your creation is limited only by your imagination. So have fun, think unique - make even the preloader reflect the nuance and signature of your website.

References

Bar Preloaders Tutorial
http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/Interactivity/Bar_Prel-Eddie_Ca-48/index.shtml

Percentage Preloader Tutorial by Mark

http://www.designsbymark.com/flashtut/perpreloader.shtml


Building a Preloader
http://www.enetserve.com/tutorials/tutorial2.html