Table Of Contentmain.title Page iii Monday, May 19, 2008 11:21 AM
The ActionSTcorimptc 3a.t0
™
Quick Reference Guide
The Definitive Guide
For Developers and Designers
Using Flash CS4 Professional
David StilJlaerso, nR iBcrhi tStahiunp aen, dJe Ina nd eFH. Daaanrw, ainnd
Darren Richardson
Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo
The ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide: For Developers and Designers Using Flash
CS4 Professional
by David Stiller, Rich Shupe, Jen deHaan, and Darren Richardson
Copyright © 2009 David Stiller and Rich Shupe. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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Untitled-1 1 10/6/08 2:35:37 PM
To Scott Joplin, for doing his
thing like nobody’s business, then
sharing it.
-- David Stiller
To Jodi, Sally, and Claire for
putting up with so much.
-- Rich Shupe
Table of Contents
Foreword ........................................................... xi
Preface ............................................................ xiii
Part I. ActionScript 3.0 Introduced
1. Introducing ActionScript 3.0 ....................................... 3
Examining ActionScript 3.0, the Language 5
Exploring Flash Player API Updates 15
Understanding Players and Support 18
Learning ActionScript 3.0 on the Heels of 2.0 20
Deciding to Migrate or Write Code from Scratch 21
2. Discovering What You Need to Work with ActionScript 3.0 ............. 23
Flash CS4 Professional/Flex Builder 3 24
Flash Player 9 or Hi gher 24
Using Other Code Editors with Flash 32
3. Looking at the Changes in ActionScript 3.0 .......................... 59
Major Changes and Obsolete Code 59
Major Syntax and Structure Changes 77
Additional ActionScript 3.0 Resources 84
4. Exploring the Benefits of Using ActionScript 3.0 ..................... 85
Performance 86
Efficiency 93
Consistency 96
Standards and Portability Among Other Technologies 100
v
Part II. ActionScript and the Flash CS4 Authoring Tool
5. Creating and Working with Code ................................. 105
Thinking in Terms of the Timeline 106
New Features in the Actions Panel and Script Windows 112
Setting ActionScript Preferences 120
Associating FLA Files with AS Files 126
Using Script Assist 130
6. Creating a Document Class ...................................... 137
7. Working with Library and Linkage Changes ........................ 145
Linkages Now Reference Classes 145
8. Copying Motion as ActionScript 3.0 ............................... 163
Copying Motion 163
Applying Motion to Other Objects 166
9. Using ActionScript 3.0 Components ............................... 179
Overview of the Component Set 179
New and Removed Components 185
Changes in Writing Code for Components 188
Changing the Appearance of Components 199
10. Making Up for a Reduced Component Set .......................... 207
Working Without Data Components in ActionScript 3.0 207
ActionScript 2.0 Components in ActionScript 3.0 SWF Files 219
Exploring Third-Pa rty UI Components 224
11. Debugging and Troubleshooting ................................. 231
Debugging Is a Good Thing 231
Testing Your ActionScript 3.0 Code 232
Reviewing Improvements in Debugging Over ActionScript 2.0 237
Exploring the Compiler Errors Panel 240
Using the Enhanced Debugging Workspace 250
vi | Table of Contents
Part III. How Do I?
12. How Do I Draw with Code? ...................................... 267
12.0 Introduction 267
12.1 Creating a Display Object Dynamically 268
12.2 Referencing an Object’s Graphics Property 269
12.3 Defining a Line Style 270
12.4 Drawing a Line 271
12.5 Drawing a Curve 272
12.6 Defining a Fill Style 273
12.7 Drawing a Rectangle 274
12.8 Drawing a Rectangle with Rounded Corners 274
12.9 Drawing a Circle 276
12.10 Creating a Gradient Fill 277
12.11 Using a Drawn Shape as a Dynamic Mask 278
12.12 Caching Vector as Bitmap 280
12.13 Applying a Simple Bitmap Filter 281
13. How Do I Work with the Display List? .............................. 283
13.0 Introduction 283
13.1 Choosing Which Type of Display Object to Use 284
13.2 Creating a New Display Object 286
13.3 Adding a Display Object to the Display List 287
13.4 Specifying the Depth of a Display Object 289
13.5 Finding a Display Object 291
13.6 Removing a Display Object from the Display List 292
13.7 Working with Children of a Display Object Container 293
13.8 Working with Parents of a Display Object 296
13.9 Casting a Display Object from One Type to Another 297
13.10 Changing the Parent of a Display Object 299
13.11 Referencing the Stage Through a Display Object 300
14. How Do I Work with Events? ..................................... 303
14.0 Introduction 303
14.1 Understanding Event Listeners 303
14.2 Capturing Mouse Events 305
14.3 Understanding Event Flow 307
14.4 Using Event Bubbling 308
14.5 Using the target and currentTarget Event Properties 310
14.6 Simulating a Mouse Up Outside Event 311
14.7 Capturing Frame Events 312
Table of Contents | vii
14.8 Improving Performance by Removing Event Listeners 314
14.9 Capturing Keyboard Events 315
14.10 Capturing Stage Events 317
14.11 Using a Timer to Dispatch Events 321
14.12 Dispatching Your Own Events 323
14.13 Manually Calling Event Listener Functions 325
14.14 Capturing an Event Before It Reaches Its Target 326
14.15 Setting the Execution Order of Events 328
14.16 Using Weak Listeners 330
15. How Do I Work with Text? ....................................... 333
15.0 Introduction 333
15.1 Creating a Text Field 334
15.2 Styling a Text Field 334
15.3 Creating a Password Field 336
15.4 Focusing a Text Field 337
15.5 Populating a Text Field 338
15.6 Automatically Sizing a Text Field 339
15.7 Scrolling a Text Field 341
15.8 Using Embedded Fonts 343
15.9 Formatting Text Using TextFormat 344
15.10 Formatting Text Using HTML 346
15.11 Formatting Text Using CSS 348
15.12 Adding Hyperlinks to Text 350
15.13 Triggering ActionScript from HTML Links 351
15.14 Selecting Text 352
16. How Do I Work with XML? ....................................... 355
16.0 Introduction 355
16.1 Creating an XML Object 356
16.2 Loading XML 357
16.3 Reading an Element Node 359
16.4 Reading a Text Node 360
16.5 Working with Multiple Nodes of the Same Name 362
16.6 Reading an Attribute 363
16.7 Finding Content Using Shorthand 364
16.8 Finding Content Using Conditionals 366
16.9 Reading HTML or Entities in XML Nodes 367
16.10 Deleting XML 369
16.11 Writing XML 369
16.12 Writing XML with Variables 372
16.13 Sending and Loading XML 373
viii | Table of Contents
