The Bad News:
Learning ActionScript is as
Much Fun as Being Torn
Apart By a Pack of
Crazed Wombats.
(And I say that
in a loving way.)
But you’ll be fine.
I promise. 
The Good News:
90% of a designer’s code
will consist of
5-10% of available
ActionScript
J. DAVIS
INTRO TO ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0
You won’t ever be held responsible for a scripting
problem in your work that you can’t figure out—
as long as you contact me so I can troubleshoot
with you.
You won’t have to memorize scripts just yet. You
can just copy and paste them and change the
parts you need to change, to learn how it works.
My Guarantee To You
Introduction
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1) Programming Language vs. Scripting Language
2) Syntax vs. Semantics (how words are arranged in sentences versus
the linguistic meaning of words)
3) The computer is dumb.
4) ActionScripting is case sensitive
5) Camel case convention: John Doe becomes johnDoe
6) Spaces: ActionScript deletes them all when running script.
7) Scripts are also called instructions or commands
8) “Runtime error” – script runs, but doesn’t do what you want it to
9) Movie clips are “objects” (as are other things that can be
instructed).
10) ActionScript 3 can be created in the Flash authoring environment,
in a text editor, or in Flex.
The Actions Pane (Windows>Actions)
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“Global” actions
appear on the
first frame of a
movie.
2 SYNTACTIC RULES OF
ACTIONSCRIPTING
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1) Use a semicolon at the end of each line
2) object.method (argument);
like noun.verb (adjective);
Example 1
root.gotoAndPlay(2);
this.gotoAndPlay(2);
gotoAndPlay(2);
Explanation: This script instructs the playhead on the
main timeline (“root” or “this”) to go to and stop on
frame 2. Identifying “root” or “this” by name is
optional—the current timeline is the default, so you
could just say gotoAndStop(2);
More Scripts
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Example 2
stop() ;
play();
movieclipinstance.play();
Explanation: Some instructions are implied.
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Example 2
movieclipinstance.gotoAndStop(“musicoff”)
Explanation: This script instructs the playhead inside of a
movieclip instance to go to and stop on a frame that has
been labeled “musicoff.”
2 Most Common Uses of Scripts
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Controlling a timeline
example: stop();
Controlling a movieclip
example: moviclipinstancename.play(3);
2 Notes:
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Indenting: Flash automatically indents lines of
script so that they are visually scannable.
Blocks are used for visual scannability as well
as practical reasons.
// This signals commentary that is not script. //
Controling Time Lines
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Main timeline
gotoAndPlay(2) OR
root.gotoAndPlay(2) OR
this.gotoAndPlay(2)
A movieclip timeline (“child”)
(the movieclip instance must be named and must be on stage)
movieclipinstancename.gotoAndPlay(2)
movieclipinstancename.gotoAndStop(2)
OR
instance1.instance2.gotoAndStop(2)
[in the above case, instance1 is inside of instance2—example,
control Godzilla’s breath]
A parent movieclip timeline
parent.gotoAndPlay(2)
parent.gotoAndStop(2)
Methods
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To See All Movie Clip Methods:
Flash.Display>Movie Clips>Methods
Popular Methods:
stop
play
gotoAndStop
gotoAndPlay
prevFrame
nextFrame
navigateToURL
Buttons
Mouse Events
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To See All Mouse Event Properties
Flash.Events>MouseEvents>Properties>MOUSE_DOWN (and others)
Popular Mouse Event Properties:
CLICK
MOUSE_DOWN
MOUSE_MOVE
MOUSE_OUT
MOUSE_OVER
MOUSE_UP
MOUSE_WHEEL
ROLL_OUT
ROLL_OVER
Let’s Try It

Introduce Assignment:
TUTORIAL #1: Simple Exercise: Script Buttons to
gotoAndStop on Frames
See finished file at:
www.julietdavis.com/flashtutorials/simpleActionScriptExercise.fla
www.julietdavis.com/flashtutorials/simpleActionScriptExercise.swf
See next screen and Word doc: Intro to ActionScript 3.0
“Script THIS”
Name your
instances
FIRST (button
instances)
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stop();
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btn1_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,
mouseDownHandler1);
function
mouseDownHandler1(event:MouseEvent):void {
gotoAndStop (10);
}
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btn2_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,
mouseDownHandler2);
function
mouseDownHandler2(event:MouseEvent):void {
gotoAndStop (1);
}
Common Mistakes That Mess Up Scripts

1) Instance Name. First, make sure you have named the instance of your movie clip
that you are applying the script to, and you have targeted that instance name and
NOT the name of the movie clip that’s in the library.
2) Curly Brace. Make sure you have used a curly brace to end your block.
3) Function Names. In each set of instructions, the function name appears twice
(think of them as twins)—make sure they are identical (e.g., mouseDownHandler1
and mouseDownHandler1). BUT, for each separate set of instructions, there must
be separate sets of function names (e.g., mouseDownHandler2 and
mouseDownHandler2. Example: See the scripts for the color picker.
4) SPELLING!  Button instance names and movie clip instance names must be
spelled exactly in the script as they have been named.
5) If all else fails, paste the scripts directly from the tutorial files and only change the
parts in red.
Where to Find Script Assists
For Movie Clip Class:
Flash.Display>Movie Clips>Methods
For Add Event Listener:
Flash.Events>IEventDispatcherInterface>Methods>Add Event Listener
For Mouse Event Properties:
Flash.Events>MouseEvents>Properties>MOUSE_DOWN
NOTE ABOUT SCRIPT ASSIST
QUESTIONS?