Actionscript Cookbook

Chapter 1. ActionScript Basics

Introduction

Using ActionScript, you can create Flash movies that do just about anything you can imagine. But before launching into the vast possibilities, let’s start with the basic foundation. The good news is that ActionScript commands follow a well-defined pattern, sharing similar syntax, structure, and concepts. Mastering the fundamental grammar puts you well on the way to mastering ActionScript.

This chapter addresses the frequent tasks and problems that relate to core ActionScript knowledge. Whether you are a beginner or master—or somewhere in between—these recipes help you handle situations that arise in every ActionScript project.

This book assumes you are familiar with the Flash authoring tool and have entered some basic ActionScript in the past, perhaps using the built-in Actions. ActionScript code is entered in the Actions panel (Window → Actions), as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1. The Actions panel in Expert Mode

We’ll be entering our code in Expert Mode, which allows us to type the desired code into the Actions panel’s script pane, also shown in Figure 1-1. Activate Expert Mode using the pop-up Options menu in the Actions panel, as shown in Figure 1-2. The menu in Figure 1-2 also displays useful configuration options, such as whether to display line numbers or auto-format your ActionScript code.

Figure 1-2. Activating Expert Mode

ActionScript’s ...