If a Flash application uses a component that has a collection property, you can access the collection property at runtime. This example adds several items to a collection property using the Values dialog box and displays them at runtime using the Collection and Iterator APIs.

 To access collection items at runtime:

1. Open the MyShelf.fla file that you created earlier.

   See Simple collection example.

   This example builds on the MyShelf component and CompactDisc collection.

2. Open the Library panel, drag the component onto the Stage, and give it an instance name.

   This example uses the instance name myShelf.

3. Select the component, open the Component inspector, and display the Parameters tab. Click the line that contains the collection property, and click the magnifying glass to the right of the line. Flash displays the Values dialog box.
4. Use the Values dialog box to enter values into the collection property.
5. With the component selected on the Stage, open the Actions panel and enter the following code (which must be attached to the component):

   onClipEvent (mouseDown) {
       import mx.utils.Collection;
       import mx.utils.Iterator;
       var myColl:mx.utils.Collection;
       myColl = _parent.myShelf.MyCompactDiscs;
   
       var itr:mx.utils.Iterator = myColl.getIterator();
       while (itr.hasNext()) {
           var cd:CompactDisc = CompactDisc(itr.next());
           var title:String = cd.Title;
           var artist:String = cd.Artist;
           trace("Title: " + title + " Artist: " + artist);
       }
   }
   
   

   To access a collection, use the syntax componentName.collectionVariable; to access an iterator and step through the collection items, use componentName.collectionVariable.getIterator().

6. Select Control > Test Movie and click the shelf to see the collection data in the Output panel.