Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Adding Objects to the Display List

Enough theory! It's time to back get to that empty stage and the task of displaying an object. The following exercises use a file called 14-1_Display_List.fla that's available on the Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com/cds. Several of the examples in this chapter gradually add ActionScript code to this Flash document.

1. Select File→Open, and then browse to 14-1_Display_List.fla.

   When you open this document, there's nothing on the stage.

2. If the Library isn't visible, go to Window→Library to display it.

   The Library holds seven movie clips. Five of the movie clips look like simple playing cards, and are named PlayingCard1 through PlayingCard5. No suits, just numbers. There are two simple rectangles that represent card tables: GreenCardTable and BlueCardTable.

3. Open the Actions window by pressing F9 (Option-F9) or Window→Actions.

   The Actions window appears without any code. If the Line Number option is turned on, you see the number 1 in the left margin. If line numbering isn't turned on, click the Options button in the upper-right corner, and then choose Line Numbers from the menu.

4. In the ActionScript window, type in the following code:

   1   var card1:PlayingCard1 = new PlayingCard1();
   2   addChild(card1);

   The first line is called a "variable declaration. It creates a new instance of the PlayingCard1 class and stores it in the variable card1. (If you want to learn more about how PlayingCard1 became a class, see Making Library Objects Available to ActionScript ...