Flash CS4 Resources

Shape object

Inheritance: Element object > Shape object

Availability

Flash MX 2004.

Description

The Shape object is a subclass of the Element object. The Shape object provides more precise control than the drawing APIs when manipulating or creating geometry on the Stage. This control is necessary so that scripts can create useful effects and other drawing commands (see Element object).

All Shape methods and properties that change a shape or any of its subordinate parts must be placed between shape.beginEdit() and shape.endEdit() calls to function correctly.

Method summary

In addition to the Element object methods, you can use the following methods with the Shape object:

Method	Description
shape.getCubicSegmentPoints()	Returns an array of points that define a cubic curve.
`shape.beginEdit()`	Defines the start of an edit session.
`shape.deleteEdge()`	Deletes the specified edge.
`shape.endEdit()`	Defines the end of an edit session for the shape.

Property summary

In addition to the Element object properties, the following properties are available for the Shape object:

Property	Description
`shape.contours`	Read-only; an array of Contour objects for the shape (see Contour object).
`shape.edges`	Read-only; an array of Edge objects (see Edge object).
`shape.isDrawingObject`	Read-only; if true, the shape is a drawing object.
`shape.isGroup`	Read-only; if true, the shape is a group.
`shape.isOvalObject`	Read-only; if true, the shape is a primitive Oval object (was created using the Oval tool).
`shape.isRectangleObject`	Read-only; if true, the shape is a primitive Rectangle object (was created using the Rectangle tool).
`shape.members`	An array of objects in the currently selected group.
`shape.numCubicSegments`	Read-only; the number of cubic segments in the shape.
`shape.vertices`	Read-only; an array of Vertex objects (see Vertex object).