# Tell target from flash5 to flash4

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [September 4, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206 "2002-09-04T15:54:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SkyWickenden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@SkyWickenden](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/SkyWickenden)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/1 "2002-09-04T15:54:27Z")

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Hi,

I’m trying to make a script in flash5 work in flash4, and I am struggling with the tell target.

I have a sub movie with a button that tells one of several other submovies to change frames, it does this by storing the sub movies name in a variable in the main movie.

on (release) {  
tellTarget ("\_root." + \_root.strMovieName) {  
gotoAndPlay (“exit”);  
}  
}

works fine in flash5

I’ve tried all sorts of work arounds, but can’t get them to work yet!

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**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/2 "2002-09-04T16:26:09Z")

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I don’t know much about Flash 4, as I started learning with 5. But I’m pretty sure the tellTarget action wasn’t too hot in 4, and it’s different in later versions. There could be another method you need to use.

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**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/3 "2002-09-05T06:25:19Z")

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I don’t think the telltarget is the touble. It might. But for sure Flash 4 doesn’t know what \_root means. You have to use …/ and stuff like that (not sure exactly, you’d better wait for one of the oldtimers to answer).

pom :asian:

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**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:29am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/4 "2002-09-05T06:29:55Z")

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you’re on the mark Pom. I believe it works like this

/ is in the same object as the call is coming from  
…/ is either in the timeline above the call or the root I can’t rememeber which.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/5 "2002-09-05T06:41:51Z")

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Sorry that I called you oldtimer 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/tell-target-from-flash5-to-flash4/5206/6 "2002-09-05T06:50:34Z")

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lol… I didn’t even notice.

to tell the truth, I did so little a/s during 4.0 that I can’t really be an old timer. We do have a couple of people around here who might know for sure though.

I could have sworn that there was an equivilant to \_parent but I can’t for the life of me recall it.