The Rectangle Class | Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Unleashed

The `Rectangle` Class

The Rectangle class allows you to create rectangles at runtime.

It is important when using this class to import it first at the beginning of your script, like this:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle;

To instantiate a new instance of the Rectangle class, use this code as a template:

 var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(x, y, width, height);

x The x coordinate at the top-left corner.
y The y coordinate at the top-left corner.
width The width of the rectangle.
height The height of the rectangle.

Example:

This example will create an instance of the Rectangle class and send its information to the Output panel:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100)

There are a few more properties, which were not in the parameters.

Properties

`bottom`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.bottom;

Description:

This numeric property is the sum of the y property and the height property.

`bottomRight`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.bottomRight;

Description:

This property is a Point object with the (x,y) coordinate being the bottom-right corner of the rectangle.

`left`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.left;

Description:

This numeric property is the x property representing the left side of the rectangle.

`right`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.right;

Description:

This numeric property is the sum of the x property and width property representing the right side of the rectangle.

`size`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.size;

Description:

This property is a Point object, but the values (x,y) stand for (width, height).

`top`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.top;

Description:

This numeric property is the y property representing the top side of the rectangle.

`topLeft`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.topLeft;

Description:

This property is expressed as a Point object containing the coordinates for the top left corner of the rectangle.

Example:

This example will create a rectangle and trace every property it has:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace("x - "+myRectangle.x); trace("y - "+myRectangle.y); trace("width - "+myRectangle.width); trace("height - "+myRectangle.height); trace("left - "+myRectangle.left); trace("topLeft - "+myRectangle.topLeft); trace("top - "+myRectangle.top); trace("right - "+myRectangle.right); trace("bottomRight - "+myRectangle.bottomRight); trace("bottom - "+myRectangle.bottom); trace("size - "+myRectangle.size); //output: x - 10 //y - 10 //width - 100 //height - 100 //left - 10 //topLeft - (x=10, y=10) //top - 10 //right - 110 //bottomRight - (x=110, y=110) //bottom - 110 //size - (x=100, y=100)

Methods

`clone`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.clone();

Returns: Rectangle

This method will return an exact duplicate of the Rectangle object it is being called on.

Description:

This method will create an exact copy of the Rectangle object it is being called on.

Example:

This example will create a Rectangle object, create a copy, and output that copy:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = myRectangle.clone(); trace(myRec2); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100)

`contains`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.contains(x, y);

Parameters:

x The horizontal position of the point being checked.
y The vertical position of the point being checked.

Returns: Boolean

If the coordinate falls within the rectangle, true will be returned. Otherwise, false will be returned.

Description:

This method will check to see if a coordinate (x,y) falls within a rectangle.

Example:

This example will check to see if two coordinates are within a rectangle:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle.contains(5,5)); trace(myRectangle.contains(20,20)); //output: false //        true

`containsPoint`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.containsPoint(point);

Parameters:

point A Point object containing the (x,y) coordinate to check.

Returns: Boolean

If the Point falls within the rectangle, true will be returned. Otherwise, false will be returned.

Description:

This method will check to see if a Point falls within a rectangle.

Example:

This example will check to see if two Points are within a rectangle:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; import flash.geom.Point; //the points var point1:Point = new Point(5,5); var point2:Point = new Point(20,20); var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle.containsPoint(point1)); trace(myRectangle.containsPoint(point2)); //output: false //        true

`containsRectangle`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.containsRectangle(rec);

Parameters:

rec A Rectangle object.

Returns: Boolean

If the Rectangle falls entirely within the first rectangle, true will be returned. Otherwise, false will be returned.

Description:

This method will check to see if a Rectangle falls entirely within the first rectangle.

Example:

This example will check to see if a couple of Rectangles fall entirely within the first rectangle:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle (20,20,20,20); var myRec3:Rectangle = new Rectangle (0,20,20,20); trace(myRectangle.containsRectangle(myRec2)); trace(myRectangle.containsRectangle(myRec3)); //output: true //        false

`equals`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.equals(rec);

Parameters:

rec A Rectangle object to compare to myRectangle.

Returns: Boolean

If rec is equal to myRectangle in the properties x, y, width and height, true will be returned. Otherwise, false will be returned.

Description:

This method will check the four main properties of two rectangles to see if they are equal.

Example:

This example will check to see if a couple of Rectangles are equal to one another:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle (20,20,20,20); var myRec3:Rectangle = myRectangle.clone(); trace(myRectangle.equals(myRec2)); trace(myRectangle.equals(myRec3)); //output: false //        true

`inflatePoint`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.inflatePoint(point);

Parameters:

point The Point object used to inflate the rectangle.

Description:

This method will increase the size of the rectangle as well as adjust the x and y properties using a Point object.

Example:

This example will create a rectangle and then increase its dimensions:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; import flash.geom.Point; //create the point var point:Point = new Point(5,5); var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); myRectangle.inflatePoint(point); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100) //(x=5, y=5, w=110, h=110)

`intersection`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.intersection(rec);

Parameters:

rec The Rectangle object being used to see if it intersects myRectangle.

Returns: Rectangle

The area of intersection is returned as a Rectangle.

Description:

This method will check to see if two Rectangles intersect, and if they do, a Rectangle object containing the intersection data is returned.

Example:

This example will create two Rectangles and see if they intersect:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle(20,0,50,30); trace(myRectangle.intersection(myRec2)); //output: (x=20, y=10, w=50, h=20)

`intersects`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.intersects(rec);

Parameters:

rec The Rectangle object being used to see if it intersects myRectangle.

Returns: Boolean

true if the rectangles intersect; false if they do not.

Description:

This method will check to see if two Rectangles intersect and returns a Boolean response.

Example:

This example will create two Rectangles and see if they intersect:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle(20,0,50,30); trace(myRectangle.intersects(myRec2)); //output: true

`isEmpty`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.isEmpty();

Returns: Boolean

If the rectangle has neither width nor height, true is returned. Otherwise, false is returned.

Description:

This method will check to see if a rectangle is empty (absent width and height).

Example:

This example will check to see if either of the two Rectangles are empty:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle(); trace(myRectangle.isEmpty()); trace(myRec2.isEmpty()); //output: false //        true

`offset`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.offset(dx,dy);

Parameters:

dx The horizontal adjustment in pixels.
dy The vertical adjustment in pixels.

Description:

This method will adjust the x and y positions of the rectangle.

Example:

This example will create a Rectangle, output the information, adjust the position, and output the information again:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); myRectangle.offset(5,5); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100) //(x=15, y=15, w=100, h=100)

`offsetPoint`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.offsetPoint(point);

Parameters:

point The Point object that contains the horizontal and vertical adjustments being applied to the rectangle.

Description:

This method will adjust the x and y positions of the rectangle using a Point object.

Example:

This example will create a Rectangle, output the information, adjust the position, and output the information again:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; import flash.geom.Point; //create the point var point:Point = new Point(5,5); var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); myRectangle.offsetPoint(point); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100) //(x=15, y=15, w=100, h=100)

`setEmpty`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.setEmpty();

Description:

This method will set all Rectangle options to 0.

Example:

This example will create a Rectangle, output the information, set it to empty, and output the information again:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); myRectangle.setEmpty(); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100) //(x=0, y=0, w=0, h=0)

`toString`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.toString();

Results: String

The Rectangles information.

Description:

This method will return the Rectangles information in the form of a string.

Example:

This example will create a Rectangle and output the information:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); trace(myRectangle); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=100, h=100)

`union`

Availability: FP:8, AS:1.0

Generic Template: myRectangle.union(rec);

Parameters:

rec The Rectangle object being joined.

Results: Rectangle

The combined dimensions of both Rectangles.

Description:

This method will combine both Rectangles at their absolute highest points.

Example:

This example will create two Rectangles and combine them to form one big Rectangle:

 import flash.geom.Rectangle; var myRectangle:Rectangle = new Rectangle(10,10,100,100); var myRec2:Rectangle = new Rectangle(50,50,80,80); trace(myRectangle.union(myRec2)); //output: (x=10, y=10, w=120, h=120)