Effect object

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Description

This is a single effect descriptor object. The fl.activeEffect and the fl.effects properties contain this type of object. The Effect object represents an instance of a timeline effect. See fl.activeEffect and fl.effects.

Property summary for the Effect object

In addition to the properties listed in the following table, Effect objects can also have user-defined parameters, which must be specified in the same XML file that specifies the effect.effectName and effect.sourceFile properties. These parameters specify which user interface elements should be created (such as edit fields, check boxes, and list boxes), which is controlled by the type of effect you are creating. You can specify labels that will appear with the control in addition to default values.

Property	Description
effect.effectName	Read-only; a string that appears in the Context menu for effects.
effect.groupName	Read-only; a string that represents the name of the effect group used for the hierarchical Context menu for effects.
effect.sourceFile	Read-only; a string that specifies the name of JSFL source file for the specified effect.
effect.symbolType	Read-only; a string that specifies the type of symbol to create during the initial application of the effect.
effect.useXMLToUI	A Boolean value that lets you override the default behavior of using XMLUI to construct a dialog box that consists of one or more controls.

effect.effectName

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Usage

effect.effectName

Description

Read-only property; a string that appears in the Context menu for effects. Each effect must be uniquely named.

Example

The following example stores the name of the current effect in the efName variable:

var efName = fl.activeEffect.effectName;

effect.groupName

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Usage

effect.groupName

Description

Read-only property; a string that represents the name of the effect group used for the hierarchical Context menu for effects. If this value is an empty string, the effect appears ungrouped at the top level of the Context menu. The group name and effect name are specified in the XML file for the effect.

Example

The following example stores the group name of the current effect in the efGroupName variable:

var efGroupName = fl.activeEffect.groupName;

effect.sourceFile

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Usage

effect.sourceFile

Description

Read-only property; a string that specifies the name of JSFL source file for the specified effect. This string is used to bind an XML parameter file to its JSFL effect implementation. You must include this XML parameter in the XML file for the effect.

Example

The following example stores the name of the JSFL effect source file in the efSourceFile variable:

var efSourceFile = fl.activeEffect.sourceFile;

effect.symbolType

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Usage

effect.symbolType

Description

Read-only property; a string that specifies the type of symbol to create during the initial application of the effect. The supported types are: "graphic", "movie clip", and "button". If a symbol type was not specified when the effect was created, the default value is "graphic".

Example

The following example stores the symbol type for the current effect in the efType variable:

var efType = fl.activeEffect.symbolType;

effect.useXMLToUI

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Usage

effect.useXMLToUI

Description

Property; a Boolean value that lets you override the default behavior of using XMLUI to construct a dialog box that consists of one or more controls. The default value is TRue. If set to false, the standard XMLUI dialog box will not be posted and you are responsible for posting a UI.

Example

The following example specifies that the effect posts its own UI:

function configureEffect() {   fl.activeEffect.useXMLToUI = false; }