ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition By Colin Moock
Chapter 18. ActionScript Language Reference
MovieClip._name Property
Flash 4
the identifier of a clip instance, as a string
read/write
mc._name
Description
The _name property specifies the instance name of a movie clip instance as a string. Because it initially reflects the instance name set in the Property inspector during authoring, the _name property doesn't apply to main movies (the main movie is most easily referred to by the global property _root).
Example
We can use _name to determine whether or not to perform some manipulation of a given clip, as shown in the Example for MovieClip.onLoad( ). The _name property can also be used to reassign the identifier of a clip. For example:
// Change ball to circle ball._name = "circle"; // Now control the former ball as circle circle._x = 500;
See Also
MovieClip._target, targetPath( ); "Movie Clip Instance Names" in Chapter 13
