| Name | Syntax and Description | Examples |
| “ “ (decrement) | --expression expression-- Subtracts 1 from the expression. The pre-decrement form ( --expression ) subtracts 1 from expression and returns the result. The post-decrement form subtracts 1 from the expression and returns the initial value of the expression. | --myVar; |
| “ (subtraction and negation) | -expression1 expression1-expression2 Used for subtraction and negation. If used for negation, it reverses the sign of the expression. If used for subtraction, it finds the difference between the two numbers | x = 5; y = 4: trace(-x); trace(x-y); The Output window would display “5 , then 1 . |
| != (inequality) | expression1 != expression2 Tests for inequality. If expression1 is not equal to expression2 , the result is true . | 1 != 2 returns true . |
| #include | #include "filename.as" Includes the contents of the file specified in the argument | #include "style.as" |
| && (logical AND) | expression1 && expression2 Performs a Boolean (true or false) operation on both expressions. Both expression1 and expression2 must be true for the operator to return a final result of true . | x = 10; y = 20; if ((x == 10) && (y == 20)) { trace ("ZooMX is great!"); } The Output window would display: ZooMX is great! |
| * (multiplication) | expression1*expression2 Multiplies two numbers. | trace (2*4); The Output window would display 8 . |
| . (dot operator) | object.property object.method instancename.variable instancename.child.variable Used to navigate movie-clip hierarchies to access nested movie clips, variables , or properties. The dot operator is also used to retrieve or set the properties of an object, execute a method of an object, or create a data structure. | The following identifies the color property of the animal object: animal.color |
| / (division) | expression1/expression2 Divides expression1 by expression2 . | trace (21/3); The Output window would display 7 . |
| // /* */ (comment delimiters) | // comment here /* comment here */ Inserts a comment into your code that is ignored by the ActionScript interpreter. | /* set value of the variable called common */ common = "Bactrian Camel"; |
| _alpha | instancename._alpha instancename._alpha = value; Sets or gets the alpha transparency (0 is fully transparent, 100 fully opaque ). | mPiece._alpha = 50; Sets the alpha property of the movie clip called mPiece to 50% . |
| _height | instancename._height instancename._height = value; Sets or retrieves the height of the space occupied by the movie clip. | this._height = 200; |
| _level | _levelN A reference to the root movie timeline of levelN . N is an integer specifying depth level (default 0). You must load movies using the loadMovie action before targeting them using _level property. | _level2.gotoAndStop("rf"); |
| _name | instancename._name instancename._name = value; Specifies the movie-clip instance name. | trace(this._name); |
| _root | _root _root.movieClip _root.method Specifies or returns a reference to the root movie timeline. | _root.mc1 _root.gotoAndStop(4); |
| _visible | instanceName._visible instanceName._visible = Boolean Determines whether or not the movie specified by the instanceName is visible. | mPiece._visible = false; |
| _width | instancename._width instancename._width = value; Sets or retrieves the width of the space occupied by the movie clip. | this._width = 300; |
| _x | instanceName._x instanceName._x = integer; Sets or retrieves the x -coordinate relative to the parent timeline. | mPiece._x = 10; |
| _y | instanceName._y instanceName._y = integer Sets or retrieves the y -coordinate relative to the parent timeline. | mPiece._y = 10; |
| (logical OR) | expression1 && expression2 Performs a Boolean (true or false) operation on both expressions. The operator will return a final result of true if either expression1 or expression2 is true. | x = 10; y = 20; if ((x == 10) (y == 10)) { trace ("ZooMX is great!"); } The Output window would display: ZooMX is great! |
| " " (string delimiter ) | "text" When used before and after a string, quotes indicate that the string is a literal, not a variable, numerical value, or other ActionScript element. | obj = "image" + i; |
| + (addition) | expression1 + expression2 Adds numeric expressions and concatenates strings. If one expression is a string, all other expressions are converted to strings and concatenated . If both expressions are integers, the sum is an integer; if either or both expressions are floating-point numbers, the sum is a floating-point number. | Example 1 : trace(1+2); The Output window would display 3 . Example 2 : When myVar = "lion" , the following expression returns "Oh no! It's a lion!": trace("Oh no! It's a " +myVar+"!"); |
| ++ (increment) | ++expression expression++ Adds 1 to the expression. The pre-increment form ( ++expression ) adds 1 to the expression and returns the result. The post-increment form adds 1 to the expression and returns the initial value of the expression. | ++myVar; |
| += (addition and assignment) | expression1 += expression2 Assigns expression1 the value of expression1 + expression2 . x += y is equivalent to x = x+y | Example 1 : x = 5; x += 10; trace (x); The Output window would display 15 . Example 2 : x = "I am afraid of"; x+=" lions!"; trace(x); The Output window would display: I am afraid of lions! |
| < (less than) | expression1 < expression2 Compares two expressions and determines whether expression1 is less than expression2 . | 1 < 2 returns true . |
| <= (less than or equal to) | expression1 <= expression2 Compares two expressions to determine if expression1 is less than or equal to expression2 in value. | 4 <= 4 returns true . 5 <= 3 returns false . |
| = (assignment) | expression1 = expression2 Assigns the type of expression2 to the variable, array element, or property in expression1 . | latin1 = "Pongo pygmaeus"; |
| == (equality) | expression1 == expression2 Tests two expressions for equality. If expression1 is equal to expression2 , the result is true . | When myVar = "lion" , the following expression returns true: myVar == "lion" |
| > (greater than) | expression1 > expression2 Compares two expressions to determine if expression1 is greater in value than expression2 . | 300 > 900 returns false |
| >= (greater than or equal to) | expression1 >= expression2 Compares two expressions to determine if expression1 is greater than or equal to expression2 . | 8 >= 5 returns true 30 >= 30 returns true |
| Array.length | myArray.length; Property of the Array object. This returns the length of the array. | animals.length |
| Array.push | MyArray.push(value); Adds the specified value to the end of the array. | animals = new Array("lion", "bear"); animals.push("tiger"); trace(animals); The Output window will display: lions,bears, tigers |
| break | break; Tells the ActionScript to skip the rest of the loop it is in. | x = 0; while (true) { if (x >= 100) { break; } ++x; } |
| delete | delete (reference); Deletes the object or variable specified in reference. Useful for removing no-longer-needed variables in your ActionScript. | x = 10; delete x; lion.teeth = "large"; delete lion.teeth; |
| else | else{statement(s)} Specifies the actions, clauses, arguments, or other conditional to run if the initial if statement returns false. | if (x == 2) { startDrag("myClip"); else{ stopDrag(); } |
| else if | else if (expression) { statements } Specifies the actions, clauses, arguments, or other conditional to run if the initial if statement returns false and expression returns true . | if (x == 1) { gotoAndStop("africa"); } else if (x == 3) { gotoAndStop("asia"); } |
| eval | eval(expression) Accesses variables, properties, objects, or movie clip by name. | this._x = eval(this._droptarget)._x; |
| for | for (int; condition; next) { statement; } int: The expression to evaluate before beginning the loop sequence. condition: An expression that evaluates to true or false . The loop will execute the commands contained in it until the condition evaluates to false . next: An expression to evaluate after each loop, usually an assignment using ++ or -- . statement: The code that will execute when the condition is evaluated to true . The loop evaluates the int value once, then begins a looping sequence until the condition evaluates to false . | for (var x = 0; x < 5; ++x) { trace ("ZooMX"); } The output window would show: ZooMX ZooMX ZooMX ZooMX ZooMX |
| function | function functionName (argument1, argument2){ statement(s) } A set of defined statements that perform a certain task. You can define a function in one location and call it from a different movie. The arguments are optional. | function calcTax(price,tax){ cost = price*tax + price return cost; } |
| getTimer | getTimer(); Returns the number of milliseconds that have elapsed since the movie started playing. | time = getTimer(); returns a numeric value. |
| getURL | getUrl(url [,window[,variables]]); Loads a document from a specific URL into a window, or passes variables to another application at a defined URL. | getURL("http://www.flashtfs.com", "_blank") |
| globalStyleFormat | globalStyleFormat.styleProperty Object that lets you specify the style for all components in a movie. The styleProperty property can be one of the following: arrow, background, backgroundDisabled, check, darkshadow, face, foregroundDisabled, highlight, radioDot, scrollTrack, selection, selectionDisabled, selectionUnfocused, shadow, textAlign, textBold, textColor, textDisabled, textFont, textIndent, textItalic, textLeftMargin, textRightMargin, textSelected, textSize, textUnderline. The applyChanges method applies the changes you define for the globalStyleFormat object. | globalStyleFormat.selection = 0xFF9933; globalStyleFormat.applyChanges(); |
| gotoAndPlay | gotoAndPlay (frame); Sends the playhead to the specified frame and plays from that frame. | gotoAndPlay(1); |
| gotoAndStop | gotoAndStop(frame); Sends the playhead to the specified frame and stops at that frame. | gotoAndStop(1); |
| if | if (condition){ statement; } Evaluates the condition given. If the condition is true , Flash runs the statements that follow. | if (done != true) { this.startDrag(); } |
| loadMovie | loadMovie (url [location/target, variables]]); Plays additional movies without closing the Flash Player. Use target to specify a particular movie-clip timeline. | loadMovie("movie.swf", _root.targetMC); |
| loadVariables | loadVariables (url [.location/target, variables]]); Reads data from an external file and sets values for variables in a movie or movie clip. Also see LoadVars . | loadVariables("myvariables.txt", _root.variableTargetMC); |
| LoadVars.getBytesLoaded | varsObject.getBytesLoaded() Returns the number of bytes loaded by the load or sendAndLoad method. | done = myVars.getBytesLoaded(); |
| LoadVars.getBytesTotal | varsObject.getByteTotal() Returns the total bytes for a load or sendAndLoad method. | total = myVars.getBytesTotal(); |
| LoadVars.load | varsObject.load(url); Loads the variables from the specified URL into the varsObject object. | myVars = new LoadVars(); myVars.load("data.cfm"); |
| LoadVars.send | varsObject.load(url, [target, method]); Sends the variables to the specified URL. The target parameter specifies the frame in which any result is displayed. | myVars = new LoadVars(); myVars.var1 = "update"; myVars.send("data.cfm", _blank); |
| LoadVars.sendAndLoad | varsObject.load(url, targetObj, [method]); Loads the variables from the specified URL into the targetObj object. | myVars = new LoadVars(); myVars.var1 = "update"; myVars.sendAndLoad("data.cfm", myVars); |
| Math.abs | Math.abs(x); Computes the absolute value of the number specified by x . | Math.abs(-15); |
| Math.random | Math.random(); Creates a random number between 0.0 and 1.0. | trace (Math.random()); Outputs a random number. |
| MovieClip.attachMovie | anyMovieClip.attachMovie(idname, newname, depth); idname: The name of the movie in the library to attach. newname: A unique instance name that is going to be attached. depth: An integer specifying the depth level where the movie is being placed. Creates a new instance of a movie and attaches it to the movie specified by anyMovieClip . | this.attachMovie("lion", "lion"+x, x); |
| MovieClip.getBytesLoaded | anyMovieClip.getBytesLoaded() Returns the number of bytes loaded for a movie-clip instance. | done = myClip.getBytesLoaded(); |
| MovieClip.getBytesTotal | anyMovieClip.getByteTotal() Returns the total bytes for a movie-clip instance. | total = myClip.getBytesTotal(); |
| MovieClip.gotoAndPlay | anyMovieClip.gotoAndPlay(frame); frame: The frame number or label where the playhead will be sent. Starts playing the movie at the specified frame. | zoo.gotoAndPlay(413); _level2.gotoAndPlay("rf"); |
| MovieClip.gotoAndStop | anyMovieClip.gotoAndStop(frame); frame: The frame number or label where the playhead will be sent. Goes to the frame specified and stop. | lion.gotoAndStop(73); lion.gotoAndStop("growl"); |
| MovieClip.loadMovie | anyMovieClip.loadMovie(URL, variables); URL: The absolute or relative URL for the SWF file to load. variables: Specifies the method for sending variables. GET appends the variables to the end of the URL, POST send the variables in a separate HTTP header. | this.loadMovie(" games .swf"); |
| MovieClip.on | The MovieClip object has the following event handlers: onData, onDragOut, onDragOver, onEnterFrame, onKeyDown, onKeyUp, onKillFocus, onLoad, onMouseDown, onMouseMove, onMouseUp, onPress, onRelease, onReleaseOutside, onRollOut, onRollOver, onSetFocus, onUnload Each event handler is invoked when the event occurs. You can specify a function that will occur when the event handler is invoked: anyMovieClip.onLoad = function() { function; }; | anyMovieClip.onLoad = function() { this._x = 10; }; |
| MovieClip.play | anyMovieClip.play(); Plays the movie clip. | lion1.play(); |
| MovieClip.removeMovieClip | anyMovieClip.removeMovieClip(); Removes the movie-clip instance created with the duplicateMovie action. | lion1.removeMoveClip(); |
| MovieClip.startDrag | anyMovieClip.startDrag(lock, left, right, top, bottom); lock: Specifies whether the draggable movie clip is locked to the center of the mouse position. left, top, right, bottom: Values relative to the coordinates of the movie clip that constrains the drag of the clip. | this.startDrag(); |
| MovieClip.stop | anyMovieClip.stop(); Stops the movie clip that is referred to. | lion1.stop(); |
| MovieClip.stopDrag | anyMovieClip.stopDrag(); Ends a drag action started with the startDrag method. | this.stopDrag(); |
| MovieClip.swapDepths | anyMovieClip.swapDepths(depth): anyMovieClip.swapDepths(target); target: The movie-clip instance that is being swapped. depth: The depth level that the movie clip is being swapped to. Swaps the depth of two movie clips. | lion1.swapDepths(lion2); lion1.swapDepths(100); |
| MovieClip.unloadMovie | anyMovieClip.unloadMovie(); Removes the movie clip that was loaded with the loadMovie or attachMovie method. | lion2.unloadMovie(); |
| new | new constructor(arguments); Creates a new object, calls the function identified by the constructor argument, and passes additional optional arguments in the parentheses. | tiger = new Cat ("large", "aggressive"); kitten = new Cat ("tiny", "playful"); |
| null | null A special keyword that can be assigned to variables. It will be returned by a function if no data was provided. | if (common == null) { gotoAndStop(10); } |
| on | on (mouseEvent) { statement; } The mouseEvent argument can be press, release , releaseOutside , rollOver , rollOut , dragOver , dragOut , KeyPress("key") . Specifies a mouse action or key press that triggers an action. | on (rollOver, dragOver) { gotoAndStop(5); } on (rollOut, dragOut) { gotoAndStop(10); } |
| onClipEvent | onClipEvent(movieEvent) { statements; } movieEvent: An event that executes actions that are assigned in the statements of the onClipEvent . Can have one of the following events ” load , unload , enterFrame , mouseMove , mouseDown , mouseUp , keyDown , keyUp , data . Triggers actions defined in the statements for a specific instance of a movie clip. | onClipEvent(load) { gotoAndPlay(14); } |
| play | play(); Move the playhead forward on the timeline. | if (x == 2) { play(); } else { gotoAndPlay (45); } |
| stop | stop(); Stops the current timeline from playing. | if (x > 0 ) { stop(); }else { gotoAndStop(50); } |
| this | this A keyword that is used to refer to the current movie clip, the clip that contains the script. | //sets the x position of the //current movie clip to 300 this._x = 300; |
| trace | trace (expression); Evaluates the expression and displays the result in the Output window. Similar to the alert function in JavaScript. | trace (x+=5); trace ("Hi everyone!"); |
| undefined | undefined A keyword indicating that a variable has not yet been assigned a value. | if (common == undefined) { gotoAndStop(10); } |
| updateAfterEvent | updateAfterEvent(); Updates the display after a movie-clip event has completed. | updateAfterEvent(); |
| while | while (condition) { statements; } Runs a series of statements in the loop as long as the loop conditions continues to be true . | while (x > 5) { trace(hammerhead); x++; } |
