hi. why can't i load a swf into layer 1 and when the user clicks on a button
the loaded swf plays from, say, frames 50-60 and then unloads and then another
swf is loaded separately into that layer? why can't i do this? vcan anyone help?

you can load an external swf into a target movieclip or a _level. if you have
a target movieclip on layer1, and you load a swf into that target movieclip,
your swf will be on layer1. (though layers are just authoring environment
conveniences. flash assigns depths to all movieclips and it's the depth that
determines the z-layering of your swf.)