ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

MovieClip.createTextField() Method

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this.createEmptyMovieClip("process_mc", 1);

process_mc.onEnterFrame = function () {

// perform per-frame tasks here

}

The createEmptyMovieClip() method returns a reference to the clip it creates. We can store

this reference in a variable for easy access. For example, the following code creates an

empty clip deeply nested inside an application’s interface but stores a reference to the clip

in the variable

fileMenu:

// Create the clip.

var fileMenu = appPanels.editPanel.menuBar.createEmptyMovieClip

("fileMenu_mc", 1);

// Now manipulate the clip through the variable fileMenu.

fileMenu._x = 20;

fileMenu._y = 50;

A movie clip created with createEmptyMovieClip() can be used as a mask for other clips

(see MovieClip.setMask()) and can receive button events such as onPress() and onRelease().

However, strokes and transparent fills are not recognized for masking or hit-testing for

button events.

To delete a movie clip, use MovieClip.removeMovieClip(). However, note that a movie clip

placed on a negative depth cannot be removed via removeMovieClip(). To remove a clip at

a negative depth, first swap it to a positive depth, then remove it:

theClip_mc.swapDepths(1234); // Pick a positive depth to swap to

theClip_mc.removeMovieClip(); // ...