The ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide: For Developers and Designers Using Flash CS4 Professional

Table of Contents

Dedication; Foreword; Preface; What Sets This Book Apart; What’s in This Book; What’s Not in This Book; Conventions Used in This Book; This Book’s Example Files; Using Code Examples; Safari® Books Online; How to Contact Us; Acknowledgments; ActionScript 3.0 Introduced; Chapter 1: Introducing ActionScript 3.0; 1.1 Examining ActionScript 3.0, the Language; 1.2 Exploring Flash Player API Updates; 1.3 Understanding Players and Support; 1.4 Learning ActionScript 3.0 on the Heels of 2.0; 1.5 Deciding to Migrate or Write Code from Scratch; Chapter 2: Discovering What You Need to Work with ActionScript 3.0; 2.1 Flash CS4 Professional/Flex Builder 3; 2.2 Flash Player 9 or Higher; 2.3 Using Other Code Editors with Flash; Chapter 3: Looking at the Changes in ActionScript 3.0; 3.1 Major Changes and Obsolete Code; 3.2 Major Syntax and Structure Changes; 3.3 Additional ActionScript 3.0 Resources; Chapter 4: Exploring the Benefits of Using ActionScript 3.0; 4.1 Performance; 4.2 Efficiency; 4.3 Consistency; 4.4 Standards and Portability Among Other Technologies; ActionScript and the Flash CS4 Authoring Tool; Chapter 5: Creating and Working with Code; 5.1 Thinking in Terms of the Timeline; 5.2 New Features in the Actions Panel and Script Windows; 5.3 Setting ActionScript Preferences; 5.4 Associating FLA Files with AS Files; 5.5 Using Script Assist; Chapter 6: Creating a Document Class; Chapter 7: Working with Library and Linkage Changes; 7.1 Linkages Now Reference Classes; Chapter 8: Copying Motion as ActionScript 3.0; 8.1 Copying Motion; 8.2 Applying Motion to Other Objects; Chapter 9: Using ActionScript 3.0 Components; 9.1 Overview of the Component Set; 9.2 New and Removed Components; 9.3 Changes in Writing Code for Components; 9.4 Changing the Appearance of Components; Chapter 10: Making Up for a Reduced Component Set; 10.1 Working Without Data Components in ActionScript 3.0; 10.2 ActionScript 2.0 Components in ActionScript 3.0 SWF Files; 10.3 Exploring Third-Party UI Components; Chapter 11: Debugging and Troubleshooting; 11.1 Debugging Is a Good Thing; 11.2 Testing Your ActionScript 3.0 Code; 11.3 Reviewing Improvements in Debugging Over ActionScript 2.0; 11.4 Exploring the Compiler Errors Panel; 11.5 Using the Enhanced Debugging Workspace; How Do I?; Chapter 12: How Do I Draw with Code?; 12.1 12.0 Introduction; 12.2 12.1 Creating a Display Object Dynamically; 12.3 12.2 Referencing an Object’s Graphics Property; 12.4 12.3 Defining a Line Style; 12.5 12.4 Drawing a Line; 12.6 12.5 Drawing a Curve; 12.7 12.6 Defining a Fill Style; 12.8 12.7 Drawing a Rectangle; 12.9 12.8 Drawing a Rectangle with Rounded Corners; 12.10 12.9 Drawing a Circle; 12.11 12.10 Creating a Gradient Fill; 12.12 12.11 Using a Drawn Shape as a Dynamic Mask; 12.13 12.12 Caching Vector as Bitmap; 12.14 12.13 Applying a Simple Bitmap Filter; Chapter 13: How Do I Work with the Display List?; 13.1 13.0 Introduction; 13.2 13.1 Choosing Which Type of Display Object to Use; 13.3 13.2 Creating a New Display Object; 13.4 13.3 Adding a Display Object to the Display List; 13.5 13.4 Specifying the Depth of a Display Object; 13.6 13.5 Finding a Display Object; 13.7 13.6 Removing a Display Object from the Display List; 13.8 13.7 Working with Children of a Display Object Container; 13.9 13.8 Working with Parents of a Display Object; 13.10 13.9 Casting a Display Object from One Type to Another; 13.11 13.10 Changing the Parent of a Display Object; 13.12 13.11 Referencing the Stage Through a Display Object; Chapter 14: How Do I Work with Events?; 14.1 14.0 Introduction; 14.2 14.1 Understanding Event Listeners; 14.3 14.2 Capturing Mouse Events; 14.4 14.3 Understanding Event Flow; 14.5 14.4 Using Event Bubbling; 14.6 14.5 Using the target and currentTarget Event Properties; 14.7 14.6 Simulating a Mouse Up Outside Event; 14.8 14.7 Capturing Frame Events; 14.9 14.8 Improving Performance by Removing Event Listeners; 14.10 14.9 Capturing Keyboard Events; 14.11 14.10 Capturing Stage Events; 14.12 14.11 Using a Timer to Dispatch Events; 14.13 14.12 Dispatching Your Own Events; 14.14 14.13 Manually Calling Event Listener Functions; 14.15 14.14 Capturing an Event Before It Reaches Its Target; 14.16 14.15 Setting the Execution Order of Events; 14.17 14.16 Using Weak Listeners; Chapter 15: How Do I Work with Text?; 15.1 15.0 Introduction; 15.2 15.1 Creating a Text Field; 15.3 15.2 Styling a Text Field; 15.4 15.3 Creating a Password Field; 15.5 15.4 Focusing a Text Field; 15.6 15.5 Populating a Text Field; 15.7 15.6 Automatically Sizing a Text Field; 15.8 15.7 Scrolling a Text Field; 15.9 15.8 Using Embedded Fonts; 15.10 15.9 Formatting Text Using TextFormat; 15.11 15.10 Formatting Text Using HTML; 15.12 15.11 Formatting Text Using CSS; 15.13 15.12 Adding Hyperlinks to Text; 15.14 15.13 Triggering ActionScript from HTML Links; 15.15 15.14 Selecting Text; Chapter 16: How Do I Work with XML?; 16.1 16.0 Introduction; 16.2 16.1 Creating an XML Object; 16.3 16.2 Loading XML; 16.4 16.3 Reading an Element Node; 16.5 16.4 Reading a Text Node; 16.6 16.5 Working with Multiple Nodes of the Same Name; 16.7 16.6 Reading an Attribute; 16.8 16.7 Finding Content Using Shorthand; 16.9 16.8 Finding Content Using Conditionals; 16.10 16.9 Reading HTML or Entities in XML Nodes; 16.11 16.10 Deleting XML; 16.12 16.11 Writing XML; 16.13 16.12 Writing XML with Variables; 16.14 16.13 Sending and Loading XML; Chapter 17: How Do I Work with External Assets?; 17.1 17.0 Introduction; 17.2 17.1 Loading and Applying a Cascading Style Sheet; 17.3 17.2 Loading and Displaying an Image or SWF File; 17.4 17.3 Communicating with an ActionScript 3.0 Loaded SWF; 17.5 17.4 Communicating with an ActionScript 2.0 Loaded SWF; 17.6 17.5 Unloading an Image or SWF File; 17.7 17.6 Loading and Playing a Sound; 17.8 17.7 Setting the Volume and Pan of a Sound; 17.9 17.8 Visualizing the Amplitude of a Sound; 17.10 17.9 Unloading a Sound; 17.11 17.10 Loading and Playing a Video; 17.12 17.11 Unloading a Video; Migration; Chapter 18: A Sample Migration; 18.1 A Simple Particle System; 18.2 ActionScript 2.0; 18.3 ActionScript 3.0; 18.4 Migration Sample Summary; Chapter 19: Where Did It Go?; 19.1 Introduction; 19.2 Code Comparisons; Colophon;

David Stiller is a resident author at CommunityMX.com (over 50 articles), co-author of Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers (friends of ED) and contributor to How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS3 (Focal Press). He blogs regularly at quip.net/blog/ and is a longtime regular on the Adobe Flash and ActionScript support forums.

Rich Shupe is the co-author of Learning ActionScript 3.0 (O'Reilly) and has been teaching ActionScript programming to students of all levels since the language became available. He founded his own training and development company, FMA, in 1995 and is a faculty member of New York's School of Visual Arts' Computer Art Dept. He writes about ActionScript at http://www.LearningActionScript3.com.

Jen deHaan is a software quality engineer on the Flash authoring team at Adobe Systems, Inc. She is an author and co-author of 17 books (and tech editor for several others) over the past five versions of Flash. Jen's latest blog is at www.flashthusiast.com.

Darren Richardson is a technical editor for O'Reilly Media. He gained high visibility among Flash and ActionScript developers by writing over 50 articles for Web Designer Magazine and community-related sites. He can be found on a nearly daily basis blogging at www.playfool.com/blog/