# Centering external images in MC

**URL:** https://forum.kirupa.com/t/centering-external-images-in-mc/196483
**Category:** flash
**Created:** [August 8, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/centering-external-images-in-mc/196483 "2006-08-08T19:22:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![thalamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@thalamus](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/thalamus)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/centering-external-images-in-mc/196483/1 "2006-08-08T19:22:47Z")

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Hello:

I have thumbnails of various dimensions that I am trying to center upon loading into a mc. I have tried other suggestions from posts on this forum, like create a container mc and load the jpg into that, then place container within the main mc, and

mc.\_x =- mc.\_width/2; //move clip to left by half its width  
mc.\_y =- mc.\_height/2; //move clip up by half its height

by the way, I cannot find the =- operator in the AS dictionary, unless they mean  
mc.\_x = -1 \* mc.\_width/2;

None of these work properly. - I keep getting the JPG in the upper left-hand corner.

I have a blank catalogmenu\_mc to which I am attaching a grid of menuitem\_mc. These menuitem mc’s are NOT blank - they are 100 x 100. They contain dynamic text fields, a text button, and the thumb\_mc, which holds the external image. I set the coordinates for the blank thumb\_mc at (50,50) - [center] within the menuitem\_mc.

When I try to center the JPG after loading into the thumb\_mc, it goes back to the upper-left hand corner. I think maybe it’s because the clip that holds the thumb\_mc is not blank and uses 100 x 100 for the dimensions and not 100 x 75 or 55 x 75, the size of my TN’s.

It is frustrating that an external SWF or JPG can only load in the upper left-hand corner.  
Any help or workarounds? Thanks.