CIM264B Flash MX 2004

1
CIM264B Flash MX 2004

• Week 2

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Action Scripting

• Internal Programming Language
• Action Scripting enables you to create buttons
  that control the Main Timeline or movie clips,
  make slideshows with Forward and Backward
  buttons, link to other URLs on the Internet, load
  other movies into Flash, etc.
• ActionScript can be attached to a button
  instance, a movie clip instance, or a keyframe in
  the Timeline.
• ActionScript cannot be attached to an instance of
  a graphic symbol
• Action Behavior Panel are used to add
  ActionScripts

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Action Scripting

• Planning your Script
• What are you trying to do with the script?
• What is it you are trying to affect?
  (movie?frame?button?)
• What Script is most appropriate to create the
  desired result?
• What makes this script occur in the movie?
• Where should the script be attached?

4
Action Scripting

• Action Panel - build ActionScripts that control
  your movie. This is where you create edit
  object or frame actions.
• Window? Development Panels?Actions or F9

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Action Scripting
Insert Target Path
Action Pane
Check Syntax
Replace
Auto Format
Find
Add
Show Code Hint
Script Pane
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Action Scripting
Script Panel
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Action Scripting

• Behavior Panel gives you the ability to add
  specific functionality to movies quick and
  easily.
• Several categories
• Data
• Embedded Video
• Media
• Movie Clip
• Sound
• Web

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Action Scripting

• Frame Action Scripts
• You place an action in a keyframe in the
  Timeline. The Stop frame action is an example of
  a frame-based script which stops the playback
  head on the frame it is placed on.
• Object Action Scripts
• You can add actions to an object (the object
  must either be a movie clip symbol or a button
  symbol). They are attached to button and movie
  clip symbols as well as components. These actions
  usually require user interactivity to function
  (i.e. clicking a button).

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Action Scripting

• Creating a Dedicated Action Layer
• You should keep your scripts organized on one
  layer dedicated to ActionScripts only. Name this
  layer "actions" and place it at either the top or
  bottom of your layer stack
• The Stop Action
• It allows you to stop the playbackhead on a
  frame. To begin playback, the user must click a
  button, key, etc. that starts playback again. Add
  the stop() action by selecting a frame in
  timeline and place a blank keyframe (F7) if
  required - if you don't, Flash will find the
  first previous keyframe to attach it to. In
  Global Functionsgt Timeline Control dbl. click
  stop. The action will be added to the scripting
  window.

10
Action Scripting

• Using Frame Labels vs. Frame Numbers
• GotoAndPlay and GotoAndStop can be scripted to
  go to a frame number or frame label.
• Use unique frame labels that can be easily
  found in movies with multiple scenes .
• Adding a Frame Label
• Select the frame you wish to name and in the
  Frame field in the Property Inspector, type in
  the unique name.
• Frame labels should not contain any special
  characters. Avoid spaces (or use an underscore)
  and keep them short and sweet.

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Action Scripting

• ActionScript Syntax ActionScripting is CASE
  SENSITIVE.
• Naming Button Instances
• You must name each button or movie clip instance
  you plan to control with scripting.
• These names also need to be unique and should
  follow similar naming conventions as frame
  labels.
• Name the instance of your button symbol by
  selecting the object on the stage and typing in a
  name in the Properties panel.
• Instance names are NOT the same as a symbols
  library name. You may use the symbol's name but
  only once if you are bringing multiple instances
  of the same symbol to the stage.

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Action Scripting

• Interactivity and Actions
• Events- actions, such as press, release,
  releaseOutside, rollOver, rollOut, dragOver,
  dragOut, keypress.
• Event Handler Manages the event
• Events fall into four catagories
• Mouse events occurs when the user interacts
  with button instances.
• Movie Clip events occurs when something happens
  with a movie clip
• instance
• Keyboard events occurs when the user presses a
  key on the keyboard
• Timeline events occurs when the playhead
  reaches a keyframe
• containing
  actions in the Timeline.

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Action Scripting

• Mouse Event Handlers the button reacts to a
  specific key on the keyboard rather than the
  mouse.
• Parameters include onPress, onRelease, onRelease
  Outside, onKeyPress (), onRollOver, onRollOut,
  onDragOver, and onDragOut. Buttons may be set up
  to respond to multiple parameters.

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Action Scripting

• gotoAndPlay and gotoAndStop
• these two scripts allow you to jump to a
  different part of a movie's timeline and either
  play from or stop at the specified frame.
• Global Functionsgt Timeline Controlgt gotoAndPlay
  (or stop) and type theframe label name within the
  parentheses provided using QUOTES.
• Example gotoAndPlay("intro")

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Action Scripting

• Loading New Files Flash allows you to link to
  another web site with the Get url script from
  Browser/Network list. Type the url (again using
  quotes) within the parentheses beginning with
  http//. A target such as _blank (opens the url
  in a new window) may be specified as well which
  is separated with a comma.
• Example getURL("http//www.yahoo.com", "_blank"
  )
• Editing the Actions List retype, select delete
  an action from the list but be careful

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Action Scripting

• Movie Clips - you must give it an instance name
  and it must be present in the Timeline.
• Go to URL you can use the behavior panel to add
  the actionscript for links and email
  (mailtomedia_at_yahoo.com)
• Relative Address html files reside in the local
  folder (index.html)
• Absolute Address files located outside the
  local folder (http//www.yahoo.com)

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Action Scripting

• Scenes
• Way to break up large projects into smaller, more
  manageable pieces.
• You can have multiple Timelines which play one
  right after the other by adding more scenes to
  your movie.
• Insert ? Scene
• Window ? Design Panels ? Scene or Shift F2
• Flash will play all scenes in order unless you
  use ActionScript to tell it otherwise.
• You need a stop action to prevent your movie
  going from one scene to the next.

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Action Scripting

• Scenes
• Scene Panel
  Currently in Scene 1

Edit Scene
Double click To rename the scene
Duplicate Scene
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Action Scripting

• Frame Labels
• Identify a frame by name, rather than by a number
• Content in its own timeline yet divided out into
  sections
• Steps for adding a Frame Label
• Create a new layer called Labels
• Select the frame
• In the PI, insert a name in the Label Field.