Writing Scripts with ActionScript > Using actions
Using actionsActions are ActionScript's statements, or commands. Multiple actions assigned to the same frame or object create a script. Actions can act independently of each other, as in the following statements:
swapDepths("mc1", "mc2"); gotoAndPlay(15);
You can also nest actions by using one action inside another; this allows actions to affect each other. In the following example, the if
action tells the gotoAndPlay
action when to execute:
if (i >= 25) { gotoAndPlay(10); }
Actions can move the playhead in the Timeline (gotoAndPlay
), control the flow of a script by creating loops (do while
) or conditional logic (if
), or create new functions and variables (function
, setVariable
). The following table lists all ActionScript actions:
Actions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
break |
evaluate |
include |
stopDrag |
|
call |
for |
loadMovie |
printAsBitmap |
swapDepths |
comment |
for...in |
loadVariables |
removeMovieClip |
tellTarget |
continue |
fsCommand |
nextFrame nextScene |
return |
toggleHighQuality |
delete |
function |
on |
setVariable |
stopDrag |
do...while |
getURL |
onClipEvent |
setProperty |
trace |
duplicateMovieClip |
gotoAndPlay gotoAndStop |
play |
startDrag |
unloadMovie |
else |
if |
prevFrame |
stop |
var |
else if |
ifFrameLoaded |
prevScene |
stopAllSounds |
while |
For syntax and usage examples of each action, see individual entries in ActionScript dictionary: Overview.
Note: In this help system, the ActionScript term action
is synonymous with the JavaScript term statement
.
To use an action to control a movie clip or loaded movie, you must specify its name and its address, called a target path. The following actions take one or more target paths as arguments:
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loadMovie |
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loadVariables |
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unloadMovie |
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setProperty |
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startDrag |
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duplicateMovieClip |
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removeMovieClip |
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print |
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printAsBitmap |
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tellTarget |
For example, the loadMovie
action takes the arguments URL
, Location
, and Variables
. The URL
is the location on the Web of the movie you want to load. The Location
is the target path into which the movie will be loaded.
loadMovie(URL
,Location
,Variables
);
Note: The Variables
argument is not required for this example.
The following statement loads the URL http://www.mySite.com/myMovie.swf
into the instance bar
on the main Timeline, _root; _root.bar
is the target path;
loadMovie("http://www.mySite.com/myMovie.swf", _root.bar);
In ActionScript you identify a movie clip by its instance name. For example, in the following statement, the _alpha
property of the movie clip named star
is set to 50% visibility:
star._alpha = 50;
To give a movie clip an instance name:
1 | Select the movie clip on the Stage. |
2 | Choose Window > Panels > Instance. |
3 | Enter an instance name in the Name field. |
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To identify a loaded movie:
Use _levelX
where X
is the level number specified in the loadMovie
action that loaded the movie.
For example, a movie loaded into level 5 has the instance name _level5
. In the following example, a movie is loaded into level 5 and its visibility is set to false:
onClipEvent(load) { loadMovie("myMovie.swf", 5); } onClipEvent(enterFrame) { _level5._visible = false; }
To enter a movie's target path:
Click the Insert Target Path button in the Actions panel, and select a movie clip from the list that appears.
For more information about writing target paths, see Working with movie clips: Overview.