ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition

MovieClip.globalToLocal() Method

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ActionScript Language Reference

MovieClip.globalToLocal() Method

convert a point on the main Stage to clip coordinates

Flash 5

mc.globalToLocal(point)

Arguments

point A reference to an object with two properties, x and y, that describe a point on

the main Stage of the Player (i.e., on

_level0). Both x and y can be any

floating-point number.

Description

The globalToLocal() method converts the x and y properties of point from coordinates on

the main Stage to coordinates in the coordinate space of

mc. Note that globalToLocal() does

not return a new object, it merely modifies the existing

x and y values of point. It has no

effect when invoked on a main movie object (i.e.,

_root), because the original and target

coordinate spaces are identical.

To use globalToLocal(), we must first create a so-called point or coordinates object with

x

and y properties. To do so, create a generic object from the Object class, and add x and y

properties to it. For example:

var myPoint = new Object();

myPoint.x = 10;

myPoint.y = 20;

The x and y properties of our object are positions on the horizontal and vertical axes of the

main Stage, relative to its top-left corner. For example, an

x of 10 is 10 pixels to the right of

the Stage’s left edge, and a

y of 20 is 20 pixels below the Stage’s ...