# Question re: detecting event from a movie clip in main timeline

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/question-re-detecting-event-from-a-movie-clip-in-main-timeline/49162>\
**Category:** flash\
**Created:** [April 20, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/question-re-detecting-event-from-a-movie-clip-in-main-timeline/49162 "2004-04-20T14:32:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![j\_bjorgen](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/j_bjorgen/32/517_2.png) [@j\_bjorgen](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/j_bjorgen)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/question-re-detecting-event-from-a-movie-clip-in-main-timeline/49162/1 "2004-04-20T14:32:42Z")

</div>

I have a 5 instances of a particular movie clip on a stage. They are the homework boxes along the bottom of this page: [http://www.infodirect.us/template/lessonplan/lessonplan4.swf](http://www.infodirect.us/template/lessonplan/lessonplan4.swf)  
each one contains two buttons and two textareas (on two different frames). The buttons basically flip between the frames to show different text. I’d like to be able to detect when the button has been clicked from actionscript on the root timeline. Let’s say that the instance of the movie clip for monday’s homework is named mcHomeworkMon.

This does not seem to be working:

```auto
 
mcHomeworkMon.btnTwo.onPress = function () {
   trace ("test");
}

```

nor does this:

```auto

var btnTwoListener = new Object();
btnTwoListener.press = function(eventObj){
   trace("test");
}
mcHomeworkMon.btnTwo.addEventListener("press", btnTwoListener);

```

any other ideas on how to get that event to fire on the root level?