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This article or section documents something not included in the current version of Scratch (3.0). It is only useful from a historical perspective. |
- This article or section documents an outdated version of Scratch (version 2.0). For this article in Scratch 1.4, see Hidden Sprites (1.4).
A hidden sprite is a sprite that does not appear in the sprites pane costume preview, but can still be programmed with accessed by selecting in the sprites pane. Scratch 2.0 made the creation of a hidden sprite much easier. However, an update made all hidden sprites visible. It is much easier to make a sprite hidden by using the Hide block, though it only affects the Stage.
Creating a Hidden Sprite
In Scratch 2.0, creating a hidden sprite is very simple. Underneath the stage, simply click the paint brush icon to create a new sprite, and the paint editor will open for drawing its image. Exit out of the paint editor and the sprite is hidden; its image is complete transparency and therefore cannot be seen.
Uses
This method can be used for a variety of things, such as:
- An alternative for locking downloads on a project.
- A way to hide parts of a project you don't want people seeing.
- A way to collaborate with other scratchers through comments, so that uninvolved Scratchers cannot see the notes.
- A way to hide testing or placeholder sprites.
 Warning: | Hidden sprites should not be used to crash the Scratch player or to prevent remixes, as it violates the Terms of Use. |
How to View Hidden Sprites
To view a hidden sprite, simply click on the location it should appear at in the sprites pane. Then, the sprite's scripts, costumes, and sounds can be accessed like any other sprite.
Removal
In an update on October 29, 2014, invisible sprites became visible in all projects. Every sprite got a gray square around them in the project editor, including invisible sprites. So, invisible sprites would all have a gray square around them, making them visible in the project editor.[1]
