ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

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Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Preface

Interactivity

Flash movies can accept and respond to user input. Using ActionScript, we can cre-

ate interactive elements such as:

• Buttons that react to mouseclicks (e.g., a classic navigation button)

• GUI elements such as list boxes, combo boxes (a.k.a. drop-down menus), and

check boxes

• Content that animates based on mouse movements (e.g., a mouse trailer)

• Objects that can be moved via the mouse or keyboard (e.g., a car in a driving

game)

• Text fields that display information on screen or allow users to supply input to a

movie (e.g., a fill-in form)

Visual and Audio Content Control

ActionScript can be used to examine or modify the properties of the audio and visual

content in a movie. For example, we can change an object’s color and location,

reduce a sound’s volume, or set the font face of a text block. We can also modify

these properties repeatedly over time to produce unique behaviors such as animated

effects, physics-based motion, and collision detection.

Programmatic Content Generation

Using ActionScript, we can generate visual and audio content directly from a movie’s

Library or by duplicating existing content on the Stage. In Flash MX, we can use the

MovieClip class’s Drawing API, createEmptyMovieClip( ) method, and

createTextField( ) method to create graphics ...