Lingo Dictionary > L-N > mouseItem

 

mouseItem

Syntax

the mouseItem

Description

System property; contains the number of the item under the pointer when the function is called and the cursor is over a field sprite. (An item is any sequence of characters delimited by the current delimiter as set by the itemDelimiter property.) Counting starts at the beginning of the field. If the mouse is not over a field, the result is -1.

The value of the mouseItem property can change in a handler or repeat loop. If a handler or repeat loop relies on the initial value of mouseItem when the handler or repeat loop begins, call the property once and assign its value to a local variable.

Example

This statement determines whether the cursor is over a field sprite and changes the content of the field cast member Instructions to "Please point to an item." when it is not:

if the mouseItem = -1 then
	member("Instructions") = "Please point to an item." 
end if

Example

This statement assigns the item under the cursor in the specified field to the variable currentItem:

currentItem = member(mouseMember).item(mouseItem)

Example

This handler highlights the item under the cursor when the mouse button is pressed:

on mouseDown
	thisField = sprite(the clickOn).member
	if the mouseItem < 1 then exit
	lastItem = 0
	repeat while the stillDown
		MI = the mouseItem
		if MI < 1 then next repeat
		if MI <> lastItem then
			thisField.item[MI].hilite()
			lastItem = MI
		end if
	end repeat
end

See also

item...of, mouseChar, mouseLine, mouseWord, number (items), itemDelimiter