Where do I put the code?

Question

I am getting my head around Flash, and to put it simply, I can't figure out where to put the code.

I am used to Visual IDE's where I can drag objects from a toolbox onto a workspace/canvas, and then view a list of this objects event handlers and put code under a particular event handler.

Flash doesn't seem to work like this. There is no Button object in the toolbox, which instead means you need to use the rectangle tool to draw a rectangle, and then use Convert to Symbol convert this to a button. Now I have a button, and I want to change the text of a label to "Hello World".

I drag what I am assuming is a label (the big T) onto my canvas and enumerate through the properties to try and find a name/ID for the label, I can't find this.

So two questions:

In Flash CS6, how do I access the click event of a button?
In Flash CS6, how do I identify a label (or any other object) in order to access the objects properties?

Thanks

Sure, where in the properties pane for the object is the identifier for the label? As in, whenever I click on the label in the canvas, I see a list of properties in the properties pane, but I don't see a name/ID for the label. I am used to accessing the properties of an object programatically in other languages via dot notation on the name/ID of the object. — JMK, Oct 22 '12 at 13:29

Austin Henley · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-22T13:37:06.943

In Flash CS6, how do I access the click event of a button?

Like any of your code, this can be done in the Actions pane or in a text editor. Something like:

yourButton.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, clicked);

function clicked(e:MouseEvent):void {
//code
}

In Flash CS6, how do I identify a label (or any other object) in order to access the objects properties?

The object needs to be saved as symbol and then you can give an instance of that symbol a name. Then just modify it by referencing its name. The reason why you can't find the "properties" for a textbox is because it isn't a symbol. Select the textfield then hit F8 (or go to Modify -> Convert to Symbol) and then you will be able to treat it like a symbol.

I think it would help you a lot to Google around for a tutorial or two until you get the hang of the basics since it is a bit different than say, Visual Studio. Here is one specifically about textfields.

Where do I put the code?

1 Answers1