ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

MovieClip.beginGradientFill() Method

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ActionScript Language Reference

// Make the movie clip.

this.createEmptyMovieClip("drawing_mc", 1);

// Draw the gradient-filled square.

drawing_mc.moveTo(25, 0);

drawing_mc.beginGradientFill(fillType, colors, alphas, ratios, matrix);

drawing_mc.lineTo(125, 0);

drawing_mc.lineTo(125, 100);

drawing_mc.lineTo(25, 100);

drawing_mc.lineTo(25, 0);

drawing_mc.endFill();

By combining matrices, we can use a single matrix to describe scale, rotation, and transla-

tion together. Matrix multiplication is outside the scope of this discussion; however,

Macromedia provides a TransformMatrix class on the Flash MX CD under: Goodies\

Macromedia\Other Samples\transformmatrix.as. It defines easy-to-use methods for speci-

fying and combining transformation matrices.

Usage

Even though Flash attempts to fix improperly specified shapes (e.g., a shape with no

endFill() method), predictable results can be guaranteed only when the shape-drawing rules

described under MovieClip.beginFill() are observed.

Example

The following code draws a triangle with a red, green, and blue radial gradient. The

triangle is centered about the clip’s registration point, and the gradient is centered within

the triangle:

// Create an empty clip for drawing, and set the pen position

this.createEmptyMovieClip("drawing_mc", ...